VISIT TO DAMAGED AREAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08T00376R000100260045-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 25, 2012
• Sequence Number: 45
• Publication Date: August 10, 1972
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

. Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/10/25: CIA-RDP08TOO376R000100260045-2
IV. 11 Aug 72 - K It NORTH VIETNAM
I also visited Ninh Binh, and the Catholic cen`*r of that province. Save about,
half a dozen houses, it had been completely o terated. This is really a frighten-
ing situation for a country like the U.S. to unleash its complete air force to destroy
cities fu",-y inhabited by civilian people and bomb these places without regard of
consequenc(.~s.- A number of places had been devastated.
"There is a number of hospitals and churches which had been destroyed in North Vietnam.
In North Vietnam, some 14 hospitals have been completely destroyed or so destroyed
as to be nearly unusable. In most cases these hospitals had been built a long time
ago under French administration and were clearly marked on maps which the American
authorities must have had in their possession. The principal hospital (Bach Maimmed)
in Hanoi has suffered. The hospital, built in 1942, contains some 1,230 beds. It
.occupies nearly 5 acres. It was bombed in July. A portion on the hospital was
destroyed. I cannot consider that the bombardment of this hospital could occur by
mistake.... I see also the hospital at Nam Dinh, number one regional hospital. Not
one wall has been left standing at the hospital. So again we're dealing with this
hospital which has been established by the French in 1940 and which has been devastated.'
It occupies a large area. It is very difficult to think that the bombing of this
hospital could be a mistake."
Sean MacBridt added: "The same applies to churches. I.saw a large Catholic village,
particularly in the Catholic province of Ninh Binh, which has been bombed and damaged.
I have visited the Catholic centre of Phat Diem in Ninh Binh Province,-which was
bombed and one of the main churches was partially destroyed." I spoke to the nuns,
the civic ministers. There were only two alive now. Five-had been killed in an
earlier American air raid some 2 years ago. And I also spoke to the two priests who -
lived in the area. There are no military objectives next or near Phat Diem. It is
purely a large religious center with churches of tremendous architecture of value,
such an area with amazing mixed gothic and Chinese style. There were precious
statues which have been severely damaged by the bombing.
"Here again, it is impossible for the American Air Force authorities to say that they
didn't know this is a religious center. It is clearly marked and it is known as an
established religious center in the year of 1942 when Christianism was first introduced
in the area by the Portuguese and French missionaries and it had been existed as a
religious center ever since. It occupies an area of about 20 acres: It is clearly
marked out on the map. There is another suggestion that there are no military targets
in or near this religious center. Why is it bombed? This is a simple question which
world public opinion is asking the American authorities.."
The Irish investigator went on: "The massive bombing of North Vietnam by U.S. Air.
Force is wholly unjustified. The deliberate disregard for safety for women, children,
hospitals, churches are offenses aginst the whole of humanity and offenses against
the international conventions dealing with these questions. I think it is very
necessary that world public opinion should be awakened to what-has taken place here.
"Today I also saw a child, who was charred from a napalm bomb. If any of the pilots,
any member of the American Government saw that child, saw the injuries caused to that
child with a napalm bomb,. they should realize the abominable crimes they are committing.".-
Visit to Damaged Areas
Hanoi Domestic Service in Vietnamese 0430 GMT 10 Aug 72 S
[Text] As U.S. aircraft frenziedly conducted fierce attacks against various localities
in the north, the third delegation of the International Committee for Inquiries Into
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U.S. Imperialist War Crimes in Vietnam, dividing into small groups, visited various
localities in the north to gather documents and concrete evidence and to eyewitness
the Nixon clique's crimes against our people.
Former U.S. cabinet member Ramsey Clark visited Thanh Hoa Province, where representa-
tives of the Thanh Hoa administrative committee and the Committee To Investigate U.S.
War Crimes told him that between 13 April and 15 July the Nixon clique sent 1,631
aircraft, including 24 B-52's to attack Thanh Hoa 1,154 times. U.S. aircraft
dropped 15,792 demolition bombs, 546 "mother" perforation bombs and 585 antipersonnel
bombs, and fired 63 rockets on Thanh Hoa. They also dropped two barrels of poison
chemicals in the Quang Hoa area. Together with aircraft, U.S. warships made 500
sorties--of which 50 were made by cruisers--during which they fired as many as 5,229
150-mm and 203-mm [as heard) shells at various coastal areas.
