MR. HELMS: MR. PRESIDENT; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE REMAINS OF FOUR UNITED STATES SERVICEMEN, MISSING IN ACTION IN LAOS SINCE MARCH 5, 1971, ARE TO BE INTERRED IN A MILITARY BURIAL TODAY AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY. THE NAMES OF THESE SERVICEMEN ARE: SPECIALIST 4 JOEL C. HATLEY, FROM ALBEMARLE, NORTH CAROLINA; CAPTAIN DAVID L. NELSON, FROM KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON; WARRANT OFFICER RALPH MOREIRA, FROM BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA; AND SPECIALIST 4 MICHAEL E. KING, FROM CALHOUN, GEORGIA.

ON SEPTEMBER 21, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STATED IN PRESS CONFERENCE THAT "REMAINS RECOVERED DURING JANUARY 5-10, 1990 JOINT EXCAVATION EFFORTS BY THE U.S. AND LAO GOVERNMENTS HAVE RESULTED IN ACCOUNTING FOR THE [FOUR] SERVICEMEN... THE REMAINS OF THESE AMERICANS WILL DEPART HICKMAN AIR FORCE BASE IN HAWAII FOR A FULL MILITARY HONORS CEREMONY... AND WILL TRAVEL TO TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, FOR THE FINAL JOURNEY HOME."

MR. PRESIDENT, THE ORDINARY READER WHO READS SUCH STATEMENTS MIGHT WELL CONCLUDE THAT U.S. EXPERTS HAVE MADE POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF THE REMAINS, AND THAT THE FAMILIES OF THE FOUR MEN WILL AT LAST BE COMFORTED BY THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY KNOW WHERE THE BODIES OF THEIR LOVED ONES LIE.

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS NOT THE CASE.

THERE ARE NO REMAINS WHATSOEVER FOR SPECIALIST 4 HATLEY OR FOR CAPTAIN NELSON. FOR WARRANT OFFICER MOREIRA AND SPECIALIST 4 KING, THERE ARE MINUSCULE FRAGMENTS OF BONE AND A TOOTH NOT POSITIVELY IDENTIFIABLE BY ANY OBJECTIVE FORENSIC ANALYSIS. YET FOUR COFFINS WILL BE BURIED WITH FULL MILITARY HONORS.

MR. PRESIDENT, I HAVE CONTACTED THE FAMILIES OF BOTH SPECIALIST HATLEY AND CAPTAIN NELSON. THEY WERE THRILLED WHEN THEY FIRST GOT THE NEWS THAT THEIR SONS HAD BEEN FOUND; BUT THEY WERE SHOCKED WHEN THEY WERE TOLD, UPON FURTHER INQUIRY, THAT NO ACTUAL REMAINS WERE BEING RETURNED.

WHY DOES THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PUT THE FAMILIES OF MIA'S THROUGH THIS KIND OF CHARADE?

THE ANSWER, MR. PRESIDENT, LIES IN A HIGHLY CONVOLUTED SYSTEM OF INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS THAT DEPENDS MORE UPON PROCEDURE AND METHODOLOGY THAN UPON PRACTICAL RESULT. FOR EXAMPLE, IN ANNOUNCING THE MOCK-BURIALS AT ARLINGTON CEMETERY RELATED TO THE FOUR MEN, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROUDLY TALKED ABOUT "REMAINS," AND CASES "ACCOUNTED FOR." IN A Q & A STATEMENT, DOD SAYS:

HOW MANY REMAINS RECOVERED FROM SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES HAVE THUS FAR RESULTED IN THE ACCOUNTING FOR MISSING AMERICANS?

INCLUDING THESE INDIVIDUALS, 287 AMERICANS (245 FROM VIETNAM, 40 FROM LAOS, AND 2 FROM PRC) PREVIOUSLY MISSING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA HAVE BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR.

HOW MANY AMERICANS ARE STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR IN INDOCHINA?

WITH THIS DETERMINATION, THERE ARE STILL 2.298 AMERICANS (1,677 IN VIETNAM, 530 IN LAOS, 83 IN CAMBODIA, AND 6 IN PRC COSTAL WATERS) MISSING IN INDOCHINA."

