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Re: The Search That Never Ends

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: August 16, 2003

"Soldier listed as MIA drives sister's search
By NORMA MARTINEZ, Managing Editor

Editors note: This story is a continuation of one which appeared in the last edition about Korean MIA Orville Kenneth Spicer.

The family of Orville Kenneth Spicer was notified in December 1950 he was "possibly deceased," but absent any proof of his death, his name was carried on the list of MIAs for seven years after he was officially declared missing in acton (MIA). Although officially declared dead in 1957, Spicer is still unaccounted for along with the other 8,100 Korean servicemen.

His sister, Kay McMahon, began her efforts to find out her brother's fate when she was only seven years old.

She said when the family was notified, she remembers a lot of people being at her house on the front porch, and they were crying. Her mother was well-known and well-liked and many people came to give their condolences.

At that time, the letter-writing campaign began, spurred by her mother, but Kay wrote the letters. She explained her mother could not see well by that time, and asked her daughter to write the letters for her. By the time she was a teenager, Kay stopped telling her mom about the letters, but she kept on writing them.

Identification labs

In previous wars, the Army had established several temporary identification laboratories responsible for the return of the remains of U.S. services members. In 1951, the laboratories wee dissolved when the congressional charter expired. With the onset of the Korean war, another central identification unit was created. It was located in Kokura, Japan for the purpose of processing U.N. Forces war dead. Like its predecessor, the lab was temporary in its charter and closed again in 1956.

After withdrawal of forces from Vietnam in 1972 and 1973, the U.S. Army established the Central Identification Laboratory,Thailand (CIL-THAI) to continue the search for, recovery of and identification of U.S. service members killed in Southeast Aisa. After the fall of he South Vietnamese government in 1975, the lab was relocated to U.S. soil.

In May 1976, the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI) was established in Honolulu. The expanded mission of CILHI is to search, recover and identify all unrecovered U.S. service members from past wars, including the Korean war.

Recovery missions to North Korea, however, must be planned and coordinated with the Korean People's Army during annual talks.

There were several prisoner exchanges with North Korea in 1953, but there are still a reported 8,100 unaccounted for Korean war servicemen.

She said the U.S. government was stonewalled since the 1950s, but then the flood gates opened in the 1990s.

The first operation in North Korea began in 1996 with one team of excavators being deployed. In 1997, there were two deployments followed by five in 1998, six in 1999, five in 2000 and five in 2001. Each deployment in 2000 was comprised of two teams.

Those operations have netted the recovery of what may be the remains of 178 Americans.

Kay is quick to point out however, that still does not account for the more than 8,000.

She pointed out the U.S. is paying millions of dollars to the Korean government to excavate the remains of U.S. servicemen.

In spite of the fact it's been 50 years since Orville was last seen, Kay has not given up hope he will be found, one way or another.

"My mother never gave up hope and I won't either," she added.

Her mother died in 1997, never hearing word of her son's fate.

Kay said it's important to keep fighting and keep working toward finding the missing servicemen. She said not only do the families want closure, even this many years later, it's also an important message to send to today's servicemen.

She pointed out if today's service personnel don't' believe their country will look for them if they are captured or lost, why would they want to join today's armed forces?

She referred to Operation Glory in 1954 in which the Korean government gave the U.S. a large "container of human remains." They claimed it contained the remains of 1,949 servicemen. Since that time, it has been discovered the remains are of only 566 men, however, DNA could not be excavated from the bones to determine identification.

The Koreans reportedly used a hardening compound to preserve the remains, and it worked, but made it impossible to extract DNA.

Kay pointed out scientists are very close to a new breakthrough which could aid them in extracting DNA from the remains and could potentially identify servicemen.

Kay said all that work could be for naught in many cases if family members do not supply DNA data. Of the 8,100 servicemen still unaccounted for, the families of only 3,800 had provided DNA samples.

She said all they have to do is go to a local hospital which can assist them with a DNA kit. They can also call the Pentagon to have a kit sent to them.

Kay said both she and her daughter have provided DNA samples in hopes Orville's remains will be found soon.

The idea his could be among those sent in Operation Glory is another possibility. Kay emphasized however, even if they are, she will not stop encouraging efforts to continue until all 8,100 are found.

She said there were 13 POW camps in Korea and the U.S. has only been allowed to excavate Death Camp 1. Information she has gathered indicates Orville may have been in Camp 5.

She continues to attend the annual meetings of the National League of POW/MIA families for updates on current field operations, policy matters, intelligence analysis and remains identification efforts.

She said the first two or three meetings were difficult and emotional for her as well as for others. As the years have gone by, however, she has become stronger and even gives MIA speeches to local and area groups telling those present why it is important to find those servicemen.

She also is convinced even today, there are still American POWs in Korea.

She hopes Orville, if he was wounded and captured, did not suffer, but died soon after, because she hates to think of him living a lifetime in captivity.

If there are POWs, she hopes the U.S. government will continue efforts to locate them and bring them home.

What keeps her going is the words her brother wrote to the family in the last letter they ever received.

He said, "I'm here because the next one we fight might be on our soil. We must fight to keep us free."

His sister's wish is for Orville to finally be brought back home to the country he loved and for which he fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice."