Third
Meeting of Principals, U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
Washington, D.C., 23-27 April 2001
The U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs held its Third Meeting of Principals,
23-27 April 2001, in Washington, D.C. General Vladimir Zolotarev, the Commission's
Russian Co-Chairman, led the Russian delegation and was accompanied on the
visit by the four Russian working group Co-Chairmen and other representatives.
The meetings focused on the Commission's four working groups and afforded
each an opportunity to develop a unique itinerary designed to advance the
specific objectives of the group. During the week prior to their arrival in
Washington, a number of the Russian commissioners spent several days in Las
Vegas, NV, as guests of the F-86 Sabre Pilots Association. This report covers
the various meetings and briefings during the 11-day visit.
Co-Chairmen's Meeting
General Roland Lajoie and General Vladimir Zolotarev, Co-Chairmen of the U.S.-Russia
Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, met on Monday, 23 April, 2001 within the framework
of the Commission's Third Meeting of Principals.
General Lajoie began the session by inquiring about the results of the meetings
held the previous week in Las Vegas, NV, between Russian Commission members
and U.S. Korean-War veterans belonging to the F-86 Sabre Pilots Association.
General Zolotarev noted that a positive rapport had been established and that
the Russians looked forward to following up on the meetings with requests
for specific information on certain of their loss incidents. General Lajoie
reiterated that the Commission's US membership stood ready to facilitate Russian
access to any information that may be available with respect to Soviet losses
during the Korean War.
Discussion then turned to the recent expulsion order and its impact on the
operations of the Commission's Moscow Office. General Lajoie invited General
Zolotarev to provide his assessment of what the order meant for Commission
operations in Moscow. General Zolotarev commented that he had been caught
unawares by the order. He gave assurances that he would raise the issue with
the Russian leadership upon his return to Moscow. General Lajoie underscored
the importance of the Commission's work in Moscow and asked General Zolotarev
to convey to the Russian leadership the value the U.S. places in the work
of the Commission.
The U.S. Co-Chairman proceeded to discuss the issue of archival access and
research by Commission researchers in the Russian Federation. In particular,
he noted the centrality of written records to resolving a number of issues
relevant to losses from the Cold War and the wars in Korea and Vietnam. Within
this context, General Lajoie expressed his satisfaction with current arrangements
that allow two U.S. staff researchers eight days of access each month to the
Central Archives at Podolsk. Documents obtained through this effort, he pointed
out, have led to the clarification of some 150 incidents involving unaccounted-for
U.S. aviators from the Korean War.
General Lajoie stated that he was less satisfied with respect to improving
access to other archival materials of interest to the U.S. side. Of particular
importance in this regard, he noted, was the status of earlier agreements
that Vietnam-era documents at the Podolsk Archives would be made available
for review. Further, he requested that the Russian side respond to requests
for specific archival holdings made during the Commission's 17th Plenum in
November 2000.
General Zolotarev responded that the recent arrival of Colonel Vladimir Ovchinnikov
as the General Staff officer responsible for the archival service marked a
change for the better. Colonel Golumbovsky, General Zolotarev's deputy, observed
that the archival review is proceeding as efficiently as possible given the
fact that it is an additional duty levied upon the Russian Armed Forces, whose
resources are already strained. General Lajoie expressed understanding but,
nonetheless, urged General Zolotarev to accelerate the process of acquiring
archival documents for the Commission's work.
The two Chairmen noted that planning for the summer 2001 recovery of the WWII
U.S. Navy bomber which crashed on Kamchatka is well underway and pledged to
ensure the mission is a success.
The bilateral report on the last five years of the Commission's work was briefly
discussed. Several ideas on how formally to convey the completed report to
the two presidents were raised. Continued communication on this point was
pledged.
After each side reaffirmed its commitment to the goals and objectives of the
Commission, the meeting was adjourned.
