News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: NAF Bits 'N' Pieces

Date: September 10, 2001

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

Sept. 8, 2001 Bits N Pieces

We're baaaaaaak!!!!

Can The POW/MIA Issue Survive The Bush Administration - That is the question asked in an editorial by Stephen Golding, in the September 2001 "Operation Just Cause" Newsletter. It's a good question.

Another POW Escapes North Korea - Aug 22nd 2001 - SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- "A former South Korean soldier who was captured by communist forces during the 1950-53 Korean War has returned home after fleeing the North, the government said Wednesday. Shin Sung-soo, 72, was among 13 people who arrived recently in South Korea after escaping North Korea, South Korea's main intelligence agency said...."

"...Shin was taken prisoner a month after the Korean War broke out and worked for decades at a Northern coal mine before escaping, the intelligence agency said. The agency plans to hold Shin for questioning for as long as a month. The government and veterans' groups said they did not know if Shin has family in South Korea."

"Over the years, about 20 South Korean POWs have returned home after fleeing the North, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. South Korea believes North Korea still holds 300 Southern soldiers captured during the Korean War. Pyongyang denies it...."

DPMO Has New Head - Mr. Jerry Jennings was appointed the new head of the Defense POW/MIA Office, replacing Bob Jones. While Mr. Jennings was not the candidate supported by the Alliance, we wish him well in his new position and look forward to working with him.

According to a bio release in June, when Mr. Jennings appointment was prematurely announced to DPMO employees, he "was advisor to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs under four Presidents from 1973 to 1982. From President Richard M. Nixon to President Ronald W. Reagan he was responsible for establishing and maintaining all programs, policies, and procedures relating to the security and domestic intelligence concerns of the National Security Council. In this same capacity he also served as the White House liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding criminal and intelligence matters requiring the attention of the President or his senior staff. He was also the principal point of contact for the Central Intelligence Agency at the White House during these years, and made the final determination regarding access to all sensitive intelligence disseminated within the Executive Office of the President."

The bio released with the official appointment, in August, omitted reference to his "point of contact" and sensitive intelligence dissemination of CIA information "within the Executive Office of the President"

It is our sincere hope that Mr. Jennings with his intelligence background, will move the direction of investigations back to focus on the LIVE POW Issue.

Speaking of Live POWs - At this years Korean Cold War Family Briefing, in Washington D.C., Dolores Alfond was able to question Col. James Pritchard, of the National Security Council in the Clinton Administration, on the subject of LIVE POWs in North Korea. Those familiar with the 1998 hearings in Pennsylvania, are aware that Mr. Prtichard made some very telling comments on that subject.

Several years ago, in a private conversation with Dolores Alfond, North Korean representatives admitted holding a number of American survivors. DPMO knows American POWs are in North Korea. A March 1996 Background Paper written by I.O. Lee for DPMO states, in part: "DPMO concludes that there are two groups of Americans in North Korea... a small group of defectors and a larger group of 10 - 15 possible POWs."

The report concludes: "There are to many live sighting reports specifically observations of several Caucasians in a collective farm by Romanian and North Korean defectors' eyewitness of Americans in the DPRK to dismiss that there are no American POWs in North Korea."

That report is now almost five years old. Yet, when the subject of live POWs in North Korea is brought up, DPMO representatives point to the "small group of defectors" while ignoring the "larger group of 10 - 15 possible POWs." Now, we recognize the word possible here, which raises the question if they are not the defectors and they are not POWs who are they? Until DPMO can prove beyond doubt that the "possible POWs" are not in fact POWs, new efforts must be focused on the LIVE POW Issue.

Of The Aborted 1981 Raid On Nhammorath - To free American POWs in Laos, National Security Advisor Richard Allen stated: "...We missed the best chance we ever had to find POWs still alive."

Whose Damn Job Is It Anyway - A July 8th 2001 article in Newsweek, discussing the April 7th loss of a JTF-FA Team and U.S efforts to recover the remains of missing American servicemen ends with the following: "... The program's longevity may also owe something to our lingering national guilt over the shabby way Vietnam vets were treated when they came home from the war. Back then, returning soldiers were often derided as "murderers" and "baby killers." Now, decades later, the government is still trying to make amends-and the search for missing soldiers is the most visible way for politicians to show families that Washington cares. With a budget of just $20 million a year, the mission is virtually invisible on the Pentagon's books, where many programs are measured in billions. Few politicians want to be seen as insensitive to the plight of MIA families, who have become a small but vocal lobbying group. Over the years "they worked the Hill. They worked the Pentagon. They worked the White House," says former under secretary of Defense Rudy DeLeon. As a result, "accounting for our servicemen has become part of the military business."

