LETTER FOR MR. ELDEN ALDRIDGE FROM GEORGE A. CARVER, JR.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01720R000700030080-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 4, 2004
• Sequence Number: 80
• Publication Date: November 15, 1971
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80R01720R000700030080-0
15 Nov 71
Mr. Angus Thurmer
Assistant to the Director
GACarver, Jr.
. Elden Aldridge
gave me a copy of Mr.
Aldridge's October letter and asked
for guidance on how to respond. My
ever efficient associates have looked
into the matter and prepared the
attached response. In this case, I think
they were probably too efficient since
in my view it would be better for the
response to go out over your signature
rather than mine. In any event, the
facts are as set forth in the attached
draft letter which you can handle as you
see fit.
George A. Carver, Jr.
Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs
Attachment
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80R01720R000700030080-0
 Approu ~d For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA=RDP8ORt1720R000700030080-0
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
15 November 1971
Mr. Elden Aldridge
Bidili Press
P.O. Box 1107
Austin, Texas 78767
Dear Mr. Aldridge:
referred to this office handling your request.
Your letter of October 26 was
reply and we apologize for the delay in
"The Committee for the Denunciation of U. S. - Puppet War
Crimes in South Vietnam, "' an affiliate organization of the so-
called National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, was
founded in March 1966.
Its members include: Chairman-
Ung Ngoc Ky
Members: Nguyen Ngoc Thong
Ito Thu
Nguyen Van Cu
Le Van Huan
Tan Duc
Bui Thi Me
The full text of the requested statement, as released by
Hanoi's Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on 16 August 1968, is en-
closed.
We hope to have been of service to you.
George A. Carver, Jr.
Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80RO172OR000700030080-0
 Approvt4.For Release 2006/02/10 : CtA-RDP80FW720R000700030080-0
It. 16 Aug 68
on behalf of all fighters at.d `*cartfelt
I take advantage of this occasion to convey,
and the South Vietnamese people's armed fo rces, meat
of the liberation army
meetings to all soldiers and officers of the reoples Y of Fraternal Bulgaria'
DSSOUNCES U.S. ACTS
SA.R CRIME- GOPOalITTEB Av.g 68 B
Hanoi VNA International Service in English 0547 OMIT 15
b the U.S. ~peralist."?
the
Hanoi" crimes
[Tent] 'The committee tatem to has denounce iswar e e crimes ement tte denouncing 1968 in
in South Vietnam ts sin-
the and their ha August and released by n ~gF8A 1 PISS
L,crpetrated b by the the United States aed its p up P
'each Vietnam' The statement, dated 12 ;`^Y, said:
of 1966 have made
to tHseir frantic attempts to save themselves PrLheebeSinningef eat in south Vie sau-*~,
cos~altting many more bloody
ria'lists and their henchmen since
the U.S. impP- their war of aggression, the peace-loving
top efforts to s.eP up of our people and
a
crimes in defiance of the stern condcnnation o.
of the world, including progressive people in the United
;Ind Justice-loving People
;,fates. trop s ,.,to South Vietnam, bringing the
00C at
U.S. U.S? aggressors have been pouring more troop 550
7, to
aggre ocorps of 389.000 as of the end of 1967 more over ,
ens of billion of dollars more toward the tar in
expeditionary
,r,sent. They haveellocat tens thousand of additional sate uY3tton,P.'?
of tons of weapons,
dic'-~'+?.is anal introduced into South Vietnam
pet cliole to
ridoth of aircraft and warships . and millions nPover and material from the People
and other war .~ic~riol- They y Y:a+e ordered the T'ni?=uTy?Huon3 pup .
o p more ma as an irsom th t to
l uo et a*?mv and use it a.
aunch a general mob i o to undy
in an attempt to revive ve the the m moribund P P
of aggression here
prolong their war o.
riallsts and their henchmiing up tow r ing rrire3
At the same time, th? U.S. imperialists
destruction, P s action
more rabid in their acts of genocide and vebruary, they have wreaked de,`?
eo le. ~vs, Since and provincial capitals thrruE #``..,ut
elti"5,
against the South Vietnamese P Kontum, Pleiku, Ba-
4tth Viet cxplOsivPs on more than 1 13' tow
Dalat, Phan Thief,
including Saigon, :Jae, M. In 42 urban
'Tot CrCaTo y The, Chau Doc, Vinh Long, and Ko and a ua,
u
centers Can en TgeDelta. more than 10,000 homes have been ruined,
in the the Nekon and 30,000 others rendered hommeless?
