News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: NAF Bits 'N' Pieces

Date: January 27, 2001

National Alliance of Families
For The Return of America's Missing Servicemen
+ World War II + Korea + Cold War + Vietnam + Gulf War

BITS 'N' PIECES - January 27th, 2001

The National Alliance of Families extends its deepest sympathy to former Vietnam POW, Major Mark Smith, on the loss of his son, Mark Jr., to a senseless and random act of violence. Young Mark had no insurance and the family could use help in defraying burial costs. Any help toward this end will be appreciated by the family. Condolences may be sent to Major Mark Smith at 2723 W. 179th St., Torrance, CA 90504.


January 27, 1973 - The Day The Lies Began - Today marks the 28th Anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War. Today also marks the 28th Anniversary of the continuous string of lies foisted upon the families of our POW/MIAs. The government thought the POW/MIA families would go away. The government thought their friends would got away. The government was WRONG!


Did the Vietnamese Lie in Paris, when they presented the list of only 591 POWs scheduled to be returned. You bet they did! They lied then and they continue to lie, today. Sadly, they are aided and abetted in those lies by elements within our own government. As early as 1969, a Rand Corporation Study concluded - "No matter what terms are agreed upon, it would be unduly optimistic to believe that the DRV and the VC will release all U.S. prisoners immediately after conclusion of an agreement in the expectation that the United States will meet its military, political, or monetary commitments. More likely, they will insist on awaiting concrete evidence of U.S. concessions before releasing the majority of American prisoners, and will retain some of them until all U.S. commitments have been fulfilled."

So, here we are, 28 years later and the lies continue......

In the case of Michael "Bat" Masterson, USAF, shot down over Laos October 13, 1968 - One of the disputed pieces of information relating to Michael "Bat" Masterson is a January 14th 1972 DIA memo listing 21 POWs, who according to DIA, had been moved from their area of capture in South Vietnam and Laos to North Vietnam. Of the 21 POWs listed, 20 came home. The fate of the 21st POW, Michael "Bat" Masterson, remains a mystery.

That mystery is compounded by inaccurate and perhaps purposely misleading information supplied to the Masterson's wife Fran, over the last 28 years. Today, DPMO contends that the intelligence correlated to Masterson actually related to a Lt. Ronald Mastin, shot down over North Vietnam in January 1967. It is important to pay attention to the dates.

In 1999 Fran Masterson asked the following question: "Why would DoD believe the 14 Jan 72 DIA Memo pertained to Lt Mastin, when the memo was showing movement of personnel from Laos and South Vietnam to North Vietnam, and Lt Masting was shot down and captured in North Vietnam and was already known by the United States government to be a prisoner in North Vietnam since 1969, almost three years before the 14 Jan DIA Memo we prepared?"

An email from Air Force Casualty relayed that question to DPMO, on September 16, 1999. Included in the email was this comment; "Our review of Lt. Mastin's Casualty File appears to support her statement. Our records indicate that Lt Mastin was placed in a MIA status over North Vietnam effective 16 Jan 67. Sufficient evidence was received to change Lt Mastin's casualty status to captured (POW) effective 8 Sept 69 with the location again listed as North Vietnam. He was returned to Military Control from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on 4 Mar 73."

DPMO replied to the question raised in the Sept. 16th email stating: "The first error took place in 1970 when analysts misinterpreted a small bit of information and concluded that Lt. Col. Masterson was a POW in Hanoi. This sketchy, but sensitive information actually related to Lt. Mastin. The second error occurred in January 1972 when DIA drew up a list of Americans who were lost in South Vietnam and Laos and who were believed to be in North Vietnam. Varying sources of information were used to compile the list. Lt Col. Masterson's name was included based on the 1970 error, DIA analysts still believed he was in Hanoi."

DPMO offered an expanded explanation in an earlier memo, dated July 26th, 1999, stating: "In mid-1970, sensitive wartime information concerning American prisoners in North Vietnam was erroneously correlated to Lieutenant Colonel Masterson based upon a mistaken analytical interpretation. His name was included in the memorandum identifying him as a prisoner in North Vietnam based upon this incorrect analytical assessment. For almost two years, DIA analysts incorrectly considered Lieutenant Colonel Masterson a POW. Of note, however, is that the U.S. Air Force never concurred with DIA's interpretation of the data and continued to list him as MIA. Three months after dissemination of the 1972 memo, DIA analysts realized that the sensitive information had been misinterpreted and was not associated with Captain Masterson, but instead referred to Air Force Lieutenant Ronald Mastin. In view of the analytical error and the complete lack of corroborating evidence to support a belief that Lieutenant Colonel Masterson was a captive in North Vietnam or anywhere else, DIA analysts reversed their opinion, concurring with the Air Force that his correct status was MIA."