Read that last sentence again, "accounting for our servicemen has become part of the military business." This comment comes from a man who held the position of Under Secretary of Defense.

Well folks, if it's not the business of the military to account for our servicemen, whose damn job is it?

The plain fact is, the government wants out of the business of recovering servicemen, Prisoner, Missing, and dead. Do we hear the words.... Strategic Plan!

Why Does Johnie Webb Still Have A Job???

The Birth of the Mindset To Debunk - Don't look for anyone you don't have too.... That sentiment is made abundantly clear in a Defense Intelligence Agency Memo, from John T. Berbrich, dated 23 May 1973, to Commander Chuck Trowbridge. This one page document is interesting for several reasons and we present the full text -

[Begin Document] Dr. Shields called on 21 May. He had met with DEPSEC Clements and had another meeting scheduled with him. The question arose of whether there are any U.S. PWs in SEA. Dr. Shields wanted our opinions re the 7 May Turboporter and the February EC-47. I told him we were evaluating the Turboporter incident and were awaiting a reply form JANAF Laos, but the available information looked good: however, we were still carrying the American as MIA. Regarding the EC-47, I told him since the men are listed as KIA our interest in pursuing the subject is academic in that we are not attempting to force Air Force to bring the men back to live.(sic) In sum, our position is that there is a possibility some of the EC-47 crew survived, but the evidence was sketchy and inconclusive.

After saying this, Dr. Shields said he viewed both situations as we did and that it appeared that he should not be adament in denying that there are not U.S. PWs in SEA. I agreed, adding that the Cambodian situation is also less than clear and conclusive. [End Document] to view the document at http://www.nationalalliance.org/vietnam/may2373.htm

This memo tells us that by May 1973, the DIA and U.S. government had privately backed off their April 12th 1973 position that all the POWs were either home or dead.

As for the KIA's no one wanted to bring back to life, you know them as the Backenders of Baron 52, Dale Brandenburg, Peter Cressman, Joseph Matejov, and Todd Melton.

The MIA from the May 7th incident was luckier. Emmett Kay was returned, alive, in September of 1974.

Much has been written about the Baron 52 incident and there is little we can add. However, we will comment on a National Security Agency intercept, dated 17 Feb 1973, sent to us by Rich Daly. While the contents of the intercept, reporting the capture of "pilot/pilots" is interesting, it is the hand written note on the document we find most telling. That note reads: "For your info - looks like these might be our people, like we figured! NSA (B61) agreed that our evidence (supposition) looked good!"

"NSA agreed our evidence (supposition) looked good," yet on May 23rd DIA described the evidence as "sketchy and inconclusive."

We wonder how much effort was put into tracking reports of the EC-47 crew, when it wasn't DIA's job to "to force Air Force to bring the men back to live.(sic)"?

Where is Capt. Ara Mooradian, - Lost October 23rd 1951 - Capt. Mooradian is among the over 8,000 missing as a result of the Korean War. Did Capt. Mooradian die that day in 1951 or was he among the hundreds of POWs transferred to the Soviet Union? The following is excerpted from an August 26th 1993 report, produced by the Joint Commission Support Branch, Research and Analysis Division, DPMO - titled "The Transfer of U.S. Korean War POWs To The Soviet Union."

[Report Begins] One of the most precise reports was made by Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kazersky to Task Force Russia-Moscow team members on 27 October 1992. Mr. Kazersky had been decorated twice in the Great Patriotic War but thereafter had been sentenced to twenty years in the camps. He served at a camp called Zimka in the Komi ASSR and was released in the general amnesty after Stalin's death. He stated that while in the camp, he met U.S. Korean War POW from California. According to the TFR-M report:

Kazersky was aware that there were Americans at Zimka from camp rumor, and, in the Fall of 1952 or the Spring of 1953, he had a single encounter with an American pilot who had been shot down in North Korea and forced to land in Soviet territory near Vladivostok. The pilot said his plane had a crew of three and his radioman had been in Zimka as well, but had possibly been moved to another camp called "Yaser" after a brief period. The pilot did not know what had happened to the third crew member.

The pilot remained at Zimka for three to six months, and was then transferred to an unknown location. He was about thirty years old, five feet seven inches tall, slender, dark-haired and dark-complected, and in good health. He did not smoke and had a small oval scar on one of his cheeks. Kazersky believes he was of southern European origin, perhaps Italian or Greek. The pilot, whose nickname was "The American" (Amerikanets) lived in barracks number six, and worked in the consumer goods (Shirpotreb) section making frames for greenhouses. Kazersky had direct contact with the American only once and communication was difficult. the pilot had been in isolation for a year or more, and had learned very little Russian. Kazersky knew very little English. He could not recall the pilot's name (prisoners were almost always addressed by nickname, but is still firmly convinced that he was an American pilot.