number of civilians killed or wounded' - l o ves
recendented degree their use of e..have
to an unp They
The U.S. aggressors have increased
and various weapons banned by international law to massacre the people.
tematic attacks on all r gtcYn-
2 strategic coders to make sslated areas and adjoining _
used,
South lo heavily POP '
c Soutluding h SaiFon? Vietnam. esg 2's made ;acre than 1,800 sorties in south '^it ed "
In May blon Bey the United States within a 40-d.Y p r
e, a used by
,ic^?ording to Ar. the bomb trag that used for all of South Vietnar in ?962'
,,war ar~sas surrounding Saigon ecvz. d
1,65, and 1964 put together.
destruction to -?,nj`.ea?rilY
es hive also cauecd ?eua Thirn, Mang 'tan, ="`s ;'o3,
;!. b>c?eas of on..t the P types of R'1an8 ;r:., and Rach G`a? i areas Thlet, Vinh Long , Tra Vinh. Can Tho, Long An,
? la r.., r`nan in
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80RO172OR000700030080-0
 - ? 16 Aug 68 L 12 : 0u, 1LTX,%X
Approv For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80t* 720R000700030080-0
T;c use of h'Gh concentration chemicals has boon increased to an unprocedentod
e a -tact more than 20 provinces to dcotroy vo otation on thousand of square
ti iorceters, thus depriving the people of their means of living. The chcnsioals
have affected, in many cases mortally', thousands of civilians, mostly sromen, aged
F,^v.sle, and children. In Ben Tre Province alone, 100,000 hectares of ricefielda and
0rc1,ards cave been ravaged by U.S. toxic chemicals. On 15 May 1,968, the United
;,;;atos cr ? ;'d poison gas bombs on Da Phuoc Hot and An Thanh villages :.n (Ma C?Y)
district, ?n Tre Province. Ac a result, more than 500 old folks and hundreds of
children ?;or. asphyxiated and vomited' blcod. Xn Oio Linh district. Quang Tri
Province , 'c1-se United States xtas destroyed with toxic chemicals crops and vegetation
covering 540 square kilometers. In Hue, Saigon, and many other cities, poison gas
of various kinds has been used by tho Un_.ted States to terrorize and massacre
South Viotnemeze people.
The U.S. aggressors and their henchmen are applying ever more ferocioutly the "burn
all, kill all,'dcstroy all" policy and herding people into concentration camps.
They have launched innamcrable sweeps and bloody o- rations in both tosms and
countryside, killing and looting many people. In Lo district, Quang Tri Province,
the U.S. aggressors have reduced to ashes 268 out the 316 hamlets of the district.
In northern Quang Nam, Pak Chong-hui troops from 2 13 t:arch 1968 raided a number
of villages in Dien Ban district, killing 734 civz"..ans.
On 16 }'arch 1966 troops of the U.S. 3d Brigade, 82d Paratroop Division, raided Son
My village, Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai. Province, massacring 502 persons, including
more than 170 children and hundreds of women and old and weak people. In Pleiku,
Kontun, Quang?Tri, Thua Thien, Quang Nam, Quang Nrai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and other
provinces, the U.S. aggressors and their lackeys coxylucted many sweeps during harvest
time. They drove tanks across tens of thous,aryds of hectares of ricefields, burned
;he people's houses, massacred the inhabitants, and set fire to or plundered
thousands of tons of,the people's rice. Looting operations have been carried out
right in the cities and provincial and district capitals. On'26 July 1968, hundreds
of ill's in Cam Ranh c-,wn plundered the population in broad daylight.
The U.S. aggressors and their flunkeys have systematically destroyed many cultural
and religious projects and age-old historical relics of our people, and are
continuing to do so. The world knows that they have bombed and strafed Hue, the
former imperial capital, t ^ning into rubble more than 80 percent of the walls,
palaces, places of worship, historical projects, and dwelling houses of the people.
