News-Info-Alerts

Re: NK-US Tensions Stall POW-MIA Recovery

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: April 29, 2003

"Tensions stall recovery of MIAs from Metro area
Families gather in Southfield for update on missing
By David Shepardson / The Detroit News

SOUTHFIELD -- Gail Embery held the tattered Western Union telegram that informed her family that Army Sgt. Coleman Edwards had been captured in Korea.

"I've been waiting my whole life to bring my father home," she said Saturday.

The Detroit foster care case manager was only 3 when Edwards was taken prisoner Nov. 28, 1950, near Unsan, Korea. "I am an optimist, so I believe that one day he'll be found."

Edwards, a member of the 25th Infantry Division nicknamed "Tropical Lightning," was reportedly starved in 1951. His body never was returned.

On Saturday, 200 Michigan relatives of veterans missing in action from the Korean and Vietnam wars gathered at a Southfield hotel for an update from officials on efforts to find the missing or their remains. Participants wore badges naming their loved one, and many carried photos and other mementos.

Since tensions between North Korea and the United States have risen over the Communist government's nuclear program, U.S. investigators haven't been allowed to conduct search missions.

Between 1996 and 2002, the remains of 178 soldiers killed in North Korea were recovered and 13 identified.

The North Korean government hasn't responded since 2002 to requests to start negotiations on new searches, said Jerry Jennings, a deputy assistant defense secretary.

Investigators hope to visit the Pyoktong POW camp in North Korea, where Edwards and others may be buried.

Jennings oversees a $100-million annual effort that includes about 200 government employees -- including 30 anthropologists in Hawaii -- who work to recover and identify the remains of Americans killed in action, including the 78,000 missing in action from World War II.

"The POWs in Iraq pushed the issue back to the front page," Jennings said. "This administration is going to maintain its commitment to finding its fallen heroes."

After 47 years, Johnnie Jones' brother was identified. In 1998, investigators identified the remains of 18-year-old Cpl. Herbert Ardis, missing since 1951 in Korea. Jones, a retired Detroit legal secretary, said it was a relief to bury her brother at Arlington National Cemetery.

"I wasn't able to hold his hand to say goodbye, but I finally knew he was home," she said.

You can reach David Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or dshepardson@detnews.com.

Americans missing in action from Michigan

Korean War 367
Vietnam 60
Cold War 4

Family members are asked to donate a DNA sample for help identifying remains. Call (800) 892-2490 (Army), (800) 443-9298 (Navy), (800) 847-1597 (Marine Corps) or (800) 531-5501 (Air Force)
Source: Department of Defense

© 2003 The Detroit News."