U.S. bombs and shells sowed death and destruction in all 21 districts and one city
in Thanh Hoa Province and destroyed 107 villages and four wards, of which such as
areas as Hoang Hoa, Vinh La, Dong Son, Ha Trung, Hau Loc, Nga Son and Thanh Hoa
city has been attacked many times before, thus committing more crimes against our
compatriots.
Not only did the U.S. aggressors attack populous villages, schools and hospitals,
they also attacked various water conservation projects 37 times. The U.S. aggressors
completely destroyed the Ngoc Lan conduit in Quang Xuong district on the right bank
of the Ma River. This conduit distributes water to Bong Son and Quang Xuong districts
and to Thanh Hoa city. It also prevents some 2,000 hectares of ricefields in these
areas from being flooded. The U.S. aggressors also destroyed the Ngoc Quang conduit
on the left bank of the Chu River and severed many portions of the dike around the
conduit.
In particular, the U.S. aggressors destroyed the dike along the. Ma-River in Dong Huong...
village and.killed or wounded hundreds of our compatriots, including many teachers,
who were repairing the dike. The armed forces and people of Thanh Hoa appropriately
punished the Nixon clique when they came to perpetrate crimes against their locality.
They downed 35 aircraft, including two B-52's and the 300th U.S. aircraft downed in
the locality.
Lawyer Clark visited-a number of places destroyed by U.S. bombs and shells in Thieu
Minh village of Thieu Hoa district. He had the opportunity to see our compatriots'
way of life and their determination to fight the U.S. imperialists to the end. In
Dan Ai--a village completely destroyed by U.S. bombs--Mr Clark was told by local
inhabitants that at 0300 hours on the morning of 13 April B-52's dropped hundreds
of bombs. and killed 23 people while they were still in bed and destroyed or damaged
some 80 houses and killed many cattle, thus completely destroying the village.
Mr Clark talked with 16 year-old Nguyen Xuan Nam. No one in Nam's family survived.
He also talked to 15 year-old Nguyen Xuan Luc and learned that two out of nine people
in Luc's family were killed and five others were seriously wounded. Amid bomb
craters and heaps of debris, Mr Clark movingly told the villagers: I am very moved
by the circumstances you are now in. I cannot understand how Nixon could commit
such hideous crimes against a village living in peace amid ricefields like this.
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NORTH VIETNAM
1
He earnes..Ly told them: Please forgive the Americans for their criminal acts.
Mr Clark also visited Thieu Minh village, where despite the enemy's repeated attacks
our compatriots are continuing to engage in production and to effectively assist the
frontline. He spent the night with a peasant family and visited many families in
that village. He was impressed by the local inhabitants' hospitality, generosity and
in particular by their clear distinction between the warmongering Nixon clique and
the progressive American people who are opposing Nixon's cruel war of aggression.
He was also deeply impressed by our people's determination to fight and defeat the
U.S. aggressors. He said he would make efforts to make the American people realize
more clearly the errors of the U.S. administration in the war of aggression in
Vietnam and would try his best to contribute toward ending-this immoral war soon.
He then visited the Thanh Hoa hospital which.had been barbarously attacked many times
by U.S. aircraft.
After visiting localities in Thanh Hoa, in a conversation with our station reporters
accompanying the delegation, Lawyer Ramsey Clark said: [English fading into
Vietnamese translation-recording] The main impression I gained in this visit is
perhaps the great contradiction between peace and war. Yesterday afternoon and this
morning we went to a beautiful village of 2,900 inhabitants--Thieu Minh village,
Thieu Hoa district--that is more than 500 years old. One could see the great progress
of the inhabitants as well as their pride-and their beautiful livelihood. The develop-
ment of their agricultural production and education created a good impression in me
when I visited this village. We visited a number of families and were warmly welcomed.
