Re: NAF Bits 'N' Pieces

Date: June 05, 2004

"BITS 'N' PIECES
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF FAMILIES
FOR THE RETURN OF AMERICA'S MISSING SERVICEMEN
+ WORLD WAR II + KOREA + COLD WAR + VIETNAM + GULF WAR +

June 5, 2004

57 Days - Today marks the 57th day of captivity for PFC Keith Maupin. Our prayers are with his family for his safe return. Also, please remember the civilians, American and Allied, missing in Iraq. May they all return safely to their families.

Rolling Thunder XVII - Congratulations to Artie Muller and the folks at Rolling Thunder on their successful Memorial Day Run in Washington DC to bring public awareness to both Veterans issues and the POW/MIA issue. Each year the run gets larger and larger and this year was no exception. The run started at noon and bikes were still leaving the Pentagon parking lot starting point at 3:00 PM!

Ladies and Gentleman of Rolling Thunder.... Another Run and Another Job Well Done!

"It's As Settled As It's Ever Going To Be." - With those words, one of the longest remains identification disputes ends.

Patricia Plumadore, sister of L/Cpl. Kenneth L. Plumadore has accepted the remains designated by the government as those of her brother. Regular readers of Bits N Pieces know of our deep involvement with this case. Over the last year and a half, we've had many conversations with Pat about this decision. The decision to accept the remains was not an easy one and was based on many factors.

Quoted in a recent Newsday article Pat Plumadore stated: "I want to get this all over with... I'm hoping that I have my brother and praying that I do. But if I don't, then we have another solider who will have a good home... I have questions... But it's as settled as it's ever going to be."

With the acceptance of the remains designated Kenny Plumadore, his family joins the growing list of POW/MIA families worn down by time, age, and government subterfuge, who decided to give remains known to be American a home.

Remains designated L/Cpl Kenneth L. Plumadore were laid to rest, with full military honors, in Syracuse New York, at 10:00AM this morning.

As we stated above, many factors entered into Pat's decision to accept the remains. At a future date, we will detail the many elements that contributed to this decision. Today, we will tell you the overriding factor was Pat's failing health and desire not to leave the resolution of Kenny's status to her children.

While preparing for today's remains burial, Pat took a turn for the worse. She never made it to the service for the remains designated by the government as her brother. Pat Plumadore passed away at approximately 11:00 AM this morning.

The National Alliance of Families mourns the passing of our dear friend Pat Plumadore. To her family, her longtime companion Teddy, and her children Kayla, Andy, Kenny, Kelly and Summer we offer our deepest sympathy. Cards and Letters may be sent to the Plumadore Family C/O Kelly Flack - 116 Barker Road, Central Square NY 13036

Editors Note From Lynn O'Shea: Pat and I worked together on Kenny's case for almost 12 years and became good friends. What we know about mt-DNA and its misuse in the identification of remains is a direct result of Pat's efforts. Despite her best efforts, her failing health forced her to make a decision she did not believe in. Pat never believed the remains were Kenny's. That she passed today and was never able to attend the burial has to be one of the great cosmic ironies of all time.

This past April, I visited Pat in her Syracuse home. We knew she didn't have long and family and friends gathered for what Pat referred to as her "Irish Wake." It was a weekend full of laughs and bittersweet smiles.

One of Pat's request for that day was that the bagpipers come and play "Danny Boy," one of her favorites. So, the pipers came and they played. Near the end of their performance one of the pipers stepped forward and in a clear voice of an Irish tenor, he sang "Danny Boy" to Pat.

Driving back to the house that night, we discussed the wonderful day just passed and I ask Pat if she knew the origin of the song "Danny Boy." She said she didn't and I explained that "Danny Boy" was an Irish lament of a mother whose son had gone off to war and had not returned. Never giving up hope the mother says:

"...But, when ye come and all the flow'rs are dying, if I am dead and dead I well may be, Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying, and kneel and say an 'Ave' there for me..."

