News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci
(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: DPMO Update

Date: April 08, 1998

Defense POW/MIA Weekly Update

FAMILY UPDATE SCHEDULED FOR PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

Families of unaccounted-for servicemembers are being invited to attend the next Family Update in Pensacola, Florida on April 25th. This Saturday event is the fourth of the planned 1998 Family Updates, and the 28th in a series of programs where officials of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office and the military services visit local communities to update families on the work being done worldwide in accounting for missing Americans.

These updates are designed specifically for family members and have been conducted approximately monthly for the past two years. Sites are selected around the country where most MIA families live. Led by Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense J. Alan Liotta, a team of specialists will discuss current policies and activities of the U.S. government in the accounting effort from the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Korean War. Families near Pensacola may contact their respective service casualty office to register and to receive more details about the meeting.

RED CROSS ARCHIVES PROVIDE KEY POW INFORMATION

Last week, DPMO researchers traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to assess World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War records stored at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) archives. During this review, researchers conducted an in-depth study of a small portion of Korean War records to help them analyze the value of the ICRC materials. This sampling, mostly from the ICRC, North Korean Red Cross, and the Chinese Red Cross, contained significant information.

DPMO archivists discovered names of four Americans who were listed by the ICRC as prisoners of war (POWs) but who were not carried in U.S. records as POWs. All four were considered as unaccounted-for personnel, but two were listed as Killed in Action, and the other two were listed as Missing in Action. Changes were immediately made to the DPMO consolidated database of Personnel Missing from the Korean War (PMKOR). A full review of the ICRC archives will be initiated to determine if other information pertaining to unaccounted-for Americans is available.

REMAINS STUDY CONFERENCE UNDERWAY IN HANOI

Senior analysts from DPMO are currently in Vietnam to conduct a final bilateral exchange and discussion on the Vietnam Remains Study. The Vietnamese have undertaken unilateral investigations to address our analytic concerns. Drafting of the Remains Study will begin after the DPMO representatives return from Hanoi.