The following letter was sent to members of Nam-POW, an organization of ex-POWS.

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                        John H. Alpers. Jr.
                      189 Overlook Lane, JSR
                     Boulder, Colorado 80302

November 18, 1990

Subject: Live POWs in Southeast Asia
     To: Nam-POWs membership


Dear Fellow ex-POW and Nam-POW member,


I just finished reading a book by Monika Jensen-Stevenson and William
Stevenson. Monika is a producer for CBS "60 Minutes" and her husband, Bill is
the author of the well-known book; A Man Called Intrepid. Together, they have
written a just-published book entitled; Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United
States Betrayed Its Own POWs in Vietnam, a Dutton book, Penguin Group
publishers, NY, 1990. If you haven't read this book, you have got to do so!

You will be as shocked and sickened as I was to read the revelations of live
POWs that are discussed in this book. My mind reeled at the notion that, for
all these years since our repatriation, many of our friends and comrades have
been abandoned in Southeast Asia by people in our government who knew of
their existence and location but considered them expendable to and era of
continuing wars of convert action. Now, I know many of us felt that there was
never a full accounting of aircrew lost over Laos, but I never dreamed that
the real issue was a government cover-up of colossal dimensions.


I also read recently two small articles in my local newspaper, both printed
on the same day. It seems that Senators Jesse Helms and Charles Grassley are
chairing an effort to expose this disgraceful circumstance. At the same time,
Senators Claiborne Pell and Richard Lugar are chairing the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee in a concerted effort with members of the Administration
to normalize relations with the Communist government of Vietnam. If Pell and
Lugar succeed in their efforts, the leaders in Hanoi are sure to decide to
"eliminate" all remaining POWs so same will not create an embarrassment (and
the possible loss of Western economic aid), whether or not Helms and Grassley
are able to force a recognition of the live POW situation.

Now, I'm not much at crusades and I know that Nam-POWs has carefully guarded
its political position over the years, but surely this situation requires
action! Red Mc Daniel, Robbie Risner and Ross Perot are all mentioned as
major players in the book. So, I think we are already committed anyway.

What can you do? Well, for starters you can buy and read the book. Is that
too hard? Once you have read it, if you aren't as troubled and pi**ed off as
I am, you must be dead from the neck up. The next thing you can do (and will
want to) is to write your senators and congresspersons. Let them hear what
you have to say!

President Bush should get an earful as well. It is people in his
administration that are pushing this thing. Also, let Senators Helms and
Grassley know that you support them. Write to Senators Pell and Lugar and
make sure they understand that their political survival rest with the
recognition of live POWs and the delay of any normalization of relations with
Vietnam until after we get our people out. Write to the editor's column of
your local newspaper to expose this incredible hypocrisy and ask other
citizens to do the same things I'm asking of you. Finally, it's almost
Christmas.  mention the book in a note to the people on your Christmas card
list. Ask them to read the book and then act on their conscience, as I am
asking you to do.

The people that the book asserts are still in captivity could have just as
easily been you and/or me. Think about your life for the past 17 years. I
trust we have all been having a better time than we did in Hoa Lo. Or would
you have rather spent that time as slave labor for those little pr**ks in
Hanoi, or in Laos or Cambodia? Well, probably not. But, at the same time,
the Lord chose us to be the ones to come home so that our voices could be
heard at the right time and on the right issue. If this isn't the right
issue, I don't know what is.

So get off your increasingly fat fanny and decide to stand up and be counted.
This one is for real. We have got to act! Now!! This is not a matter of
service loyalty, national security, or political priorities: it is a matter
of simple humanity.


Sincerely,

signed
John H. Alpers ("Apple")
Lt Colonel, USAF Ret.

