Senate Select Committee - XXXIX

Other POW/MIA Groups

The staff invited more than 50 of the hundreds of grassroots POW/MIA organizations to provide information on a voluntary basis concerning their educational, fundraising and other activities. More than 30 organizations responded and investigators took testimony from officials and members of numerous POW/MIA organizations and families.

Most POW/MIA groups are all-volunteer efforts ranging to memberships of several thousand. Most operate on budgets of less than $20,000 per year and raise funds through local activities, membership dues and personal mailings. Most have done an exemplary job in keeping the POW/MIA issue alive, and it is their voices that have sounded a continual demand for the return of any remaining POWs and the fullest possible accounting of all MIAs.

The Committee believes the following sampling is representative of the tireless efforts of hundreds of bona fide organizations throughout the country. The listing is alphabetical, and it is by no means intended to be exhaustive:

BRAVO

BRAVO, The Brotherhood Rally of All Veterans Organization, was organized in 1971 as an annual picnic for veterans, their families and friends and has developed into a multi-media communications vehicle for military and veterans related activities, opportunities and events.

From 1982 through 1985 BRAVO published The Veterans Observer, and since 1985, publishes The Veteran's Outlook, a bi-monthly, military/veterans publication distributed internationally. BRAVO also produces the only weekly television program exclusively dedicated to veterans affairs. Over 600 half-hour segments of "Sound Off!" have been produced and distributed over the Public Broadcasting System. BRAVO has been instrumental in disseminating information about Agent Orange, post traumatic stress disorder, POW/MIAs and a host of other military and veterans issues. BRAVO has participated in rallies, vigils and other events throughout the nation, collecting and distributing information, and reporting to the veteran community.

BRAVO's efforts are worldwide in scope. In 1990, BRAVO members were part of the delegation of the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition which travelled to the former Soviet Union to assist in establishing their own POW committee. In addition, Tony Diamond, BRAVO's Executive Director, travelled several times to the region, working with high level officers and Afghan leaders to develop a dialogue of mutual assistance, working toward the release of all POWs from all nations and all wars. In addition, on March 6, 1992, BRAVO participated in the first International Veterans Telemarathon in Moscow, Russia -- a television broadcast aired around the world which asked that anyone who knows of POWs to inform the organization, or the powers that be.far from exhaustive.

Georgia Committee for POW/MIA, Inc.

The Georgia Committee was formed by JoAnn Shaw, the sister of Major James William Reed (MIA in Laos since July, 1970) and its main objective is the return of, or accounting for, missing servicemen. It furthers its goal through public awareness activities and relies completely on volunteers to produce a newsletter, public addresses, slide presentations, ceremonies, and to meet with elected officials about the POW/MIA issue. Georgia Committee officers have made numerous appearances on television and radio, and have traveled extensively, at their own expense, to appear on behalf of the POW/MIA issue. In addition, the Georgia Committee maintains close ties with the National League of Families, and disseminates League information to its membership.

Funding for the Georgia Committee comes from membership dues, from the sale of POW/MIA memorabilia (POW bracelets, T-shirts, flags, etc.) and donations. Its average annual budget is approximately $8,000.

The Lima (Ohio) Area MIA-POW

The two principals of the Lima Area MIA-POW, Jack and Wilma Laeufer, are cousins of USAF Col. Owen G. Skinner, an American pilot missing in Laos since 1970. The Laeufer's sell POW/MIA items by mail in order to raise public awareness of the POW/MIA issue and do not solicit public donations. From 1984 to 1991, the Laeufers also have donated $107,300 to 24 other non-profit organizations who devote their efforts full-time to the return of missing American servicemen.

The Laeufers also have been involved with planting "freedom trees," building and displaying simulated POW cages, conducting candlelight vigils, participating in Christmas tree festivals and many other POW/MIA related activities. In October, 1992, the Laeufers attended the dedication of the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra, Australia at their own expense.

Minnesota League of Families/Minnesota Won't Forget POW/MIA

Minnesota Won't Forget POW/MIA and the Minnesota League of Families are "sister" organizations which function independently but coordinate with each other for special events and functions. Minnesota Won't Forget POW/MIA is comprised of veterans and concerned citizens; the Minnesota League of POW/MIA Families is comprised of family members of missing servicemen from Minnesota. Both are volunteer organizations whose efforts have effectively raised the level of awareness of the POW/MIA issue in Minnesota.

MWF/MLF's accomplishments include lobbying for state legislation requiring the POW/MIA flag be flown over the State Capitol; pressing to have an 18' X 28' POW/MIA flag flown in the Metro Dome; initiating state legislature hearings on the POW/MIA issue; organizing petition drives resulting in the delivery of thousands of petitions to the President, the Vietnamese Mission in New York, the Lao Embassy, the Russian Embassy and the Pope; and the Minnesota Won't Forget POW/MIA 46-member flag unit has marched in more than 100 parades.

Their current work includes placing billboards and flags throughout the state, provide speakers and donate videos to a variety of organizations, maintain a POW/MIA merchandise booth at the Minnesota State Fair, produce a free newsletter with a circulation topping 2,000; and co-producing programs for POW/MIA Recognition Day and Prayer Day.

