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 WARS +
Dec 13, 2004
More From Warren Gray - But first some updates.....
Maupin Status - On Dec. 2nd the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati posted a story on their web site stating:
"The Pentagon is considering changing the Matt Maupin's status from "captured" to "deceased, body not recovered." And the missing soldier's family is asking you to help them fight it. Military officials now say they have little reason to doubt the person shown being executed on a tape last summer is the Clermont County native.
"The Maupin family fears a change in status would mean the search for their son is over. They're starting a writing campaign to lawmakers to try to keep Matt's case open...."
In a show of solidarity the National Alliance of Families issued a press release supporting the Maupin family and in opposition to any change in PFC Maupin's status. That press release generated some media interest.
Reporters who contacted both the Pentagon and the Army were told there were no plans to change Maupin's status. Clearly, the Maupin family had reason to think otherwise.
On Dec. 9th the same NBC affiliate reported: "The army says it will continue to search for specialist Matt Maupin. The Clermont County native has been missing since his convoy was attacked in April. Maupin's family had feared Matt's status would be changed from "captured" to "deceased, body not recovered." But the military says that won't happen....."
As of now, Maupin remains in the captured status.
Vietnamese Break Promise..... Surprise.... Surprise from the Associated Press, Dec. 1st "Rep. Mac Collins says he feels "betrayed" by Vietnamese officials who promised to let him browse through what he believes is a vast vault of records about American prisoners of war but never followed through."
"As Collins prepares to leave Congress next month, it's a lingering frustration that the country appears to be no closer to revealing more about the nearly 2,000 American soldiers missing since the Vietnam War. At one point a few months ago, it appeared he was on the cusp of getting some answers, but Collins said the promises proved to be empty ones. "That's just Vietnam," said Collins, who was defeated in the Republican Senate primary against fellow Rep. Johnny Isakson, who won the election. "We pushed the issue hard."
"During Collins' visit to Vietnam more than a year ago, the country's foreign minister, Nguyen Duc Hung, invited him to return to Hanoi and personally browse the records of prisoners to prove the country wasn't hiding anything."
"Collins took him up on the offer earlier this year, bringing a document expert along on a follow-up visit to the country. But when they got there, he said, the Vietnamese officials told him that part of the deal was off."
"They were nervous with him going along," Collins said. "They felt like they could fool me, but they couldn't fool him. I did feel betrayed that they promised us things and didn't follow through."
"They have also been generally unresponsive to most of the additional requests he has made since, including a face-to-face meeting with top Vietnamese officials over the summer in Washington."
".... Collins said the United States has essentially given away its best leverage on the Vietnam records - establishing normal trade relations with the country, which has already largely been done."
"Unless Congress and the Bush administration take a harder line on the topic, Collins says Vietnam will continue to release information on a piecemeal basis, motivated only by economics. "We need to put our foot down that we want this information, and they do have it," he said. "They have these remains stored, and they dribble them out when someone raises an issue about it....."
Wouldn't You Think reporters for the American Forces Press Service would know there are no remains in the crypt of the Vietnam Unknown. The following is from a Nov. 19th article "The Tomb of the Unknowns sits atop a rise overlooking Arlington National Cemetery and the city of Washington. Within the white marble monument lie the unknown remains of soldiers from World War I, World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts....."
Looking for Families of World War II Crew - We received a request for assistance in locating family members of crewmen from a B24J lost on December 18, 1944. The plane left Suichwan China, for a combat sweep of the South China Sea and the Formasa Straits. The plane and her crew were never seen again.
According to the email we received: "On December 18, 2005, at 4:48 in the afternoon, simultaneous memorials are planned for this crew in China (at the airstrip they took off from) and in the US, with the participation of crew families. We have currently located seven families out of 11 crewmembers."
Families of the following men need to be located: 1st Lt. Folke L. Johnson, 1st Lt. Reed D. Deen, TSgt. Alva L. Knox, and SSgt. Bruce L. Ludwig. Any information contact Patrick Lucas at plucaschina@yahoo.com
It's Finished - "MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD: THE SEARCH FOR AMERICA's POWs" That's the new title for "The Eagle Cried" a documentary, produced by Bill Dumas. Bill is the nephew of Bob Dumas, who has spent the last 50 years trying to bring his Korean War POW brother Roger home. The documentary chronicles Bob's search for his brother and the government's cover-up of abandoned POWs.
We've seen an uncut version of this outstanding documentary and, honestly, we are at a loss for words when it comes to describing this fine work. While primarily focused on the Dumas case, the production deals with the broader aspect of the POW/MIA issue as it relates to Korea and Vietnam. The film contains interviews with many well known figures in the issue, some of whom haven't spoken publically in years.
