National Chairperson (dolores@nationalalliance.org)
NYS Director (lynn@nationalalliance.org)
July 12, 1997
CHANGE THE PHONE NUMBER - DOLORES ALFOND HAS A NEW AREA CODE. THE NEW
NUMBER IS 425-881-1499. CHANGE YOUR RECORDS, NOW!
As expected, HR. 409 "The POW Accountability Act" passed the House of
Representatives as part of the Defense Authorization Act. Its Senate
counterpart, S 755 faces a major battle as this legislation is debated both
in the full Senate and in the conference committee.
We, along with many other POW/MIA organizations, urged all to contact their
Senators and ask their support for S 755. Unfortunately, our Senators are
not listening. At this moment S 755 has 8 (eight) cosponsors. The
cosponsors are:
SenatorsWe don't have much time left. It is imperative that everyone contact their Senators and ask they cosponsor S 755.
Ford (D-KY)
Craig (R-ID)
Gregg (R-NH)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Hollings (D-SC)
Ashcroft (R-MO)
Allard (R-CO)
Mc Connell (R-KY)
We don't need to tell you how important this legislation is. We've been writing about it for years. The first version of the Missing Service Personnel Act was presented back in the late '80's.
Please make your call, or send your fax, first thing Monday morning. We only have a few days to make this happen. You can call your Senators at: 1-800-972-3524 - or - 1-202-224-3121.
More on the Castle Memo - Due to the seriousness of the charges raised by Dr. Castle, the National Alliance of Families, on April 29th, contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, requesting they investigate one aspect of Dr. Castles' charges. We have long suspected that some charged with investigating POW/MIA cases have provided information to the Vietnamese which enabled them to "resolve" a case. Depending upon the type of information, this could be a violation of Federal Law. Dr. Castle clearly stated that information was faxed to Vietnam, by Mr. Destatte, from the DPMO office, without the approval of DPMO officials.
Unconnected with the "Castle Memo" but in support of its charges are two document in the hands of the National Alliance of Families. Handwritten notes on one of the documents directs the changing of the documents' text. The second document reflects those changes. It is a violation of Federal Law to change the text of official documentation. Guess whose name is on the documents, directing the text change. This information was also provided to the FBI.
During his presentation at the Alliance meeting, Congressman Dornan spoke of an internal DPMO investigation into Dr. Castles' charges. This internal investigation, according to Congressman Dornan, is headed by Lt. Col. Greg Man. The "Castle Memo" was addressed to Col. Man. Those at our meeting will remember Col. Man for a rather outrageous quote. We are waiting to view the video before we print the quote, so we can insure accuracy.
What we did not know, as Congressman Dornan spoke, was that the DPMO "internal" investigation would be the only investigation on this matter.
In a letter dated 17 June 1997, Stephen W. Dillard, Section Chief for the National Security Division, of the FBI, advised the Alliance that "since your concern involves two DPMO employees, we initially coordinated this matter with appropriate security officials with the Department of Defense. At this time, there is no evidence indicating an unauthorized disclosure on the part of Mr. Destatte. The FBI is conducting no further action and has referred this matter to DPMO for their internal review."
We wonder exactly what the FBI did in this matter. According to our information the FBI - NEVER CONTACTED Dr. Castle. How could they HAVE made any determination in this matter without speaking to the main witness?
Fox guarding the chicken coop - Why is it that DPMO is always allowed to investigate themselves? If we were to rob a bank, could we be our own judge and jury?
Attention Tourists - From the Associated Press By PATRICK McDOWELL - VIENG XAI, Laos (AP) -- Gen. Curtis LeMay claimed in 1965 that the U.S. military could win the worsening war in Indochina by bombing the enemy "back to the Stone Age." Plenty of bombs fell on Laos. But the U.S. Air Force chief of staff was wrong -- victory went to the communist Pathet Lao, who adopted Stone Age defenses and hid in caves to survive the heaviest aerial bombardment in history. Nearly 25 years after the bombing stopped, a veil of semi-secrecy is being lifted from the caves. The government is opening them up to adventurous tourists and Laotian students who want to learn about the war...."
"...Some caves appear untouched since the war. In one that served as a hospital, bloody bandages lie strewn about...."
We wonder if the cave with the initials C S carved in the wall is on the list of tourist attractions?
Hanoi Misinformation - From Reuters, July 10th, "American officials in Vietnam said Thursday media reports that three U.S. servicemen had beaten a beach photographer who refused to take pictures of their genitals were largely untrue. Reports in Vietnam's state-controlled press said the three servicemen, attached to the U.S. Missing-In-Action Office in Hanoi, had attacked the man on a beach in Danang after demanding that he take explicit pictures.
U.S. officials in Hanoi confirmed the incident took place but said Vietnam's state press "did not have many true statements" about the details of the incident. They said the three men had got into a fight with the photographer because they believed they were under surveillance...."
"...The three officers, on temporary assignment in Vietnam and now in Hawaii, later paid $100 for damage to the man's cameras. "Our work here has been built up through years of cooperation," said Maj. Daniel Campion, of the Hanoi Missing-In-Action Office. "This is an unfortunate incident, but it won't impact our long-term efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing service personnel...."
With all of Vietnams' superb cooperation and free access for investigators to go anywhere, any time, why would these three officers believe "they were under surveillance."
