1954 Geneva Conference left Geneva on May 3 and was replaced by his deputy Walter Bedell Smith. The State of Vietnam refused to attend the negotiations until Bidault wrote to Bảo Đại, assuring him that any agreement would not partition Vietnam. Bidault opened the conference on May 8 by proposing a cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire in place, a release of prisoners, and a disarming of irregulars, despite the French surrender at Điện Biên Phủ the previous day in northwestern Vietnam. On May 10, Phạm Văn Đồng, the leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) delegation set out their position, proposing a
17th Aero Squadron the squadron was ordered to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for training under the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The previous month, a reciprocal agreement was made between the British and American governments under which the British would organize and train at the RFC's camps near Toronto the pilots and mechanics of ten Aero squadrons for overseas service. The 17th Aero Squadron was the first group to arrive under that agreement. The squadron arrived on 4 August at the recruit's depot at Leaside, Ontario. Here the men underwent three week's British drill and discipline. Then, the squadron was divided into detachments and