We also visited Dan Ai village, Thieu Hoa district. This village was bombed last
month and 23 persons were killed. The villagers were rebuilding their village and
dikes, carts were carrying timber and other construction materials to rebuild houses.
.One could clearly see that not only ricefields were destroyed but also houses and
gardens. I asked myself, and the villagers also have wondered, why bombs were dropped
here. The villagers reflected the Vietnamese people's inflexible determination. In
Dan Ai village we met two children who were orphaned- from the bombing. Through
conversations with them one can understand the local people's firm determination to
continue to fight until scoring independence and freedom. (end translation]
Prior to visiting Thanh Hoa the members of the delegation visited many bombed
portions of dikes at the Lam culvert in Thai Binh that were completely destroyed by
U.S. aircraft on 29 July right after Nixon held a press conference to deny his bombings
of dikes and recklessly said that the damaged portions of dikes were close to concrete
targets of military significance or were hit by misdirected. bombs.
After attentively inspecting these localities, the lawyer head of the delegation,
Hans Goran Franck, told our stations reporters:
[English fading into Vietnamese translation-..recording] I inspected a bombed portion
of dike. One bomb had hit the summit of the dike and two others hit only 2 meters
from the foot of the dike. Thus, there was a total of three bombs. This is an
area whose -inhabitants are all peasants and whose dikes are close to riverbanks. We
saw-a small village on this side of the dike and a .small electric transformer station
on the other side. -
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NORTH VIETNAM
I also inspected an area 6 kms from the dike and remarked that this was a very peace-
fi.U part of Vietnam. Therefore, Icould not find any reason the Americans could invoke
for bombing this portion of dike. At the Lam culvert, I saw that it was hit by rockets.
The people told me that the U.S. Air Force raided this culvert many times. A portion
of the culvert was broken into halves and the entire culvert system could not be used.
I saw only woods and villages on the two sides of the road leading to the culvert.
Standing on the culvert, I saw the river and the sea. The culvert is near the sea.
Therefore, there is no reason for bombing it except if one considers it a target.
My view is that a culvert is as important as a dike.
You know that dikes and dams in Vietnam were built long ago to prevent damage from
nature. Dikes and dams have become important parts of the peoplels economic life.
They are necessary for the survival of this entire country. Therefore, by destroying
the dike systems one can threaten or cause disaster for the people. All of us clearly
understand what the threat is. If the bombing of dikes and dams in North Vietnam
continues, it may cause a disaster for this country. [end translation] .
FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN SCORES 9 AUG ATTACKS BY U.S.
Hanoi VNA International Service in English 1653 GMT 10 Aug 72 B
[Text] Hanoi VNA August 10--Yesterday U.S. aircraft attacked many heavily populated
areas of Ha Bac, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Ha, Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang
Binh provinces. The same day, B-52 stratofortresses raided a number of localities in
Quang Binh, while U.S. warships shelled Hon Me Island and several coastal villages in
Thanh Hoa and Vinh Linh.
Many civilians were killed or wounded, and many dwelling houses and economic and
cultural establishments were destroyed.
In a statement.issued today,the spokesman of theDRV Foreign Ministry pointed out:
"These abominable crimes flagrantly encroach on the sovereignty-and security of the
DRV, and further lay bare the'Nixon administration's deceptive claim that it does not
bomb civilians in North Vietnam.
"The DRV Foreign Ministry strongly denounces and sternly condemns these frenzied acts
of war escalation of the Nixon administration, and resolutely demands it to stop
immediately the bombardments against North Vietnam, end forthwith the mining and
blockading of the DRV ports and all other encroachments upon the sovereignty and
security of the DRV."
Hanoi Domestic Service in Vietnamese 1438 GMT 10 Aug 72 B
(Text] On 4, 8, and 9 August 1972, the people and armed forces of Ha Tinh, Thai Binh,
and.Thanh Hoa provinces punished the U.S. bandits who bombed and shelled the coastal
areas of these localities by setting ablaze five U.S. warships.
On 4 August, Ha Tinh set ablaze one warship, on 8 August Thai Binh set ablaze one,
and on 9 August Thanh Hoa set ablaze three.
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