James Wold Papers, 1943-2003

James Wold Papers

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Collection Overview

Title: James Wold Papers, 1943-2003

ID: OGLMC1524

Primary Creator: Wold, James (1932-2003)

Extent: 12.25 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 05/23/2007

Subjects: Legal, Military History - Prisoners of War (POW), Military History - Vietnam War, University of North Dakota - Alumni

Languages: English

Abstract

1932-2003; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs and Director of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The James Wold Papers date from 1943 to 2003 and have been divided into eleven series as follows:

Series 1: Personal History and Military Career

Series 2: Legal Career

Series 3: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

Series 4: POW/MIA Organizations

Series 5: Legislative Documents and Materials

Series 6: United States Russian Joint Commission

Series 7: Correspondence

Series 8: POW/MIA Reports and Media Documents

Series 9: Oversized Materials

Series 10: Photographs

Series 11: Artifacts

Collection Historical Note

James William Wold was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 18, 1932 to Peter and Hulda Christine (nee Olson) Wold. Peter, a native of Lillehammer, Norway, immigrated to the United States in the summer of 1923 and farmed briefly in North Dakota before permanently relocating his family to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hulda Christine, an American by birth, was originally from Colfax, Wisconsin. As a teenager, Wold attended Minneapolis South High School for two years before transferring to Hillcrest Academy in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. While studying at Hillcrest Academy, he became acquainted with Joan (JoAnne) Abigael Norheim, a fellow student who would later become his wife. Following graduation from Hillcrest Academy in 1949, he attended Augsburg College for one academic year.

In 1951, Wold enlisted in the United States Air Force wherein he attended the Russian Language Program at Syracuse University. After the language studies were completed, in August of 1952, Wold entered the Aviation Cadet Program. He received his aeronautical instruction through the 3505th Pilot Training Wing at Greenville Air Force Base located in Mississippi. On September 16, 1953, Wold received his commission with the rank of Second Lieutenant and the rating of Pilot. Less than a week after being commissioned, Wold married JoAnne in Pasadena, California.

As a result of being newly commissioned, Wold was briefly stationed at Mather Air Force Base in California, followed by another short assignment at Shaw Air Force Base located in South Carolina, where he flew the RB-45C reconnaissance aircraft. Once Wold became familiar with the new aircraft, he relocated to RAF Sculthorpe in the United Kingdom, where he flew missions with the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron from May 1954 to June 1956. Following the completion of this placement, the Air Force assigned Wold to study mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Wold completed his bachelor's degree in two years, graduating in August 1958, whereupon he entered service with the 9th Bombardment Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho where he remained until 1961.

Thereafter, Wold was assigned to March Air Force Base in California to serve on staff, Headquarters, 15th Air Force. During Wold's various assignments worldwide, his four children were born: daughter Christine Annette (at Norton Air Force Base, California), son Kevin Daniel (in the United Kingdom), daughter Lisa Karen (while studying at the University of Michigan), and daughter Holly Susan (at Mountain Home Air Force Base). Following completion of his headquarters assignment in May of 1964, Wold was once again assigned to study engineering. Wold's second stint in the engineering field occurred while studying at the Air Force Institute of Technology located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio where he would complete his Master of Science degree in March, 1966. The Air Force immediately utilized Wold's technical background by posting him to the Test Requirements Branch and Acquisition Test Branch, Directorate of Operations, United States Air Force Headquarters, where he remained for three years.

In July 1969, Wold was deployed to South Vietnam, where he served as operations officer for the 6th Special Operation Squadron operating out of Pleiku. He then went on to command units at Pleiku and Da Nang air bases. While in Vietnam, Wold personally flew 241 combat missions in the A-1H attack bomber, many of them providing direct air support to American ground forces engaged in close-quarters combat with enemy guerillas. For his service in Southeast Asia, Wold received the Bronze Star, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, and sixteen Air Medals.

During the summer of 1970 and after returning from Vietnam, Wold he served one year as the chief of the Test Operations Branch and the Test Support Division at Strategic Air Command Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base located in Nebraska. Thereafter, Wold worked in the Pentagon where he was assigned to the Air Force's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel handling colonel assignments, earning a Legion of Merit in the process. In August of 1974, Wold attended the Defense Language Institute and the Defense Intelligence School at Anacostia Annex in Washington, D.C. in preparation for an assignment as the Defense and Air Attaché to the Soviet Union. Upon completion of Russian language training, in the summer of 1975, Wold was stationed at the United States Embassy in Moscow. After serving two years in the Soviet Union, Wold returned to the United States and settled on a 420 acre farm near Luverne, North Dakota. Wold retired from the Air Force on August 31, 1977 at the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Shortly after retiring from the United States Air Force, Wold enrolled in courses at the University of North Dakota School of Law eventually graduating in the spring of 1981. Wold established a law practice in Luverne, North Dakota eventually securing the appointment as Griggs County State’s Attorney.

