July 1998

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

00 JUL 98: The 'official' number of unaccounted for personnel in Southeast Asia is 2,087. 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 JUL 98: Just several hours after the official statement by the Defense Department of Michael Blassie's identification, DOD announced another two IDs. They are identified as U.S. Marine Corps Capt. John B. Sherman of Darien, Conn., and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert F. Preiss Jr., of Cornwall, N.Y.

01 JUL 98: As many sometimes do not realize, the POW-MIA issue encompasses not only Vietnan, but those unaccounted-for from ALL wars and hostile engagements. 50 sum-odd years later another answer may be found. On August 10th, 1944, a B-24 Liberator, returning from a bombing run encountered anti-aircraft from nearby hostile forces and was brought down in a remote village in Albania. Six crewmen perished and four were taken POW by the Germans. Two of the casualties were buried by local people and the graves tended for more than 50 years.Accompanied by US search and recovery personnel, the brother of 2nd Lt. John Steel McConnon, one of the crewmmen, never gave up hope that somewhere, out there, his brother may be found. The grave site was discovered and now the remains will make their way to CILHI for identification. Perhaps another family will have an answer.

02 JUL 98: Six sets of remains were turned over to US authorities in Hanoi. The remains were recovered during the 50th Joint Field Recovery in Vietnam and were transported to CIL-HI for identification.

The POW Diaspora: The US-Russia Joint Commission and members of DPMO visited archives in Romania in search of war time materials associated with high-placed Romanians in North Vietnam during the war years. Citing plans for further research associated with Korean War material, government researchers claimed the trip a success. The East European link, which was never weak, is a curious one that traipses through former Soviet satellite states such as Czechoslovakia (see: Sejna, Douglass and Corso), the various oblasts such as Perm and not surprisingly Romania.

03 JUL 98: The Blassie family announced plans to inter their beloved and known Michael.Upon notification Blassie's sister stated, "This is a significant day in our family's search for the truth. We are finally going to bring Michael home." Until the announcement last week identifying Blassie, the family had a simple white marker bearing his name. A traditional grave stone will mark his grave when he is buried on thursday, July 11, at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in ST. Louis. His brother offered a most poignant remembrance, "He was a mentor. He was a hero.He deserves to be known."

04 JUL 98: Vietnam Era mass grave discovered. Found in Quang Tri Province, the grave was believed to hold as many as 20 Vietnamese soldiers and dates to 1968-1970. In addition to remains, the grave is said to contain personal effects and equipment. The remains were exhumed and reinterred in the Cam Lo War Cemetery.

05 JUL 98: The DOD cancelled all other briefings and presented a full-blown event on the announcement of identification of The Unknown and mtDNA. Present were Alan Liotta, LtGEN David Vesely and Ed Huffins who is the chief of mtDNA section of the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory. The entire briefing is available at - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter/inbrief070698.html

07 JUL 98: The Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade held hearings on Senator Bob Smith's S.J. Res 47. The Hearings permitted a number of individuals, including the usual cast of suspects such as John McCain and John Kerry, to place into the official record their statements on the Jackson-Vanik waiver. The waiver, which was granted by President Clinton, has come under attack given the miserable track record of Vietnam in human rights areas, travel and unquestionably, POWs and MIAs. A significant amount of the testimony may be found at - http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter/in070898.html

09 JUL 98: The Department of Defense issued a formal statement on the identification of The Unknown as Michael Blassie. The statement was a follow-up to the earlier announcement of identification and comes as the result of additional experts being asked to view the data and either refute or suppoet it. Although a number of activists have questioned the authenticity of the identification and mtDNA testing overall, the family has accepted the findings and remains

10 JUL 98: In a 14-1 vote, the Senate Finanace Committee showed its support of the Clinton waiver making Vietnam eligible for US taxpayer credits, trade programs and other perks. The action means that the bill to overturn the waiver is reported back to the full Senate and that the body should vote to reject the bill and support the waiver.Your tax dollars at work.

