Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Melvin Griffith Letters, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

Ebay

Scope and Contents

Four letters from Melvin Griffith to his wife, Dorothy, from Saigon, Vietnam dated 1969-1971.  In his letters Griffith details a rocket explosion near the United States Embassy that killed women and children, a child who was shot while planting explosives on a vehicle, and the beating of a United States female driver who was pregnant so she would abort the child.  Griffith goes on to talk about the manner in which the United States Press does not report accurately about the events in Vietnam, the ruthlessness of the Viet Cong, and his theory on why Prisoners of War will be tried for war crimes and executed.  He further goes on to foretell the situation the Vietnamese who were friendly to the United States will endure once the United States withdraws from the region.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Vietnam War, 1961-1975