At our request provided this information to Air Force Casualty Affairs which did a computer search of its MIAs using the military and biographical information stated by Mr. Kazersky. Air Force Casualty found a surprisingly close match in Capt Ara Mooradian, USAF, who was reported missing in action on 23 October 1951.

Although not all information matched perfectly, there was agreement on the following points:

1. Mooradian's date of loss could-have placed him in a camp at the time stated by Kazersky.

2. He was from Fresno, California, the state Kazersky remembered.

3. Mooradian fit the physical description and was dark- haired and complected. He was of Armenian origin and could have been confused in Kazersky's memory for a southern European.

4. Six members of Mooradian's B-29 were listed as missing in action, two bodies were recovered, and five were repatriated. The man Kazersky met could have been referring to the survivors of his crew that were in the camp, one of whom was the radar -- not radio -- operator.

5. Although there was nothing in Capt Mooradian's file that indicated he had a facial scar, an examination of his photo in Air Force Manual 200-25 showed a faint round scar on his right cheek. This photo was enhanced by the National Photographic Interpretation Center whose analysts concluded that the mark was not a photographic anomaly but probably was indeed a scar.

The areas of disagreement with Kazersky's statement are:

1. Mooradian's aircraft was shot down over the Bay of Korea which was on the opposite side of the Korean Peninsula from Vladivostok.

2. He was the bombardier rather than the pilot of his B-29.

3. His aircraft had a crew of thirteen and not three.

4. Capt Mooradian was 6'1/2" tall instead of 5'8".

At a subsequent interview, Mr. Kazersky was shown a photo line-up of missing pilots and asked to identify the American he had met. He chose four photos as possibly being the one, one of which was that of Capt Mooradian.[Report Ends] Visit our website at http://www.nationalalliance.org/korea/korea00.htm for the full text of this 77 page report. It is well worth the read.

State Dept Aide Pleads Guilty In Conflict of Interest Case - C. Kenneth Quinones pleaded guilty to his part in recommending a company to provide support to US Teams working to recover remains of American soldiers missing in North Korea since the Korean War. It seems Mr. Quinones received numerous gifts from the company involved. The Defense Dept. later dropped the contract due to poor job preformance.

Excerpted from the New York Times, August 31, 2001, by Tim Golden - "A retired State Department expert on North Korea pleaded guilty today to improperly using his influence to help secure a government contract for a wealthy New Jersey businessman who had offered him a job and lavished tens of thousands of dollars in gifts on him and his family. The former official, C. Kenneth Quinones, 58, also admitted lying to federal investigators. Under their questioning earlier this year, Dr. Quinones falsely claimed to have informed his superiors about the gifts he received, which included a new luxury car and $65,000 to help pay the tuition at Stanford University for one of his daughters."

"Dr. Quinones's benefactor, David Chang, pleaded guilty in June 2000 to giving $53,700 in illegal contributions to Senator Robert G. Torricelli, Democrat of New Jersey...."

"...Dr. Quinones, of Centreville, Va., declined comment today. His lawyer, Peter H. White, said his client deeply regretted failing to disclose his relationship with Mr. Chang in 1996, when he recommended one of the businessman's companies for a contract to supply a Defense Department team working to recover the remains of American soldiers missing in North Korea since the Korean War...."

"...In August 1995, Mr. Chang made the first of $65,000 in payments toward the tuition and expenses of Dr. Quinones's younger daughter at Stanford. Finally, in early 1996, Dr. Quinones began negotiating with Mr. Chang to work for one of his companies, Bright & Bright Corporation. Dr. Quinones received a draft employment contract that June. That same month, Dr. Quinones, who had been assigned to the Department of Defense, recommended the company for a $717,000 contract to provide jeeps, equipment and other goods for the mission to North Korea. Without disclosing his involvement with Bright & Bright, the prosecutors said, Dr. Quinones praised the performance of Mr. Chang's company to senior American officials. Two Defense Department officials said that the company's contract had later been dropped because the company had been found to have done its job poorly...."

Seems there is a lot of conflict of interest when it comes to recovering our Live POWs or the remains of the dead!

What About Michael Scott Speicher - "Iraq Says Saudi Pilot's Body Proves Its Sincerity" from Reuters Bagdad, Sept. 7th 2001 - "Iraq said on Friday Saudi Arabia's acceptance that human remains found in Iraq were of a Saudi pilot missing since the 1991 Gulf War proved its sincerity in trying to resolve the issue of missing Saudis and Kuwaitis."