The special pre-release special price is $25. You have your choice of DVD or VHS. We recommend the DVD as it contains over two hours of video extras. Remember to add $3.00 for shipping and handling, for a total of $28.00. Make check payable to: Hygienic Art, Inc in the amount of $28.00. On the check be sure to reference "The Eagle Cried." The check should be mailed to: Bill Dumas Productions, 91 Arlington Dr. #7 Pasadena, CA 91105. This is the DVD or Video to own.
More From Warren Gray Those who have followed our recent series of newsletters on the failures of DPMO are familiar with Warren Gray. He worked the POW issue for the past 20 years in the Army, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and in DPMO. During that time he was Chief, Site Development Office, Joint Casualty Resolution Center, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand in 1973-74, as an Army Major. As a DoD civilian he was the Lao-Cambodian Team Chief; an intelligence analyst; Chief of the POW Team during Desert Storm in 1991, Chief of the Current Operations Division in DPMO, and intelligence collection manager. His collection team controlled all HUMINT, SIGINT and IMINT support to the POW issue for years. In late 2001 he was selected as the collection manager for the DIA POW/MIA Analytic Cell, and he returned to DPMO in 2002.
Mr. Gray left his position with DPMO, this past April and since that time he has graciously shared his insights with the National Alliance of Families.
In this edition of Bits, Mr. Gray offers his comments on:
The "USA" Symbol in Laos.
[From Warren Gray begin]
In December 1988 an imagery analyst in the Washington, DC area notified the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) POW/MIA Office that she had discovered a U-S-A symbol in the rice fields of northeastern Laos. A DIA analyst determined that the imagery that contained the symbol was actually dated in January 1988, almost 11 months earlier, and asked that DIA imagery analysts review the imagery. It was determined that the letters U-S-A were actually 12 feet tall and 36 feet across, and that they appeared to have been dug into the rice field.
Further analysis identified what appeared to be a smaller symbol beneath the larger U-S-A and that the indistinct symbol may have contained ³feet² which are normally used in military evader symbols, such as a ³walking K.² The rice field that contained the symbol was located just south of the city of Sam Neua in Houa Phan Province. DIA imagery analysts also determined that the symbol was not present in imagery dated December 1988. The DIA POW/MIA Office proceeded under the assumption that the symbol had been made by Americans held in captivity, and that it was a valid evader symbol.
An extensive search was conducted of available imagery of northeastern Laos in an effort to identify other possible evader symbols and for several months it appeared that there might be literally hundreds of symbols throughout the northeast, however, intense analysis was conducted of each possible symbol and all were discounted as shadows or depressions.
A review of Human Intelligence reporting indicated that there were a number of reports of live Americans being held in various parts of northeastern Laos. In one instance a source reported that he could bring a small number of live Americans from northeastern Laos to Thailand for a reward. He was challenged to prove his claim and members of the DIA Stony Beach Team in Bangkok actually traveled to the Thai Lao border crossing point identified by the source and camped out, waiting for the source to deliver on his promiseto no avail.
Intelligence efforts continued in a search of northeastern Laos for any indication of live American POWs. By 1990 it was determined that a US team should travel to Houa Phan Province, Laos, to conduct further research on the ground, and the Lao Government was asked officially to allow a US team to travel to the northeast. The Lao Government was not willing to allow a research team from outside the country to travel anywhere within Laos, especially since the U.S. Government already had a small team located in Vientiane, Laos, from the Joint Task Force Full Accounting (JTF-FA) in Hawaii, which was assigned POW/MIA investigations. Periodic requests continued to be made to the Lao Government to allow a team to travel to the northeast and not until late 1992 did the Lao approve the research mission.
In the meantime, the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs was conducting hearings into the POW issue, and Senator Kerry, Chairman, and Senator Smith, Co-Chairman, decided to visit Laos to look into the POW issue, during which they traveled by helicopter to an area near Sam Neua City. Upon leaving the site the Senators directed that the helicopter pilot land in a rice field south of Sam Neua where they thought the U-S-A symbol had been seen years before. They took this side trip without approval of the Lao Government, so naturally it caused quite a furor on the part of the Lao. Unfortunately, the Senators directed the pilot to a rice field on the other side of a mountain from the original rice field with the symbol, so their trip was in vain and almost caused an international incident.
In November 1992, the Lao Government authorized the U.S. side to send a team to northeastern Laos. The JTF-FA detachment commander in Vientiane, a DIA analyst from the POW/MIA Office in Washington and a debriefer / translator from the DIA Stony Beach Team in Bangkok comprised the team, which proceeded by helicopter to Sam Neua City. For the first time the team revealed to the Lao Government the true location of the symbol and asked to be allowed to visit the rice field immediately. The Lao provided a school bus which drove to the field as directed by the JTF-FA commander, and after it was determined that the team had found the rice field in question, the team descended into a valley to the rice field. The rice fields in the valley were covered in rice straw which was 18² tall and which gave the fields an overall golden color, and the straw was dry and brittle. The ground beneath the rice straw was pitch black in color.
