National Chairperson, National Alliance of Families
for the Return of America's Missing Servicemen
June 28, 1995
Cover Sheet
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, on behalf of the National Alliance of Families I wish to thank you and your staff for your efforts in seeking the truth regarding our prisoners of war. The familes thank you for sticking by us in our search for the whole truth.
Mr. Chairman, we deeply appreciate your efforts on behalf of former Congressman Billy Hendon as he pressed, both Hanoi and the Pentagon, for access to the secret underground prison, near Hung Hoa, Vinh Phu Province, Vietnam. The Pentagon has still not entered the military security zone in Vinh Phu Province to search the underground prison for live American POW's or evidence of their existence.
As the sister of POW/MIA, Capt. Victor Apodaca, and chairperson of the National Alliance of Families for the return of America's Missing Servicemen, World War II - Korean War - Cold War and Vietnam, I believe much is left to be done before the final chapter is written on the war in Southeast Asia.
Sixteen months ago, President Clinton lifted the trade embargo against Vietnam. Since that time, little progress has been made in accounting for servicemen missing in Vietnam and Laos. Vietnam must be held responsible for the Lao losses, as they controlled much, if not all of the Lao border area, where the majority of these losses occurred. As you are aware, Vietnames ground forces operated deep within Laos. It was Vietnamese NVA troops that attacked and destroyed the secret radar base on Phou Pha Thi known as "SITE 85."
Clearly, Vietnam holds much more information on this case and others, which they have not released to the U.S. Government.
Available files reviewed by researchers and POW/MIA family members demonstrates that there is no conclusive evidence which proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that all the POW/MIA's are dead. To the contrary, the documents proved that U.S. officials believed many Americans remained as prisoner of war after Operation Homecoming ended on March 28, 1973. U.S. Intelligence reports indicate that American servicemen were left behind, alive, at the end of the war in Southeast Asia. Official government documents carry titles such as "U.S. PERSONNEL BELIEVED TO BE IN A CAPTURED STATUS". That document puts the number of Americans in a captured status at 101.
Another document dated July 3rd, 1973 lists Americans who did not come home at the end of the war in categories which read: "Last Known Alive", "Probably Died in Captivity but Name does Not Appear on Official "DIC" List Released by the Enemy," and the all important category of "Probably Captured and Documents and/or Analysis of Incident Supports these Indications." This information is fully supported by the "Morris 1205 Document" found in Russian Archives.
Many within the U.S. Government would argue that no one could survive for some 22 plus years as a POW in Southeast Asia. This point is demonstrably false. One need only look at the case of South Korean Lt. Cho. Lt. Cho recently escaped from North Korea, where he was held as a POW, since his capture in 1951. Cho survived within the harsh gulag system. Certainly, an American serviceman could survive similar conditions in Laos and Vietnam.
The Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs concluded "We acknowledge that there is no proof that the U.S. POW's survived but neither is there proof that all who did not return had died. There is evidence that indicates the possibility of survival, at least for a small number, after Operation Homecoming."
What is a small number? Is it the 101 servicemen mentioned in the July 4th, 1973 memo? Is it fifty, or twenty five? That small number referred to by the Senate Select Committee looms large in the lives of the families of those missing in Southeast Asia.
My brother, Capt. Victor Apodaca, was one of the original 119 Vessey discrepancy cases. General Vessey presented Victor's case to the Vietnamese in 1986. In 1988, the remains of the pilot of Victor's plane were returned and identified. Also returned was a plastic map overlay recovered from the crash and a dog tag bearing the name Victor J. Apodaca. Based on this mangled and burned dog tag, the U.S. Government made the decision to remove Victor from the discrepancy list.
They ignored the fact that FBI analysis concluded that the dog tag was made of materials other than that specified by the U.S. Government for that time period. Investigators ignored the report which indicated the burn marks came from a source other than a jet fuel fire.
