Congressional Record excerpt of an interview with Mrs. Iris Powers, National Coordinator of the National League of Families

Item

Other Media

s-leg_630_004_002_tr_2.txt

Extent (Dublin Core)

2 Pages

File Name (Dublin Core)

s-leg_630_004_002

Title (Dublin Core)

Congressional Record excerpt of an interview with Mrs. Iris Powers, National Coordinator of the National League of Families

Date (Dublin Core)

1971-07-31

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1971-07-32

Congress (Dublin Core)

92nd (1971-1973)

Topics (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueFamilies of prisoners of war

See all items with this valueVietnam War, 1961-1975

See all items with this valueVietnam War, 1961-1975--Missing in action--United States

Policy Area (Curation)

Armed Forces and National Security

Creator (Dublin Core)

United States. Congress (92nd, 1st session : 1971). Senate

Record Type (Dublin Core)

congressional records

Names (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueDole, Robert J., 1923-2021

See all items with this valueNational League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia

Rights (Dublin Core)

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Language (Dublin Core)

eng

Collection Finding Aid (Dublin Core)

https://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=23&q=

Physical Location (Dublin Core)

Collection 003, Box 630, Folder 4

Institution (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Archival Collection (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Senate Papers-Legislative Relations, 1969-1996

Full Text (Extract Text)

Congressional Record
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 92nd CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
United States of America
Vol. 117
WASHINGTON, FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1971
No. 121

Senate

MRS. IRIS POWERS, THE ARMY'S CONSULTANT TO THE FAMILIES OF PRISONERS AND MISSING
Mr. DOLE, Mr. President, in my activities on behalf of American servicemen who are missing in action or held as prisoners of war in Southeast Asia I have come to know a number of wives, mothers, fathers, and children of these men. Many have been members of the national League of Families of Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, and all have been unique in their determination to do everything and anything they feel will possibly benefit the men who are captive or missing in North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

These family members have long been involved in efforts to help their men, but now attention is being given to helping them. The Department of the Army has appointed a national coordinators of the League of Families to the job of assuring that the families of missing and captured army personnel are receiving all possible official help in meeting their needs and dealing with the problems they fare in their daily lives - Mrs. Iris Powers whose son, Lowell, has been missing for more than 2 years has been named consultant to the next of kin of missing/captured Army members in Southeast Asia. This delightful and highly capable woman brings unparalled energy, dedication and knowledge of the families' needs to her job, and has already proven the wis- dom of her selection in the first few months on the job.

The July, 1971 issue of Soldiers magazine contains an interview with Mrs. Powers, and I believe it merits every Senator's attention. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

SPEAK FOR THE SILENT (Mrs. Iris Powers, Interviewed by MSG Jack Holden)

EDITOR'S NOTE: One of the gravest unre- solved problems of the Indo-China War is the enemy's treatment of U.S. Prisoners of War [PW] and those Missing in Southeast Asia. President Nixon has announced that as long as our men are held captive the United States will maintain an armed presence in South Vietnam. The issue of securing more humane treatment for interned U.S. servicemen has also rallied the support of thousands of Americans in every walk of life. To help cope with the many facets of the problem, the Army appointed Mrs. Iris Powers as its Consultant to the Next of Kin [NOK] of Missing/Captured Army Members in Southeast Asia. During her first 130 days on duty the former National Coordinator of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia examined the problems faced by the loved ones of these PWs and Missing. In the following interview "Soldiers" reveals some of Mrs. Powers' thoughts and findings. It's the view of a woman personally involved with a problem basic to bringing an early return of peace to America.

How did you become involved in the PW problem?
Believe me, it was not intentional. You see, just like thousands of mothers during the past several years I saw my son off to war. I didn't know it then but that was the start of my concern with this remote area called Southeast Asia. Until then it was just a place on a globe and I'll confess that not unlike many Americans I knew next to nothing about the Army.

How did his service lead you to your present job?
Lowell was always deeply interested in flying, so combining his talent with his desire to do something for his country naturally led him to the assignment he sought - duty as an Army helicopter pilot. After completing helicopter training in the States, Lowell was appointed a Warrant Officer and joined the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) in the northern sector of South Viet-nam. This was his second tour in 'Nam. He has been officially listed as missing since April 2, 1969. He was piloting a troop-carrying helicopter and that day's mission was to land a contingent of South Vietnamese troops somewhere in the Hue-Phu Bai sector. The craft developed mechanical failure and crashed?

What happened then?
All hell broke loose. Just 2 minutes after the crash the helicopter exploded. Lowell had told the co-pilot who survived that he was "all right." In the confusion that followed no one knew whether or not he got free of the wreckage before the blast. That's the terrible part, not knowing whether he's alive or dead.

What actually caused you to do something about your concern for your son?
Personal tragedy has a way of making a person more thoughtful, more sensitive. And time, you can't believe how time can drag in such a situation. The unbearable frustration of just waiting and wondering makes sleep hard to come by, so hard that nights and days seem to blend into one long nightmare. Then I learned about the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia - a group that was not just talking about their tragedies; they were doing something about them too. Its members were in the same boat as myself. I became its national coordinator and became more knowledgeable about these women and their problems. The PW/Missing issue came to be paramount in my life. It gave me a sense of doing something both for my son and the many other soldiers who suffer similar fates.

What led you to this job?
I knew I could contribute something of value. While attending a White House meeting last winter along with other PW and Missing members' families I met President Nixon and he proved very sympathetic to many of my ideas, A later conference with an Army staff official convinced me that I should take this assignment and do what I'm hopefully accomplishing right now - helping the next of kin of Army Missing and PWs. They need all the help they can get.