The following day the team flew by helicopter back to the field in question and determined from villagers moving nearby that the rice field was owned by an individual in Ban Houey Hin Dam, a village located on the top of a nearby mountain. The team then flew to the village and asked to see the rice field owner. An emaciated 39-year old opium addict was introduced as the owner; he was asked about a symbol that had been seen in his rice field in January 1988 and initially disavowed any knowledge of the symbol, but then laughed and stated that he remembered the symbol and that it had been made by his sons, now 19 and 22 years of age. The sons were questioned and admitted that they had indeed made the symbol.
They stated that relatives in the US often printed a large U S A on letters sent from the US and that they had decided to duplicate the U S A in the field. To do so they stacked rice straw in the rice field in the shape of U S A and set it ablaze. When asked about other possible symbols in the field, they stated that they had also drawn a ³stick airplane.² Satisfied with this explanation, members of the US team returned to Vientiane, Bangkok and Washington, DC. The DIA analyst returned to Washington and testified before the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs about the symbol investigation in Laos. Senator Smith asked the DIA analyst if the team had polygraphed the sources in Ban Houey Hin Dam, and the answer was no.
End of story? Not quite. The team was satisfied with the simple explanation and the symbol investigation essentially faded into history while the Lao got a pat on the back for their cooperation, however, the DIA analyst had lingering doubts about the explanation and continued to review the scenario stacking rice straw in a rice field and burning it.
Then it dawned upon him that the explanation was flawed there was no way anyone could stack rice straw in a field covered with rice straw and burn it in the shape of a U S A symbol it simply could not be done. Had one tried to burn rice straw in this manner, he would have torched every rice field in the valley, and there were hundreds of such rice fields covered with tall, dry, brittle rice straw. This last explanation raises a lot of questions, and leads you to wonder if the live sighting reports coming from northeastern Laos over a period of years might not have had some link to the U-S-A symbol and the associated symbol nearby that appeared to contain features of a valid evader symbol.
Perhaps in its mindset and haste to discount a possible evader symbol, the Government overlooked the obvious, that live Americans may have been trying to tell us they were there. Perhaps DIA was right in the beginning when its investigation into the symbol proceeded upon the assumption that January 1988 imagery showed a valid evader symbol actually made by live Americans in captivity in Laos. Use of a larger symbol, the USA, to highlight a smaller possible valid evader symbol would have been an outstanding idea, had someone been attempting to gain attention of US intelligence authorities, which is exactly what happened.
And lastly, despite our pronouncements that we would never leave American POWs behind, could we have done just that?
[End Warren Gray]
To All We wish you all the Happiest Chanukah, the Merriest Christmas, and all the best for a healthy and Happy New Year.
To our Troops Deployed - You are in our prayers, stay safe and may you all be home soon.
To our POW/MIA Families - What can we say. We hold you in our hearts and prayers. In recent years, we¹ve seen Japanese, South Korean and even a Hungarian POW make it home. Someday, with God's help, the next man out will be an American. We all pray for that day.
To the Veterans and Activists who support us - We couldn't do it without you.
To the Those Present and Former Government Employees who assist us with guidance and information, we thank God for you and bless your hearts..
Another year is ending. Another year we hoped...... this would be the one. Now we must prepare to take our battle into 2005. Time has thinned our ranks. We¹re older and grayer and for some the flame of hope has dimmed. The fight is getting harder but we are not giving up.
For this holiday season we, once again, share our favorite poem with you.
"Though we've come a long way, there is much, much more to be done.
The deck is stacked against us. Our adversaries are well-entrenched
and well-financed and scared of any change in the status quo.
In the long run, we will prevail. We hold the trump card, folks and when the dust clears,
and the dense morning fog burns off,
when we clear our wire of sappers, and the gunships go home,
by God, we'll still be there, because what we seek to do is right."
-- Author Unknown
In closing, we repeat our standard Christmas greeting. The words are Hallmarks. The sentiment belongs to the POW/MIA families and activists.
IF CHRISTMAS MEANS SHARING, then let us share together our hope for tomorrow . . .
IF CHRISTMAS MEANS GIVING, then let us give one another strength, encouragement, and faith . . .
IF CHRISTMAS MEANS LOVE, then let us love one another with the hearts of children . . .
in the spirit of peace.
To these words we add
Let us all work together in the New Year to make the words "I'll be home for Christmas" more than just a dream for our POW/MIAs.
"Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping,
and thine eyes from tears;
for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord:
and they shall come again from the land of the enemy;
and there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord,
that thy children shall come again to their own border."
JerMIAh 31:16--17:
TRUTH, JOY, AND PEACE TO US ALL IN 2005.
Dolores and Lynn and the Board of Directors of the National Alliance of Families
Contact us here!
DOLORES ALFOND - National Chairperson (dolores@nationalalliance.org)
425-881-1499
LYNN O'SHEA - Director of Research (lynn@nationalalliance.org)
718-846-4350