September 2000

Summary of news for the entire month.
For recent and daily news, please go to: InterNetwork

00 SEP 00: 2,014 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War: ARMY: 638 (VN-10, VS-487; LA-106; CB-35; CH-0); NAVY: 409 (VN-280, VS-92; LA-28; CB-1; CH/OW-8); USMC: 255 (VN-24, VS-202; LA-21; CB-8; CH-0); USAF: 672 (VN-231; VS-165; LA-260; CB-16; CH-0); and CG: 1 (VN-0; VS-1; LA-0; CB-0; CH-0). 39 civilians remain unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War: VS-22, LA-12, and CB-5. 569 Americans have been accounted-for post 1973: VN-409, LA-142, CB-16, and CH-2. 200 Americans have been accounted-for during the present administrations. PURSUIT STATUS: Further Pursuit: 1,170 (VN-245; VS-500; LA-373; CB-48; CH-4). Deferred: 202 (VN-60; VS-111; LA-28; CB-2; CH-1). No Further Pursuit: 642 (VN-240; VS-358; LA-26; CB-15; CH-3) Persian Gulf War - unsatisfactory accounting. Korean War - 8,139 remain unaccounted-for, 42 possible remains returned, 4 identifications. World War II - Over 78,000 remain unaccounted-for.

01 SEP 00: From the NLF - A team of 43 US specialists from Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, Central Identification Laboratory and Stony Beach is now in Laos conducting joint field operations. Scheduled to conclude around August 24th, they are conducting remains recoveries over a 30-day period at 3 sites in 2 separate provinces. On August 26th, a larger US team will begin monthlong joint operations in Vietnam. This team will work with Vietnamese citizens and specialists in 16 provinces and cities to investigate 32 cases and excavate six or more sites, including both aircraft and ground losses.

08 SEP 00: From the NLF - The Department of Defense released the names of eight of nine US personnel now accounted for, six previously missing in Laos and three in Vietnam. These Americans include CDR Leonard M. Lee of VA and LCDR Roger B. Innes of IL, both US Navy, missing in North Vietnam since December 27, 1967. The Defense Department did not publicly release CDR Lee's name at the request of his next-of-kin; however, members of Commander Lee's family were quoted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch September 4th edition regarding his identification. Others include Lt Col Donald E. Paxton of IA and Maj Charles Macko of NY, both US Air Force, missing in Laos since February 2, 1969; Capt Stephen P. Hanson of CA, 1st Lt Jon G. Gardner of NC and Sgt Timothy R. Bodden of IL, USMC, and Army GySgt Billy R. Laney of FL, all missing in Laos since June 3, 1967; and Army CWO1 William A. Smith, Jr., of MI, missing in South Vietnam since September 2, 1968. The accounting for these nine Americans brings the number still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War to 2,005, 1511 in Vietnam, 421 in Laos, 65 in Cambodia and 8 in the territorial waters of the PRC. Nearly 85% of all Americans lost in Laos and Cambodia were in areas then under wartime Vietnamese control; therefore, it is to Vietnam that we look for archival records and witnesses to assist in accounting for them.

09 SEP 00: Updating those following the case, Roger Hall discussed aspects on the POW-MIA Freedom Radio broadcast, among other things -"Notice of Orders or Judgments in FOIA court case against the CIA Re: Case Number: 1:98-cv-01319 1. In August of this year Studies Solutions Results, Inc.'s attorney, Elaine English, quit the case without reason. However this has proved to be advantageous for we have now hired two attorneys Mark Zaird, and Jim Lazar, who specialize in FOIA cases have now been retained to handle the case. 2. The U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia where the case is being litigated has denied the CIA's motion for summary judgment. The following is a brief summary of the decision. Findings by the court: The CIA has not established the adequacy of its search for documents The CIA has properly invoked various exemptions to justify the withholding and redaction of certain documents responsive to plaintiff's case The court: a. Did not grant discovery; i.e., depositions, calling witnesses, and an independent search of the CIA (However the new attorneys assure me that we can still get the court to grant discovery). b. The court concluded the 40,000 pages of Senate Select Committee POW/MIA documents at the National Archives are no longer Agency records. [We seek the same records directly from the CIA]. c. The Congress is not subject to the FOIA. The CIA claims all their documents are declassified, the 40,000 pages evidences they are not. d. Documents concerning intelligence sources and methods were properly withheld or redacted. e. Concluded the Department of Defense [properly, ed.] also invoked [FOIA] exemption 3 to withhold information regarding last known locations of a particular POW/MIA, the organization of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the organization of the CIA. The last known locations of the POW/MIA were withheld under the McCain Bill, which forbids the disclosure of such information when the POW/MIA's next of kin has not given express permission for its release. f. One request was narrowed to information on POW/MIAs sent outside Southeast Asia only. The Order/Judgment is 22 pages long. I will get an electronic file from the court which I will E-mail for all to read. This is not a final decision. The case takes on a new intensity and we can still get discovery and depositions. We expect to appeal any unfavorable final decision. In fact your assistance is even more urgently needed for we now have two more experienced and specialized attorneys which will cost us more. Obtaining information on even one live POW is worth all the money spent Plaintiff, by and through his counsel, hereby opposes the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant with this Court on October 15, 1998 and supports his opposition with this memorandum of points and authorities. "

