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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Former Pow Is Likely Vietnam Ambassador

Compiled From Wire Services

President Clinton is expected to nominate Congressman Pete Peterson, a former prisoner of war in Hanoi, to become the first U.S. ambassador to Vietnam since the end of the war.

The announcement could come as early as today, according to a Clinton administration source. “It’s nearly a foregone conclusion with only some last-minute checks still remaining,” the source said.

White House spokeswoman April Mellody refused to confirm Peterson’s appointment, saying only that “we have no announcement on that.”

But Peterson’s administrative assistant, Suzanne Farmer, said, “I suspect he will be nominated. It’s pretty likely now.”

If his nomination as ambassador was approved by the Senate, Peterson, 60, would return to the same city where he spent several years as a prisoner of war. Peterson, an Air Force fighter pilot, was shot down in 1968 and spent a total of 6-1/2 years as a prisoner, part of that in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton,” prison.