Remarks from the POW-MIA Tribute Rally/ Appeal for International Justice Event

Extent (Dublin Core)

2 Pages

File Name (Dublin Core)

s-leg_630_004_003

Title (Dublin Core)

Remarks from the POW-MIA Tribute Rally/ Appeal for International Justice Event

Date (Dublin Core)

1970-05-01

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1970-05-02

Congress (Dublin Core)

91st (1969-1971)

Topics (Dublin Core)

See all items with this value Vietnam War, 1961-1975

See all items with this value Prisoners of war

See all items with this value Missing in action

Policy Area (Curation)

Armed Forces and National Security

Creator (Dublin Core)

United States. Congress. (91st : 1969-1971). Senate

Record Type (Dublin Core)

speeches (documents)

Names (Dublin Core)

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

See all items with this value Dominick, Peter H. (Peter Hoyt), 1915-1981

See all items with this value Miller, Jack R. (Jack Richard), 1916-1994

See all items with this value Perot, Ross, 1930-2019

See all items with this value Sikes, Robert L. F. (Robert Lee Fulton), 1906-1994

See all items with this value Talcott, Burt L. (Burt Lacklen), 1920-

See all items with this value Teague, Olin E., 1910-1981

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)

This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas
http://dolearchives.ku.edu
PAGE 3
As a wife of one of those missing men, I am deeply grateful to the Senators and Representatives who have, out of their deep concern for the plight of our men, made tonight's tribute a reality.

I share with each other wife, mother, father and child of these our American men, & deep gratitude also to each one of you here, who has demonstrated by his presence, that they must not and they will not be forgotten - the missing in action and prisoners of war.

I hope and I pray that this tribute tonight will serve as an effective reminder to the North Vietnamese, the National Liberation Front and the Pathet Lao, that on this issue of our prisoners of war and missing in action - the hearts, the minds and the resolve of the American people will remain united until the accords of the Geneva Convention are properly respected and until each prisoner is home again. I am deeply convinced that until that day the terrible fate of our men must remain a matter of top priority, not only within the homes where that loved one is missing but it must become a matter of top priority within our nation - from each home and heart across our land reaching even to the highest levels of our government.

I know that this problem is a unique one and a terribly difficult one for our country. but I am completely confident that America has the talent, the dedication and the abilities from within her greatest natural resources, her people, to honorably find the solution to this problem.

There has never been a difficulty or problem too great for the American people te solve - and with all America joining in prayer and action, we will not fail these our men - nor will we fail America.

INTRODUCTION OF MRS. BONNIE SINGLETON BY THE HONORABLE OLIN E. TEAGUE, PRISONER OF WAR RALLY, MAY 1, 1970

A lot has been accomplished in the last year but not enough will be accomplished until we have all our boys home. Meanwhile we work at least toward a just and decent treatment of American prisoners of war. I would like to introduce Mrs. Bonnie Singleton of Dallas, Texas whose husband, Jerry was shot down in 1965. Bonnie and three other women from Dallas and Fort Worth journeyed over a year ago to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Philadelphia to express their desire to go to Paris and ask the question that so many of you are still asking "Are we wives or widows?" The V.F.W. started the ball rolling and made that desire a reality. They journeyed then to Paris soon after the death of Ho Chi Minh, and after beating down the door and demanding an interview were allowed to see the North Vietnamese delegation. I think it was this effort that brought the attention of the world press and the pressure of world opinion to the plight of you American wives and families. Not to be critical of our government-I
love our government-but in this matter I do not think they have done enough. Through our Ambassadors and consulates we should be contacting every other government in the world and bring to their attention this travesty of international justice and agreement. Meanwhile, the ball has continned to keep rolling through individuals such as Ross Perot and the efforts of all of you. I hope you will keep it up - your men will one day know what you have done.

