Father Foley:
Let us pray. Oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home. We give thee hearty thanks for many the blessings of life, and especially the blessing of the memories of these loved ones, who lived in our homes and shared happiness with us and are now imprisoned and are separated from us. We pray for them, O Heavenly Father, and we do ask that you will allow them and allow us to lean heavily upon thy everlasting arm of love. Give us strength and give us courage. And may that our efforts here be very effective. Bless these as they go to their homes and keep them in thy love, for we prayed in the name of our Lord and our savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sybil Stockdale:
Thank you very much. [pause] I have an agenda which is very informal. But I want to, first, we want to express our gratitude to some who have been particularly helpful. We may have to rearrange the order because some, General James, is not here yet and we hope he will be here soon. We have invited some repre-- oh, here he is. General James, if you'll come on up and join us on the stage. We're just delighted that you're here. I want to introduce some of the people from the government whom we have invited. I want to have the area coordinators stand up and introduce themselves and I wish I could introduce them to you, but because of very complicated logistic arrangements during the last couple of days, my briefcase is locked up in Senator Dole-- in the closet in Senator Dole's office and I don't have a list of the area coordinators with me, and I either had to not get here this morning or go over to the office and we got stuck in a traffic jam coming into town, so we'll let the area coordinators introduce themselves. Yes, if anybody else wants to sit down, there are some on the sides and in the balcony. Also, I want to tell you who some   we have some guests from the civilian community who want to help us and have been very kind in offering to do so. I want to tell you about the government leaders that a small group of us have seen since we've been here in town this week. I want to ask a few people to share very briefly some of the ideas for their projects that have seemed to work out particularly well in their communities. And we want to talk about formalizing our organization so that we can do the things that we want to do more efficiently and effectively. And make some announcements at the end. First of all, I want to express gratitude to Senator Dole, and he is not here, was not able to make it this morning and I certainly understand why. But if it were not for Senator Dole from Kansas, we would not have had the occasion to be here. And I certainly know that you all feel the gratitude that I feel and I know that if we could send letters of appreciation to Senator Bob Dole from Kansas. I think that he is very deserving of them. [applause] It was also very, very nice of him to accord me the honor of being honorary co-chairman. And it was really honorary. I did not do any of the work, but the girls here in Washington did a tremendous amount, and I want to mention them in just a few minutes. Also this morning I have- I invited Congressman Dickinson to come so that we could express our gratitude to him for the special order that he arranged in the House of Representatives last September. Congressman Dickinson is not in Washington this morning, but his assistant, Mr. Jay Stein, is with us. And Congressman Dickinson went out on a limb in Congress and took some positive action and arranged the special order back in September when we were trying very hard to catch the attention and so forth of Congress. And I think he deserves a special commendation for laying his loyalty on the line, so to speak, and Mr. Stein- [applause] This is Mr. Jay Stein, would you have anything you'd like to say?

Jay Stein:
Thank you very much, Miss Stockdale. I'd just like to read a telegram which the Congressman sent to Senator Dole yesterday, and he regrets that he could not have been there last night. He says, "your efforts on behalf of our POWs and MIAs are commendable. I wish you and the other distinguished organizers of the Appeal for International Justice for American POWs and MIAs in Southeast Asia every success. I'm sure you know of my past and continuing efforts in this vital area of concern for these servicemen and their families. Let me assure you that I have renewed hope and will work tirelessly until these brave men are at home with their families. I sincerely regret that I will not be present tonight due to a long-standing commitment in Alabama. However, all members of my Washington staff will be on hand, and I certainly shall be present in spirit. My prayers go with you for a successful evening." Also, I think I'd like to pay tribute to a lady who's not in town today. She really got us involved in this is more than anyone else. And that's Mrs. Pat Mearns. And she has done an outstanding job, I think, for the organization and we just, I d just like to recognize that that she got us involved in this and we d like to pay a special tribute to her. [applause] You can be assured of our continuing concern and help in any way possible. If we can be of help, just pick up the telephone and call us or write us a letter and we'll do what we can. Thank you very much.[applause]

Stockdale:
I talked to Pat on the telephone just a few days before I left home and she's, as you know, just made an absolutely marvelous, remarkable contribution to our cause. And she has traveled miles and miles and miles, and she is tired and I said, "Pat, are you going to go?" And she said, "I just don't see how I can make it." And she said, "Well, if you say you think that I should go, I'll go," and I said, "Pat, I think you should do whatever you want to do and feel is best for you and the children," but I really want to recognize the wonderful contribution she has made, along with many, many other people, in helping our cause. I also at this time would like to ask Kathy Ploughman, Candy Parrish, and Joanne Vincent to stand up, because they did the hard work about the housing and the work with Senator Dole's office here in Washington. Would those three ladies stand up? [applause] I'm not sure they all even made it this morning, and it's certainly understandable. I also want to express our gratitude to the Casualty Office [laughs], the poor things, to the casualty officers who have just done such a wonderful job with transportation and trying to solve our problems and so forth. And I don't know how many of them are here this morning, but Captain Webster from the Navy Casualty Office, Major Hastings from the Marines, Major Eskridge from the Army, and whoever is representing Colonel Luther here in Washington for the Air Force. Colonel Gretch. We certainly thank all of the casualty officers very much. [applause] We of course want to express our appreciation to Mr. Perot for everything that he has done for us. [applause] He had to leave on an airplane at 6:00 this morning and said to express his regrets that he could not be here personally. But Mr. Murphy Martin, it can just stay for a few moments and we want to express- have him express our personal gratitude to Mr. Perot. And then Mr. Perot had given me a message to give to the families. And I'm very happy that Mr. Martin is here to do that for Mr. Perot.[applause]