They have ruined hundreds of churches, pagodas, and other places of worship, schools
and hospitals, such as the Du Sinh Church, the Virgin :Lary Church in Dalat, the
An Quang Pagoda in Saigon, the Bao Q*uoc and Dieu De- pagoC.ns in Hue, the Phat An
and ]?ho Due pagodas in Hy Tho, the Cao Dai Holy See in Ben Tre, the Samacum Pagoda
in Soc Trang, Hue University, the Dalat bacteriological institute, and so forth.
In the area under their control, the U.S. aggressors and the Thieu-1[y-H.iong clique
of traitors have frantically terrorized, arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and
massacred patriots and those who advocate peace and neutrality, including members
of the puppet army and administration who are opposed to them.
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80RO172OR000700030080-0
 er ccr-.ittot
Tha capital punA9i~TCb 24~ catP~'or ~a 7e20Kb06700030080-0
of the Vietnam Alliance OF National, Democra.
(?wor,csrs), intellectuals, students, and personnel of the puppet administration, rind
Host recently, the coldblooded murder of Tran Quoc Chuong. a student, on account
of his ideas about peace, have laid bare the fascist nature of the U.S. ag6:res-~orz
and their henchmen.
The Statement pointed out that these criminal acts have also revealed the deceitful,
hypocritical character of the U.S. contentions about its desire for peace, restraint,
c:neseaintion, and so forth. The statement earnestly called on the people, govern-
a-ruts, mass organizations, and democratic and progressive personalities, iicluding
r;rogrecsive people in the United States, to condemn n=are severely the crimps of
pie U.S. s.^grossors and their lackeys against the Vietnamese people, take -argent
assistanceyto the?Vietnamesespeoplt.
supportbloody
ri es end giveostrongercheck
flun:_eyeys,
The statement enpresscd the determination of the Vietnamese people to fulfillatheir
just cause of liberating the south, defending the north, and achieving
reunification of the country, thus making an active contribution to the safeguarding
of world peace.
STUDENT M MZRS OF ALLIANCE INTERVIi r
Hanoi in Vietnamese to South Vietnam 0800 OMT 14 Aug 68 S
[Student interviews on sentencing of alliance leaders--read by announcer]
[Text] Recently, Liberation Radio interviewed representatives of youths a.nd college
al committee of the Vietnam Alliance of National,
t
r
, to the cen
a.id high-school student
Derocratie, and Peace Forces concerning the death sentence in absentia pass
lc .deers of the alliance by the U.S.-Thic;:-";'-iiuong clique.
Answering a question on his first impression:- upon learning of the pronouncement of
the sentence on the leaders, of the central committee of the Vietna Alliance uths and
I3tioral, ~emoeratie, snd Peace Forces, nmmmoni; whom are rcp
sigh-scr.ool and college students, Tran Trieu Luat said:
"";ot till now had the U.S. aggressors and their lackeys sentenced youths and high-
school and college students to death. Now they' have implemented a mobilization
policy to send many of our youths and high-school and college students to die in
their place. They have lust passed a death sentence ofaouths ofIallvage:byeenforcing
a ;;eneral mobilization 1 With this death sentence facing ,
the death sentence in absentia .h^'? have dust passed on mc."
Le Huu Dang stated: "Upon learning of the death sentence in absentia, i immediately
thought of those youths and high-school and college students who previously engaged
in the struggle and were sentenced to death by the lackey Saigon administration.
They were Le Quang Vinh, Le Hong Tu, and others, This thought caused me to feel
somewhat proud. Struggling against the Americans for national salvation is not only
a sacred duty, b'xt also a great honor for youths. I felt greatly honored when I
was sentenced to death by the U.S.-Thieu-Ky-Huong clique."
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80RO172OR000700030080-0
 ApprovFor Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80T'1720R00070
division of TECHNIGRAPHICS INC. P.O. Box 1107
October 26, 1971
Irx. Richard M. Heins, Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C. 20505
Austin, Texas 78767
During the past three years I have researched and written a book on our first 130
Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War. When the War ends and all awards
of the Medal have been made, I will prepare a second volume.
In the course of my research I have consulted both US and North Vietnamese sources.
