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 +
March 25, 2006
Special Invitation From Jeff Donahue - In recognition of their service to the United States of America in three wars and in peacetime, a United States Air Force Honor Guard memorial service will be held at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, California in honor of Col. Vincent J. "Budd" Donahue USAF (Ret,) his wife Shirley, and Major Morgan J. Donahue, USAF, Missing in Action in Laos.
The service is scheduled for 2:00 PM, grave side (plot #V-1700) on April 7, 2006. Jeff and his wife Gail would be honored by your presence at the both the memorial service and reception that follows. If you are able to attend, please contact Jeff at 619-628-4952.
If you live in or near the Point Loma area, or can make the trip, please join Jeff and Gail on April 7th in honoring Budd, Shirley and Morgan.
Seldom are we at a loss for words, but here we are totally unable to describe the contribution of the Donahue family, Budd, Shirley and Jeff, to the POW/MIA effort. Saying that they all traveled to Laos at various times over the last 38 years, testified before Congress, spoke at innumerable rallies, and veterans meetings does not begin to scratch the surface of their efforts.
So on April 7th, we will say a prayer thanking God for their commitment to the POW/MIA issue and we will voice a special prayer that someday, Morgan will find his way home.
April 9, 2006 - Will mark 2 years of captivity for Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin and civilian Tim Bell captured when their convoy was ambushed in Iraq. Let's all say a prayer that both Maupin and Bell, are returned alive and well before they reach that two year mark.
Family is Always the Last to Know - from the WCPO Channel 9 web site WCPO.com, March 25th - "The parents of captured Marine (Army) Sergeant Matt Maupin have mixed emotions about the latest search for their son. They're glad to know the military continues to search for him, but upset they didn't know about the latest search until they were told by 9News that the information was posted on the Marine Corps website. However this time forces were reportedly looking for remains after receiving a tip to search an Iraqi desert...."
The more things change the more they stay the same. World War II, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.... the families are always the last to know.
Marine Corps Recovery Op - We located the story published on the Marine Corps website. The article dated March 5th indicated that this operation took place at least 20 days ago. The following is excerpted from an article datelined Camp Falujah Iraq by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva - "It was an honorable mission. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, assisted recently in the search for Army Sgt. Keith M. Maupin remains. The recovery team consisted of U.S. Army and British soldiers."
"Test results confirmed that several partial sets of remains that were recovered were not American. Still, Marines and soldiers were proud to take part in the search to recover Maupin.... Marines searched several possible grave sites south of Fallujah. Maupin was taken captive by insurgents April 9, 2004, when his convoy was attacked near Abu Ghraib, south of Baghdad. He was shown on insurgent propaganda films and insurgents later claimed to have executed him, although the video was never authenticated."
"We exploit every single one as if it's the one," said Army Sgt. 1st Class James Haftmann, a 37-year-old from Charleston, S.C., assigned to Multi-National Corps Iraq's Personnel Recovery Detachment. "But we don't stop searching."
"....Maupin is the only U.S. service member listed as missing in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher is still listed as missing from Operation Desert Storm. Efforts to find Maupin have been ongoing since June 2004, shortly after his capture. A total of 72 grave sites were excavated, unearthing remains. Still, the search for Maupin continues. Haftmann said the dig here to recover Maupin's remains came from a "reliable source." "He's been reliable in the past," he explained. "He has some credibility with us. He knew there was a Caucasian buried here. He said it was American."
Missing -That's how Sgt. Maupin and Capt. Speicher are described in the above article Missing. They are Prisoner of War and should be designated as such. The ambiguous Missing/Captured designation currently in use continues to misrepresent the fact that both Maupin and Speicher are in enemy hands. It further allows both men to be reported as missing verses their true status which is captured or PRISONER OF WAR.
When the Navy changed Capt. Speicher's status from Missing to Missing/Captured then Secretary of the Navy Gordon England wrote: "This category denotes that a service member has been seized as the result of action of an unfriendly military or paramilitary force in a foreign country..... if the government of Iraq is holding Captain Speicher he is entitled to Prisoner of War status under international law and the Geneva Convention..... Although the controlling missing persons statute and directives do not use the term "Prisoner of War," the facts supporting a change in Captain Speicher's category from Missing in Action to Missing/Captured would also support the conclusion that, if alive, he is a Prisoner of War."
We continue to wonder why Secretary England would reference the "term Prisoner of War" making an issue of his inability under the controlling designation to use the POW designation. DPMO claims the POW designation never existed "domestically" and that the "domestic" designation for captured service members has always been MIA/C. We also wonder why in all the documents generated on POWs during and after the Korean and Vietnam Wars, no one has located a case specific document listing a serviceman as Missing/Captured or any of it's variants.
We call upon DPMO to produce a document from the Library of Congress publically available on any Vietnam POW where his status is shown as "MIA/C" or any of its variants. We have previously acknowledged that the word "captured" appears in some files along with the POW designation. However, in none of these files have we found a reference to a status of "MIA/C."
