Go to CIA.gov FOIA Secondary Navigation Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room Requestor Portal Historical Collections Browse the Collections | Advanced Search | Search Help Search formSearch Query for FOIA ERR: -AA+A MISSION TO SOUTH VIETNAM AND SOUTHEAST ASIA Document Type: CREST Collection: General CIA Records Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000400090012-6 Release Decision: RIFPUB Original Classification: K Document Page Count: 22 Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016 Document Release Date: June 20, 2005 Sequence Number: 12 Case Number: Publication Date: July 13, 1966 Content Type: OPEN File: Attachment Size PDF icon CIA-RDP67B00446R000400090012-6.pdf 3.85 MB Body: Approved For Release 2005/06/29 : CIA-RDP67B00446R000400090012-6 July 11i, 1966 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -HOUSE (Mrs. DWYER (at the request of Mr. QUILLEN) was granted permission to ex- tend her remarks at this point in the RECORD and. to include extraneous mat- ter.) [Mrs. DWYER'S remarks will appear hereafter in the Appendix.] (Mrs. DWYER (at the request of Mr. QUILLEN) was granted permission to ex- tend her remarks at this point in the RECORD and to include extraneous mat- ter.) [Mrs. DWVER'S remarks will appear hereafter in the Appendix.] THE HONORABLE JUDGE HOWARD SMITH (Mr. WATSON (at the request of Mr. QUILLEN) was granted permission to ex- tend his remarks at this point in the RECORD and to include extraneous matter.) Mr. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, if pres- ent returns from the elections in Virginia are certified, this body will lose the serv- ices of our esteemed colleague, the gen- tleman from Virginia, Judge HOWARD SMITH, one of our most able, dedicated and courageous leaders. His defeat will result in further suffering, not only for our beloved Southland, but for all Ameri- cans who love the Constitution. I am not passing Judgment on the voters of Virginia, but the results of this election presents ample evidence that the Democratic Party has fallen into the hands of the new left. Even now we read where the liberal Democrats of the House are plotting to prevent the gentle- man from Mississippi, Congressman BILL COLMER, from succeeding Judge SMrrx. These events further convince me that the hope for saving this Nation is to be found in the Republican Party. PERSONAL EXPLANATION Mr. GILLIGAN. Mr. Speaker, on roll- call No. 159 of July 12, 1966, I was not recorded as voting. I was unable to be present in the House because of official business. Mr. Speaker, had I been present I would have voted "aye." GENERAL LEAVE TO EXTEND Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be permitted to revise and extend their re- marks during the general debate today on H.R.15750, The SPEAKER. Is the a objection to the request of the gentle an from New Jersey? There was no c /e fo . MISSION TO SOUTH VIETNAM AND SOUTHEAST ASIA The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. KBESS). Under previous order of the House, the gentleman from North Caro- lina [Mr. WHITENER] is recognized for 30 minutes. No. 111-12 (Mr. WHITENER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and to include extraneous matter.) Mr. WHITENER. Mr. Speaker, the mission to South Vietnam and southeast Asia in which I participated during the 4th of July recess was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I ex- press to you, Mr. Speaker, and to the President my appreciation for being in- cluded in this mission of 14 Members of the House of Representatives who were privileged to see at firsthand the activities of our Government in south- east Asia in such a vivid manner. On yesterday I commented briefly upon this mission when the gentleman from New York [Mr. MURPHY] gave his.report to the Members of the House. Today I would like to give a more detailed state- ment of my observations and experiences while on this grueling, but exciting, inspection. MISSION OF THE DELEGATION Mr. Speaker, the mission assigned to our delegation by the President and by you was to make a study of the role of the United States in the Vietnamese con- flict. This mission was not limited to military activity but was to include a look at the civic action efforts being carried on by both the military and civilian agencies of our Government. We were then to report to you and. the President our findings and our recommendations. We were under the favorable condition of having a direction from the President we were to that permitted to see any- thing that we desired at any place in South Vietnam. This resulted in the necessity of our group dividing itself in order that we might collectively bring back as thorough a report as practicable after a 9-day study of our southeast Asian involvement. This we did. Mr. GILLIGAN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield? Mr. WHITENER. I shall be happy to yield to the gentleman from Ohio. Mr. GILLIGAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for yielding. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from North Carolina knows, and as I believe many Members of the House know, all of the Members who composed this com- mittee which went on the trip to Vietnam and to southeast Asia were combat vet- erans of World War II or Korea. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Members of the House and our distinguished col- leagues now present should recognize that the gentleman now occupying the well of the House CMr. WHITENER] is a distinguished naval officer of World War II and that he served as a gunnery officer and received a Navy commendation from Secretary Knox which cited him for his courageous initiative under fire. Mr. Speaker, as one of many who have been decorated in the past and who were on this trip, the gentleman from North Carolina distinguished himself not only in his service during World War II and in his service to this House of Repre- sentatives, but in his service to the com- mittee during our explorations of the problems in southeast Asia. 14799 Mr. WHITENER. I thank my friend, the gentleman from Ohio, for his com- ments. I might say to our colleagues in the House since the gentleman from Ohiq.. and I were both navy gunnery officers, we did have a community of interest as we worked together on this mission which we felt was important, and I can say to my colleagues there was no more val- uable contributions made during the entire trip than the contributions made by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. GILLIGAN]. He and all of the others were dedicated to the task and I hope and I know that he shares the hope that the several reports we will make will indi- cate that we did view our mission as a serious one and as an important one for our country. It was my privilege to go to the north- ernmost sector, the I Corps area, and the II Corps area, in addition to visiting in Saigon and surrounding territory, in- cluding much of the III Corps area. I regret that I was not able to participate in any inspection in the southerly IV Corps area. From the reports that we received at our briefings and discussions we were able to get much information as to our situation there which had not been available to us in the past. The IV Corps area being under the military area of authority primarily assigned to the forces of the Republic of Vietnam and other free world nations, we felt we could best spend our limited time in the areas of the primary responsibility of U.S. forces. To accomplish the widespread per- sonal observations that I and other members of our group were able to make required the cooperation of Ambassador Lodge and General Westmoreland and many others under their command. I feel that every effort was made by those gentlemen to assist us in accomplishing our desired purpose, bearing in mind al- ways the limited amount of time avail- able to our group. While there may have been hesitancy at times in going along with our personal requests as to areas of visitation, I can assure everyone that the infrequent re- luctance displayed by the military was in the interest of the safety of the in- dividual Members of Congress. When we persisted, our requests were granted. This resulted in our being able to ac- tually witness combat at first hand and to fly over areas wh