Correspondence Between Senator Bob Dole and the Wife of a Prisoner of War

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Extent (Dublin Core)

6 Pages

File Name (Dublin Core)

s-con_293_015_002

Title (Dublin Core)

Correspondence Between Senator Bob Dole and the Wife of a Prisoner of War

Date (Dublin Core)

1971-02

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1971-02

Congress (Dublin Core)

92nd (1971-1973)

Topics (Dublin Core)

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

See all items with this value Prisoners of war--United States

Policy Area (Curation)

Armed Forces and National Security

Creator (Dublin Core)

Dole, Robert J., 1923-2021

Record Type (Dublin Core)

correspondence

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=31&q=

Physical Location (Dublin Core)

Collection 002, Box 293, Folder 15

Institution (Dublin Core)

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

Archival Collection (Dublin Core)

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

Full Text (Extract Text)

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

February 19, 1971

handwritten on page: Leg. pow

[redacted]
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454

Dear [redacted]:
I can understand your frustration, but not your conclusions.

I shall continue to do what little I can to assist POW's and MIA's.

President Nixon did not occupy the office in 1966, but he has the responsibility now and I know personally of his deep concern.

Sincerely yours,
BOB DOLE
U.S. Senate

BD: em

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http://dolearchives.ku.edu

handwritten on page: article in post today, page 30

(Redacted)
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454
9 February 1971

The Honorable Robert Dole
Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C. 20515

Dear Senator Dole:
I am returning the copy of February 1st Congressional Record you were so kind to forward to me. If this appears to be ungracious of me, then so be it. I have read all the words of "concern" and platitudes I care to read over the past five years that my husband has been a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

Until you and your colleagues can arrive at a practical and workable solution I do not desire to receive any more of the "heartfelt concern". I request that you read this page and consider whether you would send it to my husband.

You were in the war Senator Dole and seriously wounded. I wonder how your wife would have felt if suddenly in the middle of the war the country that had sent you suddenly withdrew its support and in your wounded condition you were left to wither away in a detention camp thousands of miles away? I happen to be in that position. In November of 1966 my husband was permitted to write his first letter home. In it he told me his whole left side had been injured. He had received some medical care but would require more upon repatriation. His weight was down to 122 lbs. He stands 6' and his normal weight is 178.

I am not asking for sympathy. My husband has been a career military man and not one word of complaint did I utter when he left for Vietnam. But I do protest and will protest loudly when I feel that our military men are not receiving the loyalty from our Government equal to the loyalty they have pledged to this Government. The plight of our prisoners is not going unnoticed by our young military men of today. Hence another reason for the high attrition rate

I hope the President's plan will work. I hope somehow he can truly justify the loss of 44,000 young American lives, as he so strongly desires to do. I hope he can justify the years our men have spent in these detention camps, but I am just not a believer any more. You know, Senator, every four years they change the driver on us, but the same old horses are pulling the wagon.

Respectfully,
[redacted]

Enclosure

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handwritten on page: Senator Dole, Mine are not isolated feelings of emotional involvement!

handwritten above article: 12-21-70

[newspaper article clipping]
Editor, Virginian-Pilot:
Casualties and POWs are inevitable factors of our most willful and extreme collective behavior: war. In easily justified conflicts we have been drawn together by these factors and the righteousness of the cause. In the Vietnam War we have experienced human losses in over 40,000 broken families along with thousands of crippled men and the agony of the POWs, but we have not drawn together or shared proud resolve. Instead we have been divided and suffered the politics of ambivalence. A national guilt-feeling inhibits the pursuit of a routine military clean-up of our adversary, while the intense vanity of three successive administrations delays conclusive withdrawal. This indecision bleeds the Nation and no righteous cause exists.

There are causes worth dying for, but only high causes if we are to be other than amoral or barbarian. Americans are dying in vain; the political resolution of Vietnam has not merited our sacrifice. Signing the recent petitions to the North Vietnamese, we all felt sympathy for the wretched POW families. Unfortunately, the North Vietnamese are only flattered. Our attentions have increased the worth of these prisoners as political pawns.

The war is a mistake. Further sacrifices of life and national unity can't change that or reverse history. Two years ago we elected our leader (who had a plan to end the war). We expected in him an ability to perceive mistakes, take corrective action, and program efforts at reconciliation. Our President knows the war is a mistake, or he would opt for a prompt military conclusion in good conscience.

