Special Collections Department

Kay Boyle
Papers relating to the
Citizens' Mission to Cambodia

1960 - 1979 (bulk dates 1966, 1979)

Manuscript Collection Number: 262
Accessioned: Purchase, 1992
Extent:1 linear ft.
Content: Diaries, correspondence, books, periodicals, news clippings, reports, speeches, audio recording tapes, photographs, and poems
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: 1993 by Paul Dziewisz

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Biographical Note
Scope and Contents Note
Series List
Contents List

Biographical Note

Kay Boyle, born in 1902, is best known for her work and accomplishments as a poet, short story writer, novelist, journalist, teacher, and political activist. One of the prominent American expatriates during the 1920s and 1930s, much of Kay Boyle's work reflects the influences of that literary circle.

Kay Boyle's career as a writer began in 1923, after moving from St. Paul to New York City, with the publishing of her poem, "Morning," in Harold Loeb's art and literary magazine, Broom. Soon after, she married a French exchange student, Richard Brault, and moved to France for a 20 year period. During that time she divorced Brault and, in 1931, married a fellow expatriate, Laurence Vail (previously the husband of Peggy Guggenheim). She published four novels, Plagued by a Nightmare, Year Before Last, Gentlemen, I Address You Privately, and My Next Bride, during the 1920s reflecting her experiences in France. Boyle divorced Vail and, in 1943, married Baron Joseph von Franckenstein. The two were together until his death in 1963.

A prolific short story writer, Boyle won the first of her two O. Henry short story awards in 1935 for the title story of The White Horses of Vienna and Other Stories. Her second O. Henry was awarded in 1941 for "Defeat." She continued to write short stories throughout her life. The last collection, Life Being the Best and Other Stories, was published in 1988. In addition to the O. Henry award she was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1934) and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In 1960 Boyle moved to San Francisco and took a position as an English professor at San Francisco State University. Kay Boyle's later works include the 1967 Autobiography of Emanuel Carnevali and a 1968 revision of Robert McAlmon's memoirs, Being Geniuses Together, 1920-1930, to which Boyle added several supplementary chapters.

Throughout her life, Kay Boyle was politically active. This activism reflects a general belief, fostered by her mother, that privilege demands social responsibility. In the 1950s her activism became reinvigorated as she worked toward furthering integration policies, civil rights, a ban on nuclear weapons, and America's withdrawal from Southeast Asia.

Citizens' Mission to Cambodia

Kay Boyle's concern over the potential expansion of the Vietnam War prompted her to accept the invitation of the organization "Americans Want to Know" and embark on a two-week fact finding mission to the area bordering Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Boyle and six others -- Floyd B. McKissick, National Director for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); Rabbi Israel Dresner; Donald Duncan, military editor of Ramparts magazine and ex-Green Beret; Russell Johnson of American Friends Service Committee; publicity director Marc Stone; and New York businessman Norman Eisner -- comprised the Citizens' Mission to Cambodia. The Mission departed for Phnom Penh on July 25, 1966 to investigate U.S. allegations that Cambodia was being used as a training area and staging ground for Viet Cong incursions into South Vietnam.

Americans Want to Know, the Mission's sponsoring organization, formed in 1965 "to gather facts and report them to the American people in any situation where our country seems likely to become embroiled in foreign adventures." They observed such a situation in Cambodia where accusations of misconduct were being made on both sides.

The United States government charged the Cambodian government with creating a "Viet Cong sanctuary," establishing the Sihanouk Trail to augment the Ho Chi Minh Trail by providing arms and food, and accepting arms and food shipments into the port at Sihanoukville. Meanwhile, in addition to denying these charges, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia claimed the U.S. was violating his nation's vowed territorial neutrality by conducting bombing raids on Cambodian villages. Prince Sihanouk asked for stricter border observations from the International Control Commission and broke off diplomatic relations with the U.S. over the incidents just prior to the delegation's arrival.