REMARKS OF MRS. JERRY A. SINGLETON, POW WIFE, DALLAS TEX.
Thank you, Congressman Teague, and thanks to all of you for the opportunity of coming here to meet with you. I'd like to quote for you a prayer that I say constantly, and although they may not use the same words I do, I'm sure that this is a prayer similar to the ones said by every family and every friend of every man who is listed as missing in action or prisoner of war.

Dear God, thank you for the miraculous gift of human life, and thank you, too, for those who concern themselves with the preservation of human life and who spend at least a portion of their lives trying to save that precious gift that only You have the capacity to grant. To our men who are now languishing in Communist prison camps, provide them, Lord, with the strength and courage you gave them in the face of combat to survive the torture, anxiety and loneliness they must constantly endure. Give them the security of knowing that although theirs has been a long ordeal, the American people for whom they have sacrificed all, are determined not to betray the devotion they have so freely given. May your blessings be upon those in the United States Government, United We Stand, The Veterans of Foreign Wars and other organizations that have worked to bring relief to the American prisoners of war. May the vision necessary for seeing the way of freedom for our men be granted and a safe return for our loved ones in the short time remaining when their strength and spirit is still strong enough to sustain the inflictions imposed upon their bodies and Minds. Amen."
Thank you.

REMARKS OP U.S. CONGRESSMAN BURT L. TALCOTT - APPEAL FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE FOR POW'S, CONSTITUTION HALL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. Chairman, Fellow Americans:
I am privileged to participate in this appeal for international justice for Prisoners of War.

Convocations, Resolutions and letters are not new to the odyssey of Prisoners of War and loved ones.

They may seem redundant and futile, but they are necessary and probably beneficial so I commend and thank the organizers and the participants.

I speak as a private citizen and a former prisoner of war. I would like briefly to make several points which have not been emphasized enough.

First, I have served with some extraordinary Americans - including recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor - but never have I known a more patriotic, brave or devoted group than the wives and families of our prisoners of war and those missing in Action.

Never has a nation owed so much to so few. I hope that each of you will, at this moment, commit yourselves to their cause.

Next, we can be very proud of our country's policies and practices regarding treatment of prisoners. We have always been highly humanitarian and have always complied scrupulously with the Geneva Convention. No nation has performed more benevolently. This ought to impress the news media and world opinion; but it needs reiteration. Throughout the tragic history of warfare, the military have usually conducted themselves more honorably and humanely than the politicos or the populace.

I was a captive of the much maligned Nazis whose mentality ordered thousands of human beings to be gassed in ovens-and permitted lamp shades to be made of human skins. Hitler and Himmler ordered the extermination of all prisoners of war, including Americans; but their grisly orders were contravened, at great personal peril, by the military. A similar dichotomy may prevall in North Vietnam today. If so, we ought to exploit it by appeals to the basic honor of the military.

As evil as the Nazis may have seemed, the Communists are immeasurably more demoniacal. We were confined in groups- so we could at least lean on each other. We could, within restrictions, correspond with our families. I knew within three months that my son was born. But some of the women here tonight whose husbands were shot down five years ago do not yet know whether they are wives or widows.

None of you can imagine their longing or anxiety. Some time ago an enemy photograph purporting to show an American prisoner was circulated among the wives - and 23 of them identified one man as their husband. Think of the poignancy of that episode.

Now, I have a serious message for Hanoi. If they are listening, I hope they will heed my suggestion. It is not made in rancor. Twenty-six years ago, we and the Germans were fierce diplomatic and military enemies. We bombed their cities and war plants; they shot us down and confined us. Today's rhetoric of "Gooks" and "War Criminals" is reminiscent to me; in my day the enemy were "goons" and we were "luft gangsters." But today, we and our German captors are friends. We are mutually welcome in each other's homes. This friendship is based upon individual mutual respect and appreciation because we treated each other's prisoners with dignity and humaneness. This treatment strongly influenced the free world to assist Germany in her economic and diplomatic rehabilitation.

