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Re: Laotian Grave Reveals 29-Year Mystery

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: November 19, 2003

"Laotian grave reveals an answer to a 29-year mystery

By Marian Wilkinson United States Correspondent
Washington

Presidential candidate Howard Dean reacted sombrely to the news that the remains of his brother Charlie and his companion, the Australian journalist Neil Sharman, may have been recovered - 29 years after they were murdered by guerillas in Laos.

"This has been a long and emotional journey", said Dr Dean. "We greet this news with mixed emotions, but are gratified that we may now be approaching closure to this painful episode in our lives."

The Pentagon yesterday confirmed that the remains believed to be those of Charlie Dean and Neil Sharman were excavated from a Laotian rice field on November 8 and will be sent to a military laboratory in Hawaii for identification at the end of this month.

Dr Dean said he was confident the remains were those of his brother, but a spokesman for the Pentagon's office handling Missing in Action searches said they could not yet confirm the identity of the remains.

"We found a number of remains and fragments, but the number of individuals represented here cannot be confirmed until the lab finishes its work," said Larry Greer, of the Pentagon.

The three-decade search for the two men, who disappeared in Laos in 1974, has been a frustrating quest for both the families and the Pentagon Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command office.

Charlie Dean, a political activist, and Sharman went to communist-controlled Laos apparently investigating the war.

The two were taken prisoner by the Pathet Lao, who believed they were spies. They were killed on the way to the North Vietnamese border in December 1974.

Mr Greer said the Pentagon had conducted seven investigations in Laos, in which many witnesses were interviewed. "They accumulated a lot of evidence, including interviews with villagers and so on, to a likely place to where remains could be discovered, then they schedule the excavation," he said.

His younger brother's disappearance had a huge impact on Howard Dean and focused his early career in medicine. In February last year, Dr Dean went to Laos to join the Pentagon team searching for his brother's remains.

©2003 The Age Company Ltd"