During the mission, the delegation visited several spots along the Cambodia/Vietnam border as well as the Cambodia/Laos border where they inspected the site of a recent U.S. attack on the village of Thloc Trach. The delegates personally examined the alleged Sihanouk Trail and the Ho Chi Minh Trail for signs of a Viet Cong presence. In addition, the Mission members boarded and examined ships docking at Sihanoukville looking for arms or food shipments. Finally, the delegation met with Sihanouk and discussed his views on the border violations. The Mission members could find no indications of wrongdoing on the part of the Cambodian government.

Upon their return to the United States, the delegates reported on the Mission's findings through a series of articles, interviews, and lectures around the country.

The collection indicates that Kay Boyle continued her political activism and her interest in the plight of Cambodia well into the decade of the 1970s and probably through to her death on December 27, 1992.

Sources:

"Kay Boyle, 90, Writer of Novels and Stories, Dies." The New York Times. December 29, 1992.

Note: Much of the biographical data is derived from material contained in the collection.

Scope and Content Note

The manuscript collection of Kay Boyle Relating to the Citizens' Mission to Cambodia consists of material spanning the dates 1960-1979, with bulk dates of 1966 and 1979. The collection contains one linear foot of material including diaries, correspondence, books, periodicals, news clippings, reports, speeches, audio recording tapes, a photograph, and poems.

The bulk of the material surveys the controversial aspects of the ground war in Vietnam and its possible expansion into Cambodia through the recorded thoughts and actions of Kay Boyle and the Citizens' Mission to Cambodia. Additional items capture the evolution of political Cambodia well into the 1970s through various publications and articles. Included in the collection are two unrelated items: a letter and poems sent to a San Francisco public school class, and a speech and poem dedicated to San Francisco Mayor George Moscone following his assassination in 1978.

The collection provides insight into the specifics of the Citizens' Mission examination of the Cambodian border conflict. In addition to the Mission reports, the collection provides opposing opinions, details on living in Cambodia, and reflections on Prince Sihanouk's actions and beliefs. The collection is further highlighted by Kay Boyle's diaries of the journey and by articles of the late 1970s discussing the political situation in Cambodia. Unfortunately there is a gap in the collection between 1966 and 1979 which prevents the researcher from following the actions of Kay Boyle and Americans Want to Know through to their culmination.

The collection is organized topically into four series. The first series of the collection relates specifically to the events and immediate results of the Citizens' Mission. Spanning 1965-1966, this series is the collection's most extensive. Included within the series are Kay Boyle's diaries from Cambodia, various Mission publications, review articles written by delegation members, and correspondence regarding Mission activities.

Series II, Official Statements and Press Releases, provides a context for the outward aims of the key actors in the controversy over Cambodia. It consists of press releases, pronouncements, official statements, and speech transcripts. Series III is a reference collection of published articles, books, and tapes giving background to the conflict in South East Asia as well as the Mission. Finally, series IV consists of two items unrelated to Boyle's mission in Cambodia.

Related collections:

Mss 131 Kay Boyle Papers

Mss 287 Kay Boyle Papers relating to Research on Irish Women

Series Outline

I.   The Citizens' Mission to Cambodia, 1966
     1.   Diaries of the Mission, July 26-August 11, 1966
     2.   Information relating to Mission publications
     3.   Materials related to events of the Mission
     4.   Correspondence

II.  Official Statements and Press Releases, 1964-1966
     1.   Americans Want to Know
     2.   United States government
     3.   Cambodian government
     4.   Miscellaneous organizations

III. Collected Newspaper Articles, Publications, and Productions,
          1965-1979
     1.   Articles and publications
     2.   Audio recording tape of the Winter Soldier   Investigations, Detroit, 1971

IV.  Unrelated, 1960 and 1978

Contents List

Box -- Folder -- Contents

Series I. The Citizens' Mission to Cambodia, 1966
This series contains material directly related to the
Citizens' Mission. Included are Kay Boyle's diaries,
in original and corrected draft form; correspondence
about and drafts of subsequent publications of the
Mission; articles published by delegation members; and
correspondence among Mission members.

