For most people, the words POW-MIA bring to mind visions of military men in flight suits and jungle fatigues, walking the gauntlet of their armed captors. However, the issue of Prisoners and Missing encompasses many civilians as well. Throughout the Second Indochina War, and the years that followed, countless civilians were lost during this brutal 16 year war. Journalists, advisors, construction and engineering specialists, missionaries, health care providers, intelligence agency personnel... and those aboard the Glomar Java Sea. The Glomar Java Sea was a 5,930 ton oil drilling vessel, over 400 feet long and moored just southeast of Hainan Island, in the South China Sea. It left the United States in September 1982 and was in service by January of the following year. The GJS was owned by Global Marine Drilling Co., a subsidiary of Global Marine of Houston, Inc., and was leased by the Atlantic Richfield Company {ARCO}. With a drilling capacity of 5 miles, it operated along with a fleet of 31 vessels in a 3,500 square mile radius under China Nanhai Western Petroleum Corporation. On October 25, 1983, Typhoon Lex struck the deep waters of the South China Sea... home to the Glomar Java Sea, and with those very first gusts, blew the ship into historical oblivion. There was no further contact with the doomed vessel or its 81 crew members.

This section offers a short chronology of the Glomar Java Sea loss incident, a list of the missing crewmen and the full 125 page NTSB Marine Casualty Report. The reason for this section? Through the years a surprising number of Glomar Java Sea alumni have written to express their feelings and experiences while serving on what most have come to believe was a 'bad luck ship.' For brevity and ease of use, each page in the report is indicated with a caption of contents. A Brief Chronology: October 25, 1983: Typhoon Lex strikes South China Sea. The Glomar Java Sea in it's last communication stated it was listing 15 degrees starboard. October 28, 1983: SAR of area includes 11 Chinese Naval vessels, US Naval Aircraft, Commercial ships and at least 2 North Vietnamese vessels. Reports out of Peking state: a lifeboat was seen along with visual signals, radio signals and a raft. October 30, 1983: Rescuers spot, but do not recover, 2 or 3 survivors. October 30, 1983: Continued SAR of Gulf of Tonkin by US, Chinese and Vietnamese aircraft and ships seeking survivors. Sea is extremely rough. November 1, 1983: The Western Pacific Search and Rescue Center identifies wreckage 300 feet below water surface. Vietnam, after refusing to allow SAR by any other nations in their territorial waters, sends 3 ships into area. November 10, 1983: Gary L. Kott, president of Global Marine Drilling Co., states, "Some of the 80 crewmen... got off the vessel safely before it sank and are now in Vietnam." Both 60 man life boats were "properly launched" and Vietnam informed Global that thye {the Vietnamese} "promised to search the area and return any live crewmen found there." June 1984: Coast Guard Board of Inquiry convened. Both public and private hearings are held. Douglas Pierce, father of one of the missing crewmen, told the USCG panel that his son and 15 other US men were seen in Vietnamese prison camps. Hanoi denies this. 20 US families sue Global. June 15th, the Cohen-Mitchell Resolution passes. November 15, 1984: The National Transportation Safety Board announces that a combination of an unexplained crack and the ships tight moorings, resulted in the flooding and capsizing of the Glomar Java Sea. Of the 81 crewmembers aboard, 35 sets of remains are recovered, with 