CLEARLY, THE IMPLICATION IN THESE STATEMENTS IS THAT PHYSICALLY REMAINS HAVE BEEN RECOVERED AND RESTORED TO THE FAMILIES OF THE MISSING SERVICEMEN. YET THAT IS NOT WHAT THE BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEM MEANS. DOD HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE, ITS OWN DEFINITIONS OF ORDINARY WORDS, ITS OWN PURPOSES TO BE SERVED.

WHEN DOD SAYS "ACCOUNTED FOR," IT MEANS THAT DOD HAS GONE THROUGH A STEREOTYPED PROCESS THAT ALLOWS IT TO CLOSE THE FILES ON A CASE. IT MEANS FIRST OF ALL THAT ALL REPORTS OF SIGHTINGS OF SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS BY EYEWITNESSES -- SO-CALLED "LIVE SIGHTING REPORTS" --HAVE BEEN CHECKED OUT, AND EITHER DISMISSED OR INVESTIGATED. OF COURSE IT IS EASIER TO DISMISS REPORTS BY DISCREDITING THE WITNESSES, OR BY INSISTING THAT THE REPORTS MEET BUREAUCRATIC CRITERIA THAN IT IS TO CHECK THEM OUT.

SINCE THE FALL OF SAIGON IN 1975 UP TO SEPTEMBER 1, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SAYS IT HAS RECEIVED 12,184 LIVE SIGHTING REPORTS. DOD STATES THAT IT HAS REJECTED 68% OF THESE REPORTS BY "CORRELATION- " WITH AMERICANS WHO WERE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA DURING THE PERIOD. BUT THE CRITERIA FOR CORRELATION ARE THEMSELVES SUSPECT, FREQUENTLY BUREAUCRATICALLY RIGID, AND SOMETIMES ABSURD. I WILL EXPLAIN THIS IN A MOMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE FOUR MOCK-BURIALS TODAY. UNDOUBTEDLY, MANY REPORTS ARE MISTAKEN, MANY ARE DISTORTED, AND MANY ARE FABRICATED. BUT DOD SEEMS TO BE CLAIMING BY ITS OWN STATISTICS THAT OVER TWO-THIRDS OF THE REPORTS CAN BE SUMMARILY DISMISSED.

SECONDLY, DOD'S USE OF THE TERM "REMAINS" DOES NOT MEET THE ORDINARY DEFINITION OF THE WORD. FOR DOD THE WORD "REMAINS REFERS NOT TO THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL REMAINS, BUT TO AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT DEDUCTED FROM CIRCUMSTANCES.

IN THE CASE OF THE FOUR SERVICEMEN, AN EXCAVATION TEAM FOUND REMNANTS OF A HELICOPTER AT THE SITE WHERE IT PRESUMABLY CRASHED ON MARCH 5, 1971. IN THE INTERVENING 19 YEARS, MANY THINGS COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THE BODIES OF THOSE KILLED IN THE CRASH. A FIRE COULD HAVE CONSUMED MOST OF BODIES, INCLUDING MOST OF THE BONES. THE PROCESS OF TROPICAL DECAY COULD OBLITERATE MOST TRACES. WILD ANIMALS COULD DRAG BODIES AWAY. THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING ACTUAL REMAINS, AND IDENTIFYING THEM CORRECTLY, IS INDEED FORMIDABLE. THIS SENATOR DOES NOT WANT TO MINIMIZE THE DIFFICULTIES FACING DOD.

IN PRACTICE, DOD WORKS BY A PROCESS OF DEDUCTION. RECORDS OF THE INCIDENT WOULD SHOW WHO WAS PILOT AND CO-PILOT AND CREW. ANY REMAINS FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PLACES IN THE WRECKED VEHICLE ARE THEN ARBITRARILY ASSIGNED TO THE CASE OF THE CREWMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SITTING IN THAT PLACE. THAT IS REASONABLE ENOUGH. IN SOME CASES, TEETH AND DENTAL WORK CAN BE IDENTIFIED, BUT IN MANY CASES HUMAN FRAGMENTS ARE TOO SMALL TO BE POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED. NEVERTHELESS, THE CASE IS STAMPED "RESOLVED," TENTATIVE THOUGH THE IDENTIFICATION MAY BE.

MANY FAMILIES WOULD PREFER TO KNOW SIMPLY THAT THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN FOUND AT THE CRASH SITE, AND THAT UNIDENTIFIABLE REMAINS WERE RECOVERED INSIDE. THEY WOULD BE HAPPY TO JOIN IN A CEREMONY COMMEMORATING ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE DIED IN THE CRASH, BUT THEY ARE DISTURBED WHEN TOLD THAT "REMAINS" HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THEIR LOVED ONE EVEN THOUGH NO POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION IS POSSIBLE.

HOWEVER, DOD GOES EVEN FURTHER. WHEN NO ACTUAL HUMAN REMAINS ARE FOUND IN THE CRASH, OR NOT ENOUGH REMAINS ARE FOUND TO ACCOUNT FOR EACH OF THE CREWMAN, THE DOD DECLARES THAT THE WHOLE CREW HAS BEEN "ACCOUNTED FOR." THUS EMPTY CASKETS ARE RETURNED AS SYMBOLIC "REMAINS." THAT IS WHY NO ACTUAL REMAINS ARE BEING BURIED TODAY FOR TWO OF THE MISSING AIRMEN.

THE PROBLEM WITH THIS METHOD, ALTHOUGH BUREAUCRATICALLY CONVENIENT FOR CLOSING CASES, IS THAT IT IS DISHONEST. THE MISSING SERVICEMEN MAY WELL HAVE ESCAPED BY JUMPING IN THE LAST MOMENTS OF THE CRASH -- SOMETHING NOT IMPOSSIBLE IN A HELICOPTER THAT FALLS IN A CERTAIN WAY. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THE MAN MAY HAVE SURVIVED AND DISAPPEARED AS A PRISONER OF WAR.

THIS POSSIBILITY IS VERY INCONVENIENT FOR CLOSING CASES, PARTICULARLY IF THERE ARE LIVE-SIGHTING REPORTS OF THE MISSING AIRMAN. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE OF CAPTAIN NELSON. IN 1986, A LAOTIAN EYEWITNESS, A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL LAOTIAN ARMY, REPORTED THAT HE HAD BEEN IMPRISONED IN 1978 WITH CAPTAIN NELSON AND ANOTHER WESTERNER, THAT HE HAD NURSED CAPTAIN NELSON, WHO WAS BADLY BURNED, AS BEST HE COULD IN THE PRISON CAMP, AND BURIED HIM IN THE CAMP WHEN HE DIED. HE PROVIDED SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES, A HAND-DRAWN MAP OF THE CAMP, AND THE SITE OF THE GRAVE IN THE CAMP.

PRESS REPORTS HAVE STATED THAT, INSTEAD OF TREATING THE LAOTIAN EYEWITNESS'S INFORMATION SERIOUSLY, DOD SOUGHT TO DISCREDIT HIM. DOD ADMINISTERED "LIE DETECTOR" TESTS ON HIM, AND CLAIMED THAT HE WAS LYING, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD NO DISCERNIBLE MOTIVATION TO LIE, AND THE INFORMATION ON HIS MAP CHECKED OUT WITH OTHER SOURCES. INDEED, SOME REPORTS SAY THAT HE WAS THREATENED WITH DEPORTATION FROM THE UNITED STATES, WHERE HE NOW LIVES, IF HE DID NOT RETRACT HIS STORY. I HOPE THAT THESE REPORTS ARE INACCURATE, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE CONDUCT OF INTERROGATION TEAM WAS QUESTIONABLE AND NO NATIVE LANGUAGE STATEMENT WAS TAKEN FROM A WITNESS NOT THOROUGHLY FAMILIAR WITH ENGLISH. IN MY OPINION, HIS TESTIMONY SHOULD BE RE-EXAMINED BY COMPETENT EXPERTS.