Murphy Martin:
Mr. Perot is indeed sorry that he could not be with you in person this morning, but he had a long-standing commitment in the Pensacola area and he did leave at 6:00. But he did ask that we remind you, when you return to your homes, to please keep in mind, if you would, what he requested yesterday on your behalf before the Subcommittee on Foreign Relations in the House. To write your congressmen and elected officials to be sure that they follow through if you are in harmony with his thinking on this. Number one, that without hesitation, and as soon as possible, they call a joint session of Congress to hear from representatives of your group and an all-day session regarding the Prisoner of War issue. Number two, that you call to their attention again the requests made in the Subcommittee s favorable initial reaction to, if space is available, the placing of life-size replicas of prison facilities to be found in South Vietnam used by the Vietcong and those used in the north to detain your husbands and relatives. He wants this there in your behalf as a constant reminder not only to the lawmakers, but to the tourists who visit this nation's capital to know what your men and relatives are enduring in their behalf. Also, he requested each congressional session is opened with prayer, and he asked that the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action be remembered each time a session of Congress is opened in that daily prayer, and if you would please remind your elected officials of this. And finally, he requested that each person seeking public office in this election year include publicly in his platform his stand on the Prisoner of War and Missing in Action issue. And those of you in the various geographic areas of this country, if you would clip from your papers, these candidates  stand on this issue and forward it to our office so we can do a master log on the candidates that have said this and the candidates that have said that and then forward this information to Hanoi, that too will be additional pressure and a constant reminder to them. Again, in behalf of Mr. Perot and United We Stand, it has been a real thrill to be with you here. And we say to you as a group and also individually when we in our office at anytime can help any of you, we do hope that you'll let us hear from you. Thank you very much.[applause]

Stockdale:
Senator Dole is with us.[applause continues] Senator Dole has just come in and we want to express such deep gratitude to him and also to Mr. Bob Rabine, who was the coordinator for the whole event last night, and they both have just done such a wonderful job. And as I said earlier, Senator Dole, if it had not been for the event that you arranged, we could not have all come here and had a chance to meet together. And we certainly are so deeply grateful to you and Mr. Rabine, can you come out so that we can say thank you? [applause]

