Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam Records
Scope and Contents
This collection includes Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (COL) administrative records, newspaper clippings on COL activities, a large collection of newspaper clippings on individual prisoners of war as well as clippings with general information on POWs; material about trips of COL organizers and supporters to Vietnam; and records on individual POWs, including COL correspondence with family members (these files are restricted).
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1969-1973
Creator
- Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (Organization)
- Weiss, Cora, 1934- (Person)
Language of Material
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Prisoner of war files (Acc. 07A-044 and 07A-047) are restricted until May 2023. A list of these files is maintained separately and will be made available when the restrictions are lifted.
Conditions Governing Use
None.
Biographical note
The Committee of Liaison With Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (COL) was founded in 1969. Cora Weiss was the co-chair and director of the organization from 1969-1972. The COL organized the exchange of letters and packages between families of prisoners of war in Vietnam and the POWs themselves. This exchange often revealed the names of those men still alive and prisoners in North Vietnam, which the U.S. government had refused to make public. The COL played a significant role in providing information to the U.S. public about the POW situation and in the public debates about this issue. In 1972 Weiss and other COL supporters traveled to North Vietnam to visit U.S. POWs. They were able to arrange for the return home of some these men. Other supporters and activists with the COL include David Dellinger, Richard Falk, and William Sloane Coffin.
Extent
19 linear ft.
Abstract
The Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam was founded in 1969. Cora Weiss was the co-chair and director of the organization from 1969-1972. The Committee organized the exchange of letters and packages between families of prisoners of war in Vietnam and the POWs. The Committee played a significant role in providing information to the U.S. public about the POW situation and in the public debates about this issue. Other supporters and activists with the Committee included David Dellinger, Richard Falk, and William Sloane Coffin.
Arrangement
This collection is unprocessed and remains in the order in which it was donated. Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (COL) administrative records are scattered throughout the collection. Newspaper clippings about COL activities and POWs may also be found throughout the collection. Records of POWs maintained by the Committee of Liaison are to be found at the end of the collection organized by the COL in several sections. In each section these records are in alphabetical order by the last name of the POW. At the end of these records there are three boxes of files cards about POWs maintained by COL staff.
Custodial History
The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is the official repository for these records.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Cora Weiss, 2007 [Acc. 07A-044, Acc. 07A-047, Acc. 07A-059].
Separated Materials
Items removed: Photographs were removed to the Photograph Collection, where they are filed with the photographs in DG 222: Cora Weiss Papers.
Legal Status
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Processing Information
This collection is unprocessed. This finding aid was created by Wendy E. Chmielewski, 2007-2009.
Subject
- Weiss, Cora, 1934- (Person)
- Coffin, William Sloane, Jr., 1924-2006 (Person)
- Dellinger, David T., 1915-2004 (Person)
- Falk, Richard A. (Person)
- Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (Date of work: 1969-1973.) (Organization)
- Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (Organization)
Topical
- Peace Movements -- United States -- History -- Sources
- Political prisoners -- Vietnam -- History -- Sources
- Prisoners of War -- Vietnam -- History -- Sources
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Missing in action -- History -- Sources
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Prisoners and prisons -- History -- Sources
- War crimes -- Vietnam -- History -- Sources
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2018: The file list was standardized in Summer 2017 by Mary Olesnavich in preparation for importing into ArchivesSpace. Tessa Chambers added the notes in Fall 2017.
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Swarthmore College Peace Collection Library
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore 19081-1399 USA US
610-328-8557
610-328-8544 (Fax)
peacecollection@swarthmore.edu