10 SEP 00: From the NLF - This week, important operational assessment talks were held in Hawaii between US and Lao officials. A team of 43 US specialists from JTF-FA, CILHI and Stony Beach recently concluded another 30-day period of joint field operations in Laos. Remains recoveries were conducted at 3 sites in 2 separate provinces, one in the north and the other in the south. On August 26th, a larger US team began month-long joint operations in Vietnam. This team is working with Vietnamese citizens and specialists in 16 provinces and cities to investigate 32 cases and excavate six or more sites, including both aircraft and ground losses.

11 SEP 00: From the NLF - This week, important operational assessment talks were held in Hawaii between US and Lao officials. A team of 43 US specialists from JTF-FA, CILHI and Stony Beach recently concluded another 30-day period of joint field operations in Laos. Remains recoveries were conducted at 3 sites in 2 separate provinces, one in the north and the other in the south. On August 26th, a larger US team began month-long joint operations in Vietnam. This team is working with Vietnamese citizens and specialists in 16 provinces and cities to investigate 32 cases and excavate six or more sites, including both aircraft and ground losses.
12 SEP 00: Former American prisoners of war may be eligible to receive the Purple Heart medal due to a little-publicized four-year-old change in the award rules. President John F. Kennedy started the change by signing Executive Order 11-1016 on April 25, 1962. Until that time, service members could receive the Purple Heart only during a formally declared state of war. Kennedy's order made it possible to award the medal even without a formal declaration of war. The 1962 order didn't specifically mention POWs or their eligibility because of wounds and injuries suffered in captivity. An Army policy change dated Sept. 27, 1962, allowed Purple Heart awards henceforth to members who might become prisoners of war and be wounded or injured by their captors. Neither Kennedy's executive order nor the Army change was retroactive. No former prisoners of war of any service, living and dead, who were wounded or injured during captivity before April 25, 1962, were eligible until Congress passed legislation as part of the 1996 National Defense Authorization Act. Assistants at the Military Order of the Purple Heart headquarters in Springfield, Va., said veterans applying for the medal should use Standard Form 180, "Request Pertaining to Military Records," readily available at Department of Veterans Affairs service and medical centers; online at http://web1.whs.osd.mil/forms/SF0180.PDF.

13 SEP 00: DPMO can't make up its mind or get its story straight when it comes to the Roger Dumas case. Dumas, lost on 04 NOV 1950, was a KNOWN POW, reported by returnees as alive, who was never repatriated. "In a July 17th letter, and at the annual meeting here in June of the National Alliance of Families of the Missing, Robert Jones, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/MIA affairs said his agency - and the entire Defense Department, for that matter - considers Roger Dumas a POW." HOWEVER, several months previous, DASD Jones corresponded with Sen. Joseph Lieberman and wrote "To Dumas' astonishment, Jones' letter (concurred in by Lieberman's office) dismissed decades of accumulated evidence in one of the most prominent high-priority POW/MIA cases from the Korean War by declaring that the U.S. government has no proof other than that "solicited" by the Dumas family that Roger Dumas "was ever captured and held prisoner." Finally in June, we hear - "The status of Corporal Roger Dumas is Prisoner of War," Jones wrote on July 17th. "The Department of Defense, which includes the Army casualty office and DPMO (Defense Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office), considers Corporal Roger Dumas as a Prisoner of War."

