Peace Corps Officials Assess the Situation and Plan Future Action

In early April, cables fly between Dar es Salaam and Washington, D.C., discussing how to proceed. Peppy’s body is sent to New York after an emotionally moving ceremony in Dar es Salaam. Several memos are prepared summarizing the evidence and events to date. Questions about who will pay for a defense attorney arise, a list of potential defense attorneys is developed, and Bill’s father and members of the North Carolina congressional delegation accuse the Peace Corps of abandoning Bill. The issue of bad press coverage continue to worry PCDC, as evidenced by a cable urging local officials to coordinate on information to be given to the press. The cable points out that misleading and inaccurate stories are appearing in the American press and are attributed to Peace Corps officials in Tanzania.