October 1996
Summary of news for the entire month.
For recent and daily news, please go to: InterNetwork
01 OCT 96: Writing in the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES - 'We Had Little Choice But To Abandon POWs', Neil Steinberg states: "And if our prisoners were left there, we probably can do little more now than we could do 43 years ago - say a prayer and remember them." This school of thought, which justifies moral defeatism and abandonment and permits the disgarding of American citizens who were asked to serve their Country's foreign policy pursuits in the Korean War MUST NOT be allowed to stand. It was repeated in Vietnam, where our American prisoners were shipped to Czechoslovakia under Soviet control for use "as bodies for training military doctors in field medicine--for example treating serious wounds and conducting amputations. The POWs were used to test the effects of chemical and biological warfare agents and to test the effects of atomic radiation. The Soviets also used the American GIs to test the physiological and psychological endurance of American soldiers. They were also used to test various mind control drugs." Mr. Steinberg, we reject your thinking and tell you that the sacrifices of these men and those who have been captured or are missing today are worth more than a prayer and a remembrance. WE OWE THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES THE TRUTH. But, then again, we thought that was the obligation of the Press. Guess we were wrong.
04 OCT 96: The POW/MIA PROTECTION ACT, H.R. 4000, is dead. After having passed the House in a unanimous 404-0 vote, it was sent to the Senate as a Suspension Bill on September 27. The only way that this bill could be called up for consideration would be by unanimous consent. Keeping in mind past votes on anything pertaining to POW/MIA or Vietnam in the Senate, it is clear that unanimous consent is impossible due to opposition within the Senate. We now have to wait for the 105th Congress to convene. With this, TIME, our silent and ever-present adversary, is running in the background.
07 OCT 96: In an editorial in the Journal of American Medical Association entitled -- COMPROMISE, COMPLICITY, AND TORTURE-- the following is noted: "Pilots who were POWs had no greater rates of PTSD than pilots who were not POWs . . . this unexpected finding could reflect the older age and higher education of the POW pilots, since these two demographic factors have been found to provide some protection against PTSD in other studies. By the same token, non-POW pilots experienced more losses and more traumatic experiences over a limited time period during the Vietnam War than many face in a lifetime."
09 OCT 96: Dornan amendment assuring Fairness in Compensation to Vietnamese Commandos was signed into law as part of the Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 104-208), provides compensation for the "southern" commandos of OPLAN-35 who, while working under contract with the United States, were captured in Laos and North Vietnam between 1967-73. Those who were imprisoned for more than 20 years will receive additional compensation.
14 OCT 96: U.S. News & World Report reveals that a House subcommittee investigating the fate of missing American POWs is investigating the fate of four Soviet pilots aboard an American plane, a PBY Catalina, that crashed in North Carolina on Jan. 11, 1945, 51 years ago. The death certificates contained only the word "removal" in the space listing what was done with the bodies. Russian sources insist that the remains were never returned.
15 OCT 96: The Defense POW/MP Weekly Update reports that the remains of an American soldier who died in combat during the Korean War has been identified and returned to his family. This was the first joint operation with North Korea and the result of months of negotiations begining in January 1996. U.S. and Chinese technical representatives began their third joint investigation in search of information on three of the eight Americans unaccounted-for in China. The name of the Defense POW/MIA Office has been changed to the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. The abbreviation "DPMO" will remain the same. The name change reflects the increased responsibilities of the organization as a result of legislation.
In a letter sent by Sen. John McCain, we are offered several justififications for the amendment which he introduced to change the Missing Persons Act of 1996. Sen. McCain states: "You should know that in offering my amendment, I did nothing that was not requested by our military leadership." Continuing, McCain says that "From the time the amendment passed in committtee . . . I worked very closely with him (Sen. Smith) to develop a compromise which would reconcile his concerns, the concerns of POW/MIA families, and the concerns of our military leadership. Senator Smith and I agreed to preserve several elements of last year's act: the review of Korean War, Cold War, and Vietnam War cases, counsel for the missing, and judicial review. These were the provisions which concerned Sen. Smith, and I am pleased we could reach an accommodation. The McCain-Smith compromise was endoresed by the NLF."