Bob Dole:
[inaudible] Yeah, there are some seats upstairs if you'd rather sit than stand. Well, thank you very much. I did want- Last night we had a very long program, but I think a very great program and whenever you undertake to do anything, as you know, you need help and volunteers, and we had, I would guess, 10 to 15 staff members from various congressional offices. And we needed someone to sort of control that, and so being from Kansas, I looked for a Kansan. And I found Bob Rabine, who's on the staff, the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee on the House side. At least he was on the staff. He hasn't been much on the staff the last 30 days and he may be fired, but he was most helpful. And I certainly appreciate his assistance and I want to also thank Congressman Harley Staggers from West Virginia, who was most sympathetic and was kind enough to permit Bob to help us out. So, thanks again, Bob, for all your help. [applause] We made it very clear at the outset that we were trying to play this right down the middle. It was a nonpartisan, non-ideological program. I'm a Republican. I've talked to Larry O'Brien, the Democrat National Chairman. I said, please give me a telegram from Hubert Humphrey and LBJ. And the telegram did come from former Vice President Humphrey and I think I should read it this time. I don't know why I didn't receive it last night, I thought maybe it might have come collect [laughter] but it says, "This tribute to our American soldiers, Prisoners of War or Missing in Action in Vietnam, is truly a significant event. This gathering should demonstrate clearly to the government of North Vietnam that the American people do not regard the treatment of our prisoners as humane. Fair treatment of men involved in armed conflict and communication with their families is a right, not a privilege, not a favor, under the Geneva Conventions. North Vietnam has not honored his treaty obligations and the American people deeply protest this refusal. This meeting testifies to that fact. I share your concern for these brave men, and I join you in this effort on their behalf. Hubert Humphrey." And I think it is a very fine and a gracious act for the former vice president. [applause] I failed to acknowledge last night, Doctor Charles Mosher, and if he's here this morning, I would just like to add that Doctor Mosher worked very hard on the initial meeting in February, February 21. And it wasn't through any fault of his that the people did not respond, but he had limited resources and had very little, if any, help on Capitol Hill. And I intended to introduce him last night and make that statement, but I failed to do so and I apologize for that. But he was the inspiration for the second meeting. And so, I think he had a very direct role in what I feel was a very successful meeting last night. Another group that's been most helpful has been Fairchild Hiller. And [applause] I might say that they volunteered to help. They were not looking for publicity. I'm certain some of you may have seen the full-page ads that appeared in the Washington Post and the Evening Star. In addition, they were very helpful -- we had a Prisoner of War demonstrations in both, I think, the House office buildings and the Senate office buildings. Displays, not demonstrations, for people to see. So, they've been most helpful and again I apologize for not acknowledging that last evening, but I m certain they were not seeking acknowledgement. They did it because they believe in you and they have faith in you. They have faith in your sons and your husbands and your fathers, and they wanted to be of assistance. And again, I say, I thank these gentlemen and thank their president very much. [applause] And then finally, I know you're grateful. And I, as I said last night, I hope this is a continuation of something most meaningful. We didn't have any great budget, but we did need to spend between 4 and $5000 and we had some help and I want to acknowledge again that we had contributions from the VFW, the American Legion, the National Guard Association, Reserve officers, North American Rockwell, some friends I know in Kansas, Joe Gregg, who has, see, Joe Gregg from Kansas City, has a relative here, is she here? [pause] You're supposed to say hello to me, yes. [laughter] And Miller Nichols is another Kansas City man, and the Disabled American Veterans, the Order of the Purple Heart, a Transworld Airline, the Kansas American Legion, the Kansas VFW, Ford Motor Company, Jerry Vaughn, J. D. Williams, the Marine Corps League, Claude Wild with Gulf Oil Company. Just some anonymous contribution from our Kansas City, Kansas. The Fleet Reserve Association, the AMVETS, the Jewish War Veterans, and Mark Robeson, from my state of Kansas. In addition, I'm certain there are others. Fairchild Hiller, of course, was most helpful, but in other words, we were able to contact these people, explain very briefly what we were doing and they responded very quickly and, again, this indicates to me that Americans do care, and that with your patience and the patience you've displayed in the past, we hope we can demonstrate this in the future. Now, I had a host of, and I hope you'll recognize that there are probably many members of Congress in the audience last night that I failed to acknowledge. Many came and we didn't know they were coming. So, if, when you write your nasty letter to your congressman- [laughter] I'm sure you wouldn't, but if anyone should write such a letter, or if you should see such a letter, he may have been there, so you may want to leave a little hedge in your letter. [laughter] And he can probably- have him secure an affidavit or something that he was there. [laughter] But we had messages last night that I couldn't even acknowledge. From Senator Murphy, General Westmoreland, Senator Howard Baker, Senator John Sherman Cooper, Senator Joseph Tydings, Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator Ted Stevens, House Minority Leader Jerry Ford, Congressman Albert Watson of South Carolina, Robert Seamans, Secretary of the Air Force, he was at the reception, Governor Ronald Reagan of California and his message was hand delivered by Mr. and Mrs. Mills, I assume they're still here, and I didn't have time to acknowledge that. John Chaffee, Congressman Bill Nichols of Alabama, Congressman Obey of Wisconsin, Congressman Mendel Rivers, who is your friend, as you know, and just couldn't be here. [applause] Congressman O. C. Fisher of Texas, today is the Texas Primary Day and there are people there concerned about their future and they couldn't be there. Congressman Garner Shriver of Kansas, and Garner Shriver had to leave because today in Kansas, and this is one way you can do things, is having a meeting in his district, patterned after the meeting we had last night, in an effort to alert the Kansans in Wichita and Hutchinson in that area to the plight of the POWs and the plight of the Missing in Action Americans. And so this might be one suggestion that other members of Congress could take and use. Congressman E. Y. Berry of South Dakota, Congressman Ben Blackburn of Georgia, Congressman Bill Dickinson, who was one of the early members of Congress with reference to your problems and I understand his administrative assistant will be here later this morning. He just couldn't be here, he couldn't get away from a conflict he had. But I talked with him personally. And Congressman Durward Hall of Missouri. And I'm certain there are others in that list that I-- and I have all these messages that I'll give to Mrs. Stockdale or someone. Telegrams and letters and a letter from Governor Reagan, telegrams from various congressmen. Generals, Admirals. I didn't know we had so many generals. [laughter] But they're great men and they were all interested in some -- in fact, I understand we had 26 General officers in the audience last night. I don't know how many Admirals. I wasn't in the Navy. And I can't tell what those stripes mean, but there were a lot of Admirals there. [laughter] And vice admirals, but above all, there were thousands of good, good American people who are concerned about your husbands and your sons and your fathers. So, I simply wanted to come down to make some acknowledgements that I had missed last night. And I would just ask, not because of any role I've had, but do you think the program last night was successful?[applause]
[both Dole and Stockdale speaking-unclear]

Stockdale:
Have a nice trip. [pause] I might, it might seem appropriate at this time to say that many of the senators and congressmen are very anxious and are becoming more anxious all the time, which I think is gratifying, to know who among their constituents are relatives of the Missing in Action and Prisoners of War. And as you may remember, some time ago, the casualty departments had us fill out a form about releasing your names. That is, could they release your name to anybody? Could they release your name to congressmen and senators? Could they release your name? And there were several categories. Now the congressmen and senators want very much to know who you are in your own districts, in their districts, so that they can help you. And this could help our whole cause, but if you signed that list some time ago saying that the Defense Department did not have your permission to release your name to your congressmen and senators, they cannot do so. So maybe if you would like to have your congressmen and senators be more helpful, let the Defense Department know that through the individual branches of the service, let your casualty officers know that that's alright with you. Even if you signed some time ago that you didn't want to have it happen, you'd like to change that. Now I would like to introduce some of the people from the Defense Department, and I don't know whether Mr. Sieverts is here from the State Department yet. But General James, of course, has done a wonderful, wonderful piece of work with just plain getting us here. And it's the transportation that he arranged that made it possible for so many more of us to be here than might have been able to come otherwise. And General James? Where'd he go? [laughter] He's probably out arranging for the planes going back.[applause]