POW families, direct your petitions to our President. He will not question that you love your country. Tell him to cease military operations, step-up the withdrawal, suspend military aid of Indochina and request Congress to survey any new aid programs, withdraw economic support from all, vestiges of the Thieu-Ky regime until representative government is guaranteed, and prepare POWs held in the South for release and amnesty.

This is the honorable and just way to conclude America's suffocating entanglement and preserve the odds on the lives and health of our missing and imprisoned. This way we may preserve our dignity among the nations. This way we may yet save what is left of Vietnam and its violated people. This is the way to get our POWs and MIAs back alive - and soon, as justice demands.

NEWTON S. FINK JR.
Virginia Beach.

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

BOB DOLE
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Thought this might be of interest to you ...

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Congressional Record
United States of America
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 92nd CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
Vol. 117 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1971 No. 8

Senate

U.S. CONCERN FOR POW'S AND MIA'S
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, recently Richard G. Capen, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, spoke to a joint session of the Washington State Legislature and discussed the historical perspectives and present realities of U.S. efforts on behalf of American servicemen who are prisoners and missing in action in Southeast Asia.

The plight of these men, as well as the anguish of their families and loved ones here at home, have increasingly become the subject of national attention and concern. This heightened awareness has spread to every corner of the country and throughout the world chiefly as a result of volunteer efforts and the resolve of our Government- especially by officials in the Department of Defense- that our captured and missing men will not be forgotten.

Mr. Capen has been closely involved with all phases of our efforts to obtain information, release, and better treatment for POW's and MIA's, and he speaks with a clear understanding of the overall situation. It is important to emphasize one critical point made by Mr. Capen, and it is that these prisoners and missing men are not all in North Vietnam. Indeed approximately one half are Army and Marine ground troops and air crewmen missing and captured in South Vietnam. The mistaken impression-one shared by some high public officials as well as the general public-is that the North Vietnamese are the only enemy involved in these breaches of international law. But the Vietcong and Pathet Lao are equally at fault and should be condemned with the same force.

Mr. Capen's remarks express the heartfelt concern of all Americans, I ask unanimous consent that they be printed in the RECORD.

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

ADDRESS BY MR. RICHARD G. CAPEN, JR.
It is a privilege for me to have the honor today of addressing this important joint session of the Washington State Legislature. Your desire to unite in expressing concern for American prisoners of war and missing in action servicemen is greatly appreciated by those who are working relentlessly to resolve the prisoner problem.

We commend you for your dedication to our efforts in the Defense Department to assure humane treatment of prisoners of war and the identification of all those who are missing in action.

Your support means more than you will ever know to the wives, children, and parents who have lived so long not knowing whether their loved ones are dead or alive. I know, because I have met personally in cities across the country with more than 2,500 of these brave American relatives. There are more than 125 relatives living right here in the State of Washington.

The Nixon Administration has made it absolutely clear that our goal is to restore peace in Southeast Asia. Time and time again the President has reaffirmed his willingness to seek an early end to the war through negotiation.

Regretfully, there has been no progress in the Paris peace talks. Realizing this possibility in early 1969, the Nixon Administration moved forward with a viable alternative: Vietnamization. Through the Vietnamization program significant progress has been made in turning the combat responsibility over to the South Vietnamese. By this Spring, the South Vietnamese forces will have the capability of assuming virtually all of the combat role in their country.

As a result, the President has set six targets for American troop withdrawals. To date, five targets have been reached ahead of schedule and the sixth will be met or beat by May 1st. At that time the authorized troop ceiling of U.S. forces will have been reduced by more than 260,000 Americans.

Through the President's forthright peace initiatives and, alternatively, his successful efforts in bringing American troops home from Southeast Asia, I believe he has convinced scores of other nations-friendly and critical alike-that the United States does intend to withdraw American forces from South Vietnam.

As other countries understand our desire to end the war, they also fully recognize our nation's determination to seek the humane treatment of American prisoners of war, an official accounting for those who are missing, and importantly the immediate release of all prisoners of war. In short, we are proving to others our desire to restore peace, thereby gaining significant support for the humane treatment of war prisoners. Other nations have become increasingly intolerant of the enemy's cruel handling of the prisoner question.

Prior to 1969, very little has been said publicly about these captured and missing men. Their families had been advised to remain in the background. There was very little public comment by responsible officials.

The government's position was that quiet, low key diplomatic efforts were more likely to achieve results than public discussion of the problem. Regretfully, this approach brought no significant progress.

