This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu handwritten on page: Leg-pow January 5, 1971 Mr. and Mrs (Redacted) Wichita, Kansas 67203 Dear Mr. and Mrs. (Redacted): I regret the delay in responding to your letter of December 14, a copy of which I had immediately forwarded to Herb Klein to call his attention to this Administration's policy with reference to all American POW's and MIA's. You have, of course, by now received Mr. Klein's response to your wire, but I thought you might also be interested in having a copy of his letter to me. I am, of course, pleased to now have on record a written statement of the Administration's policy not to forget POW's held other than in North Vietnam. Thank you for bringing this omission to my attention, and do let me know if I may be of further assistance in any way. It goes without saying, you may be assured of my continued efforts on behalf of all American POW's and MIA's. Sincerely yours, BOB DOLE U.S. Senate BD:jc Enclosure s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 1 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu handwritten: Copy also sent to (redacted) in Salina s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 2 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON December 29, 1970 Dear Bob: Many thanks for your note of December 18. The lack of reference to prisoners held in other than North Vietnam was an oversight, I regret. It certainly does not reflect the Administration's policy. But, if you look at the total letter, it clearly includes all prisoners of war. The letter accompanied background material intended to build public opinion for prisoner release. Only in the Wichita area was it interpreted otherwise. Most POW wives applauded the effort. Mr. and Mrs. (Redacted) sent me a telegram on their concern, and I have enclosed a copy of my answer to them. With every good wish for the coming year, Sincerely, (signature) Herbert G. Klein Director of Communications for the Executive Branch Honorable Bob Dole United States Senate Washington, D. C. 20510 Enclosure S-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 3 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu December 17, 1970 Dear Mr. and Mrs. (Redacted) I appreciate your telegram and your deep concern for American prisoners of war held by Communist forces. President Nixon is determined to secure the release of all prisoners hold in North and South Vietnam as well as any who might be held in Laos and Cambodia. The Son Tay mission reflects this. No American prisoner of war and no American missing in action has been or ever will be forgotten. We have identified 378 prisoners being held in North Vietnam and 78 we think are held in South Vietnam. Ambassador Bruce, at the President's direction, offered to the Paris representatives of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong to release more than 36,000 of their men in return for probably less than 5,000 Americans and South Vietnamese held by them. They rejected it. The President, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, our representatives at the United Nations and Ambassador Bruce are working continuously to improve the welfare of the American prisoners as well as to secure their release. Many private individuals as well as other officials join in the efforts. Every effort will be made and every avenue will be explored until we have our men back. There is no higher priority in this Administration, I assure you. With best wishes, Sincerely, Herbert G. Klein Director of Communications for the Executive Branch Mr. & Mrs. (Redacted) Wichita, Kansas 67203 s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 4 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON December 1, 1970 Dear Editor: President Nixon is deeply concerned about the fate of our American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam prison camps and the failure of the Government of North Vietnam to abide by the rules of the Geneva Convention. For more than six years, the government of North Vietnam has held American prisoners of war. Little or no word about their fate has reached the United States. Recently, we have learned that increasing numbers of these men have died in these camps. Others may die in the future because of mistreatment. This information underscored the urgency for the immediate release of all prisoners of war, which the President proposed in his address to the nation on October 7, 1970. The President has used all diplomatic channels open to him. Failing to obtain their release through these channels, the President authorized the recent rescue mission into North Vietnam. During the past twenty-three months, the Nixon Administration has made a concerted effort to alleviate the intolerable conditions of our servicemen held in North Vietnam. I am enclosing a) a chronology of events, b) selected editorials on the recent raid and c) comments on the raid by families of our men held and mail statistics while held will be helpful to you in your writing. Obtaining the release of our men held in North Vietnam is a goal which deserves the support of all Americans. With best wishes, Sincerely, (signature) Herbert G. Klein Director of Communications for the Executive Branch Enclosures