Vietnam War Working Group
U.S. side:
* Senator Bob Smith, U.S. Co-Chairman of the VWWG
* Mr. Russ Thomasson, Legislative Assistant to Senator Smith
* Mr. Roger Schumacher, Senior Analyst, VWWG
* Mr. Mike Gunshinan, Analyst, VWWG
* Major Woodman Page, Analyst, VWWG
* MSgt Jeffrey Farnquist, Analyst, VWWG
* TSgt Thomas Shipp, Analyst, VWWG
Russian Side: (Four of the eleven delegates from the Russian side of
the Joint Commission participated in various activities of the VWWG during
this week.)
* General-Major Nikolay Bezborodov, Russian Co-Chairman of the VWWG
* Colonel Valeriy Filippov of the Russian General Staff Military Memorial
Center
* Colonel Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Chief of Archival Services of the General
Staff, Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
* Colonel Sergey Ilyenkov, Chief of Research, Central Archives of the Ministry
of Defense (Podolsk), Russian Federation
The U.S. Chairman of the Vietnam War Working Group (VWWG) had several general
objectives for this visit:
* to hold substantive discussions on current issues before the Vietnam War
Working Group;
* to impress upon the Russians the serious intent of the U.S. Government in
its effort to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing personnel
and the wide-spread support for this work among the public and high-level
government officials;
* to develop a personal and working rapport with Russian counterparts, all
of whom are new to the working group.
The itinerary for the Russians was crafted to maximize the chance that the
American side would accomplish all three of the above general objectives.
Senator Smith and General Bezborodov met in two sessions to discuss issues
of substance before the Vietnam War Working Group. During the discussions,
Senator Smith asked General Bezborodov to try to reverse the decision of the
Russian Government that resulted in an order to expel American analyst-researchers
who work in Moscow for the Joint Commission. Bezborodov responded that he
would do what he could to enable these American personnel to remain on duty
in Russia for the Joint Commission.
The two Co-Chairmen engaged in a detailed discussion on VWWG access to information
contained in the Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense at Podolsk.
The Russian side handed over a summary of information it had uncovered in
the Podolsk archives pertaining to 142 purported incidents of American loss
(i.e., aircraft shoot down events) in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
The Russian side said that this data was extracted from classified documents
originally held in the archives of the Soviet Air Defense Forces (PVO). The
data contains the dates, locations, types of aircraft and some crew information.
The American side will analyze this information to determine how it contributes
to our knowledge about unaccounted-for U.S. servicemen from loss incidents
in Southeast Asia. The Russian side proclaimed its willingness to respond
quickly to American requests for amplifying data on incidents it judges to
be of particular interest. The Russian side also indicated that the work in
the Podolsk archives to locate POW/MIA-related information will continue until
all Vietnam War-era files have been closely studied.
Senator Smith pressed the Russian side for a search of Russian Military Intelligence
(GRU) archives for shoot down and POW interrogation reports. General Bezborodov
responded that he considers it the obligation of the Russian side to establish
whether such reporting exists in Russian archives. He pledged to seek the
help of the Russian General Staff, the Federal Security Service (FSB, formerly
known as the KGB), and other Russian agencies to locate and share such reporting.
General Bezborodov expressed his understanding that the American side has
submitted numerous requests for assistance from the Russian side that have
been rebuffed or have gone unanswered. He said that, "if the American
side is not already too tired from this process," it should submit a
"fresh" correspondence consolidating all its past requests for information
on all topics. Bezborodov promised that, as a Deputy in the Russian State
Duma, he will use his influence to seek responses to these requests from the
appropriate Russian Government agencies. Senator Smith agreed to submit a
new request, and he further pledged American help to the Russian side in trying
to clarify the circumstances of Soviet and Russian losses, as well.
General Bezborodov expressed his conviction that the Russian side must facilitate
greater access for the American side to Russian archives and to Russian citizens
who served in any capacity during the war. Senator Smith responded that the
American side has full confidence in the good faith of General Bezborodov
and his staff, and we look forward to greater cooperation than has been the
case in the past in this working group.
