Congressman Robert C. Smith

115 Cannon Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Smith,

In response to your 1 November letter, I have reviewed the case of Major James W. Grace, USAF. The evidence in Major Grace's case indicates he did not survive after the rescue attempt.

The discrepancy cases I presented to the Vietnamese were those in which Americans were known to have survived the incident in which they were involved. We believe they came into Vietnamese hands and were prisoners of the Vietnamese. These individuals did not return during Operation Homecoming in 1973, nor were their bodies returned in the intervening years and no explanation was provided by the Vietnamese. Because these cases may shad light on the fate of an American serviceman believed to have been alive after his lose, they are the priority of our efforts.

Once these cases have been resolved, we will focus our effort to those still unaccounted for. It is our mission to attain the fullest possible accounting of those missing in South East Asia.

Although I've not presented this case to the Vietnamese, it has been presented to the Lao Government on two separate occasions in the past 12 months. First in January 1989 by Richard C. Childress, then NSC Director of Asian Affairs, and again this month by Deputy Secretary of State David Lambertson.

I've attached the Defense Intelligence Agency summary of Major Grace's case for your review. Please let me know if I can be of any additional assistance.

Sincerely,

/s/

JOHN W. VESSEY, JR.

SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL EMISSARY