"and I shall hear, tho soft you tread above me, and on my grave will warmer sweeter be, for you will bend and tell me that you love me and I shall sleep in peace until you come to me."

We'll miss you my friend.

Remains of Korean War POW/MIAs Head Home -- From Fox News May 27th - "North Korea turned over 19 sets of remains to the U.S. Army on Thursday, part of a project to find the thousands of American soldiers who went missing in the Korean War."

"The remains, in caskets draped with powder-blue United Nations flag, were loaded into black hearses after a ceremony outside the 8th U.S. Army headquarters in Seoul that included a 21-gun salute and "Taps."

"The remains were brought overland across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that has divided rival North and South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 conflict. They will be flown to Hawaii for identification."

"U.S. and North Korean teams recovered the remains as part of a joint search project that began in 1996 and has so far recovered more than 180 remains thought to be of U.S. soldiers."

"Most important is that we will be taking missing Americans from the Korean War back to American soil so they are no longer lost in the hills in North Korea," said Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, a spokesman for the U.S. military's Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's Central Identification Laboratory."

".....Twelve of Thursday's remains were discovered near North Korea's Chosin Reservoir, where the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division fought fierce battles with Chinese forces backing North Korea in November and December 1950.

The seven others repatriated were found in Unsan County, north of the capital, Pyongyang. Members of the Army's 1st Cavalry and 25th Infantry divisions fought in Unsan County in November 1950.

"This year, team members from the United States and their North Korean counterparts have been scheduled to conduct 30-day searches from April through October. O'Hara said it could take years to identify the remains brought home Thursday, if they are identified at all. As of the beginning of May, only 14 of the 186 remains retrieved through the joint project had been named."

Former POWs Final Mission - From the Associated Press by Margie Mason - "Piloting the same plane that rescued him three decades ago, a former American prisoner of war returned to Vietnam on Friday to fly home remains thought to be of two fallen comrades."

"Standing on the steamy tarmac in his flight suit, Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier saluted two aluminum cases draped in American flags as they were loaded onto the C-141, dubbed the "Hanoi Taxi" by POWs who rode it home after their release."

"Mechenbier said it was fitting the last flight of his military career should be at the controls of the historic blue and white aircraft that flew him to freedom on Feb. 12, 1973, after his release from six years captivity inside Hoa Lo prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by POWs."

"I consider myself among the very, very lucky to be alive and still be on flying status after all these years," the 61-year-old Mechenbier said."

"After about three hours at Noi Bai Airport, the plane took off for a U.S. military forensics laboratory in Hawaii, where the remains will be identified. The remains were recovered in central Vietnam by a U.S. military team that searches for soldiers still unaccounted for from the war."

Blast From The Past - NEW YORK, June 11, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- "On the eve of the historic summit between North and South Korea, there has been a promising increase in the quantity and apparent quality of reports sighting American servicemen missing in the 50-year-old war. A US official tells Newsweek that "Since 1996, there have been firsthand reports of American POWs from the Korean War still living in the North."

"The official tells Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu in the June 19, 2000, issue of Newsweek (on newsstands June 12) that the people who told the most persuasive stories got very close to the purported Americans -- "like, in the same building."

"In her article, "The Last Casualties," Liu reports on the relentless search for US Army Cpl. Roger Armand Dumas, who has been a POW since November 1950, by Bob Dumas, his brother."

"Korea is the cold-war conflict that hasn't ended yet, a war that began a half-century ago this month. Newsweek reports that the long stalemate that followed the war may now be entering its final days. The United States is prepared to ease its economic sanctions on North Korea. Meanwhile, Pyongyang is accelerating its cooperation with Washington to resolve the status of American servicemen still unaccounted for in Korea -- more than 8,100 of them, quadruple the number in Vietnam, Newsweek reports."

