1/22/2010:
The Fargo Forum reported that President Jimmy Carter issued an amnesty to Vietnam War draft evaders on this date in 1977. The amnesty came a day earlier, as one of President Carter's first acts in office. The move also fulfilled one of the President's most popular campaign promises.
The amnesty granted a complete pardon to all Vietnam-era evaders who were not involved in any acts of violence. Although it did not apply to deserters, the amnesty allowed any overseas American evaders to return home without prosecution. It also freed at least five evaders being held in U. S. prisons. The President ordered complete reviews of deserter and other-than-honorable discharge cases on an individual basis. John Russell of the Justice Department claimed that the amnesty would affect an estimated 10,000 individuals nationwide, but the U. S. Attorney for North Dakota, Harold Bullis, reported that only ten former North Dakotan men would probably be affected. Of these ten, nine were living in Canada, and one in Mexico. Two of the Canadian evaders that the Forum were able to locate did not plan on returning to the U. S. and had become Canadian residents, although with the amnesty, they could now return to North Dakota to visit family and friends. Both men were already living in Canada when the draft was implemented.
Although the pardon proved popular to many Americans, not everyone was pleased with the President's decision. Veterans, most notably, were upset by the move, claiming that the amnesty would endanger the country in future outbreaks by weakening the ability of a draft to be successfully instituted. The Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, the nation's two largest veterans' organizations, were among the first to speak publicly against the move. T. Cooper Holt, executive director of the Washington VFW office, referred to the date as "...one of the saddest days in the history of our country." Holt believed that President Carter would "...have to accept the responsibility of arming our military in case of another confrontation with a foreign power." Over 50,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam conflict.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
The Fargo Forum. Saturday, January 22, 1977: p.1,2.