Did Anybody Ask - During this weeks visit of Chinese President Jiang, did anyone ask him about Robert Desautels? There sure is plenty to ask about.

"In regards to Cpl Richard G. Desautels.... I met him at POW Camp number 5, at Pyoktong, North Korea, somewhere around the later part of 1952. I even gave him a hair cut and talked to him...." "We stayed together for about two months..." "one day I saw him riding on a truck going off the camp. I was not able to talk to him before he departed, because the Chinese Reds were present." Statement of former POW Heren Cabacar 16 July 1954. "

Cpl Desautels spent 11 mos with a CCF truck supply outfit, after his capture...." "He told me that the CCF would not let him come in contact with other POW's as he knew too much. The last time he was seen to the best of my knowledge was in Pyoktong, in Mar. 1952...." Statement of former POW Walter L. Mayo - 24 June 1954.

"...on 18 March 1952 he was removed from camp and placed in the town of Pyoktong proper , separate from all other prisoners. In my opinion I do not believe that he was a collaborator and was kept a prisoner by force." Statement of former POW Clifford Benoit - 7 June 1954

"Cpl Desautels.... remained at POW Camp #6 two or three weeks and was then taken away by the Chinese." Statement of former POW Ellis P. Clark - 8 June 1954

"This man was taken to Manchuria after capture and kept with Chinese troops there for 10 months. During this time no english was spoken. So he learned Chinese. He was brought to Pyoktong in about Nov. 1950. According to the Chinese his attitude was bad. He disappeared about the end of Dec. 1951. He may have been released by now or they may hold him because they crossed the border with him in 1950." Statement of former POW William L Lillis - 4 Sept. 1953.

"The last time I saw Cpl Desautels was in April 1953,... In the middle part of April 1953, he told us (me and other GI's, whose names I don't recall), that he was going to be taken to Autung, China. In my opinion, the Chinese Communist Guards knew that Cpl Desautels could understand little Chinese and this was the reason for pulling him from us, since he was translating the communist broadcast news for us." Statement of former POW, signature unreadable, - 17 June 1954

"This man was alive when he left POW Camp #5 in the spring of 1952. Removed by the Chinese." Statement of former POW Douglas Jones - 22 June 1954

"Cpl Desautels to the best of my knowledge is still alive.... While he was in company 5 (five) Desautels engaged in several arguments with Chinese interpreters saying they did not say what the Chinese commander would say during his speeches to us. Consequently he was soon in ill favor with the Chinese of that company.... To the best of my knowledge he was last seen about May '52." Statement of former POW Westley Little - 10 June 1954

"....He was either killed by the Chinese or is still being held." Statement of former POW Clarence Banks - 25 May 1954

"....When he was finally released to a POW camp, he provoked the ire of the Communists by revealing to the men in the compound what was said by his captors in the oriental language. Some time in the Spring or Summer of 1952, he was forcibly taken from the compound by the Chinese Communist...." Statement of former POW Nicholas Leamon - 8 June 1954

"The above mentioned POW was taken into China... He returned to Camp No. 5, in March 1952, at that time he mentioned if he should disappear to make inquires concerning his whereabouts with the proper military authorities...." Statement of former POW Joseph [last name unreadable] - 16 June 1954.

"When we were repatriated, I saw him. He was taken away cause he could speak Chinese, so they took him out of the camp. They said he was a rumor spreader and blamed everything that went on in camp on him. So they took him away and when I was released I saw him in Pyoktong village. He must of been held." Statement of former POW Richard Grenier - 12 June 1954

There are at least 19 statements made by former POWs, reporting Robert Desautels in captivity. By far, the most chilling statement expresses Robert Desautels own fears "...he mentioned if he should disappear to make inquires concerning his whereabouts with the proper military authorities...."

In a summary report prepared by the U.S. Government, former POW Richard Grenier reported that he had last seen Robert Desautels in August 1953. According to the report, "in an accounting furnished by Communist forces on 2 March 1956, Desautels is shown as "escaped." (Note: A similar "accounting" by the Communists listed a known double amputee as "escaped.") Has anyone asked the Chinese President about Robert Desautels? When most favored nation status comes up for renewal next year, let's ask Congress about Robert Desautels.

Laos Returns Remains - On Tuesday October 28th, the Associated Press reported "Laos has returned the possible remains of an American aviator missing in action from the Vietnam War to U.S. officials. The remains were presented Tuesday to U.S. Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin by Soubanh Srinthirath, Laotian vice minister for foreign affairs...."

"... The remains were the first returned under a new program in which Laotian teams unilaterally investigate leads on cases that joint U.S.-Laotian teams have been unable to resolve..."

According the the AP story the remains are believed to be "those of an Air Force pilot lost Dec. 24, 1970, over Xiangkhouang province in northeastern Laos." Based on the location and date of loss, the remains could be those of Major Albro L. Lundy Jr.