In an effort to demonstrate the commitment of the United States Government
to accounting for its missing personnel, a number of activities were arranged
for the Russian members of the VWWG. The Russians received detailed briefings
on the work of the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii, the Department
of Defense DNA Registry and Laboratory (this included a tour of the facility
in Rockville, Maryland), the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, and the Department
of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. They received a tour
and briefing at the College Park, Maryland, facility of the National Archives
and Records Administration, which included a meeting with the Archivist of
the United States, Mr. John W. Carlin. The Russians visited the national monuments
that memorialize American sacrifices in military conflicts - the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier, the Vietnam War Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. The
Russians attended the memorial service at Ft. Myer, Virginia, honoring the
sacrifice of seven Americans and nine Vietnamese who died in a helicopter
crash in Vietnam on April 7, 2001, while working on America's POW/MIA accounting
mission in Southeast Asia.
Strong support for America's accounting mission and the work of the U.S.-Russia
Joint Commission was demonstrated to the Russian visitors by a series of meetings
with high-level administration officials, Members of Congress, and the leadership
of non-government organizations representing veterans and the families of
missing American service members.
The Russian side met with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Deputy
Secretary of State Richard Armitage who both urged continued Russian support
for the work of the Joint Commission and emphasized its importance in U.S.-Russia
relations. Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) echoed
these sentiments in separate meetings with General Bezborodov. The Russians
also attended a luncheon hosted by the National League of Families of American
Prisoners of War and Missing in Southeast Asia and an evening reception hosted
by General Lajoie. The exposure of the Russian side to these officials-government
and leaders of private family and veterans' organizations-demonstrated the
strong support for the Joint Commission's work.
The American side of the Vietnam War Working Group is heartened by the increased
level of cooperation from the Russian side. We are particularly gratified
that, after a lengthy "dry spell" during which Russian archival
documents pertaining to the Vietnam War have not been shared, valuable materials
have been conveyed to the American side from a significant Russian archive.
We commend General Bezborodov and his staff for this important development,
representing as it does a considerable amount of effort put forth by the Russian
side in locating and conveying shoot down information from the period of the
Vietnam conflict.
Korean War Working Group
U.S. side:
* Congressman Sam Johnson, U.S. Co-Chairman, KWWG
* Congressman Sam Johnson, U.S. Co-Chairman, KWWG
* Mr. Norman Kass, Executive Secretary, USRJC
* Lieutenant Colonel Maria Constantine, Senior Analyst, JCSD
* Major Tim Falkowski, Senior Analyst, KWWG
* Sergeant First Class Joya Gooden, Analyst, KWWG
* Sergeant First Class Michael Lunini, Analyst, KWWG
Russian Side:
* General-Major Vladimir Zolotarev, Russian Co-Chairman, USRJC
* General-Colonel Vladimir Korochkin, Chairman of the United Union of Veterans
of War and Military Service of the Air Forces of Russia, and MiG-15 Pilot
* Colonel Konstantin Golumbovsky, Russian Deputy Chairman, USRJC
* Colonel Aleksandr Orlov, Russian Co-Chairman, KWWG
From 17 April until 25 April 2001, the Korean War Working Group (KWWG) hosted
meetings with their Russian counterparts of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission
on POW/MIAs both at the F-86 Sabre Pilots reunion in Las Vegas and in the
DPMO offices in Washington D.C. During the 17th USRJC Plenum in November 2000,
Russian KWWG Co-Chairman, Colonel Aleksandr Orlov, presented the U.S. side
a list of 23 Soviet MiG-15 pilots unaccounted for from the Korean War. The
list included the names of the pilots and the dates on which they are presumed
to have perished in combat. Colonel Orlov requested that the U.S. side identify
the American pilots who shot down aircraft on those dates and who, therefore,
might be able to provide the Russian side information about the missing Soviet
pilots.