In a North Vietnamese document entitled Vietnamese Studies No. 22, The Year 198
(Chronolo , ), available from China Books & Periodicals, 2929 24th St., San Francisco,
California 94110, there appeared an item on pages 222-223 (see attached xerox copy)
which I wonder if your Agency could verify. Did the Commission for the Denunciation
of US War Crimes in South Viet Nam actually issue that Communique on 12 August 1968
which referred in part to the My Lai (Son My) massacre?
I would appreciate it if you could tell me anything about the Commission, who its
members are, and, if possible, supply a copy of the alleged Communique.
Sincerely,
EA:cl Elden Aldridge
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80R01720R000700030080-0
 Approved Fort ers X006/02/10 :, CIA-RDRAOR01720R000700030080-0
an greatly contribute to ending a tragic adventure
of the United. States.
- Senator McGovern saes he stands for election to
the US presidency with two aims : to stop the war
and put an end to division within the nation.
- 280 pacifists of Japan and. other countries hold
a three=day conference in Tokyo to discuss peace in
Viet Nam.
AUGUST 12
- Communique of the Commission for the Denunc a-
tion of US IJ''ar Crimes in South Viet -Nana :
Massive increase of the US expeditionary corps (from.
381,000 men at the close of 1967 to 550,000 at present),
of mercenaries from satellite countries and of puppet
troops. intensification of massacres and devastations.
(since February 1968, 130 towns and urban centres.
devastated, io,ooo habitations destroyed, over 1o,ooo
civilian casualties and over 300,000 homeless persons
in 42-towns and urban centres in the Mekong delta).
Massive bombings ever. of populous regions (1,80o-
sorties of 13.52 super-'oom-t)ers in May 1968 ; in 4o days,
the tonnage of bombs dropped in the vicinity of Saigon.
equals that used against the whole of South Viet Nam
from 1962 to 1964.) Massive use of toxic chemicals..
Systematic destruction of villages and crime of geno-
tide against the population: 268 hamlets out of a total
of 3:.6 in Cainlu district, Quang Tri province razi?1i
to the ground, o2 persons - 170 children, the being women and old people -- massacred on ti:) rcli
16, 1968 at Son My, north of Quang Ngai, 73.1 other.:
massacred by Korean mercenaries south of Da Nang
(from March 2 to 18). Crimes of vandalism against the
Vietnamese people's cultural heritage (destruction of
more than 8o%, of ancient monuments in IIuc, for;rc:r
imperial capital of Viet Nain.) Fa,cist terror against
the urban populations.
An important US signal centre in Qui Nlion
attacked.
- The journal Chiuh Luan of Saigon rcinarks :
"North Viet Nan, has been making a formidable effort
in the cultural field... During that time, South Viet
Nam can export only pornographic novels, cheap love
stories, detective novels copied from foreign publics-
tions...In this a?.;:once of national roots, a new activity
is developing: propagauda_for American culture. But
this propaganda remains poor in content.
- 534 American writers demand cessation of the
bombing of North Viet Nam.
- The Cambodian Government issues a statement
vigorously condemning articles published by some
American newspapers (among them the II'ashington Post
and New York Post) on the alleged "presence of
North Vietnamese planes and 1i Vietnamese bases on
Cambodian territory." Rather US planes have brazenly
violated Cambodian air space.
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80RO172OR000700030080-0
 Approved-For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80R020R000700030080-0
17 November 1971
Mr. Elden Alt ridep
Bidili Press
P.O. Box 1107
Austin, Texas 78767
Dear Mr. Aldridge:
This is in reply to your letter of 26 C-otot
concerting a Communique
in Vietnam.
sued by the Communist aide
the Denunciation of U.S.-
Puppet War Crimes in South Vietnam," on affiliate
organization of the so-called National Front for
the Liberation of South Vietnam? was founded in
March 1966.
Its members include: Chairman: Thich Thien Hao
Secretary General: Ung Ngoc Icy
M'#e rs: Nguyen Hgc Thor
Ito Thu
Nguyen Van Cu
to Van Huan
Ten Duc
Bui Thi Me
I text of the requested statement, as released
by Hanois Vietnam News Agency (VIA) on 16 August 1968, is
enclosed.
We hope to have b
?s of service to you.
Sincerely,
/sf Angus MacLean Thuermer
Angus Maclean Thuerrer
Assistant to the Director
Approved For Release 2006/02/10 : CIA-RDP80RO172OR000700030080-0