s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 5 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu WHITE HOUSE MAIL AND TELEGRAM COUNT REGARDING POW RESCUE ATTEMPT December 1, 1970 Pro Con Letters 1,271 124 Telegrams 724 51 Totals 1,995* 175 *58 of pro total are from relatives of POW's or MIA's COMMENTS BY FAMILY OF AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR FOLLOWING RAID INTO NORTH VIETNAM Washington Post 11/25/70 -- "Mrs. Bobby G. Vinson, national coordinator of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia said the families would 'surely be heartened by this new evidence of concern on the part of the administration. Despite the failure of the rescue mission, it was daring and courageous in concept and execution, and we owe a debt of gratitude to those volunteers who were willing to risk their own lives in trying to aid our husbands and sons. " UPI 11/24/70 Wellfleet, Mass. -- "Mrs. Carol North said today that the rescue attempt 'means that someone finally had decided to do something.' She is chairman of the board of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia." ABC-TV 11/24/70 -- Mrs. John K. Hardy (wive of POW) "These men - we have information that 22 of these 350 men that we know are prisoners in North Vietnam have died. That is a pretty high attrition rate. We've got - we've got to get them out, one way or another and the North Vietnamese has to know that this country is standing behind them, and that they are not forgotten." ABC-TV 11/24/70 -- Mrs. Mary Ann Waters "It certainly did make me feel good to know that somebody was willing to risk their life to go in for them. When I saw that Colonel on television last night, I couldn't help it, I cried to think that someone was willing to give up his life for my husband and for the men over there." s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 6 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu PW/MIAS - EFFORTS AND RESULTS SINCE JANUARY 1969 A. Statistical Comparison January, 1969 November, 1970 Total Missin/Captured NVN 789 781 SVN 342 542 Laos 112 228 1,243 1,551 PWs (per US) NVN 271 376 SVN 53 78 Laos 2 3 326 457 Total Letters Received 620 2,700 Total Number of Writers 103 332 B. Chronology of Events January 1969 President asks Ambassador Lodge to call for prompt PW talks at his first session in Paris. March 1969 Administration undertakes review of PW policies. May 1969 Secretary Laird news conference setting forth in detail the treatment accorded our men and expressing the deep concern of President and Administration regarding the PW situation. June 1969 Administration spokesmen begin meetings with families to inform them of efforts on behalf of PW/MIA. November 1969 President proclaims November 9, 1969 a National Day of Prayer and Concern. November 1969 U.S. makes major statement of concern in U.N. Human Rights Committee. S-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 7 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu - 2 - December 1969 President meets with representative group of PW/MIA family members. February 1970 President signs Public Law 91-200 removing limits on savings program for PW/MIA. March 1970 At President's direction, Paris Delegation begins weekly pressure on enemy re PW/MIA problem. May 1970 President sends message in support of May 1 Appeal for International Justice, at which Vice President spoke. President proclaims May 3 as National Day of Prayer and Concern. June 1970 President signs Public Law 91-289 authorizing special compensation up to $5. 00 per day for period spent in PW status. August 1970 President sends special representative, Astronaut Frank Borman, around world to enlist support and assistance for PW/MIA. October 1970 President proposes immediate release of all prisoners of war in October 7 message. November 1970 Postmaster General Winton Blount meets with Ambassador David Bruce to discuss an appeal to the Government of North Vietnam. November 1970 Postmaster General Winton Blount meets with International Red Cross in Geneva. November 1970 Postmaster General Winton Blount in Atlanta for commemorative stamp ceremony. Stamp honors U. S. Servicemen held as prisoners of war and missing in action. November 1970 President authorizes rescue mission to Son Tay North Vietnam * many unofficial efforts have been made by H. Ross Perot privately s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 8 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu - 3 - " ... I propose the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of war held by both sides. War and imprisonment should be over for all these prisoners. They and their families have already suffered too much. I propose that all prisoners of war, without exception and without condition, be released now to return to the place of their choice. And I propose that all journalists and other innocent civilian victims of the conflict be released immediately as well. The immediate release of all prisoners of war would be a simple act of humanity. But it could be even more. It could serve to establish good faith, the intent to make progress, and thus improve the prospects for negotiation." Richard Nixon October 7, 1970 s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 9 