Declassification - the April, 2000 Declassification Deadline on POW/MIA Documentation Was Extended by President Clinton. On November 23, 1999, the American Legion issued a Press Release stating; "... the administration has "no excuse" for delaying the declassification of documents that could hold clues to POW/MIA whereabouts."
"... the move sidestepped Executive Order 12958, issued in 1995, that automatically declassified certain government documents more than 25 Years old...."
"The American Legion is concerned about the issue in general, and particularly with respect to POW/MIA accounting," National Commander Al Lance wrote in a letter delivered to the President today. "We believe many documents that are currently classified hold clues -- and answers - which will help us determine the fate of America's missing Servicemembers from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and South East Asia."
"An extension of the deadline for declassification is unacceptable to the American Legion. Federal Agencies and their employees are paid to implement and enforce the law. It is not the fault of the public if some government agencies cannot, or will not, carry out their responsibilities. We would recommend that an outside agency, such as the Department of Justice, provide oversight and follow-up on the declassification process and enforce the timeline originally established by EO 12958."
From DPMO Press Release Dated December 17, 1999, "U.S. and North Korean negotiators ended talks in Berlin late Friday, Dec. 17, 1999 without reaching agreement on joint recoveries of the remains of American Servicemen Missing in Action from the Korean War. The three days of negotiations were to establish a schedule of operations in North Korea for the coming year. U.S. teams have conducted remains recovery operations in North Korea each year since 1996. In these four years, 42 sets of remains believed to be American soldiers were recovered over 12 operations. Three of the soldiers have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors...."
"The negotiators discussed ways to continue cooperation on remains recovery operations, but failed to reach an overall agreement as the North Korean side sought to link an extensive humanitarian aid program to the remains recovery operations. The sides set no date for future discussions, but the United States will continue efforts to conclude an agreement consistent with past arrangements."
South Korea Follows U.S. Lead on Issue of Live Pows - from the South China Morning Post by Roger Dean du Mars- January 2, 2000 - "It's a dark story overshadowed by missile launches, suspicions about Nuclear weapons production, mass starvation and hundreds of thousands of North Korean refugees streaming into Northeastern China in a desperate search for food. Despite compelling evidence that hundreds, if not thousands, of South Korean Prisoners of the Korean War are still held as Slave Labourers in the North's Coal Mines, the issue gets short shrift in Inter-Korean talks."
"A former North Korean Army officer who arrived in the South via China last september supplied the names of 23 South Koreans he befriended while working in the Keondok Coal Mine in the 1970s. The Ministry of National Defense said 15 of the 23 had been listed as Killed in Action during the War, rather than as POWs."
"The 66-year-old defector, who confirmed reports of the miserable conditions endured by Prisoners, not only counted about 400 South Korean POWs at Keondok, he added another mine to the government's catalogue."
"We didn't know the mine existed," said a Government Official. "It is difficult to get information on the South Korean Prisoners and the places they are trapped."
"The Ministry says that of the 28,000 South Koreans held by North Korea after the War, 244 are in the mines. But analysts say this figure Is too Low."
"At the close of the War on July 1953, which ended with an agreement to repatriate POWs, the United Nations Command returned 105,097 North Korean and Chinese POWs. North Korea returned 8,656 South Korean and 5,147 U.N. Pows. Pyongyang claims to have captured 65,000 South Korean soldiers. "
"Kim Jong-Il's regime has on occasion said 7,000 of these remain, and has also suggested all of them have died. Some US sources put the number who remain at about 15,000. In any case, it is clear that the figure is sizable. "
"Six South Korean POWs have managed to return home from the coal mines since 1994. They offer a glimpse of life as a Prisoner in North Korea. "
"Chang Hu-hwan, 72, arrived at the western port of Inchon in September 1998, 45 years after fighting in the Korean War. After sneaking into China in August, he spent a month foraging for food and eluding the Chinese authorities before boarding a berry to his home country."
"Mr Chang endured 45 years in a remote coal mine in Aoji where Prisoners were maltreated, overworked, underfed, confined to the mine compound, and either encouraged or forced to marry North Korean women. their children could expect to lead the same existence."
"Yang Soon-yong, 72, who returned two years ago, also spent the best years of his life in the Aoji mine. He said 50 to 60 of his fellow prisoners were still languishing in the mine. North Korea made slave labourers of men such as Mr Chang and Mr Yang because it wanted to expedite reconstruction after the war. In addition to the coal mines, Pyongyang forces prisoners to work on collective farms."
"Last year the South Korean government formed a commission to facilitate the return of POWs, but analysts and civic groups say the administration has assigned a low priority to the issue."