In a press release dated October 30, 1997, Albro L. Lundy III, stated "the Laotian government has returned remains labeled as his father to the U.S. Ambassador in Laos. On Wednesday, October 29, 1997, the Air Force also told Lundy that the dog tag, military ID card and "blood chit" are being returned with the box of purported remains. The Lundy family stresses that these remains have been labeled as that of his father, but none of the articles or the remains have been verified..."

"....Lundy added that there are a number of important questions that either governments has yet to answer:

• How did the Lao government obtain the ID information and remains?

• What is the chain of custody with these items?

• How were the items obtained from Major Albro Lundy, and what were the exact Circumstances of his death?"

How did we do -- of 20 provisions contained in the "POW Accountability Act" (aka S755 and HR 409) our supporters were able to retain 13 provisions. In a letter addressed to the National Alliance of Families, Congressman Steve Buyer stated "The inclusion in H.R. 1119 of more than a dozen major amendments to the Missing Persons Act is a significant accomplishment, given the seemingly intractable opposition to those amendments that existed as conference began..." Congressman Buyer continued "...As a result, the amended Missing Persons Act will:

• Better protect U.S. citizens who become missing during war and operations other than war.

• Provide increased rigor in the process of identifying remains.

• Provide a more robust process for the review of the so-called "pre-enactment cases" from the Korean, Cold War and Vietnam eras.

• Increase the effectiveness of the accounting process, as well as the opportunity for family and next-of-kin involvement in that process.

• Expand the mandated involvement of senior military leadership in the accounting process."

We thank Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Congressman Jim Talent for their efforts. The legislation may not be all we wanted but it is a definite improvement over the original "Missing Service Personnel Act of 1942."

Unrelated to the Missing Persons Act is a stipulation within the "1998 Defense Authorization Act" which, according to Congressman Buyer, "mandates that the Central Intelligence Agency provide intelligence analysis on matters concerning prisoners of war and missing in action to all Federal departments and agencies involved in such matter's and that the Department of Defense take into account all intelligence in analyzing cases of prisoner of war and missing in action."

During Wednesday's meeting, hosted by Sub-Committee Chairman Stephen Buyer, Mr. Buyer indicated a willingness of his committee to provide oversight on the workings of DPMO. Alliance Board Member, Michael Benge presented Congressman Buyer with a letter that briefly outlined some of the Alliance's concerns.

The letter stated in part; "In 1995, the Inspector General concluded that much work was needed to improve the operations of DPMO. Among their conclusions "... Our initial research at DPMO led us to conclude that the organization lacked

• (1) well defined missions and tasks,

• (2) a planning system to see that major goals were accomplished, and

• (3) a stable organizational structure that supported effective management." The report continued "... without the strong leadership that such actions require, the organization will continue to experience difficulty in justifying its resource requirements and completing the assigned mission."

Based on our experiences with DPMO, we see no evidence that the Recommendations of the IG have been implemented. Our question is why?

"....We believe strong unbiased leadership is lacking within DPMO. The recent "disappearance," within the DPMO chain of command, of a memo requested by the former head of DPMO, General James Wold, underscores the need for strong leadership. The "Castle Memo" as it came to be known was rewritten and delivered directly to General Wold. There was no explanation or investigation as to how the original memo "disappeared" when it was originally directed through the chain of command. The "Castle Memo" challenged the predetermined conclusions of senior "analysis" on a specific case and the original "Castle Memo" disappeared...."

"....The law mandates that all POW/MIA related information be provided to the families. It is not. In many cases families requests for information are ignored or denied. Equally disturbing is the fact that the agency charged with evaluating all POW/MIA material is unaware of much of that documentation. In one recent case, when questioned by a family member, DPMO denied the existence of a document that is readily available at the Library of Congress and on the World Wide Web. If analysts are ignorant of existing documentation commonly available, how can they make a proper evaluation on a case?..."

"At its inception, DPMO was represented as the agency of the families. Instead it has become another layer in the bureaucracy. It is staffed with untrained and unqualified "analysts" whose job security rests not with their competence but their civil service grade...."

Remains Identified -- The following Air Force personnel were declared identified. They are Major Thomas R. Allen of Woodward, Ok.; Capt. Ronald L. Packard of Canon City, Co.; Maj. John C. Clark of Brownfield, Tx.; and Maj. Bobby G. Huggins of Montgomery, Al.

According to records, Major Allen and Captain Packard were lost over North Vietnam on July 31, 1967. Major John Clark was lost over Laos on Dec. 5, 1969. His crewmate Patrick Harrold was accounted for and announced in the last Bits 'N' Pieces. At that time we asked what about John Clark. Now we know.

Major Bobby Huggins and his crew member were lost over Vietnam on June 4, 1970. No mention was made of the crew member. All remains were accounted for based on mt-DNA testing. To these families, we hold you in our hearts and offer our prayers during this difficult time. We hope you have the answers, you have waited so long for.

Nameless Heroes - we have had request for copies of this tape first aired at the 1996 meeting of the National Alliance of Families. Tapes are $10.00 + 3.00 postage. Contact Dolores Alfond, National Alliance of Families, P.O. Box 40327, Bellevue, Wa. 98015.