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INFO WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASH DC
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AMPN/SUBJ/INTERVIEW OF REQUESTED SOURCE~ NGUYEN VUONG//

REF/A/FAX/DET 2/27JUNE93//

AMPN/SUBJ: LIST OF PERSONS FOR INTERVIEW. ENTRY NUMBER 31 OF
83//

RMKS/1. BACKGROUND. ON 21 JUNE 1993, A JOINT U.S./VIETNAM ORAL
HISTORY PROGRAM INTERVIEW TEAM INTERVIEWED RETIRED SENIOR COLONEL
(SRCOL) NGUYEN VUONG, A 53 YEAR OLD HANOI RESIDENT. MR. VUONG, A
FORMER INFANTRY OFFICER, WAS AN EDITOR AND RESEARCHER FOR THE AIR
AND AIR DEFENSE MEMOIRS, VOLUMES I AND II. THE TEAM MET AT THE
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCY COOPERATION, VIETNAM NEWS
AGENCY, NUMBER 8 TRAN HUNG DAO STREET, HANOI, TO INTERVIEW MR.
VUONG, LISTED IN REFERENCE AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF INFORMATION
CONCERNING U.S. PERSONNEL MISSING IN ACTION (MIA) IN VIETNAM. THE
U.S. CONTINGENT CONSISTED OF TSGT [XXXX][XXXX][XXXX], JTF-FA ORAL
HISTORY PROGRAM COORDINATOR; AND P02 [XXXX][XXXX], JTF-FA
ANALYST/LINGUIST. THE VIETNAMESE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CONTINGENT
CONSISTED OF LTC LE KY, MINISTRY OF DEFENSE; AND MR. TRINH QUOC
KHANH, MINISTRY OF INTERIOR- MR. VUONG HAD NOT BEEN INTERVIEWED BY A
JOINT TEAM BEFORE.

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2. SUMMARY. THE SOURCE, MR. VUONG. PROVIDED NO INFORMATION
CONCERNING U.S. PERSONNEL MIA IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. HE SUMMARIZED HIS
PART IN WRITING THE AIR AND AIR DEFENSE FORCE MEMOIRS. THE SOURCE
CLAIMED HE HAD NEVER, SINCE 1973, SEEN OR HAD KNOWLEDGE OF U.S.
PERSONNEL, LIVING FREELY OR AGAINST THEIR WILL,  IN VIETNAM.

3. DETAILS.

A. AFTER FORMAL INTRODUCTIONS, LTC LE KY EXPLAINED THE JOINT
TEAM'S MISSION AND TSGT [XXXX]BEGAN THE INTERVIEW WITH THE
FOLLOWING TWO KEY QUESTIONS:

(1) SINCE 1973, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN OR HAD KNOWLEDGE OF
U.S. PRISONERS OF WAR (PW) CAPTIVE IN VIETNAM? MR. VUONG REPLIED HE
HAD NOT.
                                                                                                                                                                              
(2) SINCE 1973, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN OR HAD KNOWLEDGE OF
AMERICAN "STAY-BEHINDS" IN VIETNAM? MR. VUONG REPLIED HE HAD NOT.

B. HAVING ANSWERED THE FIRST TWO QUESTIONS, MR. NGUYEN VUONG
(NGUYEENX VWONGJ) CONTINUED, SAYING HE HAD FIRST SEEN AMERICANS IN
1955, AT THE AGE OF 15, WHEN HE FOUGHT AGAINST THE "AMERICAN
MILITARY MISSION" (NFI) IN VIETNAM. DURING THE WAR AGAINST AMERICA
HE WAS A REAR SERVICES INFANTRY OFFICER AND IN 1970 RECEIVED
INSTRUCTIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN WRITING THE AIR AND AIR DEFENSE
FORCE MEMOIRS.

