May 1998
Summary of news for the entire month.
For recent and daily news, please go to: InterNetwork
00 MAY 98: The 'official' unaccounted for figures are as follows - 2,090 Americans are still missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War: Vietnam - 1,560 (North, 567; South, 993); Laos - 447; Cambodia - 75; the Peoples Republic of China territorial waters - 8. 493 Americans have been accounted-for from the Vietnam War. 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.
02 MAY 98: A former South Korean POW, Yang Soon-yong, who was held as prisoner for 45 years following the end of the Korean Was and escaped last year to South Korea, has rebuked the government of South Korea for its failure "to apologize for having left South Korean POWs held in the North for as long as 45 years..." He returned the 2.02 million won (about $1,430) to the South Korean government because it is the same amount given to North Korean defectors. Yang said approximately 600 South Korean POWs remain alive in North Korea.
05 MAY 98: The remains of three American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from Southeast Asia have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial in the United States. They are identified as Col. Richard K. Allee, of Port Jervis, NY; Col. Gordon L. Page, of Palo Alto, CA; and Capt. Armon D. Shingledecker, of Lima, OH, all U.S. Air Force.
06 MAY 98: Bob Jones was confirmed today as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs (DPMO).
An amendment by Senator Bob Smith requiring full cooperation on POW/MIA matters by the governments of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic before they can be admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) passed the Senate by a vote of 97-0. Smith said in a speech on the Senate floor "As the Senate now considers whether to guarantee putting more American military lives on the line for these republics in the former Eastern Bloc, it is imperative that we get full cooperation from this region to address vital questions about our missing and captured servicemen."
07 MAY 98: The remains of a Vietnam veteran buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns were ordered exhumed today by Defense Secretary William Cohen, one week after a Pentagon panel recommended this action. The decision was made "after weighing the sanctity of the tomb with the need for the fullest possible accounting." "If we can identify the remains now we have an obligation to try"... the families "deserve nothing less."
Yang-Soon-Yong, a 72-year-old former POW, who recently escaped from North Korea has said that an additional 50 to 60 POWs were still being held in remote coal mines or collective farms. " The number has been compiled and confirmed through sources including two recent escapees who were Republic of Korea soldiers taken to the North. The Seoul government will push for repatriation in the second round of peace talks.
12 MAY 98: Scientists announce they will compile a physical profile and use a cutting-edge form of mtDNA testing in an attempt to identify the Vietnam veteran buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Even with a positive mtDNA match, the identity cannot be absolutely determined. MtDNA is not unique to every individual. They will look at the totality of evidence and not just one piece. The scientists expect that the mtDNA tests and anthropological profile will be effective in differentiating among the nine possible victims. The mtDNA testing is expected to take about 20 working days.
14 MAY 98: The Vietnam Unknown was carried by pallbearers, representing each of the services, to a waiting hearse for transportation to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Defense Secretary William Cohen said "we disturb this hallowed ground with profound reluctance. If advances in technology can ease the lingering anguish of even one family, then our path is clear. And so we yield today to the promise of science with the hope that the heavy burden of doubt may be lifted from a family's heart."
15 MAY 98: The Air Force announced that the remains of one previously unaccounted-for from Southeast Asia has been identified and will be returned to his family for burial in the United States. He is identified as U.S. Navy Cmdr. Donald V. Davis of Slaisbury, NC. A MIA repatriation ceremony at the Travis Air Force Base flightline was held to honor the return of Cmdr. Davis.
A 10-member Iranian group has been allowed to enter southern Iraq to search for the remains of Iranian soldiers killed in the 1980-88 war. The two sides will hold final talks in Baghdad in the future to conclude the issues of POWs and MIAs.
16 MAY 98: Today, Armed Forces Day is the first day authorized under Public Law 105-85, Section 1082, for the POW/MIA Flag to be flown at U.S. Post Offices and other federal facilities.
U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson will marry Saigon-born Australian diplomat Vi Le. Peterson has said many times that he has forgiven his captors, but his wedding is being viewed by many Vietnamese as the ultimate sign of reconciliation.
17 MAY 98: According to United Nations Command officials, North Korea has reneged on a two-year-old promise to repatriate the remains of what are believed to be two American soldiers killed in action in the Korean War. DoD currently has teams conducting joint recovery operations and archival research.
19 MAY 98: DPMO announces National POW/MIA Recognition Day for 1998 is designated as September 18, 1998 as the date of observance.
20 MAY 98: The U.S. Ambassador William H. Itoh paid tribute to American prisoners of war who were tortured, starved and killed by Japanese soldiers during the building of a bridge on the River Kwai. Itoh laid a wreath at a memorial that honors the 668 U.S. servicemen - 36 of whom perished - who were forced to construct a rail line through the rugged, disease-ridden jungle between Thailand and Burma in World War II.
Joint operations have begun in Laos. JTF-FA plans to excavate up to nine sites. This is the 38th joint field activity. The U.S. team consists of 43 specialists let by Lt. Col. James Ransick, commander of JTF-FA's Detachment 3 in Vientiane.
Interviewers from DPMO's Moscow office, have interviewed former Japanese POWs living in Russia, seeking information about possible American POWs. Follow-on interviews with other Japanese POWs are scheduled for later this month.
22 MAY 98: U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson marries Vi Le, a Saigon-born Vietnamese Australian commercial officer for the Australian Embassy.
Robert L. Jones has assumed the office of deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs.
23 MAY 98: A U.S. archival research team has entered North Korea to begin its work in the military museum in Pyongyang.
25 MAY 98: "We tend to think only in terms of what war has cost us, but by comparison, to what it has cost so many people, our price pales."- Lt. Col. William Nolde - Last man to die in Vietnam - Written in his last letter home from An Loc.
Taps
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lakes, from the hills,
From the skies,
All is well, safely rest.
God is nigh.
Thanks and praise, for our days,
Near the sun, neath the stars,
Neath the Sky.
As we go this we know,
God is nigh.
President Clinton celebrated Memorial Day with a traditional observance, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Speaking at the memorial service in Arlington National Cemetery's amphitheater, Clinton said "... we must always remember that that stone represents the many unknown soldiers still in Vietnam and Korea, in other theaters where Americans lie far away from home, missing in action, still with us in spirit."
26 MAY 98: The remains of six U.S. WW II flyers lost 50 miles from Whidbey Island, midway between Seattle and the Canadian border have been identified. The remains were found by a hiker in 1994.
While Queen Elizabeth prepared a lavish welcome, the anger of British veterans and civilians brutally treated by Japanese soldiers in World War II threatened to overshadow a state visit by Japan's Emperor Akihito.
29 MAY 98: The Department of Defense announced the identification of Capt. Harold Hellbach, USMC, of New Orleans, LA. The accounting of Capt. Hellbach brings the number of Americans still unaccounted-for to 2,089.
REMINDER - June 18-20, 1998 US Government Briefings - Washington, DC
REMINDER - June 17-20, 1998 League 29th Annual Meeting - Washington, DC
POW-MIA Issue Update June 1998