46 men unaccounted for. November 20, 1985: Global Marine offers and families accept a financial settlement. The total pay out is 51 million dollars, with 38.5 million paid by Global and the balance by ARCO. As a result of information that men from the Glomar Java Sea loss were being held in Vietnam, some families continued to fight for information and intelligence that will shed some light on this mystery. Nigel Cawthorne's 'The Bamboo Cage' discusses sightings of crewmembers post-loss. As a result of information that men from the Glomar Java Sea loss were being held in Vietnam, some families continue to fight for information and intelligence that will shed some light on this mystery. Of the 81 crewmembers, 37 were US citizens, 4 from the United Kingdom, 1 Australian, 1 Canadian, 1 Philippine, 2 Singaporean and the remainder, 35, were from China. Of the crew, the following is a list of the men and their status as reported by the Marine Board of Investigation Report and Family Members. I am deeply indebted to the Family Members who have written to update status, events and other issues regading the GJS. ARMS, Herman : Missing - USA BATTISTE, Jerald : Deceased - USA BRACY, Sebe: Missing - USA CATES, Patrick: Missing - USA CLIFTON, David: Deceased - USA CUSICK, James: Missing - USA DIXON, Thomas: Missing - USA FLANAGAN, Jerald: Missing - USA FURNESS, Nigel: Missing - UK GANZINOTTI, Leonard: Deceased - USA GILMORE, LaJuan: Deceased - USA GITTINGS, Henry: Deceased - USA GITTINGS, James: Missing - USA GREEN, Terrance: Deceased - UK HIGGINS, David: Deceased - USA HIGGINS, Tyronne: Deceased - USA JARVIS, Timothy: Remains Recovered MAR 84 - UK JENNINGS, John Jr.: Deceased - USA KOFAHL, Thomas: Missing - USA LAWRENCE, John: Missing - USA LOOKE, Gary: Missing - AUSTRALIA MANFRIDA, Jerry: Deceased - USA McCURRY, Robert: Deceased - USA MILLER, Raymond: Deceased - USA MYERS, Kenneth: Missing - USA MYERS, Larry: Missing - USA OUELLETT, Donald: Deceased - USA PIERCE, John: Missing - USA POPEIL, Peter: Missing - USA REED, Clarence: Missing - USA REYNOLDS, E.J. Russell: Deceased - USA REYNOLDS, Jewell: Missing - USA ROBINSON, Walter: Missing - USA ROGERS, Kenneth: Deceased - USA SALZWEDEL, Lawrence: Missing - USA SHOFF, Richard: Missing - USA SCHUG, William: Missing - USA SLEEMAN, James Christopher: Deceased - UK SPENCER, Delmar: Missing - USA SULLIVAN, George: Missing - CANADIAN SWANSON, Gustaf: Missing - USA THOMAS, Michael: Deceased - USA SWANSON, Kevin: Deceased - USA Edgar Saplad Kim: Deceased - PHILIPPINES Jacob Chong Kim Joo: Deceased - SINGAPORE Tommy Lee Tong Leng: Missing - SINGAPORE Chen Wei: Deceased - PRC Chen Xiong: Missing - PRC Cheng She Guo: Missing - PRC Feng Shao Jian: Deceased - PRC Guan Jun Tian: Deceased - PRC Huang Hong Xi: Missing - PRC Huang Rui Wen: Missing - PRC Huang Tong Cai: Missing - PRC Huang Yong Liang: Missing - PRC Kong Fang Xiang: Missing - PRC Lai Guo Zhem: Missing - PRC Li Chong Chang: Missing - PRC Liang Zhan Jun: Missing - PRC Li Xuan Qiu: Missing - PRC Lin Jie Feng: Missing - PRC Liu Bing Guang: Missing - PRC Mo Jie Yi: Missing - PRC Mo Tien Jie: Deceased - PRC Ruan Hua Guang: Missing - PRC Sum Cong Jiang: Missing - PRC Tang Guo Dong: Missing - PRC Wang Jiang: Missing - PRC Wang Yu Fang: Missing - PRC Wu Guo Fong: Missing - PRC Xia Jing ShengG: Deceased - PRC Xing Xing: Missing - PRC Xu Hui: Deceased - PRC Xu Ming HUI: Missing - PRC Zhang Xing Zhen: Deceased - PRC Zhang Yi Hua: Missing - PRC Zheng Fei Chang: Missing - PRC Zhou Jie Fang: Deceased - PRC Zhou Shu Rong: Deceased - PRC Zhou Yao Wu: Missing - PRC Zhu Ba Buai: Missing - PRC