"Many of the 8,100 presumably died in battle, their bodies unrecovered from territory controlled by the North. In an agreement negotiated last week, the two sides scheduled a new search for remains beginning June 25, the 50th anniversary of the war's outbreak."

June 19, 2000 - Newsweek: Eyewitnesses in North Korea Got Very Close to American POWs From the Korean War, Says A US Official

The Last Casualties As North and South Korea hold a historic summit, the search goes on for Americans missing in a 50-year-old war. The Dumas family hasn't given up hope.

By Melinda Liu

" It was the summer of 1953. After three years of brutal fighting, the Korean war had ended in an edgy truce. As the troops stood down, prisoners of war were exchanged. US Army Cpl. Roger Armand Dumas, 22, almost made it to freedom. A POW since November 1950, he was brought to a repatriation point along the front line. Then, as other American prisoners were being handed over, eyewitnesses saw two Chinese guards lead Dumas away. There's been no sign of him since. The Pentagon thinks he may have died in 1954. But his brother, Bob, 70, doesn't believe it. He keeps hounding Washington for news of the missing soldier. And now that the reclusive North Koreans are beginning to crack open their borders to foreign visitors, he's feeling optimistic. "I'll finally be able to travel to Pyongyang, just like I've always wanted to do," he says. "Maybe it's 50

years too late. But then, it's never too late to learn the truth."

"Korea is the cold-war conflict that hasn't ended yet. It began, a half-century ago this month, when communist North Korea invaded the South. First America intervened, under the banner of the United Nations, then China came in, and eventually the fighting stopped more or less where it had started, along the 38th parallel. In the absence of a peace treaty, the demilitarized zone between North and South became one of the tensest, most heavily defended strips of land in the world."

"The long stalemate that followed may now be entering its final days. This week, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is in Pyongyang for a three-day summit with North Korea's enigmatic Kim Jong Il -- the first time leaders of the two governments have ever met. The United States is prepared to ease its economic sanctions on North Korea, which is suffering from another round of drought and hunger. Meanwhile, Pyongyang is accelerating its cooperation with Washington in the effort to resolve the status of American servicemen still unaccounted for in Korea -- more than 8,100 of them, quadruple the number in Vietnam. Many of the 8,100 presumably died in battle, their bodies unrecovered from territory controlled by the communists. In an agreement negotiated last week, the two sides scheduled a new search for remains beginning on June 25, the 50th anniversary of the war's outbreak."

"But what about POWs who didn't come home after the truce? When the war ended, 21 US prisoners publicly chose to stay with their captors -- "brainwashed," said the Americans. Hundreds more may have been kept against their will. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin's archives yielded an extraordinary exchange of telegrams among Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and the North Korean strongman Kim Il Sung, father of the current leader. Toward the end of the war, the Chinese suggested that if American prisoners were to be repatriated, "at least 20 percent should be held back." Mao thought he could use the prisoners as political pawns in support of his efforts to win a UN seat and diplomatic recognition from Washington."

"There may have been an even more sinister use for the prisoners. Jan Sejna, a Czech general who defected to the United States in 1968, told Pentagon investigators he had been personally involved in a Soviet project that conducted medical experiments on American prisoners at a secret hospital in North Korea. Testifying before Congress in 1996, Sejna said as many as 100 "human guinea pigs" were later shipped to the Soviet Union for more tests. Others, he said, were killed and cremated in North Korea."

"When the war ended, Roger Dumas was being held in a Chinese POW camp in North Korea. Many years later, Ciro Santo, a POW who made it home, said he saw Dumas as the prisoners were being prepared for repatriation. He said Dumas looked "healthy, not wounded" but was escorted by two Chinese guards. After his brother didn't come home, Bob Dumas promised their dying mother he would "spend the rest of my life to find out what happened to Roger." He joined the Army and volunteered for duty in South Korea, hoping to find some clues. Later, he stalked the halls of Congress, badgered the Pentagon and sued the US government seeking official recognition of his brother's status as a POW. On 27 occasions, he met with diplomats from North Korea, where Roger was seen last. He says one of them told him that if he was serious about finding his brother, "you must convince your government to negotiate with us for him."