Observation - This is akin to declaring all of the POWs PFOD and then asking the adversary for any living POWs. The government has said they don't exist and are all dead, so the message to the other side is very clear... there are no POWs, we have declared them dead. Talk about a stage manager's cue. Dumas was last sen being walked away from a repatriation point by the Communist Chinese. He was alive, he didn't come home, the men with him came home and reported Dumas as alive. However, if the head honcho of DPMO is saying there is no contemporaneous material that Dumas was ever a POW, the message to the other is clear and the USG has just created a hold-harmless for the PRC and DPRK.
DASD Jones SEA Trip Report is available at - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in091200dod.html

13 SEP 00: For decades we have embraced the sacredness of National cemeteries... especially those that hold 'Unknowns', those Known But To God. Arlington alone has three seperate clusters culmintaing in the Tomb of the Unknowns ampitheater. The Pacific is home to The Punchbowl, a final resting place for over 800 Unknown men. Originally 864 Unknownns were listed, with the figure hovering at 859 by the writing of the scholarly POW-MIA Issues by Dr. Paul Cole. It was Cole who astutely observed that to seriously take on resolution of the 8,100+ POWs and MIAs from Korea, the US would have to make serious efforts to access the massive number of Unknowns buried as a result of Korean War Death Marches, Graves Registry Records, identified Mass Graves, and yes, The Punchbowl.

Disrupting the sleep of Unknowns has been anathema to most people, however, the successful campaign to identify the Vietnam Unknown at Arlington shifted the winds and the USG finally established a disinterment policy focusing on the legion of the lost buried at The Punchbowl, Oahu, Hawaii, among others. In September 1999, disinterments began with a plan that as many as 70 sets of remains may be removed for mtDNA testing. Release No. 250-99, 21 May 1999 (http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter/in052199.html), details the plan. (see http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter/in052199.html)

A new article and research by Laurence Jolidon goes the extra mile in bringing to light the wrench-of-the-moment tossed-in by the powers that be. Read on, it's a must -

"LAST RITES PENDING" America's Korean War 'Unknowns' ...Buried Twice, Not Home Yet - may be found at - http://www.aiipowmia.com/koreacw/punchbowl859.html

A stunning quote and accompanying list of 239 Korean War names reads - "At least 239 of the caskets buried in Hawaii in 1956 contain remains that were among nearly 2,000 sets that Communist forces turned over in 1954 complete with names, military service numbers and burial information from North Korea that exactly matched U.S. records. "

Unknown or unwanted? You decide.

14 SEP 00: On the eve of National POW-MIA Day, the Whitewash House continues to display its utter contempt for the military in general and POWs and MIAs in particular by announcing that Bill Clinton will travel to Communist Vietnam as a last act of Presidency. Not in a hurry to get to Vietnam 30 years ago, Clinton is expected to jump on a plane on Veteran's Day and wing his way to the Pacific via Hawaii.

14 SEP 00: With all the media attention focusedon this National POW-MIA Day, after Clinton's trip announcement, the powers that be have revved up the media machine and provided a blitz of announcements and identifications so that the world might be persuaded they are doing a bang-up job. Read on -

No. 563-00 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2000
REMAINS OF U.S. SERVICEMEN RECOVERED IN NORTH KOREA

Remains believed to be those of nine Americans missing in action will be repatriated Friday, Sept. 15, during National POW/MIA Recognition Day. In a formal ceremony at Pyongyang, North Korea, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Robert L. Jones will receive the remains, believed to be those of U.S. servicemen missing in action from the Korean War.

The remains will be flown on a U.S. Air Force aircraft from Pyongyang to Yokota Air Base, Japan, escorted by Jones and a uniformed U.S. honor guard. A United Nations Command (UNC) repatriation ceremony will be held in Yokota, then the remains will be flown to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Following a U.S. Pacific Command ceremony there, they will be transferred to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI) for forensic examination and positive identification.

A joint U.S.-North Korean investigation team recovered the remains from former battlefields in the North Korean counties of Unsan and Kujang, approximately 60 miles north of Pyongyang. The 20-person U.S. team is composed primarily of specialists from CILHI.

