LETTERS
Dear Representative Barton:
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
6th District, Texas
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-4306
May 11, 1998
Enclosed is information from the American Embassy in Hanoi in response to the inquiry initiated on your behalf.
In his telegram, Ambassador Peterson suggested that I contact the Department of Defense. I have now forwarded an inquiry to that agency. You may be certain that I will pass along to you any additional information as soon as I receive it.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please
let me know.
Joe Barton
Member of Congress
UPDATE FROM HANOI
DEAR MR. BARTON:
I AM WRITING IN RESPONSE TO YOUR FAXED
LETTER DATED APRIL 29, 1998, REGARDING THE WELFARE AND WHEREABOUTS FOR
DR. ELEANOR ARDEL VIETTI. YOU CONSTITUENT, MRS. STAR, CONTACTED YOUR OFFICE
REGARDING THIS MATTER.
THE CONSULAR SECTION AT THE AMERICAN EMBASSY
IN HANOI CONTACTED THE JOINT TASK FORCE-FULL ACCOUNTING DETACHMENT TWO/US
MISSING IN-ACTION OFFICE IN HANOI. THEY EXPLAINED THAT DR. ELEANOR ARDEL
VIETTI, REV. ARCHIE E. MITCHELL AND DANIEL A. GERBER ARE CONSIDERED UNITED
STATES CITIZENS MISSING-IN-ACTION, AND THAT THESE CASES HAVE BEEN EXAMINED
ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS BY MEMBERS OF THE JOINT TASK FORCE-FULL ACCOUNTING
(JTFA-FA) AND BY THE JOINT CASUALTY RESOLUTION CENTER (JCRC) AS A RESULT
OF THEIR INVESTIGATIONS, THEY HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE INDIVIDUALS WERE
KILLED BY LOCAL FORCES. THE ALLEDGED BURIAL SITE HAS BEEN EXCAVATED, BUT
REMAINS HAVE NOT BEEN RECOVERED. SPECIFIC CASE INFORMATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED
TO THE NEXT OF KIN. THEIR REFERENCE NUMBER F0R THIS CASE IS REFNO 0011.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOU MAY WISH TO CONTACT
THE DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR MISSING-IN-ACTION OFFICE (DPMO) IN WASHINGTON,
D. C. THEIR ADDRESS IS: OASD-ISA-POW-MIA, 2400 DEFENSE PENTAGON, WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20301-2400
PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IF
THERE IS ANY OTHER MATTER ON WHICH I CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE.
SINCERELY YOURS,
PETE PETERSON
AMBASSADOR
HANOI, VIETNAM
DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING PERSONNEL OFFICE
2400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D. C. 20301-2400
Honorable Joe Barton
United States Representative
4521 South Hulen Street
Suite 210
Fort Worth, Texas 76109
Dear Representative Barton:
Thank you for your May 11, 1998, letter to our office
on behalf of your constituent, Ms. 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 your use in responding
to Ms. Star.
Dr. Vietti and two other American missionary workers
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: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pow/powhome.html
President Clinton, like Presidents Regan and Bush
before him, has declared accounting for out 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 2,090
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, 493 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 www.dtic.mil/dpmo.
Representative Barton, 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 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)
To: senator@hutchison.senate.gov
Dear Senator Hutchison:
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
Dear Amber:
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding the search
for MIAs.
I appreciate your comments on this very important issue. As a member
of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will push to ensure that we use
our resources as wisely and efficiently as we can in our efforts to locate
volunteers and soldiers of war. They deserve nothing less.
Please do not hesitate to contact me again on this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