General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.:
My good friend and former. You know what I said? Former fighter pilot. Like me, now he's flying a desk around. Former Thunderbird 1, Ralph Maglione is here this morning and he's been doing a lot of things behind the scenes, quietly but very effectively. And it's guys like that that you got to have, and he's got that special understanding because he's been there many times himself. And there's Ralph standing in the back now. He's in the House Legislative Liaison- (inaudible) [applause] Many of those guys are members of the fighter pilots' fraternity, which is the greatest fraternity in the world, in fact. [applause] Ralph knows personally, and they're great friends of his. There are a couple of points that I want to make this morning. Ralph had just come up to give me one point that some people had said. That they had been advised that it was DoD [Department of Defense] policy that wives not take part in and next of kin not take part in efforts such as this and that they stay away from meetings and all. That is not correct, and that's the mild way to put it. [applause] We advise you only when asked. On certain people, we try to get the information. If somebody contacts you for something and you ask us, we will try to use our channels to find out if these people are for real, if they're really a plus or whether they are trying to exploit you. We look into these things and we will advise only along those lines. We don't tell any wives or any families that they must do anything. You are citizens of the United States of America and you do anything you want to do. [applause] And the Department of Defense is here to help and to back you up in what you want to do. And that's the role we play. You are the masters of your own destiny. And we are trying to help you shape that destiny by doing all of the things that people suggested last night. And there's another point, and a very, very important point. You know, I grew up in Pensacola, Florida. Very lovely place in the world, down around Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach, if people have ever been down that way. [applause] We swim around there a lot and there were a lot of sharks that used to kind of challenge us for who owned that gulf out there every once and a while. [laughter] And I remember my brother telling me once when we were swimming around where a ship was dumping some bilge, and that's about the worst place you could swim. If you want to meet some sharks right quick, you start swimming around where there's a bunch of garbage in the water and there seems to be too much these days. But anyway, we were swimming around out there and we saw a fin and I started stroking for the little old raft we had over there and he said 'you better turn around and see where that shark's going first, because the way you turn a shark is you hit him right on the nose, you don't have a chance of out swimming him.' [laughter] So I learned early that to turn a shark, if you didn't have anything else, you hit him right on the nose. So, if you've got problems, you got to meet 'em and hit 'em right on the nose. The worst problem you can ever have in an organization as large as this is disunity. Now, there's been a splendid show of unity, last night and today in the group. I must admit in my travels so far around the country, and I'm meeting that shark head on now, I heard too many signs of disunity and people who were criticizing. Some people who were dissatisfied, and I would say right away if you're dissatisfied with this part of the thing, who have you talked to about it besides me? And too often the word comes back, 'nobody, except among ourselves,' and then that tends to spread the disunity. And that is the worst thing that can happen to an organization. You are as powerful, and you will prosper in proportion, as you can stick together and speak with one voice. [applause] You must always remember that in any organization as large as this and many smaller ones, everybody's not going to agree with everybody on everything. And don't stand around and throw a bunch of criticism if you don't have some suggested answers. Anybody can criticize. [applause] We go out and we try to contact as many people  I say we -- I'm talking about our office now, Public Affairs and the DoD, and Mr. Dan Henkin, who is the Deputy -- who is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, takes as much time as he can, anytime he can, to talk to groups or people individually. I have seen him roasted pretty forcibly and sometimes not very courteously, and that's an understatement, by the very people that he loves so much and wants to help so much. I have my job, and I have my charter and firm terms because of Secretary Dan Henkin, who said, 'you take time to do this.' And we got a lot of other clients in DoD, but he says none of them are more important than you and Mr. Melvin R. Laird feels that way, too. And when you kick those guys, you're kicking your friends, you know? My dad used to come home sometime. And he was very tired, as I know a lot of you wives are and he had heard too many of the answers during his workday that he didn't want to hear or weren't solving his problem. And he was a little disgusted with things. And on top of that, we might say something intemperate. And I've seen him, on occasion, turn around and kick the dog, who is the best friend he had, and shout at us, who loved him very much. Well, we didn't think that was very great of the old man. But we didn't stop loving him. And we're not going to stop loving you because you shout at us sometime. But we're going to tell you about it. [laughter then applause] Another young man, to Archie Gratch, and I know a lot of you girls know. [applause] He's the Air Force Casualty Officer and I hate that term. It looks like we could have a better term for that, but I guess that's got a lot of history. [applause] I guess that's got a lot of history behind it. Now that everybody knows what the casualty officer is, we can't change it now. He's a good guy. I'd like to call him, and maybe you could say, you could adopt a pet name for him. Something nice, like talking to your angel rather than talking to my casualty officer. [laughter] But Archie Gratch and all of his counterparts in the Army, the Navy, the Marines. These men work so hard, and they try so much to answer the questions within the guidelines that they have, and there is still a need for security. There is a need to protect your interest. We can't tell you the things that we're doing now and we're doing a heck of a lot more. We have a heck of a lot more projects and actions going right now than we could ever describe to you and talk to you about because we might kill them aboarding. But you rest assured that people are working in your interests and the people that you're talking to on those telephones and those offices, as in my office and in the rest. And listen, you're not going to get any novice when you chew on old chap. So if you got to chew somebody, chew at me because I've been had by experts, you see, and it doesn't bother- [laughter then applause] But you remember that those young men, the Gratches and those people, are your friends and they love you. And they work hard hours and they live it with you and they know the problem. And they die a little bit inside every time they have to deliver that terrible message. And it becomes a thing. It takes a little bit out of a guy and multiply your problem, your own personal problem by thousands, and that's what you got when you got his job, because he's hearing them all and he's concerned about them all. And that's a big, tough, nerve racking, coffee drinking job, and sometimes something harder that when you get ready. But remember that and try to appreciate these people. No, I'm not preaching at you, I'm just telling it like it is. Because these are the things you've got to hear and you've got to know. Now, however you want to set up your organization, that's your business. And we're not about to tell you how to do it, but you set it up like you want to and then we're going to back you and whatever you set it up, but set it up without rancor, set it up without ill feeling, set it up without getting divided along parochial lines. We all wear one suit, and that's the suit of the United States of America. [applause] The people that you see here this morning, and there are many others, and I don't want to call   I shouldn't call any special ones of them, but I do see some people who have worked very hard on an idea. I see Bill Orr back there and his friends. Mason Jacks. And they've already talked about what Fairchild Hiller has been doing. North American Rockwell. Bud Mahurin, is Bud here this morning? Bud Mahurin s the President of the American Fighter Pilots Association, and that includes Navy fighter pilots, Marine fight pilots, all the chapters in the fraternity. And Bud is working very hard on a series of things. There are representatives from the River Rats back there who also include- [applause] And for those of you who don't know, if you see those buttons, the River Rats, that doesn't mean we're bad guys. That's the name we had for everybody that went north of that red. That's where the Sams could reach you and the heavy artillery could reach you, and it got a little more interesting on days, and the things that happened to you, you were more than likely to end up as a guest in that terrible place. And so it's not lessening the role or sloughing off the importance of the people that were South of that river. But these were guys who joined together in another little separate fraternity, chapter of the fraternity, for a little more concerted action. And one of their main efforts is directed in the POW area. And they keep saying, 'What can we do? These people and all of the other people? What can we do? What can we do specifically?' And that's the toughest question to answer for me, and DoD, Mr. Laird, and everybody else who wants to say specifically, you can do this, this, and this. But as long as they are willing, that's the big thing, so far as you're concerned. And we say right now, what you can do is stand by. And when I tell you what you can do, baby, don't ask me why, move out, and get it done. [laughter then applause] And we're going to come up with specifics whenever we can. I can't stand generalities. I can't stand a lot of rhetoric that's backed up by nothing but words. I can't stand going out there on the road and meeting with you girls and telling you the same old stuff all the time, just like you can't stand to hear it. So dadgummit, I've got to do something about it and I want to find out what it is and when I find out what it is, we're going to move. And you can bet your sweet life on that. [applause] There are many ways to fight. And the toughest kind of fighting is not done with guns. I know that side of the art very well. But that's not my business anymore. They can get a good fighter pilot for a lot less than they're paying me these days, and that's what they decided to do. They gave me a much tougher job, to fight alongside you. To achieve an end that will be the proudest achievement I have ever made in my life. And we can bring it off, I think. But we've got to have faith and hope and perseverance and charity and love. And love. And we gotta hang in there until we get this thing done and get those guys home. And that's what we're going to do.[applause]