This recovery operation is the 15th in North Korea since 1996. Two more are scheduled for this year, with the fifth operation to conclude on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2000. Joint U.S. - North Korean teams have recovered 35 sets of remains so far this year, and 77 since the joint operations began. Five of these have been positively identified, while many others are in the final stages of the forensic identification process.

Of the 88,000 U.S. servicemembers missing in action from all conflicts, more than 8,100 are from the Korean War.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release September 14, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
President Clinton Travels to Brunei and Vietnam

President Clinton will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 8th Economic Leaders Meeting November 15-16 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The annual meeting will bring together the leaders of the 21 economies that comprise the APEC organization, which collectively account for nearly two-thirds of U.S. trade with the world. During the gathering, President Clinton will also hold bilateral meetings with several leaders to discuss issues of mutual concern.

Following the APEC meeting, the President will travel to Vietnam at the invitation of President Luong. He will address the range of issues we hope to advance with the people and government of Vietnam following the normalization of our ties with their country.

No. 160-00 PRESS ADVISORY September 14, 2000
Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon will host a full honors ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day at 11:30 a.m. (EDT), Friday, Sept. 15, 2000.

Former Vietnam prisoner of war Gene Smith will be the keynote speaker. Smith was shot down over Hanoi on Oct. 25, 1967, while flying an F-105D Thunderchief on his 33rd mission. He served over five and one-half years in captivity. The ceremony will be held on the River Parade Field of the Pentagon.

Media must be at the River Parade Field no later than 11:10 a.m. EDT. Media interested in audiovisual coverage of this event may contact Terry Mitchell at (703) 695-0169.

China finds WWII planes in Tibet - U.S. official Reuters Sep 13 2000
BEIJING, Sept 13 (Reuters) - China has found two U.S. planes that crashed in Tibet in World War Two and allowed U.S. officials to interview Chinese Korean War veterans to help trace Americans missing in action, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. But the Chinese army has refused access to archives that could reveal the fate of thousands of other U.S. personnel unaccounted for in the 1950-53 Korean conflict, said Robert Jones, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of Defence for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs.

Cooperation with Beijing was positive in relation to dozens of U.S. planes that crashed while flying over China in World War Two, and on eight outstanding cases of U.S. personnel who went missing in China during the Vietnam War, Jones told a news conference.

Chinese authorities revealed that two World War Two crash sites were discovered recently in Tibet but gave no details on their exact location, he said.

``They have provided me some information which hopefully will ultimately lead to an excavation and recovery of missing Americans from World War Two,'' Jones said.
The planes are thought to have crashed during the U.S.-organised ``Hump airlift'' that extended from India to China over the southern spur of the Himalayas when Washington and Beijing were war allies.

LESS HELP ON KOREA
But Chinese help had been less forthcoming in tracing 8,200 U.S. personnel taken prisoner or listed as missing in action during the Korean War, Jones said.
``I am not certain at this point why the Chinese government has not been as open concerning the Korean War,'' he said. China backed North Korea in the war against the South, which was supported by a multinational United Nations force led by the United States.
The Chinese managed prisoner of war camps in North Korea during the conflict and Chinese military archives are believed to contain crucial information on the fate of 2,300 U.S. prisoners of war still unaccounted for.
``I believe the Chinese government holds the key to information about our POWs held during the Korean War,'' said Jones. ``I believe we are making significant strides in our relationship with the Chinese government. Unfortunately we do not have the same relationship with the Peoples Liberation Army as we do with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.''
Still, in a meeting Jones described as a major historical event, Beijing had allowed U.S. officials to interview four Chinese veterans of the Korean War who helped to run prison camps.

The United States had also requested Chinese help in tracing 12 U.S. personnel whose plane crashed by the Chinese coast in August 1956, he said but gave no further details.
China has already returned to the United States the remains of three U.S. servicemen whose plane crashed in Tibet in World War Two and ten others whose B-24 bomber hit a steep mountain slope in the southwestern province of Guangxi in 1944.

