News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

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

Re: DOD Letter on Laos Losses

Date: October 08, 1998

The following letter has been received from DPMO in response to questions asked on Laos losses:

Dear Mr. Necci:

I apologize for the delay in replying to your fax memorandum of September 8, 1998, requesting information on Laos. Unfortunately, the original fax did not make it to my desk. In answering your questions, I need to clarify that the numbers presented only represent information pertaining to U.S. individuals, civilian and military, missing in Laos that are also listed in the PMSEA (Personnel Missing, Southeast Asia (and Selected foreign Nationals)) as having been POW or Missing in Action. The following responses are provided.

1. Official number of U.S. individuals listed as unaccounted for in Laos: 604
2. Number of missing Servicemen in that official number: 578
3. Number of lost civilians in that official number: 26
4. Official number of live U.S. individuals repatriated from Laos: 26
5. Number of live servicemen repatriated from Laos: 15
6. Number of live civilians repatriated from Laos: 11
7. Number of U.S. individuals whose remains have been repatriated and identified: 132
8. Number of Servicemen whose remains have been repatriated and identified: 129
9. Number of civilians whose remains have been repatriated and identified: 3
Your second question was the list of names of those individuals who were repatriated alive from Laos. The following 26 U.S. individuals are listed in the PMSEA as having returned alive:

**AII POW-MIA NOTE: The question was 'repatriated'... the answer is 'having returned alive'. There is a fundamental difference between the two.

1. Ayres, Vicki
2. Bailey, Lawrence Robert
3. Ballenger, Orville Roger
4. Bedinger, Henry James
5. Biagini, Frederick James
6. Brace, Ernest C.
7. Butcher, Jack M.
8. Cius, Frank E.
9. Conway, Rosemary A.
10. Copp, James
11. Dengler, Dieter
12. Dillon, Michael
13. Gotner, Nobert A.
14. Guy, Theodore Wilson
15. Kay, Emmet James
16. Klusman, Charles F.
17. Leonard, Edward w.
18. Long, Donna
19. Long, Stephen G.
20. Mattix, Sam
21. McMorrow, John P.
22. Riess, Charles F.
23. Shore, Edward R. Jr.
24. Simmons, Willie E.
25. Stischer, Walter Morris
26. Wolfkill, Grant

I hope this answers your questions and look forward to seeing you at 1:30 P.M. on October 15, 1998.

Sincerely,

Kevin J. Wilson
CDR. USN
Policy and Plans Directorate
Defense POW/Missing Personnel AffairsDPMO