THE OTHER WALL
LETTERS
Dear Representative Granger:
What is being done to determine the fate of Eleanor Ardel Vietti, who was last seen 30 May 1962 in South Vietnam? She was working as a civilian surgeon at the Ban Me Thout Leprosarium when abducted by the Viet Cong. Also, abducted were the Rev. Archie E. Mitchell and Daniel A. Gerber.
There was no evidence that she was killed and in 1962 the U.S. pledged all of its resources in order to see that everything was done to get them back safely.
At the time, U.S. and Vietnamese intelligence discovered their probable location, but were never able to rescue the three. Reports have continued to surface on them through the years since 1962. Some of their families believe them to still be alive.
Now, 36 years later, Vietti, Gerber, and Mitchell are still missing. Please advise me of any action that is being taken by you or any other elected or appointed official to determine these people's fate. In the event that nothing is being done, please explain why not, and tell me how you personally plan to correct this and prevent it from ever happening again.
Sincerely,
Amber Star
Kay Granger
12th District, Texas
Assitant Whip
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-4312
June 2, 1998
Dear Mrs. Star:
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the measures taken to discover the fate of Eleanor Ardel Vietti, the Rev. Archie E. Mitchell and Daniel A. Gerber. It was good to hear from you.
I have forwarded your letter to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense POW/MIA Affairs in Washington, D. C. asking that they research the matter and report back to me.
I am enclosing an address for the National League of POW/MIA Families which is a non-profit organization comprised of families of POW/MIAs. You may wish to contact them.
Again, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will contact you when I receive a reply.
Sincerely,
Kay Granger
Member of Congress
National League of POW/MIA Families
1001 Connecticut Avenue N.W Suite 20036
Washington, D. C. 20036
DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING PERSONNEL OFFICE
2400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D. C. 20301-2400
Honorable Kay Granger
United States Representative
Dear Representative Granger:
Thank you for your June 3, 1998, letter to our office on behalf of Ms. Star. Ms. Star is seeking information on Dr. Eleanor A. Vietti, Reverend Archie Mitchell, and Mr. Daniel A. Gerber, all of whom are unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. We are pleased to provide you the following information for your use in responding to Ms. Star.
Dr. Vietti, Reverend Mitchell, and Mr. Gerber were kidnapped from their hospital in South Vietnam by communist guerillas on May 30, 1962. Following their capture, a concerted diplomatic and public effort was initiated to obtain their release or information on their whereabouts, but it met with no success.
Since 1989, DoD investigators have conducted six investigations in Vietnam in an effort to account for Dr. Vietti and her two fellow missionaries. We have interviewed numerous witnesses who report that the three civilians were executed after their capture on the erroneous belief that they were spies. We subsequently located and excavated their suspected burial site, but were unable to recover any remains. Despite our best efforts, the three Americans remain unaccounted for at this writing.
If Ms. Star would like more information regarding Dr. Vietti and our efforts to account for her, her records are available to the public at the Library of Congress (LoC). She can access the LoC index through the Internet at: LoC.
Over the past year, our agency has received a number of inquires from concerned citizens similar to the one presented to you by Ms. Star. Each letter contains similar phrasing suggesting the United States Government abandoned many of our men at the end of the Vietnam War, and is doing nothing to find these men or their remains. Such information is grossly inaccurate.
President Clinton, like Presidents Regan and Bush before him, has declared accounting for our countrymen to be a matter of the highest national priority. To support the President, DoD has assigned more than 500 men and women to work this issue worldwide on a full-time basis. The mission of our agency is to lead and oversee the DoD effort to locate, account for, and repatriate Americans missing or captured as a result of past, current, and future hostile actions. Operations to recover remains from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, North Korea, China, Armenia, the Netherlands, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Burma, the Kuril Islands, and Tibet illustrate our commitment to recover American remains wherever they may be located and to determine the fates of all our unaccounted for Americans.
DoD is vigorously working to account for the 2,089 Americans who are unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Since 1988, American teams have completed more than 2,000 investigations in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to account for Americans lost during that war. As a result of the United States Government's commitment to the fullest possible accounting since 1973, 494 American servicemen who were unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been repatriated, identified, and interred with full military honors.
Ms. Star should also know that out efforts are not limited to the Vietnam War. The key to unlocking most of the answers we need in our accounting efforts for the Korean War lies in gaining access to North Korea. In the past two years, our long years of frustrating negotiantions with the North Koreans have succeeded in completion of five joint recovery operations. As a result of our efforts, the remains of nine American servicemen have been recovered.
Unlike our efforts to account for Americans lost during the Vietnam and Korean Wars, we do not actively seek locations of World War II losses due to that war's global scale. Nevertheless, once possible American remains are discovered and we are notified, we make every effort to recover and identify the remains and return them to their families. Since 1992, the remains of 96 servicemen from World War II have been recovered. Of those 96 men, 28 have been identified, returned to their families, and interred with full military honors.
