This collection consists of a letter from Hilaire du Berrier, a reporter on foreign affairs, to Andrea Sandstrom and a short biography of du Berrier. In 1959 Sandstrom wrote to du Berrier as a teenager for a school paper assignment. She was inquiring whether a report he wrote about South Vietnam was true and his reasons for writing the article. Du Berrier wrote to Sandstrom his reasons for the article. He wrote about Ngo dinh Diem as the leader of Vietnam and General John O'Daniel's support of him. In the spring of 1954, General O'Daniel was appointed commander of the U.S. Military Advisory Group (MAAG), which helped with training the Vietnamese National Army.

Du Berrier was referring to events after the Franco-Viet Minh war, 1946-1954, in which France was trying to maintain control of Vietnam against the Viet Minh. At the conclusion of the war, the country was split into two halves, North and South Vietnam. South Vietnam was ruled by Ngo dinh Diem with American support. He eventually declared himself president of the Republic of Vietnam, which was recognized by the United States. In time, he began to lose support of the U.S. because of his tyrannical means of ruling. The United States supported a military coup in 1963 to overthrow him.

The biography "Hilaire du Berrier: Spy From North Dakota" by James P. Lucier is a four page description of du Berrier's life as well as a brief interview with du Berrier.