September 2002

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

September 30, 2002 KW - CW - Family Members Return From North Korea
A delegation of four veterans and family members of MIAs returned last week from North Korea where they observed the recovery of the remains of American soldiers missing from the Korean War.

September 30, 2002 PGW - Experts Urged to Probe Speicher Case
Weapons inspection teams dispatched to Iraq should include an expert who can investigate what happened to a Jacksonville Navy pilot shot down in the Persian Gulf War 11 years ago, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson says.

September 30, 2002 'Dead/Captured' Soldier Returns After 10 Years
S.H. Gunawardana's family held a funeral for him while he languished as a Tamil Tiger prisoner in Sri Lanka's ethnic war. Told the soldier had been killed in fighting in November 1993, Gunawardana's family was given an urn containing ashes and held a funeral ceremony before finding out three months later that he had been captured by the Tigers.

September 29, 2002 WW II - Ex-POW Discussion in Iowa
"You'll never know until you start reading the oral histories what American POWs went through. For four months, we were given a bowl of soup this big," Olinger said, cupping his two hands together, "and there was not much in it."

September 29, 2002 Missing Personnel Office Members in NY
A strange set of circumstances led to three Air Force personnel officials ringing the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 20 to mark National Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Day.

September 29, 2002 WW II - Remains Recovered in Himilayas
After six decades on a lonely Himalayan mountainside, the remains of four World War II American fliers were on their way home Monday, retrieved by a joint U.S.-China search team from the wreckage of a downed cargo plane in eastern Tibet.

September 28, 2002 Heroes Honored
Sept. 20 is National Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Recognition Day, which has traditionally been observed annually on the third Friday in September.

September 28, 2002 SEA - Exhibit Honors POWs
They are pictured cooking, laughing, seated with their pets, standing with their wives. The photographs of 30 former Vietnam war POWs portray a comforting normalcy, though their common history is anything but. Most hold no anger or bitterness.

September 27, 2002 SEA - Ex-POWs Share Survival Stories
Joe Kusarik cannot recall his age, but the memories of his internment at a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II bring tears to his eyes. ''It was very bad,'' he said, speaking slowly so his slurred words could be understood. ``I was hungry most of the time.''

September 27, 2002 JTF-FA News Release
The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory and Joint Task Force ­Full Accounting will perform a retreat ceremony Friday, Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m., at the USS Arizona Memorial in honor and recognition of the prisoners of war and those missing in action from previous wars.

September 26, 2002 WW II - Testimony of Japan Slave Camp Abuse
As a prisoner of war in Japan, Lester Tenney said he endured 12 hours a day of backbreaking work shoveling coal in a mine, frequent beatings, medical neglect and malnutrition.

September 26, 2002 SEA - Looking For Loved Ones
But nearly 30 years after her husband was killed in battle with U.S. soldiers, Ms. Gai has new hope of burying him in his native village. Like thousands of other Vietnamese, she has turned to a psychic grave-finding service to locate the remains of a loved one who went missing in action during the country's decades-long war.

September 26, 2002 KW - CW - Remains Found in North Korea
Eight sets of remains believed to be from U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War began their journey back to the United States Tuesday, the Pentagon announced.

September 26, 2002 PGW - Speicher Honored
The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to honor missing Navy pilot Scott Speicher in a ceremony Sunday before they host the New York Jets. The ceremony will include a 90-second video on Jacksonville native Speicher, which feature the missing pilot's student years at Forrest High School and Florida State University, his assignment to Cecil Field and his deployment to the Gulf War.

September 26, 2002 Joint Purpose in Personnel Recovery
A heightened pace of military operations and the nature of the threats confronting U.S. troops call for improvements in personnel rescue techniques and equipment, said officials.

September 26, 2002 WW II - Same War, Another Battle
"All I'm seeking is justice, and I would like the courts of our great country to make the decision," said Tenney, who testified before a House subcommittee Wednesday in support of legislation that would allow the veterans to pursue claims for compensation and formal apologies in state or federal courts. "I want (the companies) to say, 'We are sorry for what we did.'"

September 25, 2002 WW II - Twin Brothers, Both Captured
Both Diefemthaler and his twin brother were captured by the Germans, and spent time in POW camps. Diefemthaler¹s brother, Wilbur, was just 20 minutes older than Willard. He died in cell 9B at the age of 22 and is buried in France.

September 25, 2002 POW-MIA Flag Designer Remembers
As a World War II pilot, Newton Heisley covered vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean in frightening isolation. During those trips, he sometimes found himself imagining what it would be like to be shot down and taken prisoner.

