News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

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

Re: Highest National Priority... Or Is It?

Date: September 20, 1998

Good people everywhere care about POWs and MIAs and helping families find resolution. This letter is from the Netherlands. Makes you think.

Subject: NFLA
From: Postmaster NFLA - nfla@a1.nl
Organization: NFLA
To: AII POW-MIA

Dear Sirs!

The Dutch Federation for Aviation Archaeology (NFLA) is an organization which researches the history of the airwar over the Netherlands during World War II. Their prime goal is to reduce the number of MIA cases (US, Commonwealth and German) still listed for the territory of the Netherlands. The NFLA is a combined effort by four different private Aviation Archaeology Groups . These groups performed over 100 aircraft recoveries during the last twenty years.

The last five years the NFLA, together with the help of the official German authorities, was able to recover 6 German pilots who were still listed as MIA. Members of the NFLA also solved more than 12 MIA cases which were German pilots buried as Unkowns in Military Cemeteries.

The NFLA gathered also information on numerous crashsites of US and Commonwealth aircraft of which one or more crewmembers are still listed as MIA. Research and experience of the NFLA reveals that several of these sites can be recovered, possibly leading to the identification of the MIA. In the opinion of the NFLA an attempt should be made to recover these aircraft.

The NFLA contacted the Dutch Ministry of Defence for their position concerning these cases as organizations of the Ministery of Defence also performed more than 180 aircraft recoveries after World War II.

The answer of the Dutch Deputy-Minister of Defence asthonished the members of the NFLA. For the official position of the Dutch Government see the attached translated letter. Especially the following statement bewildered the members of the NFLA;

"Both her MajestyÕs Government and the Allied Governments have made it their policy, for reasons of piety towards these remains, to commemorate, respect and honour these fallen aircrew as much as possible at the location where the crash took place, and the designate these locations as wargraves."

This would mean that, according to Dutch government officials, the governments of the USA, several Commonwealth countries and Germany are not interested in solving MIA cases of World War II in the Netherlands. Contacts with the German Wargraves Committee revealed that this was not the position of the government of the German Federal Republic.

The NFLA is anxious to learn the official position of the US government concerning MIA cases of World War II. Also the opinion of your organization would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

NFLA, The Dutch Federation for Aviation Archaeology.

Translation
The Ministry of Defence

Letter from the Deputy-Minister of Defence to Parliament
(Second Chamber)

to: the right honourable member chairperson of Parliaments Permanent Committee on defence-matters.

Date 20th of April 1998

Concerning: Salvage of wracked aeroplanes and missing crew from the Second World War

In responce to your request dated 23rd of February 1998 to comment on the letter received from the Nederlandse Federatie voor Luchtvaartarcheologie (NFLA; Dutch Federation for Aviation-archaeology), about salvaging aircraft-wracks and missing crew, I would hereby like to respond to you as follows. Before responding to your request I have awated the official answers to the questions put to me by the right honourable member mr. Hoekema (Liberal Democrats, on the 24th of February 1998) concerning the same matter. I would like also te refer to those answers.

First I would like to point out to you, in concordance with the answers to the aforementioned questions, that a misunderstanding needs to be cleared. In her letter, NFLA conveys het astonishment about the fact that the Dutch Government, (in spite of the Geneva Conventions) has done little or nothing to actively involve herself in the process of searching for and identifying of human remains of Second World War aircrew.

Both her Majesty's Government and the Allied Governments have made it their policy, for reasons of piety towards these remains, to commemorate, respect and honour these fallen aircrew as much as possible at the location where the crash took place, and te designate these locations as war-graves.

This policy has recently been underscored by the British Ambassador. Because of this, I do not agree with NFLA that the Geneva Conventions hold an obligation for Her Majesty's Government to actively involve herself in a process of searching for and identifying missing soldiers. The fact that the Geneva Conventions on this point have not been implemented in a national law, does not change my position on this. Contrary to the proposition put forward by NFLA, this policy is not inspired by the costs of such operations, nor by a lack of Government initiative, but solely on grounds of piety with the victims. Only if public security is involved or when relatives expressly request reburial, shall Her Majesty's Government take effort to do everything possible to salvage the remains, in co-operation with all those involved.

Subsequently I would like to repond to another proposition put forward by NFLA, that in the law of the Netherlands there are no unequivocal rules on who is allowed to take up salvage operations and how these should be conducted. I believe this proposition also to be incorrect. In the circular letter from both the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Internal Affairs, dated 11 April 1996, adressed to all town councils and mayors, concerning this matter, to which by the way, both national and international, have been listed and their interconnection has been explaned.

The intend of these law's and the rules is, to insure that whenever a decision is taken by local government (primary jurisdiction lies with them) to take up the salvage of a Second World War aeroplane, this operation should be conducted only with the greatest caution, because of all the interest involved, such as public safety, the environment, legal order and piety with the victims. The caution has to be taken however does imply that any salvage-operation should be conducted only under the responsibility of appointed National Government services. This however, unlike NFLA proposes, does not imply that all salvage-work should be conducted by military personnel. Exception in this respect is made of course for the disposal of explosives, the handling and identification of human remains and for all those activities directly related to these actions.

Unlike NFLA proposes, a working co-operation between government and civilians is possible. Proof of this lies in the fact that during the past two years (after the aforementioned circular letter was put out) military services have, on a number of occasions, worked closely together with a civilian organisation called OVMO (Foundation for the Location of Missing War-victims). This co-operation, which was to the satisfaction of both parties involved, will soon be formalised through the signing of a letter of understanding with regard to future co-operation. Other civil organisations are welcome to oin this understanding, however as always on the basis of the aforementioned circular. This implies that co-operation between defence services and civilians can only come out under primary responsibility of the military. This principle, although fulley endorsed by OVMO, is not yet accepted by NFLA.

In spite of the statementmade by NFLA in her current letter, that defence authorities are best equipped to exercise supervision on behalf of the national government to ensure the observation of the utmost caution during these activities and NFLA's wish to come towards a fruitfull co-operation with defence authorities may offer new possibilities in that fact.

I do not share the statements, somewhat contrary to the aforementioned possibilities, made by NFLA with regard to poor performance by the designated military services that are operational in this field. Needless to say that the level of performance is subject to continous reassessment within general management.

In view of the above, I take it to be clear that there is no question of the military disregarding civil contribution to the process of undertaking a salvage- operation. Any statement about the Minister of Defence making blunt remarks about this issue must be founded on a misunderstanding. The co-operation between the designated military services and OVMO may serve as an example of that.

Through the chairman of the interdepartmental workgroup that stood at the cradle of the aforementioned circular, an operation was extended to NFLA more than once.

The Deputy-Minister of Defence
Drs J.C. Gmlich Meijling