Times and conditions change kaleidoscopically, but personal attitudes change more slowly. Twenty-six years from now, the North Vietnamese may need and want acceptance in the community of civilized and peaceful nations. The North Vietnamese government would be well-advised to emulate the United States, and other governments, who comply with the terms of the Geneva Convention and who treat their prisoners decently in spite of their diplomatic and military differences with enemy nations.

One more point - recently every rider on this planet shared the drama of the rescue from space of the crippled Apollo 13. (I salute Captain Lovel. I am honored to share this forum with such a great American serviceman.) The outpouring of prayer for the safety of the crew, and the general empathy with their families, was a splendid demonstration of the concern for which fellow human beings can hold for one another.

The fantastic rescue was possible partially because of the cool expertise of the flight and ground crews, but also because of the enormous sums of money we have spent, and the extraordinary care we have taken, to insure the safety of our Astronauts. We have, quite properly, "built in" redundancy upon redundancy to safeguard the men who fly in space. But the men who fly over Viet-nam and Laos are also skilled, courageous, dedicated pilots - not much different from the astronauts, except that they fly under orders and out of camera range. The wives and families of both the combat pilot and (illegible)

ties. If we had "built in" comparable safeguards for our combat crews: if we had cared as much for their safe return; if our news media had removed their wraps and had devoted as much attention to the plight of our combat crews, and their loved ones, as to our space program, I am certain that our prisoners would, by now, be receiving treatment in compliance with the Geneva Convention.

We must prod the news media to measure up to their responsibilities to report the POW and MIA phenomena and to help mobilize international public opinion to demand compliance with the Geneva Convention and to promote basic humaneness among all men.

I am convinced that our government, our military, and our Red Cross are doing everything possible to help our prisoners and to alleviate the torment of their families. But we can and must do more to mobilize world public opinion.

Recently at the 25th Annual Reunion of American Airforce Prisoners of War in Cincinnati we conducted a seminar on the present POW and MIA situation. It was a moving, emotional session. We cried together for these wives and familles. No one left their seat for two and one half hours. We unanimously adopted another Resolution urging humane treatment for prisoners of war. But it was different, in style and trust because former prisoners joined to plead for today's prisoners - on a basis of decency and comradeship in the military tradition. We are being joined by former prisoners of the Japanese. I hope that we will soon be joined by German, Italian and Japanese Nationals, who were prisoners of the allies at another moment in time. Our appeal is for basic humanity and universal comradeship -- without regard to color, nationality, charge, or station in life.

Let me read exerpts from the Resolution

"We, as former Prisoners of War.

Knowing first-hand the agonies of prisoners of war and their loved ones;

Realizing that individual servicemen have no authority in determining the military or diplomatic decisions of their national governments;

Believing that humane treatment should be accorded every individual regardless of his race, nationality, station in life, or charge against him;

Shocked by the knowledge that the government of North Vietnam refuses to disclose to our government or to the next-of-kin information concerning the capture, condition or location of prisoners;

Appreciating the anxiety and loneliness of wives, parents and children who are not informed concerning the locations and conditions of their missing servicemen; and

Having uncontroverted evidence that prisoners now in the custody of the North Vietnamese government, Viet Cong and Pathet Lao are being mistreated and their families subjected to unimaginable torment in clear contradiction of the Geneva Convention and the fundamental rights of men;

Now, therefore, in the interests of basic humanity and universal comradeship, we: urgently urge that all civilized persons of all nations insist on the elemental judicial privilege of Habeas Corpus - which entitled any next-of-kin to have the person of a prisoner identified or produced or his place of burial known-for themselves and for all others;

Strongly advocate that all nations and governments comply fully with the Geneva Convention pertaining to prisons of war; and

Earnestly implore every human being in every land to make their feelings known directly to the authorities of North Viet-nam.

Executed in open convention during the 25th National Reunion of the Amerikanisch Kriegsgefangenen (former American Prisoners of War) at Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. April 25, 1970.

