DPMO Meeting - On April 5^th, Dolores Alfond, Michael Benge and Lynn O'Shea met with Adrian Cronauer, Special Assistant to Mr. Jerry Jennings, the new head of DPMO. Although the meeting was pleasant in tone, we were left with the feeling that it is business as usual at DPMO. We were particularly concerned with the dismissal of so much of the information recently published on the Speicher Case. Here is some of what we were told regarding the Speicher Case:

1. There was no new information on the case. Nothing had changed in spite of recent reports.

2. The recent reports to British and Dutch intelligence reports of Cmdr. Speicher being alive were not confirmed.

3. The source who picked Cmdr. Speicher's photo out of a photo array was dismissed. (When Lynn O'Shea pointed out that the source had passed two polygraphs, the results were dismissed with the following quote "there is a reason polygraphs are not admissible in court."

4. There is no evidence he survived the crash. He probably got out of the aircraft but that does not mean he survived.

5. The CBS report contained many inaccuracies. DPMO sent them a letter, after the program aired, pointing out inaccuracies. CBS ignored it.

6. There was no man made symbol picked up by overhead satellite. The only man-made symbol in the area were "tire tracks if you consider that man made"

7. The Washington Times articles by Bill Gertz contained many inaccuracies.

Briefly, S 1339 also know as the "Speicher Bill" would provide U.S. citizenship to any Iraqi or foreign national, along with their immediate family, if they bring Scott Speicher home, alive.

Doing our part, the Alliance has faxed the 92 Senators who have not yet cosponsored S 1339. Our letter urges them to co-sponsor this important legislation. Additionally, we faxed copies of the Jacksonville Times Union article titled "Vets Back Legislation To Help Find Speicher" (see excerpt below.) If they are reading their faxes, and Dear Colleague Letter sent by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, when the bill was introduced, someone in each Senate office should be well aware of the "Speicher Bill." The only question remaining for the 92 Senators is --- why aren't they a co-sponsor?

To get the fax number for your Senator visit http://www.nationalalliance.org/gulf/senators.htm

Remember, when you check the list, if your Senators name appears in green, it means he is already a co-sponsor. You don't have to contact him, although a Thank You might be nice.

Just How Far - It has been two months since the recent sightings of Scott Speicher were reported by the Washington Times. As you know one of those reports stated Speicher was alive as recently as January of this year.

At the end of March, Iraqi radio broadcasted a conditional "invitation" to the United States to come look for Cmdr. Speicher. No action was taken on the "invitation" as it was not an official invitation.

The "official invitation" arrived in early April. U.S. officials were reviewing the invitation and the reported conditions attached to that invitation.

A full month has passed since the "official invitation" was received. We have not been able to find any report of U.S. response to that "invitation."

If the January sighting of Scott Speicher was accurate, we have to ask -- Just How Far could the Iraqi's have moved Speicher since January. For that matter, how far could they have moved him since the beginning of April.

Our guess is this is the Iraqi version of a "no notice" live sighting investigation. Both sides drag their heels and in the end, investigators find nothing but painted walls.

The Conditions - One of the reported conditions for U.S. investigators headed to Iraq is that former U.N. inspector and current critic of U.S. policy toward Iraq, Scott Ritter accompany the delegation. In our meeting at DPMO, we were told this was a request not a condition. Yet, the media continues to report this as a condition for the search. We don't know what is accurate. We will have to wait and see.

However, in reviewing all the information published in Bits over the years, we can across this interesting piece from 2001. The Reuters article, published February 11^th, is titled "Iraq Accuses U.N. Monitors of Searching For Speicher" - "Baghdad (Reuters) - Iraq has accused United Nations weapon inspectors of looking for a U.S. pilot shot down during the 1991 Gulf War instead of searching for prohibited weapons."

"I was informed by former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter that a team of U.N. weapons inspectors was looking for the body of the American pilot," said Hussam Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate, in an interview carried by Nasirriya weekly newspaper on Sunday. The newspaper was evidently referring to a period several years after the end of the Gulf War...."

A Word About Rank - When Cmdr. Speicher status was changed from Killed In Action (KIA) to Missing In Action (MIA) all rank and eligibility for promotions were restored. Currently, Speicher holds the rank of Commander. According to the promotion list Commander Speicher will make Captain in July.

That is why some are now referring to Speicher as Captain-Select. Until July, we will continue to refer to Speicher as Commander.

From The Jacksonville Times-Union - May 8^th, by Paul Pinkham and Rachel Davis "Vets back legislation to help find Speicher" - "Veterans groups are rallying around legislation in the U.S. Senate that would grant political asylum to any Iraqi or Middle Eastern national who returns missing Jacksonville Navy pilot Scott Speicher alive."

"...Now groups of veterans and relatives of POW/MIAs are scrambling to convince senators to support the amendment, introduced by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., and co-sponsored by Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., and six others."

"I think that we should do all we can to bring home all of our POWs and MIAs ... and this bill provides a real incentive for people from other countries to help us out," Miller said yesterday."

"The National Alliance of Families, most relatives of POW/MIAs... urged senators to co-sponsor the amendment. The Alliance's goal is to have 51 co-sponsors by June 30."

