-
derivative filename/jpeg
-
363-06096 to 363-06098.pdf
-
Digital Object Identifier
-
363-06096 to 363-06098
-
Title
-
Letter to Military Assisstance Command Vietnam (MACV) from accredited women correspondents
-
Description
-
Letter to Military Assisstance Command Vietnam (MACV) from accredited women correspondents protesting new rules banning them from combat zones at night. The letter starts with a copy of a letter from Lt. Col. John G. Rose about rules for female correspondents in combat areas. The letter claims women should be treated the same as male correspondents, but goes on to say that women should not be in combat zones at night, effectively blocking them from combat zones altogether.
-
AI Usage Disclosure
-
Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
-
Transcript
-
--------------------
- Page 1
--------------------
Covering letter from Lt Col John G. Rose, MacV 10:
Here are three tries at a policy which would cover the subject
that we discussed the evening of 20 June. Please take a look
at them and give me your thoughts next week. Please let me know when we can get together to kick this around again.
Subject: Visits to Combat Area by Female Correspondents
1. Female correspondents are not authorized to remain with, or
accompany, U.S. units overnight in exposed forward positions or
areas. They are authorized to visit or accompany during daylight
hours any unit or area which commanders authorize for male
correspondents.
2. Accredited female correspondents have the same rights and privileges as male news media representatives in covering the war in Vietnam, to include combat action. However, in certain tactical situations there is an understandable concern and an inevitable sense of
responsibility on the part of commanders when a woman is present.
In these situations it is unfair to place an extra burden on the
commander. He must be free to concentrate on his mission and the
combat performance of his unit, without the distraction of concern
over the presence of a woman with his unit. Therefore, female news
correspondents will not be kept overnight at forward, exposed
positions. It is recognized that there may be unexpected situations when it will not be possible or practicable to get a woman correspondent out of an exposed forward position before nightfall. However, it is command
policy that commanders will make all reasonable efforts to send any
female correspondent back to a more secure area for the period of
darkness when exposed forward positions are most vulnerable to strong and perhaps overwhelming enemy attack.
3. Female news media representatives are to be accorded the same treatment as their male counterparts with the following exception:
Female news media reps will not be authorized to remain overnight in
forward exposed positions when in the opinion of the local commander, their presence will cause undue concern on the part of the position commander. This is not to be interpreted as restricting female correspondents from covering any daytime action which a commander would normally allow male correspondents to cover. Commanders must not
interpret this policy as restricting females from visiting forward
exposed areas during daylight when there is a reasonable expectation
of extraction before dark..
--------------------
- Page 2
--------------------
To: Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
From: Accredited Women Correspondents
We, the undersigned, do not agree to or give approval to any proposed
directives or messages which establish rules for us that are different from those for male correspondents. He cite the following reasons:
Any directive or regulation that establishes separate treatment for
women is discriminatory and interferes with free access to the news by one group of accredited correspondents.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits job discrimination on the
basis of sex.
NACV rules governing public release of military information already state, "correspondents may find that, at times, their movements may be restricted in certain tactical areas. Those restrictions are kept to a minimum but they may be applied by a commanding officer when in his opinion the nature of an operation warrants such action." We see no necessity for an arbitrary change in or addition to this rule.
The proposed directives use the words "forward and exposed" to describe areas where women correspondents will not be allowed to stay overnight. In Vietnam every area can be defined an "exposed"; downtown Saigon has been
shelled, the 25th Infantry Division base camp at Cu Chi has been mortared, the Denang press center has received sniper fire, etc. Overzealous commanders, anxious to be sure they comply with the directive, could keep women out of any area in Vietnam. Such reactions would seriously inhibit our coverage and prevent us from functioning an effective
correspondents.
The tradition of highly professional coverage by courageous women war correspondents should not be destroyed by short-sighted directives. There is no precedent for such a ruling.
If military authorities successfully restrict the movements of women
correspondents, they may try to restrict movements of male correspondento
next.
Signed:
--------------------
- Page 3
--------------------
Signed:
Cathy Leroy
Associated Press, Paris Match
Kate Webb
United Press International
Linda G. Martin
New York Times Magazine, Today's Health
Mademoiselle, Newsweek, Macmillan Inc.
Anne Le Norrissay
American Broadcasting Company
Jurate Kasickas
North American Newspaper Alliance, Insiders Newsletters, Darbininicas
Denby Fawcett
Honolulu Advertiser
Ann Bryan
Overseas Weekly
Karen S. Perterson
American Broadcasting Company, Chicago Tribune
Gay Dillin
Christian Science Monitor
CC:
The Honorable Robert S. Kolfamars
Secretary of Defense
The Honorable Ellsworth Bunker
American Ambassador, Republic of Vietnam
General Creighton H. Abrams
Deputy Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Mr. Barry Zorthian
Minister-Counselor of Embassy for Information
Mr. John Stuart
Chief, U.S. Mission Press Center
Lt Col J. C. Rose
Chief, Public Information Division, Macv
Mr. Philip Goulding
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
Col Roger Bankson
Chief of Information, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Senator Frank Noss
Subcommittee on Freedom of Information
Senator Sam J. Ervin Jr.
Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights
Senator Margaret Chase Smith
-
Date
-
1967
-
Subject
-
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Government and the press; Journalists; United States. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Office of Information; Women war correspondents
-
Location
-
Saigon, South Vietnam
-
Coordinates
-
10.8231; 106.6311
-
Size
-
20 x 26 cm
-
Container
-
B189, F7
-
Format
-
commercial correspondence
-
Collection Number
-
MS 363
-
Collection Title
-
Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
-
Creator
-
United States. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Office of Information
-
Collector
-
Keever, Beverly Deepe
-
Copyright Information
-
These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
-
Publisher
-
Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
-
Language
-
English
