Poison-Pen Letter Report Denied

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30960, 17 January 1966, Page 11

Poison-Pen Letter Report Denied

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SAIGON, January 16. Reports in Australia that Australian troops in Vietnam were “being bombarded with a stream of poison-pen letters” are completely untrue, says the acting commanding officer of the Australian Army Force in Vietnam, Lieutenant-Colonel Russell McNamara.

“It is very unfortunate that this report was published,” he said. “We have had no problem with this but now it could start. “Because of this report some nut is likely to start writing poison-pen letters,” Colonel McNamara said.

He said the Australian troops had not received any poison-pen letters and neither had their families in HaThere had been one letter but that had been within a domestic sphere, he said, and “was not really categorised as a poison-pen letter.” Troops Briefed He said the troops had been briefed on this subject before they left Australia and were briefed again when they arrived. A routine order was regularly issued to the troops in which they were instructed to report immediately if they or their families in Australia receive any such letter. “From our experience in Korea we have found these letters fall into two categories —those from nasty-minded people and those from Communist sources who wish to upset the force and the home front."