"The Saudi admission affirms anew the sincerity and accuracy of information and Iraq's efforts to account for the fate of missing Saudis and Kuwaitis," the official Iraqi news agency (INA) quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying. "By this announcement another file of the missing Kuwaitis and Saudis was closed," the spokesman said."

"Saudi's aviation and defense ministry said last week that laboratory tests had proved that human remains handed over by Iraq after they were found last year showed they were those of Colonel Mohammed Nazerah, a Saudi pilot...."

"...Iraq said in January tests conducted in Geneva under the auspices of the ICRC confirmed that the remains found last October in the Iraqi desert close to the Saudi border were those of the Saudi pilot. But Saudi media said at the time the kingdom had demanded a re-examination to determine the cause and time of his death."

"Iraq said the pilot was shot down in 1991. An Iraqi officer who buried him in a minefield identified the grave, and the wreckage of a plane was found about one km (half a mile) away."

"A Saudi official told the Saudi-owned daily Al-Hayat in January that witnesses had reported seeing Nazerah in an Iraqi jail and there was photographic evidence he was still alive...."

How And When Did Colonel Mohammed Nazerah Die - Unfortunately the article did not report if tests were actually conducted to confirm how and when Col. Nazerah died. As for the photographic evidence showing Col Nazerah alive, we wonder - was he alone in that photo? Or perhaps......

What is The U.S. Government Doing To Bring Michael Scott Speicher Home??????

Money Yes, Human Rights No - In a single press release Vietnam praised and condemned legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, this week. Dateline Hanoi, Sep 7, 2001 "(Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Vietnam strongly rejects the approval of the so-called "Vietnam Human Rights Act" by the U.S. House of Representatives, said a Vietnamese spokeswoman. Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh made the remarks here Friday in her statement on the approval of the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and the Vietnam Human Rights Act by the United States House of Representatives on Thursday...."

An Era Ends - "Washington, Sep 07, 2001 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The U.S. Army will retire more than 1,000 Vietnam-era troop carrying and attack helicopters by 2004, it was announced Friday. The UH-1 "Huey" transports and AH-1 Cobra gunships will give way to the more modern UH-60 Blackhawks and AH-64 Apaches."

Archive Hails Turnover of Kissinger Papers - "Washington, D.C., August 9 ; The State Department today announced that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had returned 10,000 pages of transcripts of his telephone conversations conducted while in office from 1973 through January 1977, and spokesman Richard Boucher credited the National Security Archive for prompting the Department to seek this return. "

"These telcons are a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour verbatim record of the highest-level foreign policy deliberations of the U.S. government during Mr. Kissinger's tenure at State, commented Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a foreign policy documentation center based at George Washington University."

"We applaud the State Department for taking action to recover these unique and invaluable historical documents, and we commend Mr. Kissinger's decision to do the right thing."

"The transcripts had been locked up in the Library of Congress under a purported deed of gift from Mr. Kissinger since December 1976, with access strictly controlled by Mr. Kissinger until five years after his death. A federal district judge and a U.S. court of appeals panel both ruled in the late 1970s that the transcripts were government records, improperly removed from the State Department, but these decisions were vacated in 1980 by the Supreme Court in Reporters' Committee v. Kissinger for lack of standing by the plaintiffs, rather than on the merits of the case..." For more information on the efforts of The National Security Archive, visit http://www.nsarchive.org/news/20010809/

Ask Your Senator to Support S 1226 - The POW/MIA Flag Bill, introduced by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) the bill "would require the display of the POW/MIA flag at the World War II Memorial, the Korea War Veterans Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, all here in the Nation's Capital, on any day on which the United States flag is displayed. The POW/MIA flag would be displayed beneath the United States flag on existing flagpoles at the memorials."

Write your Senators and ask that they support S 1226 - "The POW/MIA Flag Bill"

Services Scheduled - On September 14th, services will be held at the United States Air Force Academy, to bury three bones, one of which was identified as Capt. Victor J. Apodaca, missing in Vietnam since June 8th 1967. As reported in the June 30th edition of Bits N Pieces, the primary next of kin has accepted the identification of the remains. The Apodaca sisters have not and the family remains divided.

There were many questions, relating to all aspects of the recovery and identification of this bone. Some have been answered. Others await answers. Once all answers have been received, the sisters will evaluate the evidence and make an informed decision as to the possibility the bone may or may not belong to their brother. There will be more about this in a future Bits.

Dolores Alfond - 425-881-1499
Lynn O'Shea --- 718-846-4350
Web Site http://www.nationalalliance.org
email -- lynnpowmia@prodigy.net"