"Other organizations actively lobbying for the amendment are the POW/MIA support group Rolling Thunder and the Blue Star Mothers of America, made up mostly of relatives of active duty military personnel. "All the Blue Star Mothers across the country are contacting their senators," said Susan Naill, the group's first vice president. The group has members in almost every state and Puerto Rico...."

"Neither of Florida's senators are co-sponsoring the bill yet, though a spokesman for Democrat Bill Nelson said he is supportive and probably will sign on. Nelson is exploring amendments that would extend the offer to include credible information about Speicher's fate and include a financial reward, spokesman Dan McLaughlin said. But Nelson doesn't want to add amendments if they risk slowing down the bill, so he is weighing strategy with his staff, McLaughlin said."

"Democrat Bob Graham's office said he is studying the issue. Spokesman Paul Anderson said the legislation had not been brought to the office's attention until yesterday when a Times-Union reporter called about it...

Remains of Medal of Honor Recipient Returned To Family - from the Denver Rocky Mountain News - May 1 By M.E. Sprengelmeyer "Thirty-one years late, life is about to come full circle for a Colorado soldier. Just before he shipped out for his second tour of duty in the Vietnam War, Army Capt. Jon E. Swanson, 28, took his wife, Sandee, and their two baby daughters on a trip to Washington, D.C."

"At Arlington National Cemetery, they paused at the Tomb of the Unknowns and he explained the significance of thousands of simple, white markers for soldiers who died serving their country. Within a few months, he met their fate."

"His helicopter was shot down on Feb. 26, 1971, in Cambodia. But only now, after an agonizing wait for his family, his remains were finally recovered and are about to come "home" to the nation's most hallowed ground."

"In a White House ceremony today, President Bush will award Capt. Swanson with the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. On Friday, his remains and those of his flying partner, Staff Sgt. Larry Harrison of North Carolina, will be buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery."

"To Swanson's family, it does not mean "closure," but represents an acknowledgment of the quiet sacrifice so many soldiers made fighting one of the country's most difficult wars. "It's really a part of a healing process for all of us," said his widow, Sandee Swanson of Boulder. "It's not only for our family in what we've all

lost, but it's for the Vietnam veterans, those souls who served with him, and what they sacrificed."

"...During his first tour of duty in Vietnam, he was shot and wounded on a helicopter mission in May 1967. Later that year, he married Sandee, his teen-age sweetheart, while on leave in Hawaii. He was eventually transferred to helicopter training duty back in the United States. But by 1970, when the United States was conducting covert operations with the South Vietnamese army in neighboring Cambodia, he volunteered for a second combat tour."

"He had only been there a few months when, according to a Department of Defense synopsis, he launched a "mission that likely saved many others' lives - even as he lost his own."

"He piloted a small, scout helicopter to fly low and locate targets for better-armed Cobra gunships. That day, he evaded ground-to-air fire and destroyed five bunkers. But then he spotted a .51-caliber machine gun position and attempted to mark it with a smoke grenade for a Cobra attack."

"He circled around to assess the damage and saw the weapon was still intact, with an enemy soldier crawling to man it. He shot and killed the soldier, but soon his helicopter was hit by fire from another machine gun. Although he was low on ammunition and the helicopter was already "crippled," he continued the mission to attack the other anti-aircraft position. But soon, the helicopter was hit by more gunfire, exploded in midair and crashed to the ground."

"The Department of Defense determined his actions likely prevented "the destruction of many more helicopters and crews."

"For three decades, his remains were never found and returned, even after tense negotiations with Cambodian and painstaking archaeological searches in the 1990s. It was only this February, after Congress cleared the way for his posthumous Medal of Honor award, that the family learned that a small amount of the Swanson and Harrison remains were finally coming "home" to Arlington...."

"His younger daughter, 32-year-old Holly Walker of Fairfax, Va., said it is strange that the father she barely remembers is finally being honored in the middle of the country's new war. "This has additional significance because of the war on terrorism," she said. "Before we commit troops to war, a lot of people say, 'Is this worth losing a son for?' I say, 'Is it worth losing a father for?' Every time we send our troops in, that's what I ask."

"Her sister, Brigid Swanson-Jones, 33, of Westminster, said even though she has few memories of her father, he has inspired her to be a quiet leader. "It's not really closure because he will always be with us," Swanson-Jones said. "Instead . . . this means we're able to bring him home."

The National Alliance Of Families Thirteenth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 20th - 22nd, 2002. Our forum is conducted to coincide with the Governments annual POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years government briefings, for Vietnam family members. The government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings.

This years meeting will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel (same as last year) The hotel is located at 1489 Jefferson Davis Highway, Crystal City Va. Room rates are $106.00 + tax, per night for a single or double room. Parking is $5.00 per night. Transportation to the government briefings will be available. To make your reservations call 703-416-1600. The cut-off date for the special Alliance room rate is fast approaching. Make your reservations, now. Remember to say you are with the National Alliance of Families to get the special rate.

The Alliance is an all volunteer organization. Our meetings are open to all, without charge. At this time of year, we actively seek contributions to finance our forum. If you wish to contribute, donations may be mailed to: