| MEMORANDUM | FOR HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, TOTAL |
| ARMY PERSONNEL COMMAND (TAPC-PER) |
SUBJECT: Information in the Case of Captain John T. McDonnell (REFNO 1402)
Attached is a copy of the additions to Captain McDonnell's classified file that has been prepared for the primary next of kin (PNOK). These are the additions that were made since Mr. McDonnel had last requested a copy of the file.
The following is the response to the numbered points in the communication from the Army concerning the case of Captain John T. McDonnell, USA, (Refno 1402) who is unaccounted for as a result of the war in Southeast Asia:
1. Request analyst clarification of source that shows where scar behind ear, jewelry, and tatoos (sic) originated.
Answer: There are actually two 1973 reports. One mentions the POW with jewelry. The other report refers to a POW with tattoos and a scar behind his ear.
The source of IR 6 918 5058 73 was a North Vietnamese soldier who rallied to the South Vietnamese government in April 1973 in Binh Dinh Province. He described an American artillery officer from Texas who was captured in 1968 or 1969 in Binh Dinh Province. The American officer had a 1.5" scar behind his left ear and two tattoos, one on his right forearm and one on the upper left arm. The source claimed he saw and spoke with the officer on four different occasions from August 1972 to February 1973 w
hile he was held in a Military Region 5 (MR-5) POW canip at BS 565 382 in Quang Ngai Province. The rallier also asserted that a "Senior Lieutenant Hinh" serving as a MR-5 interpreter, assisted him in conversing with the American officer. Based on information available in 1973, DIA analysts tentatively correlated the report to one of two men, Captain McDonnell or Sergeant Tubbs. The source was reinterviewed on two occasions, and although he was shown photos of both McDonnell and Tubbs, twice he selected another officer who was lost in Laos in 1969, as most closely resembling the American he spoke with at the POW camp.
The other report, R 317/09082-73, stems from a North Vietnamese Army soldier who rallied to South Vietnamese forces in February 1973, in Quang Ngai Province. The source claimed he saw two Americans for brief periods of time on three separate occasions in June and July 1971 in Savannakhet Province, Laos. He said the two were collaborating with the People's Army of Vietnam and wore communist uniforms. Both of the Americans also had metal "Seiko" wristwatches, and one wore a large gold ring with a red ruby. In 1973 the Joint Casualty Resolution Center correlated the report to Captain McDonnell based primarily on the jewe@ described in the report, During a reinterview the source was shown Captain McDonnell's photograph mixed with those of 15 other missing servicemen, but he was unable to make a positive identification.
The credibility of these reports and Captain McDonnell's association to them is highly questionable. Information available today about his loss incident and how Vietnamese communist forces dealt with American POWs, further diminishes the credibility of these reports.
Captain McDonnell was lost in Thua Thien Province vice Binh Dinh Province as claimed by one source. The two locations are over 200 kilometers apart. The second reference to his capture in Quang Nam Province is also incorrect.
The MR-5 POW camp occupied seven different locations in northwest Quang Ngai Province from July 1965 to February 1971 when the camp was closed and the prisoners moved to North Vietnam. The known camp locations were determined by information provided by former POWs and subsequent US conducted field investigations. None of the camps were within 50 kilometers of the location fumished by the source. The former POWs held in the MR-5 camp identified and accounted for all US detainees. Captain McDonnell was never seen in the camp system. Furthen-nore, he was lost in the Thua Thien-Hue Military Region and would not have been sent to the MR-5 camps.
Physical descriptions and references to jewelry aside, the claims made by these two sources to have observed American POWs under the circumstances cited lead us to conclude they both fabricated their stories.
Further, over the past 25 years the intelligence assets of this nation have been focused on Southeast Asia in an attempt to verify POW reports, however, we have never obtained information to corroborate the claims of these two sources.
5. Check- DI,4 memo CINF-01301POWIML4 dated 7 Feb 92, para #3.
Answer: The referenced DIA correspondence is a letter to the Army casualty office transmitting requested documents from Captain McDonnell's file. Paragraph 3 cites the pertinent sections of law that preclude release of classified data relating to intelligence sources and methods. In this instance several of the documents that were forwarded to the Army had been excised to protect sources and for the protection of personal privacy.
6. Request follow-up on live sighting reports R 317109082-73 FVS-32, 810('?),- second live sighting ref SGT Tubbs. Have any live sightings pertained to Tubbs.
Answer: Documents relating to follow-up on the reports are included in the McDonnell case file that will be or has been furnished to Mr. McDonnell. Sergeant Tubbs drowned crossing a swift moving stream while on a combat patrol. There are no live sightings of him.
7. Check sourcefrom Baltimore Sun article, possible interview. Check and interview interpreter LT Hinh from msg traffic.
Answer: We are not familiar with the referenced newspaper article. LT Hinh is alleged to be an interpreter in the story offered by the source who talked with the American at the MR-5 POW camp who had the scar behind his ear. This report is considered a fabrication. The camp where LT Hinh allegedly worked didn't exist at the time and location cited by the source, thus the existence of the interpreter is moot.
8. Request national interrogation center records ref John McDonnell.
Answer: This request is somewhat confusing. Although the United States and our allies had interrogation facilities in Vietnam during the war, they did not maintain files on missing US servicemen.