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SUBJ/INTERVIEW OF REQUESTED SOURCE, TRAN DO//
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AMPN/SUBJ: LIST OF PERSONS FOR INTERVIEW, ENTRY NUMBER 44 OF 83//
RMKS/1. BACKGROUND. ON 21 AUG 1993, A JOINT U.S./VIETNAM ORAL
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HISTORY PROGRAM INTERVIEW TEAM INTERVIEWED RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL (MG) TRAN
DO, AN OVER 70 YEAR OLD HANOI RESIDENT. MR. DO IS THE FORMER HEAD OF THE B2
FRONT POLITICAL DEPARTMENT. THE TEAM MET AT THE ANTE-BUILDING MEETING ROOM
OF THE GOVERNMENT GUEST HOUSE, 2 LE THACH STREET, HOAN KIEM DISTRICT,
HANOI, TO INTERVIEW MR. DO, 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 MR. KEITH GARY FLANAGAN , DET
2, JOINT TASK FORCE-FULL ACCOUNTING (JTF-FA) CASUALTY RESOLUTION
SPECIALIST ; AND P02 JOHN HARVEY, JTF-FA ANALYST/LINGUIST. THE
VIETNAMESE CONTINGENT CONSISTED OF LTC LE KY, MINISTRY OF DEFENSE; AND MR.
NGUYEN THANH LOI, MINISTRY OF INTERIOR. TRAN DO HAD NOT BEEN INTERVIEWED
BY A JOINT TEAM BEFORE.
2. SUMMARY .
THE SOURCE, TRAN DO, PROVIDED NO INFORMATI ON RELATING TO U.S. LOSS
INCIDENTS IN VIETNAM. HE EXPRESSED HIS REGRET THAT HE IS UNABLE TO ASSIST
THE JOINT TEAM DUE TO HIS POOR MEMORY. HE EXPRESSED HIS UNDERSTANDING OF
THE PW/MIA ISSUE. MR. DO CLAIMED NO KNOWLEDGE OF U.S. PERSONNEL, LIVING
FREELY OR AGAINST THEIR WILL, IN VIETNAM SINCE 1973.
3. DETAILS.
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A. AFTER FORMAL INTRODUCTIONS, LTC LE KY EXPLAINED THE JOINT
TEAM'S MISSION AND MR. FLANAGAN BEGAN THE INTERVIEW BY ASKING
MR. DO TO SHARE ANY INFORMATION HE HAS CONCERNING U. S. PERSONNEL
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LOST DURING THE WAR AGAINST AMERICA. MR. DO BEGAN BY STATING THAT HE LEFT
THE B2 FRONT, WHERE HE SERVED PRIMARILY AS A COMBAT COMMANDER AND POLITICAL
OFFICER, IN 1975. HE SAID THAT SINCE LEAVING B2 FRONT HE HAS BEEN IN
CHARGE OF CULTURAL MATTERS IN VIETNAM AND REMEMBERS VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE
WAR AGAINST AMERICA. HE ADMITTED THAT HE DID HAVE A HIGH POSITION IN THE
B2 FRONT, BUT DUE TO HIS AGE AND FAILING MEMORY HE NOW CANNOT REMEMBER
ANYTHING THAT WENT ON THERE MR. DO STRESSED THAT HE NEVER HAD ANY DIRECT
DEALINGS WITH U.S. PRISONERS OF WAR (PW) AND HAS NO INFORMATION WHICH WILL
HELP THE JOINT TEAM RESOLVE ANY SPECIFIC LOSS INCIDENTS.
B. MR. DO SAID THAT IT SINCERELY BOTHERS HIM THAT HE CANNOT PROVIDE THE TEAM
WITH SPECIFIC NAMES, LOCATION OF DOCUMENTS, OR CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS
CONCERNING U.S. SERVICEMEN LOST IN THE WAR. HE SAID THAT DURING THE WAR HIS
PRIMARY ADVERSARIES WERE ARMY OF, THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM (ARVN) FORCES.
THE ARVN FOUGHT THE GROUND WAR AND THE U.S. FOUGHT THE AIR WAR, HE SAID.
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C. HE SAID THAT DUE TO RAPID U.S. BATTLEFIELD RESPONSE TIMES AND
DEVASTATING AIR ATTACKS, IT WAS ROUTINE FOR PEOPLE'S ARMY OF VIETNAM (PAVN)
UNITS TO LEAVE WOUNDED U.S. SOLDIERS ON THE BATTLEFIELD. THERE WERE NO
DETENTION CAMPS, MEDICAL FACILITIES, OR PAVN BASES, HE SAID. EVERYTHING HE
SAID, HAD TO BE VERY MOBILE AND ONLY THOSE CADRE WHO WERE DIRECTLY INVOLVED
WITH DETAINING A SPECIFIC PRISONER, SUCH AS ENEMY PROSELYTING CADRE, WOULD
HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO A PRISONER.