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION For 102 Years the South's Standard Newspaper JACK TARVER, President REG MURPHY, Editor PAGE 4-A, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 25, 1970 A Daring Exploit It's a mighty dull citizen who can read without a thrill the story of the daring and dangerous attempt to rescue American prisoners in North Vietnam by a helicopter raid. As a feat of arms, the exploit last Friday can only arouse admiration for the brave men who carried it out and for the motives behind it. Nothing in this tragic conflict has been more frustrating and agonizing for Americans than the plight of our prisoners of war. The North Vietnamese flatly refuse to follow the rules of warfare covering exchanges and treatment of these men, and use them instead as negotiating pawns. Faced with this immutable fact, we can understand why the raid was approved by President Nixon. But while it is possible to admire the bravery of the exploit and to sympathize with its purpose, we ought not to allow ourselves to get too excited over it. In the first place, the mission failed. No prisoners were rescued. How that failure might affect the fate of the prisoners, how it might affect future negotiations for their release, it is probably too early to tell. But it is a fair guess that Hanoi is not going to change its basic position because of the raid, and may even harden it. Certainly Hanoi will be on guard against similar attempts in the future. Those like Sen. Fulbright and Sen. Kennedy who questioned the raid as a "John Wayne" approach are perhaps too harsh in view of the intense concern over our prisoners and the intense desire to do something about them. The critics used much the same arguments against the bombings of North Vietnam under Lyndon Johnson, but there is certainly a difference between a rescue raid and a bombing campaign. These men may fear resumption of a major bombing attack or massive rescue raids on North Vietnam as another attempt to see what escalation might do. It didn't do much the last time around. And we are convinced that President Nixon, allowing for occasional Cambodias and rescue raids, is still committed to getting America out of the war. s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 10 of 11 This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas http://dolearchives.ku.edu THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Tuesday, November 24, 1970 Commando Raid on POW Camp, Air Strike Add Muscle to Nixon's Retaliation Threat By ROBERT KEATLEY and RICHARD J. LEVINE Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON-Last November, President Nixon warned North Vietnam that any escalation of the Indochina war would bring "strong and effective" retaliation from the Americans. Last weekend Mr. Nixon tried to prove he wasn't bluffing. In response to what Washington calls violations of the "understandings" that ended U.S. bombing raids over North Vietnam two years ago, some 250 American planes blasted Communist air defenses and staging areas in the southern part of that country over the weekend in what the Pentagon terms "successful" attacks. While that was happening, the U.S. staged an unprecedented commando raid near Hanoi in an effort to free American war prisoners held there. This effort wasn't successful-the prisoners have been evacuated several weeks before the attack-but the audacious strike so close to home may have unnerved the men who set North Vietnam's war policies. That may have been the main reason for the closely coordinated attacks. Mr. Nixon and his chief security affairs adviser, Henry Kissinger, have tried hard to persuade the Communists that the Americans aren't predictable, that the U.S. is strong and won't let provocations or broken agreements go unchallenged. The message to Hanoi seems clear: negotiate peace in good faith or face severe reprisals whenever military escalation or violation of agreements is attempted. Although the immediate issues involve North Vietnam, the message of toughness and unpredictability also may have been aimed at Moscow. Soviet-American relations have been strained recently, mainly because-in Washington's view-the Russians aren't living up to the spirit of understandings about Berlin, European detente, Mideast peace and, perhaps, a missile base in Cuba, among other things. Thus, the sharp U.S. response may be a signal to the Soviets that they, too, would be well advised to honor any future agreements with the Americans. This is part of what White House officials call establishing "credibility" in foreign affairs. Press Spokesman's Statement As part of this, Defense officials yesterday carefully carved out grounds for possible future air strikes against North Vietnam if the U.S. decides they are justified. "We remain ready to take appropriate action in response to attacks on our unarmed reconnaissance aircraft, in response to major infiltration across the demilitarized zone (which separates North Vietnam and South Vietnam) or in response to the shelling of major South Vietnamese cities," warned Jerry W. Freidheim, the Pentagon's chief press spokesman. The U.S. contends it originally stopped bombing the North after reaching agreement on these three matters with North Vietnam. It