As a result of a thorough review of POW policy directed by Secretary Laird, change in basic policy with regard to prisoners and missing men was approved. We believed that these men should no longer go virtually unnoticed and unremembered.

This was particularly critical when realizing that, in early 1969 some of the men had been listed as prisoners or missing for nearly five years. The vast majority, of course, were lost prior to November 1, 1968 when the extensive bombing of North Vietnam was being carried out.

It has been hoped that the new approach undertaken by President Nixon would focus public attention here and abroad on the callous and inhuman attitude of Hanoi and its Communist apparatus in Sotuheast Asia.

In a series of agreements stretching back for more than 100 years, civilized nations have generally agreed to abide by a code of conduct that prohibits the barbarous treatment of war captives.

The most current formulation of this code is contained in the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

This standard requires prompt identification and reporting prisoners of war when they are captured. It requires the impartial inspection of prisoner of war facilities. Furthermore, it states that there should be an immediate release of seriously sick and wounded prisoners; and finally, it provides that prisoners and their families should be allowed to correspond freely and regularly.

The enemy has not made even the slightest pretense toward compliance with the humanitarian requirements of the Geneva Code. There never has been a complete and official list of known prisoners. There never has been an impartial inspection of any North Vietnamese, Viet Cong or Pathet Leo prisoner camp. Only one seriously sick or injured prisoner has ever been released, yet we know many of our men were injured at the time of their capture.

Mail flow, while showing some improvement in recent months, has been severely restricted and carefully censored. Of the 80 men known to be prisoners in South Vietnam and Laos only one has ever been allowed to write a letter.

Although the other side has announced that families may send small packages to prisoners every other month, there is evidence that certain items are removed.

In recent months a number of incomplete lists of men reported to be held in North Vietnam has been released to the public. Tragically, those lists have indicated that some men apparently have died in captivity. Even then the enemy has refused to provide essential information about the circumstances of death. What possible reason could the enemy have for refusing to identify men who died three or four years ago.

Our negotiators in Paris and diplomatic representatives around the world have done much to see that the plight of American prisoners of war and our country's concern for their welfare are understood. Colonel Frank Borman was sent by the President to 14 capitals to present the facts to the leaders of other nations and to encourage parallel efforts on their part toward easing the plight of the prisoners and their loved ones.

President Nixon has made a comprehensive peace proposal, including the immediate exchange of all prisoners. This offer, made in October, would result in the release to the other side of ten times as many men as would be returned to the U.S. and to our allies.

Unhappily, the response of the enemy to this generous offer has been negative, despite the fact that the prisoner of war question has been brought up in Paris every single week since March of last year.

In contrast to the enemy's continued refusals, the South Vietnamese have abided by the Geneva Convention. Today, the Re-

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PAGE 2

public of Vietnam holds some 38,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong prisoners. I have visited one of these camps and can attest to the humane treatment of these POW's, a fact verified regularly by ICRC inspection teams.

The South Vietnamese, as seen only this past weekend, have repeatedly moved forward to release sick and injured prisoners, To date, some 200 have been returned despite numerous obstacles set up by the other side. Just this week the South Vietnamese government proposed the immediate release of disabled prisoners on all sides.

It is urgent that all POW's be released. Time is running out for these men and their families have suffered far too long.

For that reason, the President and the Secretary of Defense approved last November the raid of a prisoner of war camp at Son Tay, deep in enemy territory. We have no regrets for having proceeding with the rescue effort despite the fact that there were no prisoners in the camp at the time of the raid.

We believe we owe it to our men and to their families to attempt such rescue operations even recognizing the risks involved.

We will continue to consider all attempts to resolve the prisoner of war problem including further possible rescue attempts. The later option becomes increasingly important as we continue to receive information that Americans apparently are dying in enemy prison camps.

Furthermore, the passage of time bears down on the problem. Let me cite a few statistics.

Today, there are 1,550 men who are listed as prisoners of war or missing in action. About one half are Army and Marine ground forces and air crewmen who are missing or captured in South Vietnam or Laos. The remainder are Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps airmen whose planes were shot down over North Vietnam during the extensive bombing raids three and four years ago.

Some of these men have been held prisoner by the enemy for more than six years. One man, believed to be a prisoner in South Vietnam, will pass in March his seventh year of captivity.

More than 300 of these brave Americans have been captured or missing longer than any U.S. serviceman was held prisoner during all of World War II.