Our resolution is framed only in our hearts we want only to share its spirit.

If you care to join us, if you want to help console these gallant ladies, if you care about our men in communist confinement, please write to Hanoi, to the United Nations, to private persons or public officials in other lands, and to our own news media. An international appeal for justice may end this horrendous travail.

MRS. JAMES A. MULLIGAN, POW WIVE, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.
Senator Dole, I'd say there were a few more people here this evening than there were on February 21st at our first Rally. Thank you for all your effort and enthusiasm for our cause.

Two of our young wives in the Washington ares are indeed worthy of praise. They have worked many long arduous hours to make this evening a reality-words cannot express our gratitude. Kathy Plowman and Candy Parish! The reason we are here this evening is not a pleasant one. Scheduling this Rally for May Ist is indeed appropriate, for it is International Law Day. But May Day has many connotations, as many of our military (illegible)

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This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas
http://dolearchives.ku.edu
PAGE 4

May Day-May Day-Help! Help!

This is our call, a call of distress for our thousands of sons - husbands and fathers who have been detained brutally for years in South Vietnam by the Viet Cong, in Hanoi by the North Vietnamese and in Laos by the Pathet Laos.

I wonder how many of you know just how many men are involved. In North Vietnam we have 357 men listed in a prisoner category and 429 in a missing status. In South Vietnam there are 74 in a prisoner status and 454 missing. In Laos there are 3 men in a prisoner status and 200 missing, and in China there are 2 prisoners and 5 men in a missing status for a total of 1518 men. Have we become so callous that these men are going to be written off? Our President has said, "A just peace is in sight!" Yet, no commitment has been made to our men languishing in prisoner camps.

It has taken the familles of these men, who have given so much already, a year to educate the world as to the true facts of the prisoner situation. Ask yourselves: Why is it necessary for those who have given so much to continue to give? Why hasn't this cause been carried on by others? People have estimated that the normal lifetime for the world's great nations has been about two hundred years. The pattern of these civilizations or nations runs something like this: From bondage to spiritual faith, from such faith to courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, and from dependency back again into bondage. This sequence may seem pessimistic, but there seems to be enough truth in the fact that nations do rise and fall and that prosperity seems to carry within it the seeds of selfishness, that we should ask ourselves, what of America? What can be done by us to turn the tide
is a question. But to see the problem is itself half the battle. We must not let complacency and apathy reign and ruin our nation. We beg of you hear our call - May Day, May Day! Do not turn your back on the hundreds of mothers who want their sons returned. Do not ignore the children who cry out for the love and guidance of their fathers and the hundreds of wives who have grieved for years, some for husbands who will never return. Hear our call of distress and the cry from within the walls of the prison camps -- May Day, May Day!!! Help. Please help!

REMARKS OF MRS. IRIS POWERS. MIA MOTHER
I'm really so overcome with emotion that it's difficult for me to say anything but thank you so much for being here.

INTRODUCTION OF MES. PLOWMAN AND MRS. PARISH, POW WIVES, BY CONGRESSMAN ROBERT L. F. SIKES
I know that you in this great and wonderful audience want to join me at this moment in an especial show of appreciation to the moving spirit behind this great meeting tonight and this great appeal which has gone over the land, the man who heads the Senate-House Committee on Appeal for International Justice, Senator Bob Dole. Will you join me?

Wives, mothers, families of America's missing servicemen, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. Tonight it is my high privilege to present a resolution that has passed the Congress and which has been signed by the President; a Resolution in which you will have much interest. And it is my privilege to present it to Mrs. Charles C. Parish of Alexandria and Mrs. James E. Plowman of Arlington. And I think you will want to hear it, because this Resolution, which speaks for the Congress and has the approval of the President, was passed in record time. It says this:

SENATE-HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress
1 That Friday, May 1, 1970, be commemorated as a day for an appeal for international Justice for all the American prisoners of war and servicemen missing in action in Southeast Asia,
2. That men of compassion and good will throughout the world be urged to search all peaceful avenues available to insure that these men be treated humanely and fairly in accord with the standards established by the Geneva Convention;
3. That every possible effort be made to secure their early release from captivity;
4. That the President designate Sunday, May 3, 1970 as a national day of prayer for humane treatment and the safe return of these brave Americans; and
5. That copies of this resolution be delivered by the appropriate representatives of the United States Government to the appropriate representatives of every nation of the world.