A memo dated June 29th 1999, from Air Force Casualty, to DPMO, referring to the January 1972 memo stated: "This office has no record of receiving this memorandum or of Lieutenant Colonel Masterson ever officially being carried as a prisoner of war by any government agency."

Finally, the Comprehensive Case review, commonly referred to as the "scrub" dated July 1, 1999 states: "On Apr 10 72 DIA changed Capt. Masterson's wartime status from MIA to PW based on an analytical interpretation of a message from a sensitive source. It subsequently became apparent that the (sic) there was no evidence to support such an analytical conclusion, and Capt Masterson's status was returned to MIA."

So when was Capt. Masterson added to the DIA list of POWs. Was it in 1970 or was it as late as April 10th 1972 as the "scrub" reports and when was he removed from the list and why?

We went back to the Library of Congress, where we found the January 14th 1972 memo, hoping to find a DIA list that would confirm or refute the DPMO explanation. We found many lists which raised additional questions.

The first list we found was dated January 1967. We suspect earlier lists exist, but we couldn't find them. It appears that in January 1967, a list of POWs was compiled. For our purposes we will refer to this as a "Master List" as opposed to the update memos we located. During 1967, memos were issued by DIA directing the services to add individuals to the list of POWs, as information was acquired. Based on the information available it appears that another Master List was compiled on 13 Dec. 1967. The Dec. 67 list was superseded by an April 17, 1968 list. That list was replaced by a March 18, 1969 list. The March 1969 list was replaced by a February 20, 1970 list which was replaced by a May 11, 1970 Master List. Additional Master Lists were issued in August and November 1970, March and May of 1971, and February and April of 1972. If other lists were issued, we could not locate them in the Library of Congress. We also assume that interim memos, such as those issued in 1967 and early 1968, continued adding POWs to the list as information became available.

In pursuing these lists we looked for three things. The first is the appearance of Lt. Mastin, and Capt. Masterson, on the list and when Capt. Masterson's name was removed from the list.

The Air Force stated, in their email, that a change was made in Lt. Mastin's "casualty status to captured (POW) effective 8 Sept 69." That is consistent with his appearance on the 20 Feb. 1970 DIA "Master List." There is no mention of Capt. Masterson.

Capt. Masterson's name does not appear on the May 11th 1970 list. Masterson's name first appears on the DIA List dated August 1970.

We said it was important to pay attention to the dates. The DPMO case "scrub" clearly states: "On Apr 10 72 DIA changed Capt. Masterson's wartime status from MIA to PW based on an analytical interpretation of a message from a sensitive source. It subsequently became apparent that the (sic) there was no evidence to support such an analytical conclusion, and Capt Masterson's status was returned to MIA."

If the "scrub" is accurate in stating "on Apr 10 72 DIA changed Capt. Masterson's wartime status from MIA to PW" someone needs to explain how Capt. Masterson's name is on the May 11th , and Nov. 1970 lists, the March 2nd and May 5th 1971 lists, and the February 7th and April 27th 1972 lists. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate any list dated after April 27th 1972.

Could Masterson's name have been removed from a subsequent list? That is a possibility, but we doubt it. Our doubt is based on a communication generated by the U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB Texas dated November 30th 1973. In that communique, directed to, among others, JCRC Thailand and DIA Washington DC, the Air Force stated: "A review of your B-2 report reflects that you are carrying the following individuals in your code MIAW, which reflects that these men are listed as POW by DIA and MIA by AFMPC..." The communique list eleven (11) Air Force members, among them "Bat" Masterson.

The message concluded by saying: "coordination with DIA has established that they are carrying these individuals as MIA, repeat MIA. Request you take the necessary action to delete any references pertaining to PW status and place members in new MIA code."