To explore this matter in detail, the F-86 Sabre veterans graciously invited
a number of Russian commissioners to their reunion in Las Vegas from 17-20
April. The Russian delegation consisted of General Zolotarev, General-Colonel
Korochkin, a Soviet veteran pilot and ace from the Korean War, Colonel Golumbovsky
and Colonel Orlov. Over three days of briefings and discussions, the Russian
guests had a chance to gather first-hand information that may be helpful in
resolving their loss incidents.
The visit to Las Vegas included a tour of Nellis AFB including a visit to
the 547th Intelligence Squadron Threat Training Facility where various Soviet
and Russian weapons were on display. Of special interest to Colonel Orlov
and General Korochkin were the fighter aircraft such as the MiG-21, MiG-23
and of course, the MiG-15. While at Nellis AFB, the USRJC representatives
made an office call to the Commander of the 57th Air Wing, Brigadier General
David Moody. General Zolotarev presented a letter to General Moody from the
former Russian Air Force Chief of Staff, General Deneykin. General Moody remarked
that while he served as a fighter pilot in West Germany, General Korochkin
was in command of all Soviet Air Forces in East Germany. BG Moody was pleased
to meet his old adversary and greet him now as a friend.
Later, the USRJC representatives visited the Red Flag facility, where an F-16
instructor-pilot provided a briefing on the overall training mission of the
Red Aggressor Squadron. The tour finished with a trip to the flight line where
General Korochkin was allowed to sit in an operational F-16 fighter. The goodwill
that Nellis AFB personnel showed to our Russian guests demonstrated their
support for the work of the USRJC in accounting for our missing-in-action
and will undoubtedly be a positive factor in promoting U.S. research efforts
in the Russian Federation.
On 19 April, the Russians met with the Sabre pilots for informal day-long
discussions with such famous U.S. Korean War Aces as Colonels Hal Fischer,
Walker Mahurin, Ralph Parr, and Hoot Gibson. Information from U.S. aviators
was able to clarify the fates of two of the missing Soviet MiG-15 pilots on
the Russian list. First, Colonel Parr recalled that, on 7 June 1953, at the
close of the Korean War, he shot down a MiG-15 and watched as it crashed to
the ground, exploding in a ball of fire. The Russian pilot, identified as
Captain Stepan Dorekhov, never made it out of the cockpit, as then-Captain
Parr never saw a parachute. Next, Colonel Mahurin recounted events of 6 January
1952, when he witnessed the shoot down of Captain Vasiliy Stepanov by a fellow
Sabre pilot. During a fierce air battle, Stepanov’s MiG-15 was hit with
cannon fire, fell to the ground and exploded. Colonel Mahurin never saw the
Soviet pilot eject from the cockpit. The gathering of veterans also provided
a chance for General Zolotarev to speak with many of the Sabre pilots and
share his perspectives on the Commission's efforts to account for missing
aviators from the Korean War. This generated considerable interest, with many
of the Sabre pilots asking him to provide the titles of Korean-war books written
by Soviet aviators.
The rapport developed between the Russian guests and the Korean War Veterans
extended beyond formal gatherings. For example, Colonel Fischer, Korean War
Ace and former POW, invited the Russians to his house for an old-fashion American
barbecue. Discussion topics during the evening ranged from aerial dog-fighting
tactics to the many experiences shared by Russian and American pilots. The
party was a great success and contributed to the camaraderie between the Russian
guests and our Korean War veterans.
A pamphlet describing the work of the USRJC's Korean War Working Group was
prepared for the meetings in Las Vegas. It included a letter of greeting from
the KWWG's U.S. Co-Chairman, Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), biographies of
the Russian guests, and a brief description of the work of the KWWG. (A copy
of this pamphlet is posted on the DPMO web site.) The success of the trip
was evident in the fact that many of the Sabre pilots asked the Russians to
autograph their copies of the pamphlet as a memento of their visit.