In 1994, Wold was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs, acting as the Director of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (hereinafter DPMO). The main function of the DPMO is to ensure that the United States government achieves the fullest possible accounting for POW/MIA United States servicemen. In this capacity, Wold traveled widely, meeting frequently with the families of missing service members, and coordinating investigation and remains-recovery efforts with foreign governments in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

While serving as the Director of the DPMO, Wold was embroiled in the controversy over the POW/MIA issue, with many members of the public (particularly family members of the missing and numerous United States Senators and Congressmen) alleging that the government was not doing enough to repatriate lost Americans as well as claiming that there existed evidence of live Americans still being held prisoner in Southeast Asia.

After serving three years as the Director of the DPMO, Wold tendered his letter of resignation to President Bill Clinton on June 26, 1997. Following his resignation from the DPMO, Wold returned home to Luverne, North Dakota, where he died on February 11, 2003.

Subject/Index Terms

Legal
Military History - Prisoners of War (POW)
Military History - Vietnam War
University of North Dakota - Alumni

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: JoAnne Wold, Luverne, North Dakota

Acquisition Method: Donation, Acc.2007-2918

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). James Wold Papers. OGLMC 1524, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in July 2015.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal History and Military Career],
[Series 2: Legal Career],
[Series 3: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office],
[Series 4: POW/MIA Organizations],
[Series 5: Legislative Documents and Materials],
[Series 6: United States Russian Joint Commission ],
[Series 7: Correspondence],
[Series 8: POW/MIA Reports and Media Documents],
[Series 9: Oversized Materials],
[Series 10: Photographs],
[Series 11: Artifacts],
[All]

Series 5: Legislative Documents and Materials

Sub-Series 1: Senate Select Committee

Box 5

Folder 50: Hearings Before the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs with Notations by DASD Wold: 11-12 August 1992
Folder 51: Statement by Honorable Duane P. Andrews Before the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs: 15 October 1992
Folder 52: Anatomy of a Hearing: 1993
Folder 53: Full Report of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs with Notations by DASD Wold: 13 January 1993

Sub-Series 2: Foreign Relations Committee

Box 5

Folder 54: Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Examination of United States Policy Towards POW/MIAs: 23 May 1991
Folder 55: Al Santoli Testimony Before the House Foreign Relations Committee Entitled Toward an Honest Accounting of POW/MIAs and Ongoing United States Government POW/MIA Cover-up: 22 July 1993 and 10 February 1994
Folder 56: Article and Correspondence to/from Al Santoli about Alleged Cover-up of United States Government Regarding POW/MIAs: April 1994 and July 1995

Sub-Series 3: Military Personnel Subcommittee

Box 5

Folder 57: Hearings Before the Military Personnel Subcommittee about DoD's Comprehensive Review of POW/MIA Cases: November 1995
Folder 58: Congressional Record of the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House National Security Committee with Correspondence: 14 November 1995
Folder 59: Congressional Record on Zero-Based Comprehensive Review of Cases Involving Unaccounted For Americans in Southeast Asia with Testimony of DASD Wold and Correspondence: 30 November 1995
Folder 60: Hearing Before the Military Personnel Subcommittee about DoD's Comprehensive Review of Indochina POW/MIA Cases: 14 December 1995 [Folder I]
Folder 61: Hearing Before the Military Personnel Subcommittee about DoD's Comprehensive Review of Indochina POW/MIA Cases: 14 December 1995 [Folder II]
Folder 62: Hearing Before the Military Personnel Subcommittee about DoD's Comprehensive Review of Indochina POW/MIA Cases: 14 December 1995 [Folder III]
Folder 63: Congressional Record and Documents of Hearings on United States POW/MIA Issue Entitled Presidential Determination of Full Faith Cooperation by Vietnam with Statements and Correspondence by DASD Wold: June 1996
Folder 64: Congressional Record of Hearings Before the Military Personnel Subcommittee on the Mission Persons Act Revisions with Statement of DASD Wold and Other Documents and Correspondence: September 1996
Folder 65: Hearing Before the Military Personnel Subcommittee about Accounting for POW/MIAs From Korean War and Vietnam War: 17 September 1996

Sub-Series 4: Senator Robert Smith

Box 6

Folder 1: Miscellaneous Correspondence to/from Senator Bob Smith
Folder 2: Article and Presentation of Col. Millard Peck about Alleged Criminal Misconduct
Folder 3: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Bob Smith Responses to Questions Posed by Senator Bob Smith about Criminal Allegations of Col. Millard Peck: 1991
Folder 4: Correspondence from Senator Bob Smith to Attorney General Janet Reno about Alleged Criminal Matters of United States Government Employees: 29 June 1993
Folder 5: Report by Senator Bob Smith Entitled 1205 Document: 21 July 1993
Folder 6: Report by Senator Bob Smith Entitled 1205 Document: 1993-1996
Folder 7: Magazine Article Entitled The 1205 Document in National Interest: Fall 1993
Folder 8: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Bob Smith: 1994
Folder 9: Documents about Requested Information by Senator Bob Smith: 1994, 1996
Folder 10: Memoranda, Meeting Notes, Talking Points about Meetings Between DASD Wold and Senator Bob Smith: 1994, 1997
Folder 11: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Bob Smith: 1995
Folder 12: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Bob Smith: 1996
Folder 13: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Bob Smith: 1997
Folder 14: Correspondence Between Senator Bob Smith and Lt. Gen. Patrick Hughes: August 1997