"For years after the war, Washington picked up inconclusive bits of intelligence about surviving POWs. A 1989 report from an intelligence program known as "Stony Beach" said 11 POWs were teaching English to North Korean soldiers and spies in the late '80s. Another report cited an intelligence source as saying that POWs were working as language instructors at a North Korean military officers' school in 1990."

"The quantity and apparent quality of the reports began to improve when, starting in the early 1990s, famine forced thousands of North Koreans to flee to China or South Korea. One defector, a former secret-police officer named Oh Young-nam, said that between 1982 and 1993, he repeatedly visited a prison camp north of Pyongyang inhabited by elderly whites and blacks whose quarters bore a sign that said "USA." Refugees reaching China also told tantalizing stories about American prisoners. "Since 1996, there have been firsthand reports of American POWs from the Korean war still living in the North," a US official told Newsweek. The people who told the most persuasive stories, he added, got very close to the purported Americans -- "like, in the same building."

"Early on, the Pentagon presumed that Roger Dumas and prisoners like him most likely died soon after the end of the war. But in 1984, Bob Dumas got confirmation from Washington that his brother was still officially considered a POW. Twelve years later, a Pentagon researcher named Insung Lee wrote an internal memo describing the new refugee reports as "very compelling." Lee concluded that "as many as 10 to 15 possible American POWs could be alive" in North Korea. He said "there are too many live-sighting reports to rule out" the possibility that some prisoners survived. When Lee was summoned to testify before Congress, the Pentagon said he spoke only for himself. Today, Lee insists: "My stance has not changed. I stand by my report."

"Bob Dumas's hopes began to soar last year. That's when the White House asked the Chinese government for any information it had on 44 Americans, including Roger Dumas, who were known to be alive and in Chinese custody before the Korean truce was declared. "Roger Dumas remains unaccounted for, and no one's abandoned the search," says Larry Greer, a Pentagon spokesman. "We want to know what the Chinese might know." Beijing says it will allow American researchers to review some of its records and interview prison guards who served in North Korea."

"Last week, Bob Dumas got a phone call from the Army Casualty Office. The agency "is preparing a full report on my brother," he said excitedly. "Within 10 days! I just know something's going to give. I can feel it!" With signs of a thaw developing between North and South, Bob Dumas declared: "I've never felt so much hope as I do today." A reunion with a long-lost brother may be too much to hope for. Bob still cannot accept the idea that Roger may be dead. But any concrete evidence about his fate could finally release the family from 47 years of bitter pain."

Still No Answers - It has been four years since the article above appeared. Four years, and nothing has changed.

The National Alliance Of Families Fifteenth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 24th - 26th, 2004. Our forum is conducted to coincide with the Governments annual Vietnam POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years government briefings. The government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the government briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings and you do not have to belong to an organization to attend these briefings.

This year the Alliance meeting will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City (same as last year) located at 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Arlington Va. Rate for single or double occupancy is $99.00 per night plus tax.

RESERVATION DEADLINE - JUNE 7, 2004

The hotel is located across the street from both the Crystal City Underground Food Court and the Metro Stop. The Sheraton is within walking distance of the hotel hosting the government briefings. The Alliance is working on transportation between hotels for those who prefer to ride. To make your reservations, call 703-486-1111 and remember to say you want the special National Alliance of Families rate.

The Alliance is an all volunteer organization. Our meetings are open to all, without charge. At this time of year, we actively seek contributions to finance our forum. If you wish to contribute, donations may be mailed to:

National Alliance Of Families
P.O. Box 40327
Bellevue, Wa. 98015.

DOLORES ALFOND - National Chairperson
(dolores@nationalalliance.org) 425-881-1499

LYNN O'SHEA - Director of Research
(lynn@nationalalliance.org) 718-846-4350