The Russian guests arrived in Washington D.C. on Sunday the 22nd of April.
On Monday morning, DPMO analysts met with the Russians to discuss POW camps
in North Korea and possible transport of U.S. POWs to the Soviet Union. During
the meeting General Korochkin commented that an F-86 aircraft was sent to
Moscow for technical exploitation but that he knew of no pilots or other POWs
who were transferred to the former Soviet Union. Although he generally only
prepared questions for North Korean interrogators, Colonel Orlov mentioned
that he personally interrogated LTC Vance Black at the Pak’s Palace POW
camp in North Korea and had further contact with another U.N. pilot whose
name he was unable to provide. Colonel Orlov also furnished detailed information
on anti-aircraft artillery emplacement sites throughout China and North Korea.
DPMO analysts were pleased with the success of the interview, which provided
additional information on Soviet contact with U.S. POWs during the Korean
War.
Monday afternoon our Russian guests visited Arlington Cemetery. After paying
their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, they watched a U.S. Army
wreath-laying ceremony. This was followed by a visit to the Russian Embassy
in Washington where we discussed the USRJC's work with the Russian Air Attaché.
The Russian guests were then given a personal tour of the Pentagon.
After a brief tour of the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday morning, Congressman
Sam Johnson hosted the Russians for a working lunch on Capitol Hill. This
provided an excellent forum to discuss the overall work of the Commission.
All parties reaffirmed the Commission's positive role and pledged their continued
support to clarify the fate of missing servicemen from both countries. General
Zolotarev and his colleagues were given a tour of the Vietnam and Korean War
memorials. Tuesday closed with an evening reception at which representatives
of family groups and veterans' service organizations had a chance to meet
and exchange information with U.S. and Russian Commission members and staff.
Wednesday morning General Lajoie escorted the Russian guests to the memorial
ceremony at the Fort Myer Chapel for the seven American servicemen and nine
Vietnamese who perished in Vietnam while on a joint mission to locate missing
U.S. service members. General Zolotarev expressed his sorrow for the loss
of life, adding that these men were truly heroes. After the ceremony, the
Russian guests were escorted to National Airport for their flight home.
Cold War Working Group
The Cold War Working Group (CWWG) met on 24-25 April 2001 at the office
of Mr. Denis Clift, President of the Joint Military Intelligence College,
Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. In attendance were:
U.S. side:
* Mr. A. Denis Clift, U.S. Co-Chairman of the CWWG
* Dr. James Connell, Chief, JCSD-Moscow
* Ms. Carol Dockham, Senior Analyst, CWWG, JCSD
Russian Side:
* Colonel Vladimir Vinogradov, Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation,
Russian Co-Chairman of the CWWG
* Rear Admiral (retired) Boris Novyy, Russian Naval Forces, expert researcher
First Cold War Working Group Session, Tuesday, 24 April 2001:
Mr. Clift welcomed the visitors and made opening remarks about the CWWG’s
progress since the 17th Plenum in November 2000. He emphasized the importance
of our work to family members of missing servicemen. He stated that these
meetings would allow the CWWG to review the current status of research and
to plan its next steps. He then turned the floor over to Colonel Vinogradov.
Colonel Vinogradov said the search for witnesses should take priority over
archival research at this stage because witnesses were getting old and memories
were fading. The work of RADM Novyy is particularly useful to the CWWG, he
believed, because he is able to cross-reference information from the archives
with information from witnesses. Witnesses might provide important information
that is not in the archives.
At this point, RADM Novyy was called upon to present reports on current research
into two U.S. Cold War cases, the 1 July 1960 shoot-down of a U.S. Air Force
RB-47 over the Barents Sea, and the 8 April 1950 shoot-down of a U.S. Navy
PB4Y2 over the Baltic.