We continue to object most strongly to the use of the ambagious designation Missing/Capture instead of the specific and descriptive designation Prisoner of War. Why, after decades of official documentation using the designation POW, does DPMO and the Defense Department insisting that the "domestic" status is and always has been "MIA/C" and that the POW designation is a designation of international law.
Why after a correction of records completed under Title 10, United States Code 1552 for one serviceman, were his records changed "to show that he was in a prisoner of war status," wasn't his records changed to show that he was in a Missing/Captured status?
There is a reason the Department of Defense and DPMO do not want the American public focused on POWs. Ask yourselves what that reason might be.
All this leaves us to once again ask:
Blasts From the Past
"A man claiming to be a North Korean Defector said he once lived with American and South Korean Prisoners of War whose names were formally verified as Missing in Action (MIA) from the 1950 - 1953 Korean War. Kim Yong-Hwa, who came to Seoul via China, said he met an American named John Smith (Phonetic) during a training session in May 1971 at Taechon Airfield in North Pyongan Province. Kim said he spent 40 days with the American, who was about 1.55CM tall, slender with a small face. Smith told him he was caught with another colleague while fighting at Changjin, South Hamgyong Province in North Korea, one of the first battles of the Korean War. His colleague had died, according to what Smith told Kim.
Smith spent time doing translations and menial labor, Kim said, and he talked about wanting to marry although he had given up hope of ever returning to the United States. The Korea - U.S. Combined Forces Command said it has found "John S. Smith" in the list of American MIAs and started an investigation to verify Kim's claim.
Kim also said he lived in the same village for 20 years with two South Korean POWs --- Kim Kap-Saeng and Yun Se-In -- whose names were also verified as participants of the war, now classified as casualties of war... He said letters from his family in 1993 indicated Kim Kap-Saeng may still be alive." Bits N Pieces - Jan. 4, 1997.
"This account is the first believable story of the possibility of live American POW's in the LPRD that has been heard since 1975." So read the Source Comment on a heavily redacted report located in the National Archives among the records of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs.
The subject of the report states: "Identification of Possible U.S. Prisoner of War Camp in Saravane Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic." The text reads: "1. Circa March 1983, [redacted] a militia chief [ full line redacted] [half line redacted] claimed that there is a Prisoner of War (POW) Camp located at the foot of Ngoua Mountain (NCA), approximately 25 kilometers south of Kadon Village. According to [blank] there were 23 American prisoners of war (POW's) detained in the camp. Prior to 1975 the camp contained 25 American POW's, but two had since died. [Blank] said that Kadon Village is responsible for growing food for the camp and insisted that he had personally seen the POW's on numerous occasions while escorting food convoys to the camp. [Blank] added that the militia forces in Chavan Village (YB 2197) were actually responsible for security at the camp. [Redaction]
[Blank 2] escorted him to the top of Ngoua Mountain and pointed out the camp to him. According to [blank] the camp consisted of four buildings and was surrounded by a fence and a canal. [Blank 2] did no claim to see any of the POW's. both Chavan and Kadon Villages have been under the influence/control of the Communist Pathet Lao since circa 1954.)"
The cover memo, also heavily redacted, is addressed to the Assistant Vice Director For Collection Management, Department of Defense; Principal Advisor for Prisoner of War Missing In Action (International Security Affairs); Director, Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea Bureau for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and Department of State. It reads, in part: "this very sensitive information is for your background use only. There will be no further distribution of this report and additional dissemination or extraction of this information requires prior approval from this Agency. DIA is authorized to pass this information to the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC.)""This account is the first believable story of the possibility of live American POW's in the LPRD that has been heard since 1975." Bits N Pieces March 20, 1999
Nice Work If You Can Get It - On March 21st ABC's Good Morning America reported on our hard working House of Representatives or should that be our hardly working House of Representatives. According to the report, the House has been in session for only 19 days this year. "The average American has worked more than 50 days in 2006 House has worked in Washington just 19 days, a total of 118 hours. The Senate is not far behind with 33 days at the Capitol. "If we get much shorter, I mean, we're going to have a drive-through Congress," said Mary Boyle of Common Cause."
National Alliance of Families 17th Annual Forum is scheduled for June 22th - 24th, 2006. We have no idea if DPMO will again hold a concerned citizens briefing. As soon as we hear anything, we will let you know.
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 these briefings and you DO NOT have to belong to an organization to attend the government briefings.
This year the Alliance meeting will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City located at 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Arlington Va. Rate for single or double occupancy for is $99.00 per night plus tax. This rate applies to Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you are arriving on Wednesday rate is $109.00 plus tax. Parking is $10.00 per day. The Sheraton is located across the street from both the Crystal City Underground Food Court and the Metro Stop. The Sheraton is within a short 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 or 800-864-7666 and remember to say you want the special National Alliance of Families rate. Reservation must be made by 5-25-06 to get the special Alliance 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.
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