18 OCT 96: In a letter received from DPMO, the following explanation pertaining to the Blood Chit Program is offered: "Consistent with the DPMO policy relative to the payment of blood chits prepared in June of 1995, DoD views resolution of the POW-MIA issue as a humanitarian endeavor. As such, it is DoD's policy not to reward an individual or group for recovery and return of remains or simply for information relating to unaccounted for individuals. In reference to the DoD "blood chits" program, compensation will be provided to anyone providing assistance to the bearer and/or helping the bearer of a blood chit to return to friendly control. Validated payments on a chit are not considered ransom. U.S. policy has always been never to pay ransom for hostages or prisoners.
21 OCT 96: In an INSIGHT special report by R. Cort Kirkwood, we read of the transfer of American soldiers from the Korean and Vietnam Wars to the Soviet Union. "The only difference is the operation in Vietnam was better planned and more American POWS were used." In documents released by the subcommittee, we read: ". . . that President Eisenhower may not have pursued peace talks with Korea if he had known 900 Americans had not been returned during 'Operation Big Switch.' According to a memo dated Dec. 22, 1953, which details a conversation between Army Sec. Robert Stevens and Ike, "The president made the statement that he was not sure that if he had fully appreciated the situation he would have considered it wise to go into the forthcoming conference. Perhaps we should have insisted on their return as a precondition to the conference."
Speaking on the demise of H.R. 4000, Rep. Owen Pickett (D-VA) who is the ranking minority member of the military personnel subcommittee, has sat through nine hearings on missing persons and POW investigations over the past two years. He said he thinks the government needs to be pressed for better accounting. "It is clear from hearings held so far that the U.S. government has not exerted the kind of focused and consistent effort that could be expected to fully account for these men. It is past time that the U.S. government put this issue to rest by adopting and implementing an honorable and responsible program."
23 OCT 96: The Defense POW/MP Weekly Update announces that Gen. Wold has set Nov. 4-16 for visits by his delegation to Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia. While in Cambodia the delegation will attend a memorial service for American servicemen killed in action at Koh Tang. Two analysts and a senior policy officer from DPMO met with Vietnamese officials Oct. 16-18 to conduct a remains recovery and storage study. Three DPMO officials interview Korean War ex-Pows in an attempt to learn more details of POW and enemy activities at Camp Two. Analysts have assembled increasingly detailed information to help account for MIAs from the Korean War.
24 OCT 96: Congressmen Dornan, Solomon and Stump have called for a congressional investigation into the influence that the Asian-based Lippo Group has had on the White House with regard to U.S. policy, especially, with regard to the normalization of relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. A former Lippo Group executive, John Huang, was appointed to a prominent position in Clinton's Commerce Dept., and after receiving large campaign donations, the President issued directives leading to the full normalization of relations with Vietnam (Executive Order #13002 and Presidential Determination #96-28). "Thus far our preliminary findings have revealed evidence which indicates that over a period of years, the Lippo Group bought the ear of the President with enormous campaign donations in order to influence trade policy for their financial benefit," said Dornan. "They have made a fortune by pushing normalization of economic ties and political relations with Vietnam." "His opening of relations benefited those foreign investors who, provided inside information, were ready to invest in the fertile market and slave labor of Vietnam. They've sold out the people of Vietnam, the sacrifices of America's veterans, and the POW/MIA's for their own financial gain--it's nothing more than blood money."
28 OCT 96: In THE NEW AMERICAN, America's POW Secrets Exposed, William Hoar writes: "The truth is that much of the evidence just now seeping out has been known for decades; the U.S. government had it available and sat on it, preferring to provide a shield for the communists and blinders for the public. As far back as 1953, retired Lt. Gen. James Van Fleet, who had commanded the U.S. 8th Army in Korea was quoted in the New York Times as saying that "a large percentage of the 8,000 American soldiers listed as missing in action are still alive." Van Fleet was not alone in this assessment. Gen. Mark Clark, former U.S. commander in Korea, upon his sudden resignation from the Army in 1953, accussed the communists of hiding several thousand American servicemen after the prisoner switches supposedly had been completed."
30 OCT 96: The remains of nine U.S. servicemen who were previously unaccounted for after the Vietnam War will be returned to their families for burial.
POW-MIA Issue Update November 1996