Concerning the 1 July 1960 shoot-down, RADM Novyy said he had identified and
spoken to a Soviet-era officer whom he had been seeking for several months.
He was Major M.A. Ponomarev, chief of the General Department of the Northern
Fleet Staff in 1960. Ponomarev met the ship that was carrying the body of
Major Eugene Posa, a crewmember from the RB-47, at a dock in Severomorsk.
Ponomarev and his work party had just off-loaded the body onto their truck
when, quite unexpectedly, another vehicle, a "Black Maria," drove
up, and the driver demanded that the body be reloaded onto it. The driver
told Ponomarev that the body was to be taken to Moscow. Ponomarev figured
this was the KGB, so he did not argue. RADM Novyy said he is currently trying
to determine the identity of the driver of the "Black Maria" so
he can find out whether the body was in fact taken to Moscow. RADM Novyy emphasized
that this was only one of several leads that are being pursued; the possibility
that the body remained in the Severomorsk area and was buried there is still
being investigated.
RADM Novyy then described his work on the 8 April 1950 shoot-down. He had
spoken with several retired Soviet servicemen who had participated in the
massive, two-month search operation mounted by the Soviets in the Baltic after
the shoot-down. RADM Novyy plans to seek and interview additional personnel
from the 75th Emergency Rescue Detachment and the torpedo boats that were
involved in the search. He also suggested searching for documents from the
8th Border Guards Detachment at the Border Guards Archives; the purpose here
would be to identify former Border Guards personnel who might have additional
information about the search operation.
Meeting with Family Members on Wednesday, 25 April 2001:
On Wednesday morning, 25 April 2001, the CWWG welcomed Mrs. Charlotte Mitnik
and Mr. Greg Skavinski, who represent crewmembers from the 13 June 1952 shoot-down
of a U.S. Air Force RB-29 over the Sea of Japan. The two family members asked
the CWWG questions about its investigation of this case.
Colonel Vinogradov spoke briefly about the methodology used by the CWWG to
investigate the fates of crewmembers from this and other U.S. aircraft that
were shot down over or near Soviet territory during the Cold War era. Mr.
Clift told the family members that the CWWG proceeded on the assumption that
we had still not accounted for the fates of American aircrews that had been
shot down and that more work needed to be done. We had agreed with the Russian
side to take steps to resolve the fates of these men. We had help from RADM
Novyy, who was going through the Central Naval Archives to look for new information.
As an additional step, the CWWG planned to expand research in the Federal
Border Guards Archives. Although progress is slow, the CWWG is moving forward,
Mr. Clift said.
Second Cold War Working Group Session, Wednesday, 25 April 2001:
Following the meeting with the family members, the CWWG held its second formal
session. Dr. Connell spoke about plans by the CWWG to expand access at the
Federal Border Guards Archives.
U.S. representatives of the Joint Commission had first visited the Border
Guards Archives at Pushkino, a suburb of Moscow, in 1992, Dr. Connell explained.
Documents from these Archives had been the key to the discovery of the body
of Captain John Dunham, who was a crewmember on the U.S. Air Force RB-29 that
was shot down on 7 October 1952. The U.S. side had long felt that since most
of the Cold War incidents the Commission investigates took place over water,
the maritime Border Guards must have taken part in search operations for at
least some of those incidents. The 29 July 1953 incident was a good example:
A Soviet map of the search area indicated the presence of a Border Guards
patrol boat during the search operation.
Dr. Connell told how RADM Novyy and Captain Abrosimov, another Russian naval
officer who has assisted the Commission, had met with Colonel Sukhov at the
Federal Border Guards Archives the previous week (19 April). Colonel Sukhov
warned RADM Novyy and Captain Abrosimov that some of the documents in the
Archives were still classified. A second, more detailed meeting between RADM
Novyy and Colonel Sukhov would be scheduled after the May holidays in Russia
to continue discussions about future work.