Passed by the House of Representatives and by the Senate of the United States in record time, attested by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate, signed by the President of the United States, and the proclamatton issued that Sunday is a National Day of Prayer. Ladies and gentlemen, with (illegible) proves our determination.

yes, our determination that these men shall be freed forthwith by whatever means are required and restored to their families and our country, I present to these wonderful young ladies this Resolution from the Congress.

APPEAL FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE (By Mrs. Charles Parish, MIA wife, Alexandria, Va.)
Please, please carry this message to your place of worship and to your fellow human beings.

Above all, when May 3 has come and gone, we beg of you to please remember these men in your hearts, in your deeds, and in your prayers, until they are home safe.

APPEAL FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE (By Mrs. James E. Plowman, MIA wife, Arlington, Va.)
It took 20 minutes for the Congress to pass this resolution. But when you consider the cause, it is not really such a feat.

Words cannot express my thanks to the Congress ... especially to the Congressmen who have worked so hard to bring us together. And to their staffs and especially to Senator Dole.

FAITH IN AMERICA
(By Robert Cummings)
Senator Dole, distinguished leaders, Mrs. Stockdale, Mr. Perot, and families of America's captive and missing heroes.

I am proud to be with you this evening. For I feel I have the privilege of speaking on behalf of millions of Americans who cannot be here personally.

These Americans do not have:
Missing or captive loved ones;
They do not wait and wonder;
Their children are not growing up under the question mark of their fathers' fates;
And they do not suffer the remorseless taunting of the cynical captors.

But these millions do know your men are over there, und they do care.

Surely each of you with a missing or captured son, husband or father knows people in your own community who care - who want to help - who are not apathetic.

Well, I have travelled every section of this great country, and I know these people are everywhere.

And I feel I stand here tonight to say for them: We know, we care, we shall not forget.

Your men are not unlike the ancient Spartans at Thermopylae.

Few in number and surrounded by the enemy, those warriors waited for word of aid from their home forces.

Alone they waited, and alone they hoped. When at last - and too late - help did arrive, these words were found inscribed on the rocks where they had fallen:

"Go, passerby, and tell that we in faithful service fell."

Let us please resolve tonight:

That these words will not be found in the bamboo cells of our men;
That help will arrive; and
That the passersby of the world will know their story, not from the pathetic scratchings they left behind, but from the hearts and minds and voices of their fellow Americans.

And let us pray that God in his mercy will return them to us safe and well.

Let's make that great impossible dream really possible.

HOPE FOR FREEDOM
(Introduction of Lt. Robert E. Frishman, U.S. Navy, former POW of the North Vietnamese, by Senator JACK MILLER, of Iowa)

I first became, you might say, personally. acquainted with the prisoner of war problem when I visited Vietnam in January, 1966. After that, I went over to Khorat in Thailand and was the first member of Congress to spend the night over there. That evening I had dinner with the five Iowa pilots who were based there. The next morning I had breakfast with some 18 Iowa airmen. Within only a very few weeks afterwards, one of the Iowa boys whom I had talked to at that evening party was a POW in North Vietnam, and I might say that I ever since have thought about him and his parents in Iowa many times, and about many others, too.

I think the number one concern of most of us in the Congress is this war, and the POW problem is a very big part of that concern. And this is so because it points up the difference that stands out in a nation that is really moral.

