A team of medical men is in South Vietnam on a mission that might result in a group of napalm-burned children coming to Detroit for surgery and treatment.
The team consists of Dr. John Constable of the Committee of Responsibility and four other doctors. Doctor Constable is a plastic surgeon.
According to Dr. Paul Lowenger of the Lafayette Clinic here the medical men are doing a survey of badly burned children in the war-torn land. They are preparing dossiers on children who are to be brought to this country.
They will either bring children back with them or they will bring back a list of children slated to be brought to the U.S.
The first groups of children will go to Boston and New York. But Lowenger said subsequent groups will be brought to other cities including Detroit.
He estimates that the first planeload of napalm-crippled children should arrive in Detroit by June or July.
We have here in Detroit several plastic surgeons who have expressed an interest to donate their services,” Lowenger said.
He pointed out that this is strictly a nonpolitical, humanitarian project. And there will be no effort to use the children for fund raising efforts or mobilization of public opinion. But he added there will also be no effort to keep their presence here a secret.
The Committee of Responsibility is footing the entire bill for the project with no financial help from the federal government. It is currently trying to raise $3 million. Lowenger says he is receiving support from people in all professions and trades in his fund-raising efforts locally.
Related
See Fifth Estate’s Vietnam Resource Page.