From our NSC Document, dated August 1985. South Vietnam -- continued -
(4) Forty-seven are unlocated crash sites. Refnos are as follows:
0017 0051 0085 0094 0096 0104 0118 0137 0171 0174 0195 0224 0229 0238 0239
0248 0262 0271 0737 0841 0933 1046 1070 1096 1229 1273 1306 1313 1323 1354
1355 1362 1407 1436 1504 1515 1533 1547 1580 1632 1659 1687 1689 1718 1768
1714 1970
(5) Seven cases involve aircraft lost in inland water sites: the aircraft crashed into large rivers or coastal waterways with crew members probably aboard. Refnos are as follows:
0811 0824 1102 1192 1291 1500 1913
(6) There are 157 crash sites to survey and potentially, to excavate. As with the North, these are incidents for which there is evidence that servicemembers are at the site. Refnos are as follows:
0014 0015 0019 0020 0023 0026 0027 0029 0036 0042 0043 0046 0059 0075 0117
0144 0159 0177 0190 0203 0212 0228 0230 0241 0267 0269 0273 0290 0342 0346
0353 0382 0383 0390 0397 0401 0405 0424 0450 0464 0472 0506 0523 0543 0545
0584 0620 0625 0634 0642 0726 0734 0746 0777 0784 0790 0834 0856 0899 0978
0979 1000 1005 1024 1074 1077 1080 1097 1122 1125 1132 1134 1135 1136 1138
1140 1146 1153 1158 1164 1170 1172 1203 1206 1208 1220 1225 1232 1241 1254
1297 1326 1334 1357 1372 1417 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1434 1461 1466 1474
1486 1487 1496 1538 1592 1603 1612 1616 1628 1630 1645 1658 1668 1678 1699
1701 1702 1706 1707 1721 1740 1746 1747 1750 1752 1761 1766 1774 1795 1811
1812 1815 1817 1831 1833 1837 1845 1853 1855 1865 1868 1873 1874 1875 1879
1894 1978 1997 1999 2021 2044 2050
(7) There are 131 ground sites without reliable locations. Refnos are as follows:
0031 0054 0100 0102 0108 0109 0192 0205 0223 0226 0242 0258 0268 0286 0300
0326 0341 0344 0345 0358 0372 0381 0388 0434 0439 0444 0468 0476 0497 0513
0599 0604 0607 0630 0646 0647 0664 0675 0676 0678 0686 0699 0704 0723 0728
0748 0762 0780 0816 0830 0867 0905 0921 0924 0930 0936 0948 0961 0987 0990
0997 1011 1104 1112 1118 1123 1137 1152 1157 1178 1180 1185 1195 1199 1202
1217 1219 1231 1240 1258 1290 1308 1318 1322 1338 1356 1358 1367 1377 1386
1387 1406 1414 1415 1428 1429 1445 1447 1450 1476 1481 1492 1511 1539
1565 1572 1582 1625 1638 1639 1649 1725 1735 1742 1745 1748 1756 1757 1770
1806 1810 1819 1834 1835 1899 2051 2055 2056 2057 2058 2059
(8) There are 66 incidents involving losses of personnel in inland water under circumstances which provide poor locating data. Refnos are as follows:
0270 0295 0403 0433 0436 0501 0509 0522 0530 0549 0555 0557 0563 0565 0582
0585 0588 0640 0713 0745 0818 0843 0863 0934 0938 1002 1056 1088 1094 1124
1174 1190 1204 1239 1287 1288 1292 1310 1315 1317 1319 1352 1353 1438 1459
1462 1489 1490 1497 1498 1501 1528 1531 1550 1607 1656 1661 1674 1680 1754
1760 1769 1776 1777 1780 2028
(9) There are 64 ground sites in South Vietnam to visit. Our records indicate that there are one or more servicemembers at or near these locations. Because these are ground combat losses it is unlikely that excavations would be feasible or yield significant results. Refnos are as follows:
0032 0666 0715 0775 0827 0835 0839 0870 0900 0907 0960 0973 0977 1027 1028
1040 1065 1081 1092 1106 1110 1115 1119 1120 1133 1145 1154 1161 1165 1167
1168 1171 1223 1224 1230 1251 1255 1300 1301 1316 1337 1364 1394 1401 1416
1419 1442 1449 1453 1507 1574 1602 1608 1613 1646 1648 1692 1713 1714 1736
1744 1753 1765 1808
C. Finally, there are 244 losses at sea, ranging from just off the coast of Vietnam to 350 miles west of the Philippines. In these incidents the aircraft crashed into the open sea: locating data are generally poor and the circumstances offer little reason to expect resolution.
4. In Summary the above information demonstrates that there is a minimum of 362 ground and crash sites in Vietnam which should be surveyed, and that the majority of these will also warrant excavation. An additional 508 incidents are highly unlikely to be resolved without additional Vietnamese assistance. Although the 244 losses at sea hold little potential for resolution. The cases should continue to be discussed with the Vietnamese. The 26 remains which the Vietnamese returned on 14 August are included in the above count as they have not yet been positively identified.
This concludes the NSC document. For the full text of this document check our website at:
http://www.nationalalliance.org
Goin Fishin' - Really! We start our vacation today. Bits N Pieces will be back in August. See you then.
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