Stockdale:
Thank you, General Chappie. I don't know whether Mr. Sieverts -- has Mr. Sieverts come in by any chance? [pause] Probably he is involved otherwise and couldn't make it, but he was going to try to come over and he may still come over and be here to try to answer questions at the end. And Colonel Work is with us this morning and Colonel Kegley from the Defense Department and these gentlemen will be here to answer questions at the end, is that right, gentlemen? And Bob, Lieutenant Bob Frishman is also here, and he will stay afterward to answer any questions. And we don't know where Douglas Hegdahl is. [laughter]He's missing.[laughter] We were talking about the airplane from San Diego, which had a long and difficult trip, but we loved it, General James.[laughter] At least we got here. But anyway, I didn't come on that plane, but Doug Hegdahl and Bob Frishman came with the 32 ladies from San Diego. [laughter] And I was talking to Doug. He lives right down the street from me now for a little while, and I was talking to him before he left. And I said, 'Well, Doug, I'll see you in Washington.' And he said, 'Yes,' he said, 'unless I fall out of the airplane.'[laughter then applause] So it does alarm me a little bit that he isn't here, [laughter] but he's just a wonderful young man. And of course, Lieutenant Bob Frishman is out there in San Diego, too. So, we really are very fortunate to have their counsel and advice about everything, as well as their good senses of humor. Now I would like to ask the area coordinators if they would come on up and just very briefly introduce themselves and then go back and take their places. And I would like to do it as quickly as possible, and I would also like to say that we would like to have an area coordinator from every state if we can. So, if you would like to volunteer as an area coordinator from your state, if you would give your name to Mary Wynn over here at the end, write it on a slip of paper. Then we will try to- I think we can operate more efficiently if we can have a better division of labor. So would the area coordinators just come on up and say who you are and what your area is. And those of you who are here that don't know who your coordinators are. And if you would like to be in touch with your coordinators, if you would send me your name and address on a postcard, and just say that you would like to be on the mailing list, and the address that you can send it to is Box 9791, San Diego, CA. Box 9791, San Diego, CA. But if you just send it to the National League of Families San Diego, the postmaster gets it to me.

Marianne Fuller:
I'm Marianne Fuller from Florida, whose 2 senators were nonpartisan last night. They didn't come.[applause]

Jill Lockhart:
I'm Jill Lockhart. I'm the area coordinator for Louisiana and Arkansas.[applause]

Carolyn Cushman:
I'm Carolyn Cushman, area coordinator for Nebraska and for the great state of Kansas, whose senator so wonderfully sponsored this trip.[applause]

Ruth Miller:
I'm Ruth Miller from Missouri.[applause]

Bonnie Campbell:
Bonnie Campbell from Ohio.[applause]

Irene Davis:
Irene Davis, New York and New Jersey.[applause]

Darlene Seahorn:
I'm Darlene Seahorn from Oregon. [applause]

Leland Torkelson:
Mrs. Leland Torkelson from North and South Dakota.[applause]

Doris Brickell:
Doris Brickell from Mississippi.[applause]

