News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Bob Necci & Carol Hrdlicka, Andi Wolos
(POW-MIA FaxNetwork)

Re: Letter from Czech Republic On POW-MIAs

Date: July 26, 1997

With the statements by Jan Sejna and Joseph Douglass and the admission of Czechoslovakia into NATO, the following should be of interest. It was received from the Czech Ambassador - Alexandr Vondra

The Czech Ambassador
3900 Spring Of Freedom Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

Name & Address
Redacted

July 22, 1997

No. 5083/97

Dear Mr. (Name redacted)

Thank you for your letter of July 11, 1997. I would like to assure you that the Czech Republic is fully aware that its participation in the NATO does not bring only benefits but also entails contributions. The Czech Republic is ready to cooperate in every possible way with the United States government in obtaining information on American prisoners of war and those missing in action.

In this respect, I am happy to inform you that the Czech government has already provided assistance to U.S. officials and institutions concerning information on American POW/MIAs which could exist in the archives and other sources of the former Czechoslovakis. In this matter, the U.S. Senator Robert Smith (R-NH) met with the Czech Minister of Defense Miloslav Vyborny during his visit in United States this April. Senator Smith also participated in the U.S. delegation from the U.S. - Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs which visited Prague on July 1 - 4, 1997. Other leaders of the delegation were U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R - Tex) and the U.S. Chairman of the Commission, Ambassador Malcolm Toon. During their stay, they met with the President Vaclav Havel, with the Minister of Defense Miloslav Vyborny and other Czech officials and received copies of all requested documents related to this matter.

Let me express my hope that the assistance of the Czech Republic will help shed light on the fate of unaccounted-for American POW and MIAs from the Vietnam and Korean Wars.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed)

Alexandr Vondra