Despite all our efforts on this issue, some continue to speculate that Americans remain in captivity in Southeast Asia and other countries where the United States has prosecuted war. Contrary to the many conspiracy theories, no investigation, no evidence, and no information collected and analyzed has proven the presence of American servicemen in captivity anywhere in the world. This, despite the fact that we have at our disposal the most advanced intelligenge collection systems known to mankind. Nevertheless, our top priority is live Americans. If we receive any information concerning the possiblity of Americans being held, we investigate to the fullest possible extent. So that Ms. Star may stay abreast of our operations throughout the world, I recommend you have her contact our Internet site at Defense Prisoners of War/Missing Personnel Office.
Representative Granger, the men and women of this office gratefully appreciate your continuous concern and support for our efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting of our nation's missing servicemen. I hope this information is helpful in responding to Ms. Star. If you or members of your staff have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Sincerely, Charles W. Henley Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office Cc: Department of State (Ms. Jenny Foo) MORE LETTERS
Dear Senator Gramm: What is being done to determine the fate of Eleanor Ardel Vietti, who was last seen 30 May 1962 in South Vietnam. She was working as a civilian surgeon at the Ban Me Thout Leprosarium when abducted by the Viet Cong. Also, abducted were the Rev. Archie E. Mitchell and Daniel A. Gerber. There was no evidence that she was killed and in 1962 the U.S. pledged all of it's resources in order to see that everything was done to get them back safely. At the time, U.S. and Vietnamese intelligence discovered their probable location, but were never able to rescue the three. Reports have continued to surface on them through the years since 1962. Some of their families believe them to still be alive. Now, 36 years later, Vietti, Gerber, and Mitchell are still missing. Please advise me of any action that is being taken by you or any other elected or appointed official to determine these people's fate. In the event that nothing is being done, please explain why not, and tell me how you personally plan to correct this and prevent it from ever happening again. Sincerely, Amber Star
RESPONSE
June 18, 1998
Dear Ms. Star:
Enclosed is the reply I received from the Department of Defense in response to my earlier inquiry on your behalf. I hope this will be useful to you.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate. If I can be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours respectfully,
PHIL GRAMM
United States Senator
Enclosure
Honorable Phil Gramm
Dear Senator Gramm:
Since 1989, DoD investigators have conducted six investigations in Vietnam in an effort to account for Dr. Vietti and her two fellow missionaries. We have interviewed numerous witnesses who report that the three civilians were executed after their capture on the erroneous belief that they were spies. We subsequently located and excavated their suspected burial site, but were unable to recover any remains. Despite our best efforts, the three Americans remain unaccounted for at this writing. Since 1989, DoD investigators have conducted six investigations in Vietnam in an effort to account for Dr. Vietti and her two fellow missionaries. We have interviewed numerous witnesses who report that the three civilians were executed after their capture on the erroneous belief that they were spies. We subsequently located and excavated their suspected burial site, but were unable to recover any remains. Despite our best efforts, the three Americans remain unaccounted for at this writing. If Ms. Star would like more information regarding Dr. Vietti and our efforts to account for her, her records are available to the public at the Library of Congress (LoC). She can access the LoC index through the Internet at:
United States Senator
2323 Bryan Street, #2150
Dallas, TX 75201
Thank you for your May 11, 1998, letter to our office on behalf of your consituent, Ms. Amber Star. Ms. Star is seeking information on Dr. Eleanor A. Vietti who is unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. We are pleased to provide you the following information for you use in responding to Ms. Star.
President Clinton, like Presidents Regan and Bush before him, has declared accounting for our countrymen to be a matter of the highest national priority. To support the President, DoD has assigned more than 500 men and women to work this issue worldwide on a full-time basis. The mission of our agency is to lead and oversee the DoD effort to locate, account for, and repatriate Americans missing or captured as a result of past, current, and future hostile actions. Operations to recover remains from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, North Korea, China, Armenia, the Netherlands, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Burma, the Kuril Islands, and Tibet illustrate our commitment to recover American remains wherever they may be located and to determine the fates of all our unaccounted for Americans.
DoD is vigorously working to account for the 2,089 Americans who are unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Since 1988, American teams have completed more than 2,000 investigations in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to account for Americans lost during that war. As a result of the United States Government's commitment to the fullest possible accounting since 1973, 494 American servicemen who were unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been repatriated, identified, and interred with full military honors.
So that Ms Star may stay abreast of our current and future accounting efforts, I recommend you have her contact our Internet site at Defense Prisoners of War/Missing Personnel Office.
Senator Gramm, the men and women of this office gratefully appreciate your continuous concern and consistent support for our efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting of our nation's missing servicemen. I hope this information is helpful to Ms. Star. If you or members of your staff have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Sincerely, Charles W. Henley Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office Cc: Department of State (Ms. Jenny Foo)