September 25, 2002 POW-MIA Memorial Dedicated in Europe

September 25, 2002 Fort Bliss Honors Missing
"Their stories of courage under fire and survival against all odds serve as a constant reminder that freedom does indeed come with a price," Fort Bliss Commander Maj. Gen. Stanley Green said. "This ceremony serves to ensure proper place in history for their sacrifices."

September 25, 2002 JTF-FA News Release
The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory and Joint Task Force ­Full Accounting will perform a retreat ceremony Friday, Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m., at the USS Arizona Memorial in honor and recognition of the prisoners of war and those missing in action from previous wars.

September 24, 2002 KW - CW - 8 Korean War Remains Recovered
Remains believed to be those of eight American soldiers missing in action from the Korean War were repatriated in formal ceremonies today in Korea.

September 24, 2002 WW II - POW Rail Car Stirs Up Memories
Former prisoners-of-war gathered Friday at a museum ceremony to dedicate a French rail car of the kind that transported them to German prison camps during World War.

September 24, 2002 Ceremony & Flyover
Obie Wickersham can visualize the small mud huts and armed Chinese guards who loomed around him at the Wee-Won prisoner of war camp in North Korea. For 21/2 years during the Korean War, Wickersham and other American GIs struggled against despair in the POW camp. It was a struggle many GI's lost, he said.

September 23, 2002 PGW - Only MIA of Iraq?
The Jacksonville family of the only American still listed as missing in action from the Persian Gulf War believes they finally might be able to determine whether Navy Lt. Cmdr. Scott Speicher is dead or alive. A meeting with an unidentified Iraqi official who family representatives believe is in a position to know Speicher's fate is a good possibility.

September 23, 2002 SEA - NLF Update Line
Family Update

September 23, 2002 A Community Remembers
With heads bowed and hands on hearts, hundreds of San Antonians gathered together today at ceremonies across town to mark National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Each year there are observances to pay respect for the thousands of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

September 22, 2002 POW-MIA Day More Perspectives
There are many lessons to be learned by those who have the opportunity to serve this nation in wartime. Lessons of strength and courage are embodied in servicemen who have served as prisoners of war. Just a generation ago, years of severe torture and interrogation was the common practice against American prisoners in Southeast Asia. Their stories show humanity in its most cruel form, yet they also demonstrate humankind's great ability to withstand evil and uphold dignity and honor for the good of their nation.

September 22, 2002 AFB Holds 24 Hour Vigil
Goodfellow Air Force Base personnel began a 24-hour vigil on Thursday to honor all MIA/POWs and Medal of Honor recipients.

September 22, 2002 SEA - Sam Johnson Remembers
About 10 days after being shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese in April 1966, Sam Johnson's captors blindfolded him, put him on trial, accused him of being a criminal and sentenced him to death. They marched him out into the woods and put him in front of a five-man firing squad. As he prayed harder than he ever had before in his life, Johnson said, the North Vietnamese officer told the firing squad to shoot.

September 22, 2002 POW-MIA Day Around the Nation
The United States on Friday paid somber annual tribute to its former prisoners of war and more than 92,000 troops unaccounted for in conflict as the Bush administration pressed Congress to support a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq.

September 22, 2002 POW-MIA Day Perspectives
Only one flag other than Old Glory is flown over the White House. Once a year, the POW/MIA flag flies over the White House in honor of servicemembers who were imprisoned and of those who are still missing.

September 21, 2002 Students Recognize Solemn Day
If you happened by Sheppard Elementary School Friday, you would have seen an unusual sight -- school kids standing watch under a flag. The flag is the POW/MIA flag, and this was the students' way of recognizing national POW/MIA Recognition Day.

September 21, 2002 A Salute to Sacrifice
With heads bowed and hands on hearts, hundreds of San Antonians gathered Friday at ceremonies across town to observe National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Each year remembrances pay respect to the thousands of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

September 21, 2002 A Day of Recommitment
For many Americans, "service to their country" meant years spent in musty cells, it meant unspeakable torture and, for far too many, it meant a violent, though nearly anonymous, death. These are the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines whose fate in war led them to be prisoners of war or whose status after the smoke of battle cleared was listed simply as "missing in action." Today, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, is set aside to honor those whose status we just don't know.

September 21, 2002 Ceremony in Vancouver
  The Vancouver event, celebrated the day after National POW/MIA Recognition Day, will be the public debut of a new organization, the year-old Southwest Washington Veterans Memorial Museum.