NEVERTHELESS, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A "LIVE-SIGHTING REPORT" THAT WAS "RESOLVED" THROUGH "CORRELATION." MEANWHILE, DOD INSISTS THAT THE EMPTY CASKET THAT WILL BE BURIED IN ARLINGTON IS THE TRUE "REMAINS" OF CAPTAIN NELSON.

MR. PRESIDENT, THE QUESTION REMAINS AS TO WHY SUCH EFFORTS ARE MADE TO "RESOLVE" CASES INSTEAD OF VIGOROUSLY PROSECUTING ANY REASONABLE LEADS ON MIAs. I CANNOT ANSWER THAT QUESTION YET, BUT I AM VERY DISTURBED BY A FURTHER STATEMENT THAT APPEARS IN THE DOD GUIDANCE ON THESE CASES. DOD STATES:

"THE SERIOUS COOPERATION OF THE LAO GOVERNMENT WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN ACHIEVING PRODUCTIVE RESULTS FROM THIS JOINT OPERATION AND IS DEEPLY APPRECIATED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THE MOST IMPORTANT MEASURE BY WHICH TO JUDGE THE SUCCESS OF AGREEMENTS REACHED BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND VIENTIANE TO BROADER COOPERATION ON THE POW/MIA ISSUE IS OBTAINING FINAL ANSWERS FOR THE FAMILIES OF AMERICANS MISSING IN ACTION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA."

MR. PRESIDENT, AS I HAVE JUST POINTED OUT IN DETAIL, DOD HAS NOT OBTAINED FINAL ANSWERS FOR THE FAMILIES, NOR CAN THE RESULTS BE DESCRIBED AS TRULY PRODUCTIVE, WHEN NOTHING IS PRODUCED. BUT THIS FAWNING APPRECIATION LAVISHED UPON A GOVERNMENT THAT MAY WELL BE CONCEALING THE FATE OF MANY OTHER MIAs SUGGESTS THAT POLITICS HAS BEEN PLACED BEFORE FAMILIES.

MR. PRESIDENT, WITH THE ABLE ASSISTANCE OF THE DISTINGUISHED SENIOR SENATOR FROM IOWA, MR. GRASSLEY, I HAVE BEEN STUDYING THE QUESTION OF MIA/POWs VERY CLOSELY. RECENTLY , DOD GRANTED ACCESS TO THE 12,000 FILES ON OPEN CASES TO ME AND MR. GRASSLEY -- AN ACCESS I AM SORRY TO SAY WHICH WAS GRANTED RELUCTANTLY AND AFTER MANY WEEKS. MR. GRASSLEY AND EXPERT ANALYSTS ON MY STAFF HAVE PERSONALLY SPENT MORE THAT 110 MAN-HOURS REVIEWING HUNDREDS OF THESE DOCUMENTS. THESE FILES ARE CLASSIFIED, AND IT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO DISCUSS THEM AT THIS TIME. OF COURSE, THESE FOUR CASES I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING HERE TODAY ARE BASED UPON OPEN SOURCES AND UNCLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS.

HOWEVER, I CAN SAY THAT WE HAVE FOUND A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS SIMILAR TO THOSE CASES WHICH I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING TODAY. ALTHOUGH CERTAIN ELEMENTS IN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WERE BITTERLY OPPOSED TO AN INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION OF THE CASES BY QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT EXPERTS, I DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS OF TOP-LEVEL OFFICIALS TO MAKE THE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE TO ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES- OF THE PEOPLE FOR PROPER OVERSIGHT PURPOSES. IN THE WEEKS TO COME, I HOPE THAT EVEN GREATER ACCESS WILL BE GRANTED TO MAKE EVALUATION OF THE CASES GO MORE SMOOTHLY. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL NOT REST UNTIL THEY ARE CONVINCED THAT THE QUESTIONS RELATING TO MIA/POWs HAVE SATISFACTORILY CLEARED UP.

MR. PRESIDENT, I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT THE UNCLASSIFIED DOD CABLE RELATING TO THE CASES OF THE FOUR SERVICEMEN BE PRINTED IN THE RECORD AT THE CONCLUSION OF MY REMARKS.