PYONGYANG TO RETURN REMAINS
Jones also said he was due to travel to North Korea to receive the remains of seven U.S. personnel on September 15 -- the latest results of joint U.S.-North Korean remains recovery operations begun in 1996. The North Korean army had allowed access to its archives, Jones said.
He emphasised there was no evidence that living U.S. personnel were still being held prisoner. ``We have not found any significant evidence, documents or witnesses that have validated that live Americans are being held against their will anywhere in the world.'' REUTERS@

China to Help US Find Missing US Soldiers - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in091400chinb.html

Presidential Proclamation - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in091500prez.html

15 SEP 00: National POW-MIA Recognition Day

Remember!
As the sun sets upon grain, green and sea, we light our candles and reflect on the solemnity of this day.
We gaze at the flickering flame... as strong as it shines, in a moment it may be blown out.
And it reminds us of our POWs and MIAs...
the strength, the courage... that burns brightly and shows us the way, yet in a moment, gone... and we remember the light of each and every man that burned so brightly and was taken from us so quickly.

As the bagpipes moan and carillons peal Amazing Grace in the distance, the winds gently kiss the faces that are illuminated... and what do we see...

Children
Former Prisoners of War
Family Members
Elders
Veterans
People Who Simply Care

Each and every one a witness... each and every one standing a silent vigil holding a flickering candle that fights the darkness.
And we wait.... and we remember.

May God Bless our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action.
May God Grant Peace, Comfort and Strength to the Families.
May God Grant Perserverance to Those Who Wait.
This site has been blacked out in honor of the solemnity of this day.

The Vigil Continues... The Candle Continues To Burn
Advocacy & Intelligence Index for POWs-MIAs
National POW-MIA Recognition Day September 15th, 2000 http://www.aiipowmia.com/special/pwday2k.html

16 SEP 00: More announcements - Remains of two MIA U.S. Navy officers identified
No. 568-00 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2000

SERVICEMEMBERS MISSING IN ACTION RETURNED
The remains of two U.S. Navy officers, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been accounted for and are being returned to their families for burial in the U.S. One has been identified as Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Innes of Chicago. The other officer's name will not be released at the request of his family.
On Dec. 27, 1967, Innes and the other U.S. aviator were aboard an F-4B Phantom as the lead aircraft in a flight of two from the carrier, the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. The flight was an armed reconnaissance mission along the coast of North Vietnam. Innes' aircraft was observed on radar as it started its attack on an enemy target, but contact was abruptly lost in the vicinity of the target. Repeated radio calls were unsuccessful, and an extensive visual and electronic search conducted throughout the day failed to locate the aircraft. Low flight ceilings and poor visibility in the target area prevented additional search efforts.
In August 1992, teams of U.S. and Vietnamese investigators, led by Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, interviewed villagers and reviewed documentation which indicated an aircraft crashed in 1967 about 300 meters off the coast. The information was a close match to the circumstances of Innes' loss. In 1995, investigators interviewed local fishermen who pointed out a general area where their fishing nets had snagged on aircraft wreckage.


In February and March 1998, U.S. and Vietnamese divers surveyed the underwater site and recommended a full excavation. Then in May and June 1999, U.S. Navy divers operating from a Vietnamese barge, conducted the first underwater recovery operation in Vietnam in waters approximately 10-15 meters deep. The divers were able to recover remains, personal effects of the crew, and aircraft debris.
Analysis of the remains and other evidence by the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii established the identity of these servicemen.
The U.S. government welcomes and appreciates the cooperation demonstrated by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that resulted in the identification of these officers. We hope that such cooperation will bring more significant results in the future. Achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing in action is one of the nations highest priorities.

AND - Vietnam is thrilled that Bill Clinton is visiting and made an official statement. The Whitewash House held a press conference on the planned trip - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in091600f.html

16 SEP 00: Even Communist North Korea Checks In... 15 SEP 00 Broadcast
Repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners welcomed
Pyongyang, September 15 (KCNA) -- We fully support and warmly welcome the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners to the DPRK and offer sincere thanks to leader Kim Jong Il, the sun of the 21st century, for decorating the 20th century with a history of revolutionary obligation and warmest comradeship.
P. C. Sharma, chairman of the International Study Center for Juche-oriented Mass Media in Nepal, said this in a statement issued on September 5 hailing the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners.
It was thanks to the warm love and absolute trust of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il that they could remain loyal to their leaders and the fatherland and true to the idea of socialism and communism to the last despite all sorts of hardships and trials for over 30 years, even for more than 40 years in prison, emerge as men of strong faith and will and indomitable fighters and come back into the care of Kim Jong Il, he said.
He said that they are the great pride not only of the Korean people but of all peoples of the world who value justice and peace. He extended full support and solidarity to the Korean people in their struggle for the independent and peaceful reunification of the country.