Shirley O'Dell:
Assistant area coordinator from Michigan, Shirley O'Dell.[applause]

Bonnie Singleton:
I'm Bonnie Singleton, area coordinator for those active and industrious girls from Texas and Oklahoma.[applause]

Boone C. Fulham:
I'm Boone C. Fulham and I'm area coordinator for Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee.[applause]

Jeri Makushin:
I'm Jeri Makushin from Montgomery, Alabama area coordinator, and I'm disappointed that Congressman Dixon couldn't be here. But I know that you all realize how much he's done for all of us.[applause]

May Rose Evans:
I'm May Rose Evans from Northern California. [applause]

Dorothy Button:
I'm Dorothy Button, area coordinator for the state of Illinois.[applause]

Gina A. Reynolds:
I'm Gina A. Reynolds, area coordinator for Pennsylvania. I'd like to introduce my co-coordinator, who is my husband, Mr. Cyril F. Reynolds.[applause]

Mary Dodge:
I'm Mary Dodge from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana. [laughs] I got five. All the mountain states.[applause]

Ilene Coymere:
I m Ilene Coymere, from Long Island, New York.[applause]

Billie Hichu:
Billie Hichu from North and South Carolina. [applause]

Carol Hansen:
I'm Carol Hansen, area coordinator in El Toro, California. [applause]

Carol North:
Carol North from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and -- [laughter] there's six and I can only think of five. Rhode Island.[applause]

Nancy McKamey:
Nancy McKamey from Lemoore, California.[applause]

Karen Butler:
I'm Karen Butler and I'm the outgoing area coordinator from San Diego, of which Debbie Burns will be taking over.[applause]

Mary Crow:
I'm Mary Crow from Virginia, Louise Mulligan's assistant, Air Force Assistant. She isn't here, and she has done so much to make this rally possible that I didn't want her to go unmentioned. She's done a lot for us.[applause]

Stockdale:
Thank you very much. We'll have a list of the coordinators. We'll send out a new list, a revised list of the area coordinators with the letter that we'll send out just as soon as we can after we get back home and start cranking it out on our handy dandy machines. Louise Mulligan had to leave in the middle of the program last night because one of her six sons is making his first Communion, was making his first Communion this morning at 8:00. And so she had to get the last plane back to Norfolk last night. And of course, and she was among the instigators of the rally here and so forth, and has worked very, very hard and was very, very sorry that she couldn't be here. She has a tremendous area, several states, and we would certainly like to have one from each state. Also with us today are some people from the civilian community, some of whom have been mentioned and some of whom have not, if they are here, I think they are, and these gentlemen would like to help us formalize our organization and be more efficient about the things we are doing and help us in any way that they can, and help us with advice and counsel about some of the ways we might be more effective and be more united in our efforts so that we can be more effective. And one of these gentlemen, who is now in the civilian community, you probably know very well because he was with the Defense Department, what I called the Washington roadshow, when they went around and talked to all of us and gave us the briefing. Mr. Charles Havens, who is an attorney in private practice now. [applause] Also, I think Mr. Bill Orr, is Mr. Bill Orr up in the back, do I see him? Yes, Mr. Bill Orr up in the back. [applause] Mr. Jim Monroe. [applause] Mr. Jim Monroe is up in the back and Colonel Work is here in a dual capacity today because he's here as a representative from the Defense Department, but he is going to be a civilian before too long and he wants very much to help in the civilian capacity. And there are others from Fairchild Hiller and other companies who want very much to be helpful and we are most appreciative of their very kind offers of help. Very quickly, I want to tell you about a small group of us who knew we were going to be in Washington the week before, preceding these events and committed ourselves to do this, wrote ahead for some appointment with government leaders so that we could assure ourselves that they were working hard for us and we have seen, five of us have been- I think they were wonderful to see us and they were seeing us in behalf of all of you. They weren't seeing us as individuals. I think they were just seeing us as paying tribute to the seriousness of the problem and so forth. And this week we have seen Secretary Laird. We spent about an hour and 20 minutes with him. Secretary Rogers spent an equal amount of time with us, the Attorney General, with whom we spent- had a nice long visit. Under Secretary of State Richardson and General Hughes and Mr. John Holdridge, who are two of President Nixon's assistants. They are assistants to President Nixon. We went to emphasize the frustration so many of us feel, and to urge them to be ever diligent in their efforts, and you just can't visit with those men and not know that they would like to bring our men home more than anybody else. They are just so sincere and so many things are being done. And I think it was-- we particularly wanted to emphasize not to forget about South Vietnam and Laos. [applause] And then, you know, I know that the people who are involved with South Vietnam and Laos feel that they are the forgotten of the forgotten and I think it's most understandable. [applause] And the leaders said that they understood it too. And of course, the reason we seemingly- so much of the emphasis is put on Hanoi, is that if you get in the outer gate, usually the others follow thereafter, but you know, there's somebody who are the forgotten of the forgotten of the forgotten. And I don't know whether you even know that they are part of us and exist. And they are civilians who are prisoners as the result of the conflict. And if any of them are here today, would they stand up? Is Gail Meyer here? Or any of the families of the civilians who are prisoners? [pause] I think Gail was here. Her husband was captured at Hue and she's in our group out in San Diego. And there are some. And they are very much with us. I was going to take a little bit of time to ask some of you very briefly to share some of the projects that you feel have been most helpful around the country. I'm kind of worried about time. What do you think? (inaudible) Okay. I think we'll postpone that and go to the next item on the agenda first. I mean, next. As you know, we have been very informal in our organization. And we feel that in order to be more effective and more united, we would like to formalize our efforts so that everyone's interests can be better represented and that we can have shared responsibility. In no way do I ever want to give the impression that I'm trying to run the show, and I really have got to have some shared responsibility. And there's a tremendous amount of talent in this group and I think that if we can formalize our organization that we can be more effective and we need a better division of labor so that the area coordinators who have really done a staggering job of reprinting materials and so forth, we want to take that burden away from them. And we want to be more efficient so that when others, so many more are now saying we are not families, but we want to help, and we want to make it very easy for us to pass on very clearly what other groups can do. Some other groups have been set up, Concern for Prisoners of War Incorporated. And I can't think, there are several names, but we want to make it very easy to put things right into the hands of others that they can do, because of course they are very deeply concerned. The Friends of the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. And the coordinators have met, a couple of times, those who were in town to talk about, to explore ways that we might best go about formalizing our organization and Mr. Charles Havens has volunteered to give us legal counsel with this and as I say, we have these concerned civilians who would like very much to give us any of the help we can in the way of advice and counsel, and I'm going to ask Mr. Havens if he will report on what seems to be some of the best ways to go about formalizing our organization, Charlie?