C. MR. VUONG'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE BOOK WAS AS AN EDITOR AND
RESEARCHER. HE GATHERED INFORMATION FROM TWO SOURCES: ARTICLES AND
INDIVIDUALS. HE RECALLED RESEARCHING ARTICLES FROM THE PEOPLE'S
ARMY NEWSPAPER (QUAAN DOOIJ KHAAN ZAAN) AND THE PEOPLE'S NEWSPAPER
(NHAAN ZAAN), SOME OF WHICH DATED BACK TO 1964, THE INDIVIDUALS HE
INTERVIEWED FOR THE BOOK WERE PARTICIPANTS IN FAMOUS BATTLES, SOME,
HE EXPLAINED, CELEBRATED AS HEROES IN THE NEWSPAPERS. MR. VUONG
STATED HE NEVER HAD RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESEARCHING PHOTOGRAPHS.
WHEN ASKED ABOUT RECORDS COMPILED WHILE WRITING THE MEMOIRS, MR.
VUONG REPLIED HE HAD NO IDEA WHERE RECORDS CONCERNING THE MEMOIRS
WOULD BE TODAY.

D. MR. VUONG STATED THAT UNTIL THIS INTERVIEW, HE HAD NEVER
DIRECTLY MET ANY AMERICANS. HOWEVER, ONE DAY IN 1971 OR 1972,
WHILE ON LEAVE FROM THE ARMY, HE BRIEFLY SAW A GROUP OF
APPROXIMATELY 20 U.S. PRISONERS BEING PARADED DOWN TRANG TIEN
STREET (PHOOS TRANGF TIEENF), NEAR HOAN KIEM LAKE (HOOF HOANF
KIEEMS), IN HANOI. HE DID NOT VIEW THE PRISONERS AT CLOSE RANGE
AND COULD PROVIDE NO DESCRIPTIONS OR DETAILS CONCERNING THE GROUP.
MR. VUONG EXPLAINED THAT THE PRACTICE OF PARADING AMERICAN
PRISONERS THROUGH THE STREETS OF HANOI DURING THE WAR INCREASED
NATIONAL MORALE AND ALLOWED THE VIETNAMESE TO PROPAGANDIZE
INTERNATIONALLY.

E. MR. VUONG SAID HE RECALLED THE PEOPLE'S ARMY NEWSPAPER
HAVING A DAILY, SERIALIZED, ARTICLE ABOUT THE "HANOI HILTON"
(NHAF KHACHS SANJ HILTON) PW CAMP. BUT RECALLED NO DETAILS.

F. WITH NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. VUONG, THE JOINT TEAM

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AGREED TO CONCLUDE THE
INTERVIEW.

4. CORRELATIONS TO EXISTING POW/MIA CASES.
NONE.

5. POTENTIAL LEADS. NONE.

6. MATERIAL EVIDENCE: NONE. THIS SOURCE BROUGHT NO
RECORDS, NOTEBOOKS, DIARIES, OR ANY MATERIAL EVIDENCE
ASSOCIATED WITH UNACCOUNTED FOR U.S. PERSONNEL.

7. COMMENTS.

A. MR. VUONG APPEARED TO BE GENUINELY CONCERNED WITH
THE PW/MIA ISSUE, ALTHOUGH HE GAVE NO USEFUL INFORMATION
CONCERNING PW'S OR MIA'S. HE BROUGHT TWO RECENT CUU CHIEN
BINH (CWUJ CHIEENS BINH) MAGAZINES TO THE INTERVIEW, FROM
WHICH HE READ ALOUD BRIEF EXCERPTS FROM TWO ARTICLES ABOUT
THE U.S. AND VIETNAMESE MIA ISSUE.

B. THE MEMBERS OF THE JOINT TEAM CONFERRED ON THE QUESTIONS
TO BE ASKED DURING THIS INTERVIEW. TEAM MEMBERS AGREED THAT
THE NEED TO RE-INTERVIEW THIS SUBJECT WOULD DEPEND ON WHETHER
FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. VUONG ARISE DURING THE COURSE OF
THE ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TEAM'S FUTURE WORK.//

BT
DLVR: CDR JTF-FA HONOLULU
HI(1)...ORIG

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