13 JUL 98: From the Killing Fields to Making a Killing. Just as we are hearing that business initiatives in Vietnam aren't nearly as lucrative and rewarding as hoped for, and that Presidential waivers of US Law are required to insure a healthy Hanoi bottom-line, Cambodia is thrust upon us.Unbelievably, one of the most desperately poor, devastated and violent countries is being looked at as the new Asian Tiger, by none other than a Clinton family member.News reports out of Phnom Penh are stating that Tony Rodham, the first-brother-in-law, is currently housed in a curious hotel and looking to do business with none other than Hun Sen. The Hun Sen who waged a bloody coup last year that brought even more misery and suffering upon the Cambodian people... the Hun Sen who had questionable alliances with or at least forgave the horrific war criminal Pol Pot who languished in the jungles after years of genocide. The Hun Sen who is currently running for re-election in a violence marred campaign that indicates more atrocities against opposition workers.

14 JUL 98: In efforts to shore-up the lackluster performance of Vietnam as a business partner and the feared 'Domino Effect' of the Asian financial crisis, Clinton attached the Jackson-Vanik Waiver to ease trade restrictions and allow for a cash influx into the communist nation. Although there has been little opposition in both the Ways and Means and Trade Committees, the battle is spreading to Senate Foreign Relations and getting the attention of the few MOCs who have a conscience.According to AP the slow busine$$ development is the result of official corruption, red tape, and in a surprising quote from former National Security Council bigwig Richard Childress during his testimony on The Hill, 'the road to Vietnam is littered with broken promises.'Apparently big busine$$ is experiencing exactly what POW-MIA families have experienced all these many years. Broken Promises.

15 JUL 98: "Family Member Request: We have been asked by the sister of JOHN N. HUNTLEY, SANDRA (HUNTLEY) GALLANT, to see if there is someone that was with JOHN at the time of the crash of his chopper SEPT 27 1969, in or over LAOS. She would like to speak with anyone who may have known her brother. She was a young girl when Casualty came to speak with her mother and Sandra is unable to remember what was said. If there someone that remembers JOHN HUNTLEY, his sister would like to speak with them. Please get in contact with Michael L. Williams at dragon67@nemaine.com Thank you."
16 JUL 98: Only a year after the untimely loss of Jan Sejna, we are again faced with a substantial loss. LTC Phil Corso, former POW Special Projects Officer under General MacArthur's Far East Command in the Korean War, and in the Eisenhower White House, passed away of a second heart attack in Florida on Thursday 16 July 1998. He was 84. Some of his remarkable testimony concerning unrepatriated live POWs from North Korea may be found at - http://www.aiipowmia.com/corso17.html

17 JUL 98: The CIA has announced that it is delaying the declassification and release of documents pertinent to operations during the 1950s and 1960s. The declassification, mandated by Congress, has'swamped' the CIA.Citing insufficient resources to release all the materials required, the CIA is slated to release documents pertaining to operations in North Korea and Laos in the near future. However, critics claim that the CIA is stonewalling in the process because they want to 'let sleeping dogs lie.'Among 'TOP PRIORITY' materials to be released the CIA lists the fllowing; the assassination of President Kennedy, documents used in the State Department's "Foreign Relations of the United States" series, freedom-of-information requests, POW-MIA issues from Vietnam and previous wars, Gulf War illness, and Nazi gold. There are 250 CIA staffers working on the declassification project.

18 JUL 98: The first of five scheduled 1998 recovery operations in North Korea began in June. Each will last approximately 25 days and the last operation will end in October.

Besides remains-recovery operations, North Korean officials have agreed to a second archival review by U. S. specialists in 1998. Last year, a week-long research effort in the People's Liberation Museum in Pyongyang located documents which may be related to U. S. servicemen. As those documents are correlated to specific individuals, they are being provided by the military services to known Korean War families. The expanded outreach effort is to accomplish several goals. First, family member reference blood samples are needed to compare to mitochondrial DNA sequences from recovered skeletal remains. Second, family members often possess personal or wartime documents that may aid in identifying an unaccounted-for serviceman. Finally, the military services are seeking to keep family members updated on specific recovery operations and if remains are recovered and identified, families will be asked to make decisions regarding the burial of the serviceman. Beyond the Korean War outreach effort, families of Cold War unaccounted-for servicemen are also being sought. Through the work of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, the remains of two American servicemen shot down during the Cold War have been recovered and identified.