What we did not know until, March of 1994, was the FBI analysis concluded that the damage done to the dog tag was inflicted by a pair of wire cutters being repeatedly used to cause the damage seen here. We also learned that the FBI was ordered to destroy the map overlay recovered from the crash site. Those orders came from the Defense POW/MIA Office and were signed by Col. Joseph Schlatter. Why did Col. Schlatter order this map overlay destroyed?
We learned of this information, not through official government channels but from an activist who located these documents in the Library of Congress. Evidence proves the dog tag, said to be my brothers, was at best manually damaged to give the appearance of being in a jet crash. At worst it is an outright fake.
Based on this less than compelling information and Vietnam's refusal to provide additional information, my brother's case was removed from the discrepancy list. With the stroke of a pen, my brother and a hundred plus like him were declared "FATE DETERMINED."
The majority of "FATE DETERMINATIONS" are based not on evidence but the passage of time and the refusal by the Vietnamese to release all information on our POW/MIA's. Is this the honest effort to locate our loved ones, promised to the families?
I say NO, NO a thousands times NO.
The U.S. must exert the strongest possible pressure on Vietnam, to release any prisoners still held, repatriate all remains held in Vietnamese custody and release their carefully detailed records. Specifically, U.S. investigators must have access to those portions of wartime central committee records that pertain to the subject of Americans captured during the War by North Vietnames Pathet Lao or Viet Cong Forces, in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
It is clear, today that the Vietnamese can readily account for many American servicemen lost in Laos and Vietnam, should they choose to do so.
But what is their incentive? The Vietnamese have access to the World Bank. There is no longer a trade embargo. U.S. Business and Tax dollars flow freely into Vietnam. Our only remaining leverage is normalization. We must withhold normalization until Vietnam returns the live POW's, returns the remains of those who the Vietnamese admit died in captivity but have not been returned and accounts for the missing.
On Memorial Day 1995, President Clinton vowed to "Leave No Stone Unturned" in efforts to learn the truth about our Prisoners and Missing. Yet, evidence of LIVE POW's is ignored on a daily basis. Fate determinations are routinely made based on altered or ignored witness statements, half truths and outright lies. Only that information which fits the preconceived conclusion of death is considered valid.
The POW/MIA Families are lied to, on a daily basis. Information is routinely withheld. I could cite case after case where information was withheld from families, only to be uneaerthed by a researcher or another family member. More information reaches family members through our "Underground Network" then through official government channels.
One of our members, Janice Visconti, learned her husband Major Frank Visconti, was one of the special remains cases, not from her Casualty Officer but from an Activist reviewing Secretary Perry's February 17, 1995 List. Special remains cases must meet one of four specific categories. They are:
1) Died in Captivity
2) Photographed Dead
3) Name Appears on Vietnamese Graves Registration
4) Vietnamese Witnesses Report Remains Recovered by Vietnamese Officials.
Mrs. Visconti has made repeated requests to her Casualty Officer, asking for the evidence which places her husband on the special remains case list. All her requests remain UNANSWERED TO DATE.
Right now, four of our members, Mrs. Connie Mangino, wife of Thomas Mangino, Mr. Bob Winters, Father of David Winters, Mrs. Erma Hasenbeck, mother of Paul Hasenbeck and Mae and Thadeus Nidds, parents of Daniel Nidds, have waited 16 months for responses to one of their requests, for more information. Another of their requests for information recently celebrated it's one year anniversary.
The POW/MIA Families deserve factual answers, in a timely manner and they deserve honest case reviews based on all evidence, not the sham "Determinations of Fates" presented to the families by the Defense POW/MIA Office.
It is clear, the goal of the Defense POW/MIA Office is to remove as many cases as possible from the discrepancy lists. If they cannot honestly close the case through their field investigations, they simply mark the case "Pending." But the result, Mr. Chairman, is the same. The classification "Pending" is but another word for "Closed", for the reason that no action will ever be taken unless the Vietnamese provide additional information. This achieves DoD's goal of reducing the discrepancy case list, even though the fate of the missing serviceman is still unknown.