Mr. Clift thanked Dr. Connell for the information on the preliminary meeting
with Colonel Sukhov and stressed the importance of this research. He said
he was willing to meet with Border Guards officials before the next Plenum
to thank them for work that had already been done. With respect to the classified
character of the documents, he would be willing to cite to Border Guards officials
the precedent of how the Joint Commission had dealt with this issue previously:
In searching for information on Soviet MIAs from Afghanistan to the Russian
side, the U.S. side had reviewed CIA, Defense Department and State Department
reports, extracted the necessary humanitarian information, and provided it
to the Russian side. The Russian side had used this information to clarify
and resolve fates of some of their MIAs.
Colonel Vinogradov agreed that this was a useful precedent. He added that
in the future, it would be best if the U.S. side not make explicit requests
for specific documents that are still likely to be classified; rather, it
should make specific requests for any information relating to a Cold War loss.
Information pertaining to American POW/MIAs could be extracted from classified
documents and given to the U.S. side.
With agreement reached on research at the Federal Border Guards Archives,
Mr. Clift thanked everyone, and said that a good foundation had been laid
for future work. The CWWG adjourned.
CWWG visit to U.S. Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C., 26 April
2001
On Thursday, 26 April 2001, the CWWG visited the Naval Historical Center at
the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Dr. Gary Weir, Chief of the Contemporary
History Office, and Ms. Kathleen Lloyd, Chief Archivist, welcomed the visitors.
Documents on four incidents involving Soviet losses during the Cold War were
provided to the Russian side. Ms. Dockham explained that the Naval Historical
Center was one possible source of information on Soviet losses; the U.S. side
was prepared to conduct additional research at the Center and other facilities
and provide information that would assist the Russian side in resolving its
losses from the Cold War and other eras.
WWII Working Group (WWII WG)
U.S. side:
* Dr. Timothy Nenninger, U.S. Co-Chairman of the WWII WG
* Mr. Albert Graham, Senior analyst, WWII WG
* Lieutenant Colonel Maria Constantine, Senior Analyst, JCSD
* SMSgt Bernard Brown, Administrative NCO, JCSD
Russian Side:
* Colonel Nikolay Nikiforov, Russian Co-Chairman of the WWII WG
* Colonel Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Chief, Archival Service of the General Staff,
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
* Colonel Sergey Ilyenkov, Chief of Research, Central Archives of the Ministry
of Defense (Podolsk), Russian Federation
On Tuesday morning, April 24 the Russian Co-Chairman of the WWII WG, Colonel
Nikolay Ivanovich Nikiforov, attended the general briefing on the work of
DPMO , CILHI and JTF-FA. In the afternoon, he was escorted to the National
Archives (NARA) in College Park, where he met with his recently appointed
American counterpart, Dr. Timothy Nenninger. As an opening gesture of American
cooperation, Dr. Nenninger presented Colonel Nikiforov nine reels of microfilm
records and finding aids from NARA dealing with Russian soldiers captured
by the Germans during World War II.
During subsequent discussions of the WWII WG Co-Chairmen, Dr. Nenninger raised
several on-going WWII issues. Chief among them was the full-scale excavation
operation to recover the U.S. PV-1 Ventura on Kamchatka. The operation is
scheduled to begin on or about July 21, 2001. Colonel Nikiforov commented
that there is much to be done and that Russia stands ready to support this
mission.
Dr. Nenninger apprised his Russian counterpart of the details surrounding
WWII B-24 pilot, 2nd Lt. Richard S. Brevik, whose plane was shot down on June
16, 1945 off the coast of Paramushiro in the Kurile Islands. According to
a survivor of this crash, Brevik died the following day in a life raft they
shared, was picked up 3 days later by the Japanese, and his remains allegedly
were buried somewhere near the former Kataoka Japanese Naval Base on Shimushu
Island in the Kurile Islands. Colonel Nikiforov promised to look into this
matter and to check with the Russian authorities in the Kurile Islands.