September 21, 2002 Leave No One Behind
It is a matter of honor to the U.S. military that it will leave no one behind. Today was the National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and this sentiment was clearly front and center at the Pentagon observance.

September 21, 2002 PGW - 3 MIAs from Gulf War says Bush
3 MIAs from Persian Gulf... Bush Said It... "More than 8,100 from the Korean War are missing, more than 120 from the Cold War, more than 1,900 from the Vietnam War, and three from the Gulf War. These Americans, who dedicated their lives to preserving and protecting our freedoms, will never be forgotten. "

September 20, 2002 National POW-MIA Recognition Day

September 20, 2002 National POW-MIA Recognition Day Proclamation
Throughout American history, many men and women have bravely served in our military and sacrificed much to preserve our country and protect the democratic ideals that make our Nation a beacon of hope. Some of those who answered the call to service were captured in conflict and imprisoned by our enemies; and many remain missing in action.

September 20, 2002 National POW-MIA Recognition Day Pentagon Program
Observances of National POW/MIA Recognition Day are held across the country on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools and veterans' facilities. This observance is one of six days throughout the year that Congress has mandated the flying of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag.

September 19, 2002 Dod - John to Keynote
On Friday, September 20th, U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) will address the Pentagon's ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the River Parade Field at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is hosting the event.

September 19, 2002 National POW-MIA Recognition Day Poster
So many people are asking for this year's POW/MIA Recognition Day poster that the fastest, easiest -- perhaps only -- way to get is to download it, according to Larry Greer, spokesman for the POW/Missing Personnel Office.

September 18, 2002 National POW-MIA Recognition Day Pentagon Schedule
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will host Friday's Pentagon ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the River Parade Field at 2:00 p.m. Guest speaker will be Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Tex), a veteran of the Korean War and a former POW from the Vietnam War.

September 17, 2002 9.11 - Remarks at Committal Service for 9.11 Unidntified
And so, today, we honor the 184 patriots who died at the Pentagon last September 11th. We remember, with special love, the five whose remains were not recovered, and their families and friends who were denied the peace that comes with placing loved ones in their final place of rest. This day these five join the unknown of wars past, even as we pursue the war that is still unfolding. Known and unknown, those resting here were bound in brotherhood by their heritage.

September 16, 2002 WW II - DoD - WW II MIAs in Burma
A Department of Defense delegation has concluded a visit to Rangoon, Burma, where it laid the framework for operations to recover the remains of WWII American servicemen whose aircraft crashed in Burma while flying missions against the Japanese.

September 16, 2002 POW-MIA Remembrance Day Ceremony
American flags flew outside the Centralia Community Church of God Saturday and toe-tapping patriotic music, courtesy of the133rd Army Band, greeted those attending the Veterans Memorial Museum's fourth annual POW/MIA Remembrance Day.

September 16, 2002 WW II - Myanamar Agrees to Crew Searches
Myanmar, the South Asian nation also known as Burma, has agreed to permit a U.S. military team to explore four sites believed to contain the wreckage of U.S. military planes that crashed during China-Burma-India supply missions nearly half a century ago, officials said Monday.

September 15, 2002 WW II - Ex-POW Receives Belated Purple Heart
Former Modesto resident Robert Heer has received a Purple Heart medal stemming from his military service in World War II. Heer, who now lives in Sequim, Wash., received the honor under a 1996 federal law extending the Purple Heart to service members who were killed or injured while prisoners of war.

September 15, 2002 PGW - Senator Says Speicher Is Alive
The Senate recommended earlier this year that Speicher's rank be raised to captain. President Bush, in his speech about Iraq to the U.N. on Thursday, also referred to the possibility of Speicher being alive, although not by name.

September 15, 2002 KW - CW - Korean War MIAs Remembered
Fifty years ago Eva Bernice Dunham felt the same tragedy and horror as the surviving families of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks victims of a year ago. Dunham and her parents were notified by telegram that communist Chinese forces along the Yalu River had captured Dunham's brother, Army Pfc. Charles Henry Lord Jr, who fought with the 1st Calvary Division during the Battle of Unsan. Lord died in POW Camp 5 in North Korea on July 22, 1951. His remains are still missing.

September 14, 2002 POW-MIA Vigil
Shots fire out, and Texas Tech ROTC cadets lower flags to honor the service men and women who are either missing in action or prisoner's of war.  Guest speaker Air Force Colonel Michael Moeller says those heroes will always be remembered.