This fact is confirmed in Secretary William Perry's letter of February 17, 1995, when he said: "We will continue to press for resolution of the special remains, photo and priority discrepancy cases. If any new information should be uncovered suggesting that either Vietnam or Laos have additional information about other cases, the Administration will follow up vigorously with the government involved."
In other words, Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, the United States, instead of pressing for information on specific cases is sitting back and waiting for the Vietnamese to dole out their information, piecemeal.
Our POW/MIA's have been too long left to the not so tender mercies of the Vietnamese. U.S. Officials must actively prusue each and every case.
The Last Three Presidents have declared the POW/MIA Issue the Nation's Highest National Priority, a phrase that so far has rung hollow in the ears of the POW/MIA Families, there are those who believe they can wear us down, that eventually we will go away.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I sit here today and say to you that will never happen. The FAMILIES and FRIENDS of our PRISONERS, Our LOVED ONES WILL NOT GIVE UP! We Will Prevail, because, what we seek to do is right. The Truth will be told.
To that end, the National Alliance of Families requests of Congress to initiate a serious, honest, impartial, contiuous oversight process, immediately Mr. Chairman, there has been no better friend, in the House to our loved ones than yourself. We realize that in the past, you did not sit on committees which could have aided us in our struggle. Now You Do!
Therefore, on behalf of the Families of the missing in Southeast Asia, we request the following:
1) Access to, and inspection of all prisons located within Military Security Zones in both Vietnam and Laos. The First Inspection must begin immediately at the secret underground prison inside a Mountain in the Military Security Zone near Hung Hoa, Vinh Phu Province, Vietnam. Two independent sources (source 12845 and source 09915) have reported to U.S. intelligence that 200 and 300 U.S. POWs respectively were imprisoned here both during and after the war.
2) Complete review of all discrepancy cases erroneously classified as "FATE DETERMINED."
3) A Review, by the General Accounting Office (GAO) of procedures used by JTF-FA and an Investigation into their operations. Vast amounts of monies, $100 Million Per year is being used to investigate and excavate crash sites, long since investigated by Vietnamese officials with all vital equipment, documentation and remains removed. What was left of these aircrafts were then scavenged by the locals.
4) A Complete Review of all Documents relating to American Prisoners of War in Captivity after Homecoming in 1973. This review must include all Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, State Department, Military Intelligence Groups and Executive Branch documents.
5) The Vietnamese listed 55 Servicemen as Died in Captivity, in January 1973. They returned the remains of only 27 of these 55 servicemen. Where are the remains of those whoms Vietnam admits died in captivity? Why is Vietnam refusing to return theses remains?
6) In Febrary 1994, the Department of Defense listed 98 names representing "84 Special Remains Cases". Where are these men? Where is the Vietnamese Cooperation?
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, the answer is simple. There is NO Cooperation. There NEVER Was. Cooperation is a MYTH Created by those with Agendas other than seeking the full truth about our Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.
We feel previous investigations missed the mark. A Fair and Impartial investigation has eluded us, due to an obstinate bureaucracy, based not in Hanoi, but in Washington, D.C.
Only the truth will resolve the issue of our POW/MIAs. Sadly, we are very far from anything resembling the truth, regarding our servicemen, prisoner and missing as a result of the war in Southeast Asia.
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, many speak of healing the wounds of Vietnam. That will NOT happen as long as the black cloud of shame that is the POW issue hangs over this nation! A large majority of the American public believes American servicemen were left behind at the end of the was in Southeast Asia. Three former Secretaries of Defense testified under oath before the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs to the fact that LIVING PRISONERS WERE LEFT BEHIND!!! Some of these men are alive today, waiting for their nation to come for them. Don't fail them as so many others have.
The Living POW's deserve to come home, they have spent their time in HELL and so have their familes. Those who died in Vietnamese custody deserve to be brought home to rest in the land of their fathers.
Please don't fail them, don't fail us and don't fail the Nation they so honorably served.
Thank You,
Dolores Apodaca Alfond
National Chairperson for The National Alliance