Series I.1. Diaries of the Mission, July 26-August 11, 1966
This subseries contains journal notebooks, typed
drafts, and critiques of drafts for Kay Boyle's Mission
diaries. A photograph is also included. The diary of
Kay Boyle's mission experiences was to be published
soon after 1966 but was never printed in full. The
subseries is arranged in stages beginning with on-site
journals. These are followed by drafts for publication
and commentary on those drafts.

A further note is required to explain the comprehensive
diary (found in F6 below) which is a compilation of the
smaller diaries. Upon acquisition it was filled with a
large quantity of related letters and notes placed
loosely between its pages. To clarify the order of the
diary, all pages, including the loose inserts, were
numbered consecutively from beginning to end. The
loose pages were then removed and placed in the
adjoining folders (F6a, F6b, F6c).

F1 Photograph (black and white) of Mission members and Sihanouk
taken at the Prince's palace, 1966

Diary of the Citizens' Mission, 1966

F2 July 29-August 2

F3 August 3-6

F4 August 6-7

F5 July 26-30 and August 9-11

F6 July 26-August 11
A compilation of the above notebooks. All loose inserts
have been numbered and removed. They can be found in the
following three folders.

F6a July 26-August 11
pp. 1-65.

Series I. The Citizens' Mission To Cambodia, 1966 (cont'd)
Series I.1. Diaries of the Mission, July 26-August 11,1966
(cont'd)

F6b July 26-August 11
pp. 66-111.

F6c July 26-August 11
pp. 112-end.

Drafts of Diary Entries

F7 July 26, 1966

F8 July 27, 1966

F9 July 28, 1966

F10 July 29, 1966

F11 July 30, 1966

F12 July 31, 1966

F13 Letters from Russ Johnson relating to Kay Boyle's diary
drafts

F14 Undated notes relating to diary drafts

F15 Miscellaneous addresses located with the diary drafts

Series I.2. Information relating to Mission publications
This subseries contains material related to two Mission
publications, "Findings of Fact on Cambodia's Border"
and "The Final Report." Included are various drafts of
the publications and correspondence among the Mission
members regarding the publications.

F16 Copies of the "Findings of Fact" bulletin

F17 Correspondence between Kay Boyle and Bill Worthy regarding
the "Findings of Fact" bulletin

F18 Letter from Russ Johnson to Kay Boyle and Don Duncan
regarding the "Finding of Facts" bulletin

F19 Letter to Bill Worthy regarding the "Findings of Fact"
bulletin

Series I. The Citizens' Mission To Cambodia, 1966 (cont'd)
Series I.2. Information relating to Mission publications
(cont'd)

F20 Drafts of the Missions' "Final Report" including Kay Boyle's
contribution

F21 Correspondence relating to the "Final Report"

Series I.3. Materials related to the events of the Mission
This subseries is concerned with events of the Mission
as conveyed through the plans, statements, and writings
collected by Kay Boyle.

F22 Statement by Senator Wayne Morse (Dem., Ore.) on the
Missions' departure

F23 Mission itineraries

F24 Statement from Mission members regarding the bombing of
Thlok Trach

F25 Article reviewing the Mission by Kay Boyle

F26 Article reviewing the Mission by Russ Johnson

F27 Article reviewing the Mission by Marc Stone

F28 Miscellaneous Mission material

F29 Flight momentoes from Japan Airlines

Series I.4. Correspondence
This subseries contains letters to the editor from Kay
Boyle, correspondence with the Cambodian government,
and letters among Mission members and between Misson
members and sponsoring organizations. Note that
letters between Mission members may also be found under
other, more specific series.

F30 Letters to the Editor from Kay Boyle

F31 Correspondence with the Cambodian government

F32 Envelope addressed to Kay Boyle from the Permanent Mission
of Cambodia to the United Nations

F33 Invitations to Cambodian government functions

Series I. The Citizens' Mission to Cambodia, 1966 (cont'd)
Series I.4. Correspondence (cont'd)

F34 Correspondence with Americans Want to Know

F35 Correspondence with William Worthy

F36 Correspondence with Ramparts Editor Stan Sheinbaum

F37 Miscellaneous correspondence

Series II. Official Statements and Press Releases, 1964-1966
This series consists of official organizational
statements, press releases, and publications of the
various policies, observations, and opinions about
Cambodia-U.S. relations. It is broken down into four
subseries focusing on each government or major
organization.