We learn three things from this message: 1. JCRC continued to carry Masterson as a POW, at least to 30 November 1973; 2. Based on the wording of the memo, sometime between the last located list, dated April 27, 1972 and Nov. 30 1973 DIA may have changed Masterson's status, yet JCRC continued to carry him as POW; 3: the Air Force was inaccurate, misleading or outright lying when it said, in 1999 "This office has no record of receiving this memorandum or of Lieutenant Colonel Masterson ever officially being carried as a prisoner of war by any government agency." (FYI: this message was found in Captain Masterson's Casualty File located in the Library of Congress.)

Why did the Air Force carry Masterson as MIA while DIA carried him as POW? Why did the Air Force and DIA agree to remove Capt Masterson from their list of POWs? Was it because of an analytical error as DPMO stated? Or, was it simply because Capt. Masterson did not come home and the President of the United States had stated all the POWs were home?

It is important to note that each of the DIA cover letters accompanying the lists stated: "This list has been derived from an analysis of all-source intelligence information and constitutes an all-source intelligence estimate of POW status. These estimates are reasoned judgements which are not always sufficiently conclusive to be accepted by the Services as confirmation of POW status for non-intelligence purposes. This list, therefore, will not necessarily correlate with Military Service casualty lists."

Was the determination to list "Bat" Masterson as a POW based on, as the DIA stated, "an all-source intelligence estimate of POW status" that represents "reasoned judgements." Or was the determination based on, as DPMO states: "a small bit of information.... sketchy, but sensitive information...." resulting in a "mistaken analytical interpretation."

It might help to look at the other names listed, their date of loss and when they were added to the DIA list of POWs. They are:

Name: Date of Loss Date Listed as POW by DIA Comment
Andrews, Willian 10-05-66 05/70 Voice Contact
Balcom, Ralph 05-15-66 03/67
Capling, Elwyn 09-19-68 03/69 Remains returned 3/77
Francisco, San D. 11-25-68 03/69 Voice Contact
Frederick, William 07-05-67 05/70 Remains returned 7/89
Hardy, Arthur 03-14-72 Remains returned 9/83
Horne, Stanley 01-14-68 07-68 Remains returned 4/90
Masterson, Michael 10-13-68 08/70
Thomas, Kenneth D. 05-05-66 04/68 Remains returned 8/85

Two names were redacted. The name of Arthur Hardy must have been added to a list dated after 27 Apr 1972.

It should also be noted that remains returned in 1977, 1983 and 1985 were result of unilateral repatriations. That is, they were returned as a result of either remains recovered or stored by the Vietnamese and did not require a U.S. recovery effort. It would be interesting to know the recovery circumstance of Horne and Frederick.

Whatever evidence existed to consider the 11 men as POW, was compelling enough for JCRC to include Kenneth Thomas in the 1975 "Project X" study. This put him among the 57 men JCRC believe might have survived in captivity.

Are we to believe that "Bat" Masterson and ten other members of the Air Force were listed by DIA, as POW based on "mistaken analytical interpretation." Or was Masterson and 10 others removed from the POW list to conform with the policy that all the POWs were home?

Questions.... and Lies....

In the Case of Hasenbeck, Mangino, Nidds & Winters, USA, April 21, 1967 - A 1993 case summary, prepared by JTF-FA, states; "The platoon leader from the first sampan returned to base and reported that Sp4 Mangino was in conversation with a local resident when he lost sight of him. The platoon leader also reported hearing 20-30 rounds of small arms fire 15 minutes after losing sight of the second sampan." It certainly sounds as if the Mangino 4 ended up in an ambush or fire fight. The problem - the JTF-FA statement is not accurate.

According to Board of Inquiry statements dated 23 April 1967, the team was last seen at 1545 hours (3:45PM) at coordinates 622977. The Time Sequence of events established by the Board of Inquiry states that Lt. K. (we are withholding the name of the Lt. as he was reprimanded for his failure to report his men missing, in a timely manner.) and others heard sniper rounds. This was at 1630 hours (4:30 PM) some 45 minutes after losing sight of the men in the second sampan, not the 15 minutes as stated in the JTF-FA report. The Board of Inquiry also established the shots came from "hill vicinity coord: 623983."

During question and answers Lt. K. was asked "Did you hear any firing?


A: "Yes Sir."


Q: "What time." A: "About 1630."


Q: "What Direction?" A: "The firing came from the south and I think it originated 623983."


Q: "How may rounds do you guess were fired and what type weapon?" A: "I approximate 2 or 3 clips or about 25 to 30 rounds all of which originated from the vicinity of coordinates above. I do not think there were any return rounds."