Charles Havens:
Thank you, Sybil. You don't need any inspiration to get any kind of organization going, but I found sitting up here on your side of the table, so to speak, after 3 and a half years at Defense, I found it very reassuring to find the attitude and the individuals and Defense Department as personified by General James, and I've just- [applause] And it's that kind of offer of assistance that has prompted many of you, and especially the area coordinators, to find a more formalized manner of existence which will, number one, assist you in mapping out your goals, help all of you to participate, share the administrative burden, provide tax relief to those who might want to channel contributions to these good works in behalf of your men, and to work very closely with outside existing organizations, such as veterans groups and possibly citizens groups which have not yet been formed. Now I will be very brief. I've stated the reasons why many of you have expressed a need for a more formalized organization. By formalizing your organization, you do not have to detract from the very unique and personal nature that all of you bring to meetings such as this and to the functions that you pursue. In fact, in the preliminary meetings that have been held by the area coordinators, it has been the view of, almost unanimous view, of all those who have attended that you want to preserve the very unique character that you now have, families of men who are prisoners or missing. And that you want to set up this very personal group so that it can deal effectively with other groups in the United States that want to help you. This can be done and it is something that work can proceed immediately to that end. Now all formalization consists of, and here I'll be very general, is a charter or an articles of incorporation in which you set forth your name, your purpose, your qualifications for membership, and a few other general provisions. It consists also of bylaws. And the bylaws are the operative or the mechanical papers which set forth how you will conduct your business, how your officers will be elected, who your officers will be, what your Board of Directors will consist of, and the committees through which your organization will function. You don't have to stop functioning as you are until the formal paperwork is completed on the articles of incorporation and the bylaws. In fact, it's contemplated by Sybil and the others that you will not cease functioning in any regard, but that you will proceed concurrently to formalize your existence. How will this be done? Obviously, 500 people can't draft a single piece of paper within any permissible time period. The manner to proceed, which will present the best opportunity for representation of the various geographic territories in the United States as well as distribution representing all of the parts of Southeast Asia with which we are concerned and the services and the different categories of missing and prisoner. This group, consisting of no less than 10 to keep it representative, and probably with an outside limit of 20 or 30, will be designated an ad hoc working group. It will be the group that throws together the original papers, the original draft to formalize your existence. Mrs. Powers and Mary Wynn are taking names, and have taken some names, as a result of our two preliminary meetings, of those of you who want to be on that ad hoc group or who have a representative who might not be here today, but who perhaps could serve on that group. These names of these individuals should be given to Mrs. Powers or Mrs. Wynn before the end of today's session. Service on the ad hoc committee will require a commitment of time in the very near future. Within the next 30 days, there will probably be two meetings in Washington to draft the initial papers. Membership in the ad hoc committee will be held open for a period of 10 days to ensure representation. This working organization will then prepare the preliminary articles of incorporation, charter, and bylaws, and, together with the normal reporting process that goes on among the area coordinators at this time, we'll get this information to all of you. It is contemplated that within six months, there will be either another meeting such as this, pulling all of you together like a town meeting, or some form of mail communication, which will ensure the will of the majority in the organization of your group. In the meantime, Mrs. Stockdale will continue to serve in the function she now serves in, and any inquiries or suggestions should be directed to her as soon as possible. If possible, before you leave to go home today. It's not a formidable task. It's not a task that should detract in any manner from your individuality, the manner in which you go back home and work with the veterans groups, the manner in which you yourself speak out in your cause. It is simply a means of ensuring a more orderly conduct of business, continuity beyond individuals, more adequate representation, and a more effective voice. For example, the very formal committees which would be set up within this organization would necessarily include a government relations committee, whose responsibility it would be to ensure that the Pentagon and the State Department and all other agencies in the federal government and state government keep on the ball. There would be a Congressional relations committee which would perform the same function to the Congress, and the list of additional committees is limited only by the imagination of the ad hoc group and those of you who wish to submit your written suggestions. For the time being, I believe that that's all that needs to be said. Sybil is prepared, as I am, to respond to any specific inquiries that you might have. I would counsel against questions which might be of too general a nature and obviously I'm not in a position to answer. I want to stress that this is not my group, it's your group. I'm here because I was asked, and because this is something that I want to do. When I left the Pentagon, I said that my interest would not cease and it hasn't. Thank you.[applause]