17 SEP 00: Smith Amendmenton China - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in091600smith.html - Supporters of PNTR for China also defeated two other amendments September 13. Senator Robert Byrd's (Democrat of West Virginia) Amendment No. 4131 on safeguards against market disruptions failed by a 33-62 vote, and one part of Senator Robert Smith's (Republican of New Hampshire) Amendment No. 4129, which would require the Congressional-Executive Commission to "monitor the cooperation of the People's Republic of China with respect to POW/MIA issues, improvement in the areas of forced abortions, slave labor, and organ harvesting," lost 33-62.

17 SEP 00: NOTICE -
The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) presents an informal update on the continued progress toward the fullest possible accounting of this nation's missing personnel. Veterans and concerned citizens are encouraged to attend.
For information contact: Ms. Peggy Marish-Boos (703) 602-2102, Ext 111
Time/Location: September 22, 2000 7:00 pm
Embassy Suites Hotel
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
15920 West Valley Highway, Seattle, WA. 98188-5547
(425) 227-8844

18 SEP 00: NLF Reports - Important operational assessment talks were held in Hawaii in late August between US and Lao officials. Hosted by BG Harry Axson, JTF-FA Commander, the Lao interagency committee on POW/MIA received briefings from and met with JTF-FA, CILHI and DIA's Stony Beach to discuss the status of cooperative efforts and seek solutions to problems that arise during field operations. A team of US and Lao specialists will resume joint field operations in Laos late this month, and further bilateral consultations will be held in early November. On August 26th, a large US team began month-long joint operations in Vietnam. This team is working with Vietnamese citizens and specialists in 16 provinces and cities to investigate 32 cases and excavate six or more incident sites.

19 SEP 00: Senator Smith keeps trying and all the Congress Critters in DC keep voting no... Page S8536
Division II of Smith (of N.H.) Amendment No. 4129, to require that the Congressional-Executive Commission monitor the cooperation of the People's Republic of China with respect to POW /MIA issues, improvement in the areas of forced abortions, slave labor, and organ harvesting.
Page S8586, S8539-44
By 30 yeas to 68 nays (Vote No. 248), Division I of Smith (of N.H.) Amendment No. 4129, to require that the Congressional-Executive Commission monitor the cooperation of the People's Republic of China with respect to POW /MIA issues, improvement in the areas of forced abortions, slave labor, and organ harvesting.
Pages S8536, S8544-46, S8557
By 24 yeas to 74 nays (Vote No. 249), Division IV of Smith (of N.H.) Amendment No. 4129, to require that the Congressional-Executive Commission monitor the cooperation of the People's Republic of China with respect to POW /MIA issues, improvement in the areas of forced abortions, slave labor, and organ harvesting.

19 SEP 00: The Hungarian POW who was held by the Soviets for 53 years has finally gotten his ientity back, Andras Tamas, met his family is is going home.

19 SEP 00: From JTF-FA The Bright Light, Special POW-MIA Recognition Day Edition -
Joint Field Activities
Vietnam
62 nd JFA Aug 28-Sept 27
63 rd JFA Oct 30-Nov 28
64 th JFA Feb 8-Mar 9
65 th JFA May 3-Jun 1
66 th JFA July 5-Aug 3

Laos
01-1L JFA Sept 29-Oct 28
01-2L JFA Jan 9-Feb 7
01-3L JFA Mar 10-Apr 5
01-4L JFA Jun 4-Jul 3
01-5L JFA Aug 5-Sept 3

Cambodia
01-1C JFA 10 Jan -6 Feb

20 SEP 00: Trade In Vietnam and POW-MIAS Testimony -
Barshefsky - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in092000bar.html
Roth - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in092000roth.html
Ros-Lehtinen - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in110200ros.html
Bereuter - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in110200bere.html