says the weekend attacks were ordered because Hanoi's gunners shot down a reconnaissance plane on Nov. 13 and because its troops recently shelled Saigon and Hue, the main cities in South Vietnam. Hanoi has consistently denied making these or any other agreements with the U.S., an assertion that doesn't carry much weight in Washington, where officials claim otherwise and act accordingly. These U.S. operations come at a time when the Nixon message may, in fact, be getting through to North Vietnamese policymakers. According to foreign diplomats who have frequent contact with Hanoi officials, serious doubts about the future of their war effort are arising and, for the first time, these Communist Vietnamese are beginning to wonder if "time is on their side after all," these sources say. Report of Enemy Disappointment According to these sources, the North Vietnamese are dismayed by the recent American elections. They expected the Indo china war to be a major political issue in the U.S. and thus expected Mr. Nixon to suffer serious reverses because of his policies, forcing major new American concessions at the Paris peace talks. These sources say that the Communists, despite their propaganda statements to the contrary, concede privately that the Nixon Administration didn't lose much political ground because of the war and that the war itself is a declining political issue in the U.S. This faces Hanoi with the possibility of two more years of costly and inconclusive war until the next American election, a prospect the Communists don't welcome, the sources said. This is especially true because, it's claimed, Hanoi expects the combat to remain a relatively minor political issue as American troop withdrawals continue and casualties decline. Thus Hanoi's leaders are said to concede the 1972 elections may have less impact-rather than more-on U.S. policies in Southeast Asia than did the Nov. 3 midterm voting. According to American analysts, Hanoi has been counting on war protests within the U.S. as a major restriction on the Nixon Administration, one that could force it to accept much or all of the eight-point "peace plan" surfaced by Communist negotiators several weeks ago. As relayed by the foreign diplomats, however, the Communists are losing faith in this thesis. They are disturbed by the fact that Mr. Nixon has branded their peace proposal unacceptable, and responded with his own quite different program last month, which the Reds say they won't accept. None of this means Hanoi is about to change war strategy, the diplomats caution. North Vietnam, since the death of President Ho Chi Minh, has been ruled by a committee of dedicated Communists who remain committed to gaining political control of South Vietnam. They make decisions slowly and view political compromises as a form of surrender, something the experts say they still want to avoid. But this Communist pessimism could eventually lead to some basic rethinking of policies, the diplomats conclude. Reported Results of Raid In any case, the American weekend raids have given North Vietnamese officials something new to think about. The air raids, according to Pentagon statements, blasted enemy missiles, antiaircraft guns and, more important, staging areas for men and supplies bound down the Ho Chi Minh trail to Cambodia and South Vietnam. More than 100 secondary fires and explosions were spotted in the three areas where bombs were dropped, Mr. Friedheim said, and more than 100 trucks were hit. He said the raids had hindered Hanoi's ability to man and supply new ground offensives in the South. where the fighting has already been going badly for the Communist side. Fuel, ammunition and troop barracks are believed to have been among the targets struck by U.S. planes. The raid on the POW camp may have been even more disconcerting to Hanoi's leaders. About 2 a.m. last Saturday (Hanoi time), American helicopters unloaded troops - the Pentagon wouldn't say how many - in the prison compound, only 20 miles from the North Vietnamese capital. Although nothing similar had been tried in this war, plans for such raids had been drafted months ago. "A key factor in the final decision to launch" the rescue attempt, Defense Secretary Laird said at a news conference, "was new information we received this month that some of our men were dying in prisoner-of-war camps." The U.S. raiders didn't find any American hostages; apparently they had been removed several weeks before the raid was ordered. But the Army troops searched buildings, destroyed locks on prison cells and left without suffering any serious casualties. One U.S. helicopter crashed, however, and was destroyed by the Americans. The attack proved that U.S. forces "were able to get in and get out," Mr. Laird said, something that might cause Hanoi to wonder about its defenses. White House spokesman Ronald Ziegler, speaking for Mr. Nixon, warned Hanoi not to take any reprisals against U.S. prisoners because of this raid. He said the U.S. "would hold the North Vietnamese leaders personally responsible" for their continued safety and - to reinforce the message - said again that "we stand ready to move to meaningful negotiations" as an alternative to continued warfare. s-con_293_015_003_A1b.pdf Page 11 of 11