Series II.1. Americans Want to Know
Consists of statements from Americans Want to Know, the
Missions organizer and sponsor, announcing the Mission
and defining their policy on the Cambodian issue.

F38 Press releases of Americans Want to Know relating to the
Mission

Series II.2. United States government
Consists of U.S. documents and memorandums defining the
U.S. position on Cambodian assistance to the Viet Cong.

F39 Major U.S. pronouncements on policy toward Cambodia

F40 State Department letters defining the U.S. position on
Cambodia

Series II.3. Cambodian government
Contains press bulletins, letters to the U.N. Secretary
General, and Publications of the Cambodian Government
in relation to the border controversy.

F41 Press bulletins and correspondence from the Cambodian
government (French)

F42 Publications of the Cambodian government, 1966

Series II. Official Statements and Press Releases, 1964-1966 (cont'd)
Series II.3. Cambodian government (cont'd)

F43 List of members in the L'Association des Ecrivains Khmers

F44 Transcript of a Sihanouk press conference, 1979

F45 Political Statement of the Patriotic and Democratic Front of
Great National Union of Kampuchea, August 21, 1979

Series II.4. Miscellaneous organizations
The Beheiren (Japan "Peace for Vietnam!") Committee
conducted discussions on solutions to the Vietnam War
in August of 1966. This subseries contains statements
from that organization as well as a copy of the Geneva
Agreement of 1954 which divided Vietnam into North and
South.

F46 Statements relating to the "Meet in Conference" meeting of
August 11-15

F47 Copy of Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam
Geneva Agreement of 1954).

Series III. Collected Newspaper Articles, Publications, and
Productions, 1965-1979
This series consists of numerous newspaper clippings,
books, magazine articles, and an audio tape dealing
with the political situation between the U.S. and
Cambodian Governments. Several of the articles are
from publications of the late 1970s and contain
information related to that time frame.

Series III.1. Articles and publications
This subseries contains articles and publications
dealing with the Citizens' Mission and Cambodia.

F48 Newspaper articles giving background prior to the Mission

F49 Newspaper articles dealing with the events of the Mission

F50 Post-Mission newspaper articles, 1966

F51 Full newspapers containing articles about the Mission

F52 Newspaper articles, 1979

Series III. Collected Newspaper Articles, Publications, and
Productions, 1965-1979 (cont'd)
Series III.1. Articles and publications (cont'd)

F53 Three copies of The Call/el Clarin

F54 Copy of Class Struggle, Summer 1979

F55 Two copies of New War in Southeast Asia, 1979

F56 Three copies of the Magazine, Le Sangkum

F57 Vietnam! Vietnam! by Felix Greene

F58 I.F. Stone's Weekly, May 30 and July 25, 1966

F59 Sane World, 1966

F60 Travel brochure: Guide to Tours and Hotels in Cambodia

F61 Periodicals for teachers, 1979

Series III.2. Audio recording tape of the Winter Soldier Investigations, Detroit, 1971
The Winter Soldier Investigations were three days of
panel discussions sponsored by Vietnam Veterans Against
the War in response to the war crimes conviction of Lt.
Col. William Calley following the My Lai Massacre. The
discussions were designed to examine the widespread
acts of violence by American soldiers against the
Vietnamese and display to the United States public that
Calley's actions were not an aberation but an everyday
reality.

F62 The Winter Soldier Investigation, Feb. 1971, Audio Tape
One reel-to-reel tape of the 25th Infantry Panel discussing
incursions into Laos and Cambodia, 120 minutes.

F63 Copy of Evergreen, Sept. 1971

Series IV. Unrelated, 1960 and 1978
The items in this series were accessioned along with
the Cambodia papers. They are, however, unrelated to
Cambodia as well as unrelated to one another.

F64 Letter to P.S. #8 and four poems, 1960

F65 Poem and speech in honor of San Francisco Mayor George
Moscone, 1978