LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

OCTOBER 15, 1954.

Hon. ALEXANDER WILEY,

Committee on Foreign Relations,

Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Transmitted herewith is my report on a study mission to Vietnam and the kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia. I visited these countries during August and September en route and returning from the Republic of the Philippines. In the latter country, as you know, I served as a delegate of the United States to the international conference on the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, at the request of the President and the Secretary of State.

I should like to take this occasion to call to your attention the contribution being made by officers of the Department of State and other United States officials in the Philippines and Indochina. These men and women are working faithfully to carry out the policies of the Nation, sometimes under conditions of considerable personal hardship, with a high sense of the responsibilities of public service. They were uniformly helpful to me during the course of my mission.

I also want to commend Mr. Francis R. Valeo whom you assigned from the staff to accompany me on the mission. His assistance and cooperation were of inestimable value and they mark a continuation of his outstanding service from last year on the same project.

Sincerely yours,

MIKE MANSFIELD.