POW Network

The POW Network was founded in 1989 by Chuck Shantag of Davenport, Iowa. It offers a bulletin board service that lets users ask questions, obtain information and post new information as it becomes available. The service is available 24 hours per day and is free of charge, but its operators ask for a five-dollar monthly donation. The POW Network is an all-volunteer organization.

Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan

The Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan ("POWCOM") was organized in 1970 for the purpose of protecting and furthering the interests, rights and welfare of American prisoners of war, missing in action and their families. Of the 2,264 servicemen still unaccounted for from the Vietnam war, 73 are from Michigan.

POWCOM's primary function is to raise public awareness about POW/MIAs and the many discrepancy cases that have yet to be resolved and its efforts to educate the public include publication of a newsletter and reading list, speeches, an annual foot race, advocacy of POW flag legislation, memorial construction, and vigils and many other events. POWCOM also coordinates activities with other POW/MIA and veterans organizations. It funds its operations through private donations and has not used professional fundraisers to send out mass mailings.

Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association

The "River Rats" was formed during the Vietnam War by pilots who flew missions over Route Pack VI of North Vietnam. Originally intended as a series of tactical conferences, the participants continued meeting after the war to maintain the fellowship among air crewmen who fought together.

The River Rats' mission nationally is to provide scholarship assistance to the children of U.S. servicemen killed or missing in action in Southeast Asia, Iran, Libya, Grenada, Panama, and Desert Storm. To date, the River Rats have awarded more than 600 scholarships totalling more than $760,000, based on scholastic ability and need. In addition, several local chapters have organized personal assistance for POW/MIA families, including picnics, house repairs and chores, ball games, camping trips, family outings and other social events. As of 1992, there were more than 70 local chapters, who meet at a "practice reunion" (practicing for the reunion with pilots lost during the Vietnam War until all are accounted for).

Discussion

Clearly the intentions of the vast majority of those involved with POW/MIA issue at the private level have been honorable and the commitment to keep the issue alive has been genuine. Only a small number of organizations have employed professional staffs and slick fundraisers. Among those who did, however, fundraising goals often outweighed the concern for making sure that representations were in fact accurate and that what was promised, such as petitions or action, was in fact carried out.

While all of the fundraisers who were deposed laid responsibility on their clients for the representations made in solicitation materials, it is equally clear that they all played a major role in crafting and disseminating the misleading representations. The Committee's examination of the professional fundraisers reveal skilled professionals who engaged in practices that the Committee finds troubling.

Professional fundraisers specifically targeted and exploited women over 50 years old based on emotional appeals of anxiety and hope. Canada admitted (as did all the other fundraisers who testified before the Committee) that the POW/MIA issue was successful due to the strong emotional response it evokes from the American people. All of the fundraisers deposed by the Committee conceded that solicitations stating there was "evidence of live POW's" would be more successful than solicitations without such evidence. Therefore, claims of live POWs can in part, be traced to fundraisers' carefully crafted emotional solicitations and not to reliable intelligence or genuine information.

Many of the issues raised in the Committee's evaluation of the professional fundraising methods used by POW/MIA organizations should be addressed in the next Congress with appropriate legislation. Clearly, legislative initiatives designed to make corporations and individuals more accountable for the representations appearing in solicitation materials are warranted. In addition, legislation is needed to address the creative accounting methods which currently permit charities to distort their fundraising expenses in reports filed with the IRS. The Committee recommends that these issues be addressed by the Subcommittee on Consumer of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation as well as the Subcommittee on Taxation and Debt Management of the Senate Finance Committee.

Significantly, the continuation of misleading solicitation materials over a period of years was fostered, in part, by a DIA directive classifying POW/MIA reports received after August, 1979. This well-intentioned policy, imposed to protect the whereabouts of any Americans who may be alive, had the effect of denying the public access to professional intelligence assessments of evidence, and fostered a cottage industry of bogus claims.

This policy was inconsistent with a long-held view within the armed services and the organizations of POW/MIA next of kin that there be full disclosure of all information about the fate of POW/MIAs. It also may have indirectly led to a belief in the existence of thousands of credible POW/MIA live sighting reports which to date are open to interpretation.

The failure of the U.S. Government to account for its POW/MIAs created a situation in which a broad spectrum of citizens including decorated war veterans, former POWs and others, sought to force an accounting through the dissemination of photographs of purported POWs and the use of solicitation materials predicated on the assumption that POWs remained captive in Southeast Asia after Operation Homecoming.

It also led to an environment ripe for adventurers and would-be rescuers who sought to find answers by conducting their own reconnaissance and rescue missions overseas -- sometimes with the covert assistance of the Government. Those missions serve as further examples of how Government attempts to use private organizations in clandestine overseas operations can go awry. Contributors were misled, money lost, time wasted, participants duped, and international relations between the U.S. and foreign governments tarnished.

The reconnaissance and rescue missions also raise questions about the role that the Lao resistance forces have played in producing questionable evidence about the existence of American POWs in Southeast Asia.