Sub-Series 5: Congressman Robert Dornan

Box 6

Folder 15: Floor Statement and Correspondence about Appropriations Bill Hearing Referred to as the Dornan Hearing: December 1995
Folder 16: Correspondence to Congressman Robert Dornan from DPMO Deputy Director Alan Liotta about Potential Questions for DASD Wold: 29 December 1995
Folder 17: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Congressman Robert Dornan: 1995 April 1996
Folder 18: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Congressman Robert Dornan: May 1996 December 1996
Folder 19: Correspondence Between Secretary of Defense William Perry and Congressman Robert Dornan: August 1996

Sub-Series 6: Correspondence to Members of Congress and the President

Box 6

Folder 20: Documents and Articles about Senator Pete Peterson's Nomination as Ambassador to Vietnam
Folder 21: Correspondence Between Robert Dixon and Congressman Manuel Lujan, Jr.: 1973
Folder 22: Correspondence to/from Richard T. Childress: 1988-1991
Folder 23: Miscellaneous Correspondence to/from United States Members of Congress: 1993, 1995-1996
Folder 24: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Congressman Pete Peterson: 1994, 1996
Folder 25: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Congressman Tim Holden: 1994-1996
Folder 26: Correspondence from DASD Wold to Senator Paul David Wellstone and Related Documents: 1995, 1997
Folder 27: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Congressman Gillespie Montgomery, Senator Dirk Hempthorne, Senator Christopher Bond and Congressman Lee Hamilton: 1995-1997
Folder 28: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Charles Grassley: 1996
Folder 29: Correspondence from DASD Wold to Senator Alfonse D'Amato: April 1996
Folder 30: Correspondence from DASD Wold to Congressman Jo Ann Emerson and Congressman Bill Baker: 1996-1997
Folder 31: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Congressman Jim Talent: 1997
Folder 32: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Charles Robb: 1997
Folder 33: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator John McCain: 1997
Folder 34: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and President Bill Clinton: 1997
Folder 35: Correspondence from Judith Miller to Congressman Floyd D. Spence: 27 May 1997

Sub-Series 7: North Dakota Congressmen and Senators

Box 6

Folder 36: Correspondence to DASD Wold from Senator Byron Dorgan: 8 October 1993
Folder 37: Correspondence to DASD Wold from Congressman Earl Pomeroy: November December 1993
Folder 38: Correspondence Between DASD Wold and Senator Kent Conrad: 1994, 1996
Folder 39: Documents and Correspondence Relating to DASD Wold's Meeting with Senator Kent Conrad with Talking Points and Memoranda: 1996
Folder 40: North Dakota Newspaper Articles about DASD Wold's Work at DPMO and Visit with Senator Kent Conrad: 1996-1997

Sub-Series 8: Legislative Initiatives about POW/MIA Issues

Box 6

Folder 41: Senate-Based POW/MIA Proposed Legislation
Folder 42: Documents and Articles on Congressional Viewpoints Regarding the Search and Recovery of POW/MIA Cases
Folder 43: Newspaper Articles about the Release of Classified POW/MIA Files with Notations by DASD Wold
Folder 44: Documents and Correspondence about the Declassification Project of POW/MIA Materials from World War II, Cold War, Korean War and Vietnam War with Correspondence to DASD Wold, Memorandum of Understanding Between DPMO and the Library of Congress Signed by DASD Wold: 1992-1995
Folder 45: Memorandum for DASD Wold about Fiscal Year 1995 Defense Authorization/Appropriations Act: 1994
Folder 46: Congressional Record, Documents and Correspondence about Missing Personnel Act with Memoranda to/from DASD Wold: 1994-1997
Folder 47: Congressional Record about the National Defense Authorization Act Amendments Including Newspaper Articles: 1995

Sub-Series 9: Legislative Initiatives about Vietnam

Box 6

Folder 48: Press Release from Congressman Bob Lagomarsino of the House Committee of Foreign Affairs Regarding Vietnam POW/MIAs: 30 October 1992
Folder 49: Senate Debate and Vote on Lifting Trade Embargo Against Vietnam : 1994
Folder 50: Congressional Record and Documents about Korean War POW/MIAs: 1994-1997
Folder 51: White House and Other Documents about United States-Vietnam Diplomatic Relations: 1994-1997
Folder 52: Congressional Hearing Before the National Security Committee with Correspondence about the Hearing: 28 June 1995
Folder 53: Hearing Before the Committee on International Relations Entitled Vietnam : When Will We Get a Full Accounting?: 12 July 1995
Folder 54: Confidential Report and Newspaper Article about Bill Hendon with Correspondence from DASD Wold: 1995-1996
Folder 55: Federal Register Action about Compensation of Certain Former Operatives Incarcerated by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam : 25 July 1997

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