Letter Accepting the Resignation of David K. E. Bruce as Head of the United States Delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.
Dear David:
I profoundly regret, even as I fully understand, that personal circumstances have deprived us of your continued services as Head of the United States Delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.
Your willingness to come out of retirement and once again help your country was but the latest demonstration of the dedication and unselfishness that have marked your more than thirty years of public service. We have been fortunate, during the past year, that we could draw upon the wisdom and patience accumulated throughout your remarkable career. You have served well the objectives of your country and the goal of peace.
It is my strong hope that we will be able to call on you for special assignments in the future. For you have shown once more your giant stature as a diplomat and as a man. You have my deep appreciation and admiration.
With warm regards.
Sincerely,
RICHARD NIXON
[The Honorable David K. E. Brace, American Embassy, Paris]
Note: A White House announcement of the intention to appoint William J. Porter as head of the U.S. delegation to the 'Paris talks on peace in Vietnam was released on the same day and is printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 7, p. 1092).
Ambassador Bruce's letter of resignation, dated July 27, 1971, and released with the President's letter, read as follows:
Dear Mr. President:
As you know, it became imperative, on the advice of physicians, to relinquish my position as head of the United States Delegation to the Paris Meetings on Viet-Nam. I am, therefore, formally tendering herewith my resignation, with the request that it become effective on July 31, 1971.
I would like to make a few comments on my work here. Throughout my assignment, our excellent U.S. Delegation in Paris has received the unstinted support of the White House and of the Department of State.
Personally, I have been, and shall remain, grateful to you for your wise comprehension of the issues involved in your unceasing efforts to bring to a peaceful and honorable ,end the war in South-East Asia.
I also deeply appreciate your personal confidence in me.
I am profoundly convinced that the policies you have sponsored in respect to a settlement of the problems of that troubled area have been sound and constructive, and should have constituted a satisfactory basis for agreement with our opponents on the matters in dispute. It is they, and they alone, who bear the heavy responsibility for the continuation of war in Indo-Chlna.
With warm and respectful regards, I am
Sincerely yours,
DAVID K. E. BRUCE
[The President, The White House, Washington, D.C.]
Richard Nixon, Letter Accepting the Resignation of David K. E. Bruce as Head of the United States Delegation to the Paris Peace Talks. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240422