Eastward Ho – On May 17^th, both Rolling Thunder and Run for the Wall began their cross country motorcycle run. The run culminates with Rolling Thunder’s 18^th Annual Ride for Freedom on May 29^th, in Washington D.C.

On May 16^th, in ceremonies aboard the U.S.S. Hornet, Carry the Flame officially launched the run portion of the POW Petition Drive. Among those signing the Petition were Alliance Chairperson Dolores Alfond, entertainer Nancy Sinatra numerous Gold and Blue Star Mothers and members of both Carry the Flame and Rolling Thunder. There is even a member of Congress among the petition signers. Signatures will be gathered at each stop, as Carry the Flame and Rolling Thunder heads East.

We thank both Rolling Thunder® National and Carry the Flame for their continued support of the POW Petition Drive. . Download your petition at www.nationalalliance.org

To all those heading to Rolling Thunder XVIII, RIDE SAFE and see you in D.C., and don’t forget your signed petitions.

Why Captured Service Personnel Need the “Domestic” Prisoner of War Designation – On May 9^th the Associated Press published a article titled “Foreigners still held hostage in Iraq.” The article began; “Insurgents in Iraq have kidnaped more than 200 foreigners” and went on to list each individual. At the very bottom of the list, under the heading “Missing” we found this paragraph:

“U.S. Army Spc. Keith M. Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio, and Timothy Bell of Mobile, Ala. Disappeared April 9 after attack on a fuel convoy. Arab television reported June 29 that Maupin had been killed; he is listed as missing by the U.S. military.”

“He is listed as missing by the U.S. military.” The author of this AP article did just what we were afraid of. All this writer saw was the word MISSING and that’s what he or she wrote. That would never have happened with a Prisoner of War status.

Readers of this AP article who have not followed the case of Matt Maupin, for those who have no interest in the POW/MIA issue, for those who do not remember the video of the young captured PFC, for the vast majority who are simply unaware of what goes on in the world around them, Matt Maupin is “missing.” Not even Missing/Captured, just missing, when in fact he is a Prisoner of War.

This is one of the many reasons a “domestic” designation of “Missing/Captured” is unacceptable.

Russia to Open Files on German POWs - May 18, 2005 from Deutsche Welle

“Russia has agreed to hand over the files on two million German prisoners of war and civilian detainees in World War II to the German Red Cross, the non-governmental organization said on Tuesday. Rudolf Seiters, the head of the German Red Cross, said that with the files "we hope to throw light on the fate of those who are still missing." The Red Cross has already established the fate of 200,000 Germans thanks to documents supplied by Russia, but what happened to around 1.3 million other Germans still remains a mystery. Sixty years since the end of the war, 2,000 requests for information are still lodged every year by the families of the missing.”

But the Germans Aren’t Alone –

AP Alert - May 12^th – Hungary: Soviets Held Half A Million Hungarian Prisoners Budapest (ANSA) - “A collection of documents discovered by Russian and Hungarian historians gives for the first time exact information about the number of Hungarian prisoners, both military and civilian, held in Soviet camps after the end of the World War II.”

“According to the book "Hungarian Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union 1941-1953", which has been recently presented at a news conference by researcher Eva Varga and Gusztav Gecsenyi, director of the Hungarian National Archive, the total number of prisoners reached 530,000 including 35,000 civilians.”

>“The Hungarian prisoners in the Soviet Union were not only soldiers, who have fought on the side of Nazi Germany, but also civilians captured in 1945 after the Red Army occupation of Hungary. These people have been deported to forced labour camps in the USSR and their destiny was a taboo during the communist regime in Hungary.”

“On the other hand, the number of Hungarian Jews held in Nazi concentration camps has been estimated to 600,000. So the number of prisoners in the Soviet camps is almost equal to the number of Nazi prisoners with the only difference that some 90 percent of the Hungarians detained in Soviet camps returned to their country after 1948.”

“The Hungarian prisoners have been sent to 181 camps from 1941 to 1955, where at least 11 percent of them died and were buried there. The cemeteries where these people were buried have been recently identified on the base of Soviet documents which were made accessible only recently. An exhibition in the House of Terror Museum in Budapest for the fist time brought up the subject of the prisoners held in Soviet camps in occasion of the 60th anniversary of the end of the WWII. (ANSA).(DG/krc)”

The Germans get records..... The Hungarians get records......

The U.S. doesn’t get records

We guess it’s all in how you ask......