What background do you bring to this job?
It seems I have always been working very closely with people and their problems. For more than 13 years I assisted several doctors in working with patients with varying degrees of mental and emotional problems. I could get these very troubled people to confide in me, to trust me. That ability has helped a lot in dealing now with people who, for the most part, are unfamiliar with the Army or how to secure Army assistance.

What are some of your other work experiences?
At the time of my son's disappearance I was a counselor with the World Campus Afloat, a branch of Chapman College in Orange, CA. Its campus is the former luxury liner the R.M.S. Queen Elizabth now berthed in San Diego. The college demonstrates that learning can be fun and exciting. I enjoyed working with those young students, helping them choose their life's work. And then too, I lived in Asia for many years prior to World War II. My husband was an engineer and I came to know the Philippines, Hong Kong and mainland China quite well. I think I know something about how the enemy thinks, especially about our prisoners and missing men. You can expect them to continue their tough line. They can be short on humanitarian instincts - that is, "humanity" as we in the West define it.

Have you been abroad in connection with this job?
Yes, in May I went to Switzerland where I joined league representatives in Geneva in an appeal through the International Red Cross to the enemy to provide our men with more humane treatment.

What have you been doing in your job with the Army?
It's been a moving experience in every sense of the word. A great deal of travel is involved, making staff visits to all the Army area headquarters in the U.S. to talk with officials and with the NOK of PWs and Missing members.

With whom did you talk?
Army area commanders, Army Community Service officers, representatives of National Red Cross chapters, adjutants general and unit personnel staffs, finance officers and chaplains. They all were of great assistance in helping me find out how effective Army aid has been.

How effective has it been?
Perhaps not as effective as it might have been but it is improving. Remember that prior to 1969 our Government's stand on PWs and Missing was to say nothing while hoping Hanoi would release them in due time. With this policy in effect Army awareness of the needs of NOK was not always the greatest. Once we started demanding that the enemy provide humanitarian treatment for our men then their treatment started to improve.

What have you found during your visits to the NOK?
These fathers and mothers, sisters and wives are holding up quite well, all factors considered. There are more than 700 of them and I wanted to visit each personally, but time has just not permitted this. But I did manage to visit more than 150 and was able to gain insight into their problems.

What group has been hit the hardest?
Undoubtedly, the young wives whose husbands are PWs or Missing. When you realize who and what these men are as a group then you start to understand. These girls were married for only a brief time before their husbands were sent off to combat. They have all the desires of other women their age, desires for a home, family, personal fulfillment. All these are to some extent being frustrated. Their future is very uncertain. Some are starting to crack under the strain - that is, their view of the war is changing. They want their husbands home. The older NOK, the mothers and fathers, have gone through other wars and are more patient but they too yearn for their sons' return. This war has caused many divisions. All the NOK are patriotic but all want their sons and husbands home and the sooner the better. Their problems aren't material. They are, naturally, emotional.

What is your view of the war?
I thought from the start that we should have accomplished more on the battlefield. But now my concern is for our PW's and Missing. The American people must not forget these men and I strongly back our Government's efforts to secure their release.

What do you believe is the greatest contribution you can make toward helping these NOK and eventually the men themselves?
Obviously, we must first make the public more aware that none of the Army men listed as PWs or Missing in Southeast Asia are known to be in North Vietnam. Some press corps members and most of the public are amazed when I tell them this fact. We believe the PWs are held in South Vietnam by the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) or in Laos or Cambodia by the North Vietnamese, although neither group has identified any of these men outside North Vietnam. The enemy admits it holds Americans but simply refuses to talk about this problem.

Is there a difference in conditions in South Vietnam as opposed to North Vietnam?
Oh yes. The small bamboo cages that confine Americans in concealed jungle sites in South Vietnam, such as escaped PW Major James Rowe described, are unlike the prison camps in the north. Our PWs in the south are constanly moved around with the enemy and face the constant danger of death or injury from Allied firepower and combat operations. This danger is never discussed in accounts that we read here in the States. Also, the unsanitary conditions these men must endure in no way meet Geneva Conventions requirements. Their treatment has been barbaric.

Has the letter writing campaign to Hanoi paid off?
This effort by the National League of Families and others has undoubtedly had some positive effect on the enemy. For one thing, our PWs in the north received more mail at Christmas time last year than in all other years combined. Then too, through this letter writing the enemy and the world learns that Americans do care about their fighting men, that they have not forgotten them. This realization helps temper Hanoi's thought that they can depend on U.S. disunity to gain in negotiation what they falled to gain on the battlefield.

What keeps you going?
Remembrances of my son and faith. My son was good natured and ambitious too. At 18, he was one of the leading thoroughbred race track callers in the Nation. But his sense of service and love of flying led him to the Army and piloting helicopters. Lowell didn't like the war any more than the next man but felt he had to do something for America. I'm not sorry he served but would be sorry if he were forgotten. I believe this country owes these men the debt of working for their release. I have faith that this will be done.

And about faith?
You must have faith in all sorts of things- spiritually, but also in one's self to overcome tragedy and deal with the uncertain. We must also have faith in our Government. One can only be hopeful that our men will one day be returned. Sometimes you can't see the light at the end of a tunnel but that doesn't mean you never will. Work toward it, and I believe the end will come into view much sooner.

Do you believe that your work with the Army and with the League of Families has been worthwhile in view of the fact that no U.S. PWs or Missing have as yet been returned?
This has been the most satisfying work I have ever done. You see, it's the working for future results that brings satisfaction. Dramatizing our men's plight and the plight of their families, I'm certain, will one day lead to their release and return to a hopefully more peaceful world.