Dr. Nenninger raised once again the issue of the Kogan ring, which had been
discussed at previous plenums. Colonel Nikiforov said that his research indicated
that the Soviet 96th Guard Bomber Regiment was located near Poznan, Poland
in April 1945 and did not reach Finow, Germany until 18 August 1945, so the
mechanic from that unit could not have buried the remains of an American pilot
at that time. Dr. Nenninger added that he examined over 200 missing aircrew
reports and found only one that matches the description of this loss. He also
pledged to research this issue more thoroughly and present his findings to
the Russian side.
A detailed discussion was held on a list of 39 U.S. POWs who were under Soviet
control at the end of WWII and subsequently were unaccounted for. Colonel
Nikiforov stated that the Russian Side is continuing to work on this issue.
He related that, prior to leaving for the States, he met with Mr. Korotayev,
the Deputy Director of the Center for the Storage and Preservation of Historical
Document Collections and they both reviewed the list again. The Russian Co-Chairman
of the WWII Working Group indicated that he met with the Director of the FSB
[former KGB] archives concerning the card file in their holdings of PFC Rudolf
Frisch, one of the 39 U.S. POWs from the list. Colonel Nikiforov said the
Director promised to look into the matter again in a more careful and detailed
manner. He said he hopes to obtain more information in a month or two. The
Russian Co-Chairman promised to expand the search for the Americans mentioned
on the list of 39 in the near future and, in this regard, noted that he asked
Mr. Korotayev to look through the documentary records of the Soviet Convoy
Troops. According to the Russian Co-Chairman, however, this archive is understaffed,
and should the research request be approved, it may mean that either Korotayev’s
staff or personnel from the Institute of Military History will do the research.
Colonel Nikiforov requested and received permission from the U.S. side to
send the "list of 39" to Viktor Konosov in Kazakhstan who, he claims,
wrote his dissertation on the Gulag and could be very helpful in researching
the American servicemen on the list.
The Russian Co-Chairman related that, for the past year or so, Colonel Vladimir
Ovchinnikov has been in charge of the newly-created Archival Service of the
MOD which oversees some 21 military archives. This service, he said, is subordinate
to the First Deputy Minister of Defense, Colonel General Manilov.
Colonel Nikiforov noted that all the documents in Stalin’s personal archives
are being reviewed for release to the public and that staffers from the Institute
of Military History are being charged with declassifying these documents.
What realistically gets released to the public, according to the Russian Co-Chairman,
depends on the nature of the document. For instance, he said, anything dealing
with the country’s mobilization will never be declassified.
After the discussions, Dr. Nenninger gave Colonel Nikiforov a tour of the
National Archives. He took him into the stacks and reading rooms and stressed
the policy of open access to readers.
On Wednesday, 25 April, Colonels Nikiforov and Ilyenkov had a special Pentagon
tour in the morning and spent the afternoon with their Russian colleagues
at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) in Rockville, Maryland.
On Thursday, 26 April, Colonels Nikiforov, Ilyenkov and Ovchinnikov toured
the Holocaust Museum, after which they had a meeting with Dr. Radu Ionid,
Director of International Archival Programs Division, Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Dr. Ionid requested a formal agreement be signed with the Russian military
archives to permit the Holocaust Museum better access to these archives in
the future. Rather than a formal agreement Colonel Ovchinnikov suggested that
the Museum provide them with a list of required items and then they could
determine what can be released. Ovchinnikov stated that "access"
is too broad and difficult a term for the Russian side. There are issues of
declassification he said which would have to be reviewed by a committee on
a document-by-document basis.
On Friday, 27 April, Colonels Nikiforov and Vinogradov toured the Library
of Congress and met with personnel from the European Division. The former
U.S. Co-Chairman of the WWII Working Group, R. Michael McReynolds, joined
the two Russian colonels for lunch.
On Saturday, 28 April, the Russian delegation departed for Moscow.
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