20 SEP 00: The nightmare continues - CBS '60 Minutes' aired a followup segment to the case of Michael Scott Speicher on 19 SEP 00. The broadcast highlighted the scientists who preformed mtDNA on remains said to be associated with a 'Michael' and concluded it wasn't Speicher. The 60 Minutes summary of the story follows . One of the most disturbing moments is the following quote - "You get this sinking feeling that there's something really wrong here, that you missed something." AND , "My worst fear was what happens if someday he shows up in Baghdad on a TV screen and it's a surprise to everybody," says Arthur. "How would you explain that?" Admiral Stan Arthur, commander of all Allied Naval Forces in the Persian Gulf To read the show transcript, go to - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in092000pg.html

21 SEP 00: The 'unaccounted-for' figures for SEA have been updated. As of 19 SEP 00 the number of unaccounted-for personel is 1,994. The breakdown is as follows -
Total BB - Killied in Action, Body Not Recovered:999
Total KK - Died in Captivity: 36
Total MM - Missing:13
Total PP - Prisoner: 8
Total XX - Presumptive Finding of Death: 938
Total: 1994
To access the DPMO database listing and reports of all personnel, names, status, branch of service and state, please go to - http://131.84.1.34/dpmo/pmsea/files.htm

22 SEP 00: This in on S.484 - The Bring Them Home Alive Act. Please contact your Congress Critters by phone, fax or email
"Dear Mr. Armey
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell sponsored S. 484, a meritorious bill, that would grant refugee status to any national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union, who personally delivers into the custody of the U.S. government a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee and in addition was referred to the International Relations Committee. In an effort to expeditiously move this bill to the Floor, the Judiciary Committee is prepared to waive consideration of the bill. On September 7, the International Relations Committee marked up S. 484, and approved a motion requesting the Chairman to seek consideration of the bill on the suspension calendar.
Given the number of requests for the suspension calendar, and our interest in advancing this measure, we request that S. 484 be considered by unanimous consent in the House. The ranking members of our respective committees do not object to this request. Joel Hefley who has introduced a similar bill in the House (H.R. 1926), also does not object to this request.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
///signature ///
Henry J. Hyde
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary

///signature ///
Benjamin A. Gilman
Chairman, Committee on International Relations"

23 SEP 00: "Yugoslavia POW To Leave Army
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The last of three American soldiers captured during NATO (news - web sites)'s military campaign against Yugoslavia is leaving the Army.
Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez, who has spent eight years in the Army, said he wants to remain with the military, possibly as a recruiter for the National Guard, but he expects to leave the Army in a few weeks.
Ramirez, Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone and Spc. Steven Gonzales were captured by Yugoslavian forces on March 31, 1999, while on a reconnaissance mission near the Kosovo and Macedonia border.
They spent 32 days in captivity before the Rev. Jesse Jackson negotiated their release May 2, seven weeks before the NATO bombings in Yugoslavia ended.

Stone and Gonzales have both left the Army.
Ramirez, a 26-year-old Los Angeles native, spoke to the local chapter of the Association of the United States Army on Saturday and described the ordeal.
``They dragged us through the village, put a pistol at Stone's head, they were yelling at us,'' said Ramirez, who suffered broken ribs and other injuries. ''(People in the village) literally came out of their houses, throwing rocks at us, kicking us.'' The three were interrogated for seven days, with hoods over their heads and their hands cuffed behind their backs, he said. He said he was fed once a day, and if he moved his hands or legs he was hit or kicked.
``At first I really didn't think it changed me much,'' Ramirez said, ``but now I think I don't take things for granted.''

25 SEP 00: Flag Flap - Gov't Sued Over Confederate Flag
SCOTLAND, Md. (AP) - A descendant of a Confederate Army officer has sued the federal government for the right to display the flag of the Confederacy at Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery.
More than 3,300 Confederate prisoners of war are buried in a common grave at the southern Maryland cemetery, which is owned and operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. A United States flag now flies at the graveyard on the Chesapeake Bay. A 1998 policy governing conduct of national cemeteries limits the flying of the Confederate flag to two days a year: Memorial Day and Confederate Memorial Day, which is observed during May in some states, said Veterans Department spokeswoman Jo Schuda said.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., claims the policy is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment right to free speech and free expression.
Schuda said the department had not yet received a copy of the complaint and could not comment on it. ``The bottom line is, you have to protect that right of free speech even if it's offensive,'' said Steven Campen, the lawyer representing descendant Patrick J. Griffin III.
Campen said the regulation applies only to Confederate flags and not others, such as POW/MIA flags. The conservative Rutherford Institute, which is also involved in the case, accused the Department of Veterans Affairs of ``politically motivated discrimination.''