September 14, 2002 1812 - 188th Anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner
Key's vessel (name unknown) was 8 miles below the fort during the bombardment, under the watchful care of a British warship. It was from this site that he witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry, after which he was inspired to write the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

September 14, 2002 1812 - Mass Grave of Napoleonic Troops Discovered
The skeletal remains of 100 more soldiers from Napoleon's ill-fated army that invaded Russia in 1812 have been uncovered at a site in Lithuania, archaeologists said.

September 14, 2002 KW - CW - Phony POW Goes to Prison, Fined 1/2 Million
From February 1986 through the end of 2001, Daily received compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs and its predecessor, the Veterans Administration, based on an application he filed listing an injury and claiming POW status, according to the Justice Department. Benefits included $324,911 in payments wired to his bank and $87,928 in medical care for his claimed service-related disabilities. When Daily pleaded guilty in March, he admitted in court that he falsely claimed he was a first lieutenant, a Korean prisoner of war and was wounded by shrapnel.

September 13, 2002 Families of the Missing
My assignment was to develop and implement an intervention for the families of the missing and to train New York therapists to work with this unique kind of loss. We were to aid families of the non-uniformed workers, those who serviced the twin towers, plus those who worked in the restaurant, Windows on the World ‹ mostly immigrant workers with low incomes and large families.

September 13, 2002 PGW - Bush Cites Speicher in UN Speech
In a speech to the United Nations yesterday, President Bush, for the first time, used the fate of Jacksonville-based pilot Scott Speicher as part of his argument for action in Iraq.

September 13, 2002 Unidentified 9.11 Victims Buried at Arlington
With hymns, Scripture readings and speeches from military leaders, relatives and friends paid their respects Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery to the 184 victims of last year's terrorist attack on the Pentagon, including five whose remains were not found.

September 12, 2002 DPMO Family Update Reminder, NYC 9.21.02

September 12, 2002 9.11 - Pentagon Unknowns to be Commited at Arlington
ecretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will speak at a funeral service for the unidentified victims of the attack on the Pentagon at 9 a.m., Sept. 12, at Arlington National Cemetery.

September 11, 2002 We Will Never Forget

September 10, 2002 All Kinds of Heroes
The committee of veterans and other patriotic citizens hired local artist Robert Stotts to sculpt the statue of a soldier and a German shepherd to be cast in bronze. The memorial will honor the 4,000 dogs that served as sentries and scouts during the Vietnam War.

September 10, 2002 NAF Nits 'N' Pieces
Summary of News

September 09, 2002 WW II - Ex-POW Passes
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Arlington Mortuary in Riverside for Edwin Francis Lindros of Arcadia, who spent more than three years as a prisoner of war in World War II.

September 08, 2002 Veterans Monument Exceeds Expectations

September 07, 2002 WW II - POW Boxcar Awaits Restoration
Shipped across the Atlantic by freighter, the boxcars arrived in the U.S. in February 1949 ‹ repaired, freshly painted and decorated with the coats of arms of the 40 provinces of France. The railroad cars were filled with 250 tons of gifts that ranged from toys, children¹s drawings and ashtrays to rare paintings, a Louis XV carriage, silk wedding dresses and a church bell. Just a few years before, Allied soldiers arriving in France were packed into the boxcars and sent into Germany to fight the Nazi forces.

September 06, 2002 PGW - No One Left Behind
But hours later and thousands of miles away at the Pentagon, then-Defense Secretary (and now Vice President) Dick Cheney and then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell said he was dead. Of course, no one had looked for him, and no one would ‹ not for years. Now, it seems, he may have been alive all along - and a prisoner of Saddam Hussein.

September 05, 2002 Event Announcement
There will be speeches, a "walk of honor" by ex-POWs and family members of MIAs and a performance by the 133rd Army Band. The museum has also commissioned a medallion to be awarded to POWs and the family representatives of MIAs.

September 04, 2002 KW - CW - Korean War Reunion

September 04, 2002 SEA - 32 Years Later, Coming Home
MIA ceremony marks sergeant's return POW group to honor servicemen, recovery of man after 32 years.

September 03, 2002 SEA - DNA & Identification
Nearly 2,500 U.S. service members were listed as MIA/POW at the end of the Vietnam War. In its commitment to bringing home and identifying all lost soldiers, the Army has pioneered the use of a DNA technology that has quietly changed the scope of forensic science.

September 02, 2002 POW Memorial

September 01, 2002 SEA - Museum Show Features POW Histories
Kiland said the idea for the exhibit came while she worked on Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2000. "I knew there must be stories on how they (POWs) rebuilt their lives," Kiland said.

POW-MIA Issue Update October 2002