News-Info-Alerts

Re: Sacrificed to Secrecy: Unacknowledged POWs and MIAs

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: January 25, 2003

Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia, World War II, Korean War, Persian Gulf War, World War I, the USS Liberty, Grenada, Panama, Civil War... all of the these events, these places have something in common... Prisoners of War and Missing in action.

But one particular event that spans across countless borders and decades is what is we have come to call the Cold War Era. The word ERA is of particular interest because it encompasses such a mind boggling period of time and space... roughly 1945 until 1991, with distinct periods such as Early Cold War, Cold War and Late Cold War Era.

It also encompasses secret POW-MIAs who have been sacrificed by the USG to secrecy. According to DPMO the official list of acknowledged Cold War loss incidents is 14... the total personnel 165. DPMO states in its one page total loss summary of the Cold War incidents: " Thirty-nine U.S. military aircraft and one civilian aircraft were either shot down by communist forces or crashed on the periphery of communist countries while flying operational missions during the Cold War (1946-1991). This table (with 14 loss incidents) summarizes the 14 missions whose crews were either wholly- or partially- unaccounted for when DPMO was created in 1993."

Reading the above statement, a reasonable individual would then assume all the other Cold War loss incidents and the associated crews were (logically) accounted-for by the time DPMO came into being.

But this is apparently not the case.

A disturbing trend has been taking place behind the scenes. Families have been coming out from the shadows after being ignored for 30, 40 and 50 years to say - I want answers, I need answers, I deserve answers... but most importantly to say - My brother, my father went missing, the men in uniform with him went missing, and the government will not even acknowledge their existence, their loss, their contribution and their sacrifice.

If nothing else, we owe them the respect they deserve and to know their names and the events surrounding their loss. They should not be hidden in history for whatever reason the powers-that-be deemed appropriate 45 years ago. It is 2003, these men must be recognized, awarded the thanks and respect they have been denied and their families given the answers they have waited so very long to hear.

What is striking about the Secret Cold War cases is that the families were left to do everything. The research, the writing, the digging, tracking, tracing. They appealed to and implored the authorities, but every word they spoke fell on deaf ears. Because many of the Cold War cases occurred concurrently with Korean War losses, there has been an historical blur.

Two distinct loss incidents would never have been known by the public if it were not for the unending dedication and commitment of the families... a son in one case, two sisters in another... to make the truth known. In their words -

"This narrative concerns the 1954 loss of an armed Navy P2V-5 Neptune call sign 3 Cape Cod and piloted by Lt. Jesse Beasley.... Basically, I used my mothers old letters as well as my own research of government documents and recent government letters to determine that my father was flying a peripheral recon flight of North Korea and China when his Neptune possibly suffered a hostile attack. Dad flew 1.5 hours back to South Korea only to be attacked by their Air Defense.
Until recently it has been an unknown Cold War loss and 8 crewmen still unaccounted for as well as unrecognized for their supreme sacrifice. "

and

"On behalf of Major Bloom, Captain Pitcher, PFC Baird and RM3 Turner, Petree and Walden will continue to search for answers and to insist that the status be changed so that the incident will be justly recognized as a COLD WAR LOSS. The USG has never acknowledged these men, nor has the USG honored them for the ultimate sacrifice they made for the cause of Freedom. In doing so, these men can be appropriately be added to the list of POW/MIA."

The two cases combined total 12 Americans unaccounted-for and 7 other personnel missing. One thing is clear. During the Cold War Era, 12 Americans in uniform went missing and 45 plus years later they need to be acknowledged and honored and their families provided with answers.

Read: The Night of the Widow Maker: 3 Cape Cod 04 January 1954
http://www.aiipowmia.com/koreacw/kwcw_3capecod.html

Read: The Blue Goose - Blue Swan Taiwan Straits Crisis 01 October 1958
http://www.aiipowmia.com/koreacw/twncrisis.html