28 SEP 00: Two enlightening reports put out by DPMO cover the recent travels to North and Southeast Asia. Worth reading. DASD Jones Trip to Northeast Asia, September 11-16, 2000 -INFORMATION MEMORANDUM - http://www.aiipowmia.com/reports/dasd092500.html and

Department of Defense Orientation Visit by Laos Vice Foreign Minister Phongsavath Boupha - INFORMATION MEMORANDUM - http://www.aiipowmia.com/reports/laosrpt09_00.html

30 SEP 00: Can you say blackmail?
N.Korea Threatens U.S. War Remains
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - North Korea is threatening to stop cooperating with U.S. efforts to recover remains of American servicemen lost in the Korean War unless the Pentagon provides more humanitarian aid.
In talks Sept. 15 in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, a North Korean army officer told Robert Jones, the Pentagon official in charge of POW-MIA issues, that a deal reached in June to provide U.S. access to battlefields will not be renewed when it expires in November unless the aid issue is settled first.

The United States is paying North Korea $2 million this year for its assistance in the remains recovery.
On a more optimistic note for U.S.-North Korea relations, the State Department announced Friday that President Clinton will meet next month with Cho Myong Nok, the first vice chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission. He will be the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit Washington.
Cho is considered second in command to the country's leader, Kim Jong Il.
The talks also have been centered on terms of an accord that froze North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for energy supplies and two civilian reactors, State Department officials said.

North Korea's past involvement in terrorism is on the agenda as well, but State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that issue will be dealt with next week. He said the tone of the talks after three days ``remains positive.'' U.S. forensics experts, working in an area about 60 miles north of Pyongyang where hundreds of American servicemen were killed in battles with Chinese troops in October 1950, have recovered 35 sets of remains this year. Among them are nine sets of remains flown out of Pyongyang on Sept. 15 aboard a U.S. Air Force transport plane. Jones accompanied the remains to Hawaii for a repatriation ceremony.

During a three-hour meeting in Pyongyang, Sr. Col. Pak Rim Su told Jones ``there is a threat to this current cooperative environment and to future prospects'' for recovering U.S. servicemen's remains, Jones wrote in a memo Monday to Walter Slocombe, the under secretary of defense for policy.

``A return to normal operations could only occur after the United States resolved the problem of 'anti-American sentiment' among the North Korean populace,'' Jones said Pak told him. Pak said the solution was for the Pentagon to provide the kind of humanitarian assistance North Korea asked for last December.
In the December talks, the North Koreans demanded that the Pentagon pay for construction of a clothing factory large enough to provide shoes and clothing for all children in North Korea. Without such a goodwill gesture, they insisted, ordinary North Koreans would resist cooperation on remains recovery.
Jones told Pak that the clothing factory idea was unrealistic and that any requests for humanitarian assistance would have to be presented to the State Department. In addition to the $2 million in compensation for remains recovery efforts, the United States has given North Korean hundreds of millions of dollars in food aid in recent years, as well as fuel assistance as part of a nuclear agreement.

Pak told Jones that the Pentagon would have to respond on the humanitarian issue by October. Otherwise, talks planned for December to agree on arrangements for remains recovery operations in 2001 will not be successful, Pak said.
Of the approximately 8,100 U.S. servicemen listed as unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, the Pentagon believes that remains of as many as 1,500 may be recoverable from the area that U.S. forensics experts have been working this year. Their final scheduled mission of the year is due to end Nov. 11.

Jones also held talks with Chinese officials in Beijing this month on issues related to accounting for U.S. servicemen. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official disclosed to Jones that crash sites believed to contain the wreckage of two American aircraft from the World War II period had been discovered in Tibet.
No other information about the planes was provided.

30 SEP 00: REMINDER -
DOD/DPMO Family Updates - 21 Oct Pittsburgh, PA

POW-MIA Issue Update October 2000