Stockdale:
Thank you, Charlie. General James has met a photographer from ABC out in the hall, who wanted to come in and just photograph as we are sitting here in groups and so forth and General James thinks it's okay. If you would particularly not like to be photographed sitting here, you may leave or step over behind the wall or something. But we thought that it would be good for our cause and we do appreciate very much [laughter] the interest of the press and the media, who have been most compassionate and most helpful when we were able to communicate to them the problems and the truth about what is happening to our men and what some of our problems are. I don't think that we had better take the time to have the descriptions because I'm afraid we're running short on time for the buses and the transportation. Some have had to leave already, and we certainly don't want to get it all mixed up. Father Foley, are you still here? Would you come up? I'd like to close, ask you to close with prayer as well as open with prayer. And Father Foley is the brother of a man who is missing. If you would like to volun- remember if we don't have your name and address so that your coordinator can contact you, if you would give that to Mrs. Wynn at the end of the meeting. And if you would like to volunteer to be on the ad hoc working committee to formalize our organization, if you would give your name to Mrs. Powers. And if you have any suggestions that you would like to pass along, would you put them in writing please? Because my memory is getting shorter and shorter and then after we adjourn formally, would the coordinators who can stay for the press conference, and any who are particularly interested, are more than welcome, of course, to stay for the press conference. Kathleen, did you have a question?

Kathleen:
(inaudible)

Stockdale:
Yes, we of course have to have representation even on the ad hoc working committee of missing and prisoners in South Vietnam, missing and prisoners in Laos, missing and prisoners in North Vietnam. When you talk about geographic distribution, as far as I'm concerned, it's the geography of Southeast Asia you're talking about and not the geography of the United States. And then, of course, all of the services. 

Kathleen:
(inaudible)

Stockdale:
Well, if there's any assurance that I can give you, that's the first order of business. [applause] As far as I'm concerned, and I think many others share this, the first order of business is the list, the more than 1100 who don't know. And we have got to get more information from the people in South Vietnam and Laos. And I think that's just the first order of business and it has to be. [applause] And if you are a missing or prisoner representative in South Vietnam and Laos, would you please make a special effort to volunteer for the ad hoc working committee? Because if we don't have volunteers, then of course we'll ask people because we definitely want to make sure that those interests are absolutely represented from the very beginning. [applause] And then, too, we will take a few minutes to try to read some of the messages for people that want to locate one another after we adjourn formally and before we start the press conference. Or maybe we'll have the press conference out in the hall, I'm not quite sure how that's going to work, but I think we'll invite any press that are in in here. And could I ask Father Foley if he would lead us in prayer? And we will have another meeting within six months of all of us.

Father Foley:
Let us pray. God, Almighty Father. We thank you for having inspired many of your children to bring us here today, so that we may indeed be encouraged, and together that we may offer strength and love to those of our families who are far away from us, and who need to know of your love. We thank you, Lord, for all whom you have inspired to do this good work. And we pray that you will help each and every one of us to do our part, that we may indeed be faithful sons and daughters. This we pray to you, Almighty Father, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

Stockdale:
Bob Frishman has a couple of things to say. Just before we disperse, so he just has a couple of words for you. Just before we leave.

Bob Frishman:
There's just a couple of things that I wanted to bring out, and I just wanted to reemphasize and reiterate what General James has said today. What we need is unity, and something to get behind together and work for, all together. Do you think those men up there, and I'm speaking on their behalf, would want you to go out and say things against your government? The men are trying so hard, especially the people like General James, people that I've been working with very closely, and like he said, there are a lot of things that they have in the pot that they just cannot come out and say. I am confident that they are working extremely hard and trying the best that they can. Also, when the government comes out and says something to the Communists, their response is, "Oh, well, this is just what the US imperialists are saying." And it's easy for them to dissuade this type of strength. I believe that the real strength lies in us because the North Vietnamese and the Communists are trying to use the American people to work against each other for their gains. They try to associate themselves with what they call the Progressive Americans. Now, if these same Americans will come out strong in condemning Hanoi for the type of treatment, and their response to the Prisoner of War issue, I believe we'll get some response because basically they just don't want to look bad in America's eyes because they feel that eventually the American people get fed up and we'll pull out of the war. So, if these people band together, condemning Hanoi for the treatment on the Prisoner of War issue, since they don't want to look bad, they might do something about it. And I think it's going to be the response and the hard work of the American people that is really going to bring the chips down the line and so let's all get together, and let's all unite, and let's go back home and work real hard, because we've got a real strong program here and this is really going to be strong. And if we all get together, I think we might get results real soon. So let's all get together and work hard together and try it, okay?[applause]

General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.:
I've got just- I've got just one thing very quickly. I know you've been talked at and talked to enough. I just want to make an announcement for those of you who wish to take advantage of it. We don't have coverage as much as we would like to have from your local papers. The only thing that we can try to do to get that done, there are some local coverage people here, I understand, from various areas they will take your pictures in groups. We have a Defense Department photographer, where's my man from DoD? There he is. Oh, come out here so they can see who you are. And that's what he's here for. And he'll take pictures of your group and you give him, if you can write it down on a little piece of paper before you come to him with your group, so he knows where you're from and we can try to get as many of those out as we can on hometown releases.

Stockdale:
Senator Bowles is on the phone right now, and he would like to talk to Mrs. Carl Carst. Mrs. Carl Carst, is she here? This gentleman right over here with his hand up, if you would go with him, he'll take you to the telephone call.

(inaudible)

Stockdale:
There is a- could I have your attention please? The people who are taking the plane-(audio cut off)