Q: "What did you think then?" A: "Gun jeep in Bunker position #1 called and stated there was a squad from Delta Company pinned down, but the pinned down (sic). I then went up to the top of the hill to see if I could see the sampan." The platoon leader NEVER thought the firing involved the 4 missing men.


Questions.... and Lies....

In the Case of Gregory Harris, USMC, June 12, 1966 - the family asks - Why was Greg Harris included in the "Project X study?" DPMO responds - there is no such study!

Questions... and Lies....

In the Case of Michael Blassie, USAF, May 11, 1972 - the U.S. government knowingly stripped Michael Blassie of his identity in order to designate him as the Vietnam "Unknown." For those who wonder why we continually ask "Why does Johnie Webb still have a job" the text of the following three documents should answer that question.


CERTIFICATE
21 March 1984
REMAINS OF TSN 0673-72 (X26)

"Anthropological processing of the remains designated at TSN 0673-72 (X-26) has failed to support a Positive identification with any known casualty of Southeast Asia. All efforts since 4 November 1972 to establish a positive identification have proven negative. The portions of the recovered remains do not include the identification criteria that can be matched exclusively to an individual and it is highly improbable that continued identification processing would be successful. These remains are determined to be unidentifiable."

Signed Johnie Webb

MEMO FOR RECORD
Subject: Documents to be Removed from X-26 File and Placed in the Blassie File

"At 1045 hours on the above date, I received a phone call from LTC David Peixotto, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. He informed me that three specific documents should be removed from the X-26 file and placed in the file for Blassie, Michael J. (1853-0-01). LTC Peixotto and I mutually agreed that the three documents listed below should be removed from the X-26 file and placed in the Blassie file.


ASGRO Board Finding dated 7 May 1980

Statement by Cpt. Hess

G2/G3 Daily Journal, HQ TRAC, Long Binh, RVN (31 Oct 72)

These documents have been placed in the Blassie file with the exception of the statement by Cpt. Hess. LTC Peixotto is sending the original statement to CIL at which time it will be placed in the Blassie file."

Signed Johnie Webb.

"Blair, Mark

To:Memo for Record

Subject Lt Blassie - X-26 - Tomb of the Unknown for SEA

1545, 14 Jan 98, call Johnie Webb at the CIL-HI (808) 448-8903. I asked Mr. Webb if in fact when the BTB ID of Lt. Blassie was rescinded did those remains then become X-26 and were they eventually interred in the tomb of the unknown? He answered yes, he also stated that he feels this will get very complicated and messy before it is resolved. He has some concerns as well since he is the last of those involved with the decision to inter X-26 as the unknown still working for the Govt or even alive."

This is why we ask - Why Does Johnie Webb Still Have A Job?

Lies... Lies and More Lies....

Compelling evidence of POW survival.... Dismissed..... Documents 25 years and older remain.... Classified..... Questionable remains identification.... Now Routine..... Misrepresentation of mt-DNA and its ability to identify remains.... the lies continue with perhaps the two biggest of the lies.

Vietnam is fully cooperating on the POW/MIA issue and the POW/MIA issue is this nations "highest national priority" In our dreams.....

Lies... Lies.... and More Lies..... about Shelton, Hrdlicka, McDonnell, McLean, Small, Terwilliger, Plumadore, Judge, Apodaca, Holland, Hall, Widner, Ransbottom, Graf, and Demmon. The names go on and on.....

Lies... Lies.... and More Lies..... and we haven't even touched on our Korean and Cold War POWs and the lies told about men like Dumas, Desautels, and so many others.

Speaking of Lies.... Iraq Says Speicher Did Not Eject - from the Associated Press, - by Greg Myre, dated Jan. 15, 2001 - "Baghadad, Iraq -- A search in 1995 of a U.S. warplane downed in Iraq's western desert during the Gulf War showed the pilot was killed without ejecting from the cockpit, though his remains were never found, a senior Iraqi official said Monday."

"Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Iraq cooperated fully with a U.S. team that visited the crash site for several day in December 1995, adding that there was no reason to believe Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael S. Speicher survived the crash of his F-18 Hornet on the first night of the war, Jan. 17, 1991."

"However, U.S. intelligence officials in Washington said there were unconfirmed reports in recent years that Speicher survived and was detained by the Iraqis. The U.S. government last week demanded an accounting of the case. "All the indications were that he was killed while he was still in the cockpit," Aziz said when asked about the matter by a group of visiting American activists opposed to the international sanctions against Iraq. "But there were no remnants of his body after several years in a remote desert environment."