D. MR. FLANAGAN ASKED MR. DO IF SINCE 1973, HE HAS HAD KNOWLEDGE
OF U.S. PW'S OR "STAY-BEHINDS" IN VIETNAM. MR. DO SAID THAT
HE IS VERY AWARE OF BOTH OF THESE ISSUES, BUT HAS NO
KNOWLEDGE OF EITHER PW'S OR U.S. "STAY-BEHINDS" SINCE 1973,
ADDING THE HE HAS ALSO CONSIDERED THAT THE NUMEROUS EUROPEANS
LIVING IN VIETNAM HAVE ADDED TO RUMORS ABOUT U.S. "STAY-BEllINDS".
HE SAID THAT HE HAS SPENT MUCH TIME PONDERING WHERE SUCH IDEAS
COULD COME FROM. FOLLOWING THE WAR WITH FRANCE, HE SAID, THERE
WERE MANY "STAY-BEHINDS" IN VIETNAM, BUT FOLLOWING THE WAR WITH
AMERICA THERE WERE NONE. HE RECALLED HEARING STORIES OF U.S.
PW'S AND "STAY-BEHINDS", BUT THESE ARE ONLY STORIES, HE SAID
WHICH HAVE NO CREDIBILITY. MR. DO OPINED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE
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SUSPICIONS IS A GENERAL LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE VIETNAMESE
PEOPLE AND CULTURE ON THE PART OF THE AMERICANS. THERE ARE MANY
MORE VIETNAMESE MISSING FROM THE WAR THEN AMERICANS, HE SAID.
THE VIETNAMESE MIA PROBLEM HAS CREATED DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM,
HE SAID, AND HE CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE AMERICANS QUESTION THE
VIETNAMESE PEOPLE'S CONSIDERATION OF THIS ISSUE. MR. DO SAID
THAT IT APPEARS THE U.S. IS CONTINUING TO PURSUE ANSWERS WHICH
CANNOT BE ANSWERED BECAUSE THE QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON FALSE
ASSUMPTIONS. MR. DO ALSO REFERENCED THE TRAN VAN QUANG (TRAANF
VAWN QUANG) "RUSSIAN DOCUMENT". HE SAID THAT THE U. S. SHOULD
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OFFICIALLY DENOUNCE THIS DOCUMENT.
E. MR. DO SAID THAT HE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THE VIETNAM WAR IS A MYSTERY TO
MANY AMERICANS. HE SAID THAT THE MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN THE U.S. USED
MUST HAVE CREATED CONFUSION FOR AMERICANS. FOR EXAMPLE, HE SAID THAT THE
BODY COUNT REPORTS OF KILLED PAVN TROOPS WERE OFTEN RIDICULOUSLY HIGH AND
AT TIMES CONSIDERED QUITE HUMOROUS BY HIS MEN, WHILE IN THE WEST THE U.S.
WAS REPORTEDLY WINNING THE WAR. HE RECALLED ONE INSTANCE WHEN HE READ A
WESTERN PRESS REPORT WHICH SAID ONE OF HIS UNITS WAS ENTIRELY WIPED OUT,
AND 15 MINUTES LATER THE ENTIRE UNIT REPORTED FOR DUTY. SIX OR
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SEVEN TIMES, HE SAID, HIS OWN DEATH WAS REPORTED BY THE U. S. HE
SAID THAT THIS TYPE OF FALSE REPORTING IS WHAT PERPETRATED THE
MIA ISSUE.
F. MR. DO SUGGESTED THAT THE JOINT TEAM SPEND MORE TIME INTERVIEWING GROUPS
OF INDIVIDUALS. HE SAID THAT FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, IT IS EASIER TO
REMEMBER THE PAST WHEN IN A GROUP OF FORMER COMRADES.
G. WITH NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR TRAN DO, THE JOINT TEAM 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. DO SEEMED SINCERE IN HIS REMARKS TO THE JOINT TEAM. HE CONTINUOUSLY
REMINDED THE JOINT TEAM THAT HE AN OLD MAN WHO HAS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME
REMEMBERING THE PAST. HE PERIODICALLY RELATED STORIES TO THE TEAM AS
EVIDENCE OF HIS MEMORY FAILURE. //
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SUBJ/INTERVIEW OF REQUESTED SOURCE TRAN DO//
RMKS/ THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OF WHICH WAS A STORY ABOUT READING A HISTORY
BOOK WHICH MENTIONED A FAMOUS BATTLE THAT HE HAD PARTICIPATED IN.
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HE SAID THAT EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW HE WAS PRIMARY PARTICIPANT, HE COULD NOT
REMEMBER THE BATTLE.
B. MR. DO ALSO RELATED SITUATIONS TO THE JOINT TEAM AS EVIDENCE AS TO WHY
THE MIA PROBLEM IS GREATER FOR THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE THAN IT IS FOR THE
AMERICANS, WHILE EMPHASIZING THAT THE VIETNAMESE ARE CONCERNED WITH U. S.
MIA MATTERS.
C. THE MEMBERS OF THE JOINT TEAM CONFERRED ON THE QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED
DURING THIS INTERVIEW. TEAM MEMBERS AGREED THAT THE NEED TO REINTERVIEW THIS
SUBJECT. WOULD DEPEND ON WHETHER FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. DO ARISE DURING
THE COURSE OF THE ORAL HISTORY TEAM'S FUTURE WORK.
D. REQUEST THE VNOSMP MAKE TRAN DO AVAILABLE FOR REINTERVIEW IF NECESSARY.//
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