New York State Post Vietnam Coordinating Committee Correspondence Files

Chronological by date of correspondence.

The Post Vietnam Planning Committee was formed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller when he appointed 25 individuals on April 13, 1968 and charged them with the responsibility of designing plans and recommendations which would offset the economic consequences of the de-escalation of the war in Vietnam. A key recommendation in the report, which was submitted to the Governor on December 18, 1968, was the formation of the State Post Vietnam Coordinating Committee.

Agreeing with the Planning Committee's recommendations, Rockefeller established the Post Vietnam Coordinating Committee on September 27, 1969. The main responsibility of this nine-member body, headed by the Commissioner of Commerce, was to plan for and assist the returning veterans and workers affected by defense cutbacks resulting from de-escalation, and eventually, the end of the war in Vietnam. In addition, the State Coordinating Committee was to work closely with the eleven Area Post Vietnam Planning Committees that were also a recommendation of the Post Vietnam Planning Committee. These area committees covered twenty-five counties in which substantial defense employment was located.

This series consists mainly of incoming and outgoing correspondence but also includes memoranda, reports, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, press releases, minutes of meetings, photographs, and meeting agenda. The majority of the records in the series were generated and accumulated by the Post Vietnam Coordinating Committee, but there are some files dealing with the Post Vietnam Planning Committee.

The correspondence files of the State Coordinating Committee clearly document its main concern with the de-escalation of the war, but they also deal with other topics such as educational opportunities for returning veterans, the establishment of public works projects, the encouragement of labor unions to develop on-the-job training programs, and the housing needs of veterans.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.