It is not difficult to understand the severe emotional distress that results to the wives and children who have lived with uncertainty for so many years. Many children are now four and five years old and have never seen their fathers. At least four wives of these men have suffered accidental deaths and a number of others are seriously ill and even terminally ill.

In the past 20 months more than 300 wives and children have knocked on embassy doors in various parts of the world in a futile search for information on their loved ones. Some 100 relatives have had face-to-face meetings with North Vietnamese officials at Paris and in other foreign capitals.

Some have been subjected to a heavy barrage of enemy propaganda, and to a series of false promises. How tragic it has been that the enemy has chosen to exploit these relatives.

The plight of these families has reached the hearts of millions of Americans who have participated in letter writing campaigns and major civic efforts to express their commitment to the cause of justice for American prisoners of war.

This concern shown by so many people has been deeply gratifying and it has had some effect. Letters now flow more freely between prisoners in North Vietnam and their fmailies. More packages from home are getting through to the prison camps, and Hanoi recently has sought to convince a very skeptical world that American prisoners are receiving proper treatment.

Even those nations and individuals sympathetic to the North Vietnamese Government have exhibited little patience for the enemy's cruel and inhuman treatment of our men and their families. These war critics have been hard pressed to justify the enemy's handling of American prisoners.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has voted, without dissent, a resolution supporting humane treatment of war prisoners. The United Nations has approved another resolution calling for humanitarian treatment of prisoners of war. In addition, the Congress of the United States has devoted considerable attention to the prisoner subject, passing a number of resolutions and holding an unprecedented joint session to hear a report by Colonel Frank Borman on his global trip as Special Emissary of the President on behalf of the prisoners of war.

We have had continued support from the various news media through newspaper editorials, magazine feature stories, and television news coverage.

One should not be deceived when viewing the limited number of highly controlled and censored interviews which Hanoi released during the Christmas season. They included only a brief glimpse of a very small number of men.

The interviews were carefully controlled. Only those who outwardly appeared healthy were shown, and only four questions were permitted. The questions had to be submitted in advance. Even then, the North Vietnamese found it necessary to censor some of the comments made by the prisoners.

The comments made were limited to superficial, broad generalities which really did not address the problem. There was no news about any of the other prisoners. In fact, those shown were among the small number who have been paraded before cameras from time to time.

The films themselves are a violation of the Convention which prohibits the exploitation of prisoners of war for propaganda purposes and exposing them to public curiosity.

The public support which you have shown today and which we have seen for so many months has served as strong encouragement and hope to the thousands of wives, parents and children; but their tragedy endures with little response by the enemy.

If the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong are truly providing humanitarian treatment for our men, why should they believe it necessary to release carefully controlled prisoner films? Why should they be afraid to permit ICRC inspection tems into the camps? Why should they continue to claim humane treatment when we know that men have been held in isolation for prolonged periods; when we know of instances where broken bones have been rebroken, where fingernails have been removed, where medical attention has been denied, and where proper diets have been ignored.

Communist authorities have referred to our prisoners of war and missing men as "just 1,550 men." They can't understand how we in America can be so concerned about "just 1,550 men."

What they forget is that our American way of life is founded on the value, dignity and freedom of every single human life. Our nation has a long history of voluntary efforts to defend the right to freedom. Millions of Americans have served their country around the world for this cause.

Thousands of Americans have served their country in Southeast Asia. Many have risked their lives. Many volunteered for duty knowing that they risked capture.

Today, we are here to defend helpless Americans who have made those sacrifices and who, as a result, are prisoners of war and missing in action.

Despite the physical hardship, the mental and emotional suffering, the long, long separation from loved ones, and the seemingly hopelessness of their situation, those Americans who have been released or escaped tell us that they never gave up hope. They have survived through a strong faith in God, an unending dedication to their country, and a devoted love of family. They have proven their faith in America. Have we proven our faith in them?

We in the Defense Department are deeply indebted to these servicemen for their dedication and sacrifice. We insist that everything possible be done to assure the proper treatment of our men in captivity, to obtain their eventual release, and while they are gone, to give every possible assistance to their wives, children and parents.

We appreciate your concern as expressed in this session today and hope you will join with us in our determination to resolve the plight of these men whose courage we so deeply admire and whose sacrifice we so greatly respect.

These men have served our country well. Their families have suffered long, but I can a sure you that these brave men will not be forgotten.

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Correspondence Between Senator Bob Dole and the Wife of a Prisoner of War

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