Historic front page from Des Moines Register, Oct. 30, 1979: Gov. Ray tours refugee camps

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The Des Moines Register is there as Gov. Robert Ray returns from an October 1979 visit to Southeast Asia, where he toured refugee camps in Thailand. "I watched people die," Ray tells the Register for the Oct. 30 edition, saying the conditions were so horrific he doesn't know how to describe them. The Republican governor, who had so far resettled 4,000 refugees from the Vietnam War to Iowa, acknowledges backlash for his efforts, "but this is a matter of life and death." Ray, joined by Iowa leaders including Register President and Editor Michael Gartner, forms the Iowa SHARES charity, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy food and other aid to assist the refugees in Thailand.

Each day this month, as the Register marks its 175th birthday, we’re sharing front pages from noteworthy moments in history.