The position of the National Alliance of Families is that the Russian Government must be reassured that their will be no recriminations should they turn over detailed information on the “American’s, including American Servicemen, imprisoned in the Soviet Union.” We can not and should not hold the Russian Government responsible for the actions of the Soviet Union, a country and government that no longer exists. From our readings, we believe other POW/MIA family groups hold similar positions.

So, why is it that DPMO does not encourage this attitude. On more than one occasion the Russians have complained of mixed signal when it comes to turning over information relating to American POWs held in the former Soviet Union.

The DPMO’s attitude of discouragement is clearly evident in the Spring 2005 edition of their newsletter “The Torch.” In an article titled “Latest Gulag Study Released” the uncredited article comments on access to records of the former Soviet Union stating: “So far, the records of the security and intelligence agencies that operated the camps in which foreign (non-Soviet) citizens were held have not been made available to us. Looking through such documents is hardly going to emphasize the positive aspects in our past relationship with the former Soviet Union.”

Now, isn’t that a great way to encourage access to records,

by reminding the Russians how badly they would look, if we had access to those records?

It is also interesting to note that two very important pieces of information are missing from the article. The first and most obvious to those familiar with the 5^th Edition of the Gulag Study is the stunning statement contained in the Executive Summary which states; “Americans, including American servicemen, were imprisoned in the former Soviet Union.”

“The Torch” is the official publication of the Defense POW/MIA Office. It goes out to POW/MIA family members, many of whom do not belong to either the Alliance, League or any of the Korean Cold War family groups. Wouldn’t you think that a statement as important as “Americans, including American servicemen, were imprisoned in the former Soviet Union” would be mentioned?

You know what else wasn’t in the article? There was no mention of the Joint Commission Support Directorate (JCSD), the investigative arm of the U.S./Russian Joint Commission. As we all know, it was the hard work of the JCSD, that resulted in the “Gulag Study.”

Blast From The Past – At our 1999 annual meeting in Washington D.C., Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Tx.) who chairs the Korean Working Group stated the biggest roadblock to the progress of the U.S. Russian Joint Commission is the State Department of the United States. He also cited, by name, then National Security Council Advisor, Sandy Berger as a major road block to progress.

While administrations may have changed, we believe the roadblocks cited by Congressman Johnson still exist.

As evidenced by the DPMO’s less than encouraging statement, with regard to Soviet documents: “.... Looking through such documents is hardly going to emphasize the positive aspects in our past relationship with the former Soviet Union.....” It is clear, DPMO is one of those roadblocks.

What or Who Else May Have Gone to Syria – a recent article in the Washington Times, titled “CIA Can’t Rule out WMD Move to Syria” by Rowan Scarborough states: “The CIA's chief weapons inspector said he cannot rule out the possibility that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were secretly shipped to Syria before the March 2003 invasion, citing "sufficiently credible" evidence that WMDs may have been moved there.”

“Inspector Charles Duelfer, who heads the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), made the findings in an addendum to his final report filed last year. He said the search for WMD in Iraq -- the main reason President Bush went to war to oust Saddam Hussein -- has been exhausted without finding such weapons. Iraq had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in the early 1990s. But on the question of Syria, Mr. Duelfer did not close the books. "ISG was unable to complete its investigation and is unable to rule out the possibility that WMD was evacuated to Syria before the war," Mr. Duelfer said in a report posted on the CIA's Web site Monday night.”

As it was the mission of the Iraq Survey Group to locate Capt. Scott Speicher, number 3 on the list after Saddam and WMD’s, we wonder..... has anyone considered the possibility that Capt. Speicher might have been moved to Syria?

Don’t Forget H.Res 123 – calling for the establishment in the House of Representatives, a Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. As of now, we have 11 cosponsors. Contact your Congressional Representative and ask that they cosponsor H. Res 123. For more visit www.nationalalliance.org

Why does Johnnie Webb still have a job??????

National Alliance of Families 16^th Annual Forum is scheduled for June 16th - 18th, 2005. Our forum is conducted to coincide with the Governments annual Vietnam POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years’ government briefing. The government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the government briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings and you do not have to belong to an organization to attend these briefings.

This year we will meet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel located at 1489 Jefferson Davis Highway. The Crowne Plaza is a short walk from the DoubleTree Hotel, site of the government briefings. Room rates for the Alliance is $109.00 per night plus tax. Parking is $7.00 per day. Call 1-800-2CROWNE. The deadline for reservations was May 20^th. You may still be able to get the Alliance rate if you call, now!

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:

National Alliance Of Families

 P.O. Box 40327

 Bellevue, Wa. 98015.

Remember all contributions are tax deductible.