1998-0029-F

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This FOIA request contains material related to the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) issue in Southeast Asia. This includes correspondence received from numerous individuals and groups that were deeply concerned with resolving the fate of the POW/MIAs from the Vietnam conflict. Much of this personal correspondence is located in the White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Alpha File and is from the families of those soldiers listed as POW/MIA, veterans once classified as prisoners of war, and from concerned citizens and groups. Such material can also be found in the WHORM Subject File. In addition, the Subject File contains Congressional correspondence on various POW/MIA issues, including requests for closer cooperation with the dissolving Soviet Union to gather possible information from their archives. There were also letters from the public and elected officials advocating passage of H.R. 3603, which called for the declassification of material related to the POW/MIA issue. The subcategory ND007-01 (Casualties - Burials, Military) was also processed in response to this FOIA request. While the majority of material consists of condolence letters (and supporting documentation) written by President Bush to the families of military personnel who died during his administration, there are also documents concerning the POW/MIA issue, most of which are letters sent from the public to President of Mrs. Bush expressing a desire that more attention be placed on the effort to resolve this matter. The White House Staff and Office Files contain a wide variety of material related to the POW/MIA issue. Much of this is routine material, such as the issuing of proclamations, preparations for speeches to POW/MIA groups, and answering the voluminous correspondence received in the White House. Also located throughout these files is correspondence and other documents concerning the various Congressional investigations related to the POW/MIA issue that were held during the Bush administration.

The bulk of material concerning the Bush administration's policy toward Southeast Asia as it relates to the POW/MIA issue is located in the files of the National Security Council (NSC). A large proportion of these records have been closed in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA) due to the nature of advice documented and security classifications. These consist primarily of memoranda, cables, and reports. Please note, however, that the closed material is quite relevant and may prove a valuable resource in the future once restrictions of the PRA and national security have expired. A special note should be made of the documents found in the files of the Counsels Office. The vast majority of these files contain information gathered in response to subpoenas issued by the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. The largest portion of these records are NSC files from the Reagan administration that were sent to Bush administration counselor Mark Paoletta. These files also contain select documents created during several other presidential administrations. As with the Bush administration NSC files, the majority of this material remains closed at present.

Much material already in the public domain is also available in these files. This includes press releases from the White House, other federal agencies, and various groups, especially the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. In addition, there are numerous newspaper and magazine articles about the POW/MIA issue in general or dealing more specifically with certain individuals and organizations involved with this matter. Of particular interest are the articles related to Ross Perot. There are also many transcripts of Congressional testimony located throughout these files.

Please note that a "*" indicates that a collection is entirely processed and open. A more detailed description of the materials is available in the finding aid for the office or category.

A "**" indicates files or documents that were incidentally processed as part of this FOIA request. While there was an attempt to limit material to the POW/MIA issue in Southeast Asia, information concerning POW/MIAs from other wars and conflicts, especially World War II and the Korean War, are located throughout these files. Because of the integrated nature of this material, there has been no attempt to mark these documents as incidentally processed.

BUSH PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS: WHORM SUBJECT FILE