"The United States has spent US$2 Million [HK$15.5 Million] for searches of U. S. remains in the past fours years .
And South Korea does almost nothing to retrieve living Prisoners," said an official at the Korean Red Cross. "soon they will all be dead and there will be great regrets."
The U.S. May Be Spending Money on its Search for Remains - but like the South Koreans, we do nothing about the Live POWs We Know are in North Korea. What is wrong with this picture?
Servicemen Accounted for - During the month of December 1999 the Dept. Of Defense announced the accounting of the following Servicemen lost in Vietnam and Laos;
Army - Staff Sgt. Tim L. Walters, In, 1st Lt. James R. Mcquade, Wa, and Spec. 4 James E. Hackett, Fl. Sgt. Elbert Bush, Sp5 William Stinson, Captain David May, Md, and CWO Jon E.Reid, Az
Air Force - Col. Robert Elliot, Col George W. Jensen, Wa, Col. Marshall L. Tapp, Ca, Col. Lavern G. Reilly, Mn, Major George W. Thompson, W.Va, Cmsgt. James A. Preston, Ga, Cmsgt.James E. Williams, Ms, Cmsgt. William L. Madison, Ky, and Smsgt. Kenneth D. Mckenney, Ma.
Navy - Captain Norman E. Eidsmoe, Sd, and Lt. Commander Michael E. Dunn, of Il.
To These Families - We Hold You in Our Hearts and Prayers During this Difficult Time and Hope You Now Have the Answers You Have Waited So Long For.
Creative Accounting - 1 + 0 = 8 --- On December 13th, 1999, the Department of Defense announced the remains identification of 8 crewmen lost on May 15th, 1966. They are: Col. George W. Jensen, Col. Marshall L. Tapp, Col. Lavern G. Reilly, Major George W. Thompson, Cmsgt. James A. Preston, Smsgt. James E. Williams, Cmsgt. William L. Madison and Smsgt. Kenneth D. McKenney, all of the United States Air Force.
The Problem - the Only Identifiable Remains recovered were those of the "Spooky 10" Aircraft Commander Col. George W. Jensen. No other identifiable remains were recovered from the site. This in spite of four (4) excavations conducted between 1995 and 1997.
Vietnamese witnesses stated that the aircraft was still burning when they located it. After putting out the fire, they recovered and buried the crewmen in two mass graves. The next day, they discovered the remains of another crewman and buried him between the two mass graves. It was that single grave that was discovered and excavated. No signs of the two mass graves were ever discovered.
In addition to the dental remains identified as Col. Jensen, less than 30 bone fragments were recovered from the site. According to one anthropological report "The extant unidentified remains could represent any of the above named individuals involved in this incident." This includes Col. Jensen.
The decision to bury the seven, comes in spite of the following statements: from the CIL-HI recovery leader - "recovered life-support equipment, aircrew-related items, and personal effects, exclusive of the previously recovered Captain's rank insignia and the loadmaster's identification tag, cannot be correlated to specific individuals, nor are they sufficient to conclude whether or not all of the crew members were aboard the aircraft at the time of impact." The six page report is cosigned by Col. James M Colvin Jr. CIL-HI Commander.
Another report titled "Forensic Anthropology Report: CILHI 1997-020-G-01" dated 30 June 1997, describes the bone fragments recovered. Discussing some of the unidentifiable fragments, the report states; "all fragments are consistent with, but not exclusive to, human derivation."
Requests by the family for mt-DNA testing were denied.
Also recovered at the site were some U.S. coins, a boot, portions of two - three watches and most condemning, for Capt. Marshall Tapp and Sgt. James Preston, was a set of Captains Bars and a Dog Tag bearing the name James Preston. There you have the sum total of the evidence used to bury seven men without remains.
We are not going to discuss the live sightings of William Madison or the fact that captivity photograph #45 was identified as James Williams. That identification was made by family members. The live sightings of Madison were dismissed as fabrications and the photo identification of Williams, made by family members, was dismissed as a mistake. Sgt. Preston's cousin, and family representative, Amanda Kidd has prepared a detailed report outlining all the discrepancies in this case. That report is available on our Web Site. We urge you all to read it.
Sadly, remains identified does not always mean remains recovered. For the families of seven crewmen of Spooky 10, they will always wonder.
Creative Accounting 0 + X = 11 - in a year ending update to family members, the Air Force proudly proclaimed "Additionally, 11 positive identifications of remains of Air Force unaccounted for Servicemember from the Vietnam War were made during 1999..."
Does this Figure of "11 positive identifications" include the seven crew members of "Spooky 10?"
