News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

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

Re: NLF Update

Date: July 30, 1998

National League of Families UPDATE LINE: July 24, 1998

Thank you for calling the National League of Families Update Line. This message is recorded on Wednesday, July 29th. The number of Americans listed as missing from the Vietnam War is now 2,081.

The Armed Forces Identification Review Board (AFIRB) has very recently finalized approval of five identifications recommend by the Central identification Laboratory (CILHI). Those announced as accounted for include Commander Danforth E. White, USN, and Lt. Commander Captain Ramey L. Carpenter, USN, missing since March 31, 1969, in Laos and Major William H. Condit, Jr., and Lt. Terry M. Reed, both USAF, missing since June 23, 1969, in South Vietnam. The remains of Commander White Lt. Commander Carpenter were jointly recovered in Laos on March 3, 1997. The remains of Major Condit and Lt. Reed were jointly recovered in south Vietnam on November 29, 1994. The remains of one additional American, jointly recovered in South Vietnam on May 6, 1988, were also identified, but his family requested that his name not be released. Earlier, the Department of Defense announced that the Armed Forces Identification Review Board had approved the recommended identification of 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, USAF. Lt. Blassie's remains, previously interred in the Vietnam War crypt at the tomb of the Unknowns, were identified by mtDNA testing not available in 1984.

The League extends to the families and friends of these Americans our hope these final answers bring long-awaited peace of mind. The accounting for these six Americans brings the number still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War to 2,081, though nearly 85% of the 444 still missing in Laos, and 90% of the 75 unaccounted for in Cambodia, were lost in areas under control of Vietnamese forces during the war.

The League has urged the Secretary of Defense to place a permanent plaque over the crypt reserved for the Unknown from the Vietnam War to honor all Americans still missing and unaccounted for from that conflict and their sacrifices for our nation. It is hoped that the placement of this plaque will occur on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, September 18th of this year.

On July 27th, League Executive Director Ann Mills Griffiths met with the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Director for North American Affairs at the League office. She impressed on this Vietnamese official the need for a two-track approach, continuation of joint field activities and unilateral actions by the government of Vietnam to locate and return remains and provide documents that could help account for many Americans. There was agreement that more can and should be done and that the government of Vietnam would welcome input from the League and the US Government regarding what more can be done, as well as the approach.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs Bob Jones recently returned from Southeast Asia, after leading a DoD delegation for talks with officials of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

More than 1,000 reels of archival film from the Vietnam War arrived from Hanoi during Mr. Jones' visit to Laos. The film is under review by joint Lao-US archival research officials to determine whether there is any information useful to the accounting effort. On July 28th, joint field operations resumed in Laos.

On July 23rd, by a vote of 34 yea, 66 nay, the Senate supported the latest attempt by Senators John Kerry, John McCain and Bob Kerrey, as well as Check Hagel, to undercut viable efforts to strengthen language in the Commerce, State and Justice appropriations bill. Senator Bob Smith had amended language passed by the Senate last year to include definition of steps by which Vietnam's cooperation on POW/MIA could be measured. Senator John Kerry led the effort to strike all of the improved language and revert to the exact language used last year. The League strongly objects to the consistent steps this same core group of Vietnam veterans in the Senate take that subvert the accounting effort.

A team of POW/MIA specialists were recently in North Korea conducting joint operations in an effort to recover remains of unaccounted for Americans. Remains that may be those of three unaccounted for Americans were turned over upon completion of the excavation. Two additional joint excavations are scheduled for this year, one in August and the other in October, both also in Unsan Country, North Korea where hundreds of Americans are known to have been lost in combat between US and Chinese forces.

Due to limited staff and funding, it is not possible to send large amounts of public awareness materials. Instead, single copies of current information are available for duplication. The League's web site can be located at pow- miafamilies.org. Though the site is still evolving, there is current factual information now available on-line. For information regarding any matter in this recording, call the League office at 202/223-6846. If no one can take your call, please leave a message with the subject, your name, address, and telephone number. Again, thank you for calling.