All I can say is that my own peace of mind will never be achieved until these brave men come home. Now it is my privilege as an old Air Force man to introduce one of our Navy heroes. Lt. Frishman comes from that great Iowa county of Long Beach, California, where his parents, Mr and Mrs. Harry Frishman, still reside. Bob and his wife presently reside in La Jolla.

He was commissioned an ensign in June of 1964 and a Navy pilot in October of 1965. Two years later he was shot down on a combat misalon over North Vietnam and became a prisoner of war.

Last August, he became one of the nine POW's to be released from North Vietnam during all of these years. You should know that his many decorations include the distinguished flying cross, the air medal, the Navy commendation medal and the purple heart.

Bob Frishman's hope for freedom came true. He is with us tonight to echo the hope for freedom for all others. Whose safe return we pray for. I present Lieutenant Robert Frishman.

REMARKS OF LT. ROBERT E. FRISHMAN
Senator Miller, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. We are here tonight asking what we and others can do to help the men languishing in Communist prison camps.

The answer is simple. Ask yourself, what he would want you to do for him. Think about it. Think about it hard. And then do it. For these men were given a job to do by their country.

Now you must speak out on their behalf because their voices are now kept silent.

No matter what your political conviction, whether you think we should pull out of Vietnam today or bomb Hanoi tomorrow, we can all support humane treatment for prisoners of war. For these men were given a job to do by their country, and did it to the best of their ability.

They have given so much for you. Now they need your help. Thank you.

INTRODUCTION OF PO2C. DOUGLAS B HEGDAHL, U.S. NAVY
(By Senator PETER H. DOMINICK of Colorado)

Bob Dole, distinguished friends in the House and the Senate, along with Jack Miller, I have a real joyous occasion. We have the opportunity to present to you two of the nine people who have become free again from prisons of war.

My particular friend and compatriate comes from South Dakota; Petty Officer Hegdahl. I call it a suburb of Colorado and we're happy to claim it.

I noticed in the process of the program, and I have not had enough chance to really talk with him about it, that he lost 60 pounds when he was in prison.

60 pounds. As an Air Force man, I always said the Navy ate well, but I don't know if that's very good. He seems to have put it back on, or most of it.

He was assigned to the U.S.S. Cambara. He was lost in 1967, captured and not released for two and one-half years.

He holds the meritorious unit commendation, the National Defense service medal, the Vietnam service medal, and the Republic of Vietnam campaign medal.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you one of our privileged characters that we hope will be joined by so many thousands more, one of our nine releasees, Petty Officer Hegdahl.

REMARKS OF PO2C DOUGLAS B. HEGDAHL
Ladies and gentlemen. Senators, I am very happy to be here tonight.

I don't know what more I can say, but these men in prison have given their all for their country.

And their wives have waited for years and years.

And now it is our turn to do what we can for them.

I hope that all of us will let North Vietnam know that there will be no compromising on the prisoner of war situation.

Thank you.

UNITED WE STAND
(Introduction of H. Ross Perot by Mrs. Douglas Peterson, POW wife, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)
Thank you. Tonight I am here with three very special people. In June, 1960, my Pete left us. August of 1969 I found out that my husband was alive. My friends here brought my husband's name back. Thank you.

There is so much hope for us. I know I was in the same category as so many of you are now. I had the privilege of going on a trip with one of the most wonderful men in the world. When Doug Frishman came back they told us they'd help us to speak out. The wives took steps and then all of a sudden there was a hand reaching out for us. . . .. guiding us.

As you know, we all need this. On the trip that we took, I rode with many wonderful people from "United We Stand".

Each wife knows how precious each moment is with her family, Mrs. Perot has been most unselfish, as her children, to share with us her husband who has taken us by the hand and has helped us to help our men and to show the world that we will fight for them with your backing.

Since my husband is a prisoner of war, of course, when we went into the POW camps in South Vietnam, the first thing that I saw that I will remember for the rest of my life (illegible)

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Remarks from the POW-MIA Tribute Rally/ Appeal for International Justice Event

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