Each of the services has established a toll-free number to keep these families fully informed on Korean War and Cold War remains recovery operations. Family members of these servicemen should contact the appropriate service casualty office to provide name, address, and relationship to their loved one.

If the missing serviceman was in the Air Force, the number is (800) 531-5501. The Navy number is (800) 443-9298. The Army number is (800) 892-2490, and the Marine Corps number is (800) 847-1597.

20 Jul 98: We have received a new family update schedule from DPMO. Please mark your calendars accordingly.

1998-29 Aug Denver, CO
1998-26 Sep Memphis, TN
1998-24 Oct Philadelphia, PA
1998-14 Nov Las Vegas, NV
1998-No December Family Update
1999-23 Jan Tucson, AZ
1999-20 Feb Jacksonville, FL
1999-20 Mar Sacramento, CA
1999-17 Apr Hartford, CT
1999-15 May Omaha, NE
1999-June Annual Family Conferences, Washington, DC
1999-25 Jul Detroit, MI
1999-21 Aug Oklahoma City, OK
1999-25 Sep Spokane, WA
1999-16 Oct Birmingham, AL
1999-20 Nov Houston, TX
1999-No December Family Update

21 JUL 98: On Wednesday, 22 July 1998, LTC Phil Corso, USA (retired) will be laid to rest at the Florida National Cemetery at Bushnell, Florida (NW of Orlando) at1230 hours. A military ceremony will be held for family and friends. Any Veterans or POW activists who are close to the Cemetery and can make theceremony, Phil Jr. and his wife Liz will welcome your presence.

22 JUL 98: The remains of three American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from Southeast Asia have been identified. The first two are U.S. Marine Corps Capt. John B. Sherman of Darien, Conn., and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert F. Preiss Jr., of Cornwall, N.Y.

24 JUL 98: In a solemn, twenty-minute ceremony, North Korea turned over to UN Command what may three sets of US remains from the Korean War.The remains were discovered in Pyongan province near the Chinese border and are believed to be those of men from the 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division who were lost in battle in 1952. This brings the total of remains turned over by North Korea, as a result of joint searches, to 5 this year. Another search team is slated to begin work 11th of August.

25 JUL 98: Beginning Monday the 27th, a variety of remembrances are planned for observation of the 45th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice turning the hot war into a cold one.Among activities lanned is the California Remembrance Memorial in recognition of of the 2,495 California veterans who never returned home after the 'Forgotten War.' It will be dedicated the 1st of August at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, CAlifornia. It features 12 vertical panels, the faces etched with the names of those POW, MIA or KIA.

26 JUL 98: Vietnam, a communist country that has kept its prisoners prisoner for countless years has suddenly been reported to be ready to begin granting upwards of 8,000 amnesties.The odd timing comes in the middle of the Jackson-Vanik waiver battle where Vietnam's miserable human rights record has been publicly trashed and many people have stated that unless Vietnam gets with the program the battle will continue. One must wonder of there is a State Department script somewhere in the background giving Vietnam the map to follow to get all the perks of trade credits and MFN.Just days away from a Congressional vote, Vietnam is suddenly reported as finding a conscience and releasing 'model' prisoners who have spent a minimum of 12 years of a life sentence or one-third of their term. Inclusive in the amnesty program would be those suffering ill-health or those who had previously served the revolution.The releases are planned to coincide with the communist country's national holiday on September 2nd. With that in mind it should be noted that no information on political or spiritual prisoners has been made available. Not surprisingly Vietnam claims they have no political prisoners... then again, Vietnam claims it held no POWs either.

27 JUL 98: In a formal statement, the national leaders of the VFW have come out in full support of the Jackson-Vanik waiver. 'Nuff said about the VFW.

28 JUL 98: Another family member request. "The sister of Lt. Cmdr. Donald Vance Davis, whose remains were recently recovered and interred in Arlington National Cemetery on May 19, 1998, would like to communicate with those who may have worn Donald's bracelet or had a license tag for him. Carolyn Davis can be contacted at PO Box 5609, Pinehurst, NC 28374. Thank you."

POW-MIA Issue Update August 1998