"According to Aziz, the investigators were able to determine that the pilot had not ejected. Parts of his uniform were found at the site, the Iraqis and the Americans said. Aziz did not indicate how the Iraqis would respond to the U.S. government's demands, but said the country had provided the Americans with full assistance during the inquiry. Iraq was not aware of the crash site until the Americans notified Iraq, Aziz added."

"Before the U.S. investigators arrived, digging at the site had been carried out by desert-dwelling Bedouins in the area, Iraq said, adding that the Bedouins took some parts of the plane. We have told the Iraqis that their statements to this point have either turned out to be inaccurate, misleading or incomplete," National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley said Sunday in Washington...."

What Did The Government Know About Scott Speicher And When Did They Know It - From the Associated Press, Jan. 16th, by Robert Burns - "The Navy's decision to change the status of Gulf War pilot Lt. Cmdr. Michael S. Speicher from killed in action to missing in action was based on intelligence information from several different sources, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday."

"Kenneth Bacon, spokesman for Defense Secretary William Cohen, said some of the information was received after the Navy reaffirmed in 1996 its previous determination that Speicher had been killed on an F-18 combat mission over Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991. Last week the Navy announced without explanation that it had switched Speicher's status to missing."

"At a Pentagon news briefing, Bacon was asked why the Navy had waited so long. "This has been a process of analysis and information collection that's been cumulative over a long period of time," Bacon said. "We have information from several different sources that I can't go into. All I can tell you is that it took a while to accumulate and analyze the information that led to this decision."

"He said some of the information had been developed since the 1996 decision, but he would not provide details.

U.S. officials said last week that intelligence agencies had received unconfirmed reports over a period of years that Speicher survived the shootdown of his F-18 and that an American believed to be Speicher had been seen in custody in Iraq after the war."

"There is no hard evidence that Speicher is alive, although President Clinton raised that possibility in saying last week "we're going to do our best to find out if he is alive and, if he is, to get him out...."

"Bacon, however, said the Clinton administration doubts the Iraqis have told all they know about what happened to Speicher after his crash."We don't have specific knowledge of what (information) they may have," Bacon said. "They have claimed that they don't have records. But some of their statements have been somewhat disingenuous because they only go back to 1995. "So we have asked the Iraqis to provide whatever information they have about what happened between 1991, when the plane was shot down, and 1995 certainly, and thereafter."

Our Question - Why is the case of Lt. Cmdr, Michael Scott Speicher different from the cases of any one of 4 -5 dozen POW/MIAs from Vietnam and scores of POWs from the Korean - Cold War?

David Hrdlicka - photographed in captivity.... voice heard on Lao radio.... photo published in Soviet newspaper.... Laos says "he's dead."

Scott Speicher - not photographed in captivity, to our knowledge.... voice not heard on Iraq radio, to our knowledge.... photo never published in any newspaper, to our knowledge... Iraq says "he's dead." U.S. government says wait a minute, lets look at this again....

Why is the case of Lt. Cmdr. Speicher different?

Ambassador To Vietnam Stays - From the Associated Press, Jan. 17th - "HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Pete Peterson, a former U.S. Air Force pilot held prisoner for 6 &Mac189; years during the Vietnam War, will continue as America's ambassador to Hanoi under the new Bush administration, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday."

"I am pleased to have been asked by the incoming Bush administration to remain at my post in Vietnam for an indefinite period," Peterson said in a statement...."

National Alliance of Families Twelfth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 21st - 23rd, 2001. We will notify you of that location, shortly. Our Forum is conducted to coincide with the governments annual POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years government briefings. Remember the government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings. It is important that family members attend these briefings. We do not want to give DPMO reason to implement their "dead" Strategic Plan and end active investigations by 2004.

Remember, the Alliance is an all volunteer organization. Our meetings are open to all, without charge. At this time of year, we actively seek contributions to finance our Forum. If you wish to contribute, donations may be mailed to:

National Alliance of Families
P.O. Box 40327
Bellevue, WA. 98015.

Dolores Apodaca Alfond
National Chairperson - (dolores@nationalalliance.org)
Voice/Fax 425-881-1499

Lynn O'Shea
New York State Director - (lynn@nationalalliance.org)
Voice/Fax 718-846-4350