Scope and Contents

The American Friends of Vietnam collection contains 19 boxes (approximately 18 linear feet) of material relating to the organization. Boxes 1-4 contain the administrative records of the organization, including executive committee meeting minutes, board of director meeting minutes, general financial records, fund appeals, annual reports and tax information. Boxes 4-7 continues with information relating to the conferences sponsored by the American Friends of Vietnam. Boxes 8-15 contain an alphabetical listing of subjects for which the American Friends of Vietnam had dealings. This material includes reprints of correspondence, brochures, reprints of articles, speeches by noted individuals as well as a variety of other information. Boxes 16-19 contain the bank records for the American Friends of Vietnam, including bank statements, cancelled checks, check stubs, and ledger books. Almost all of the material is in english and the collection is in generally good condition.

Biographical / Historical

Professor Douglas C. Pike was born in 1925. He served as a journalist in the Army during World War II(in the Pacific Theater of Operations) and during the Korean Conflict. He earned degrees from the University of California-Berkeley and American University. He served as an FSO in Taiwan, Korea, Lebanon, and Vietnam. In 1982 he began teaching at UC-Berkeley and in 1997 moved Texas Tech University. Dr. Pike housed and supported the Collection until 1982 when he moved it to Berkeley. It remained there until 1992 when Berkeley considered discontinuing its support for the Indo-China Studies Project. After being approached by Dr. Pike, Dr. James Reckner, Director of the Vietnam Center at Tech, and Dr. David Murrah, Assistant Director of Libraries for the Special Collections, worked together to bring the Collection to the Archive in 1994.

Biographical / Historical

The American Friends of Vietnam was formed in 1955 to serve as a political voice in the United States for the newly formed Republic of Vietnam. Its purpose and objectives, as stated in the By-Laws, were to: help in the achievement of educational, health, and charitable programs in the Republic of Vietnam; to exemplify the mutual goodwill and friendship felt by the American and Vietnamese peoples; and to extend more broadly a mutual understanding of Vietnamese and American history, cultural customs and democratic institutions. To aid in the goals, the American Friends of Vietnam organized several conference, helped publish and distribute informational brochures and monographs, and organized donation drives to support the Republic of Vietnam. The American Friends of Vietnam also achieved a certain level of success in its recruitment of high profile individuals to support the organization and its objectives. After the 1963 coup d'etat of Ngo Dinh Diem, the American Friends splintered and its effectiveness as a lobbying group diminished. The organization continued in existence until 1975, though it never achieved the level of involvement it had desired.
Researchers should consult:
--Joseph G. Morgan, The Vietnam Lobby : the American Friends of Vietnam, 1955-1975. North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1997; and
--William Hinckle, 'The Vietnam Lobby,' Ramparts, January 25, 1969, pp31-36.