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On December 5, 2015 the POW/MIA community lost one of its fiercest allies and researchers. After a yearlong battle with cancer, Lynn O’Shea, the Director of Research for the National Alliance of Families, passed away in her sleep while in hospice in New York City. She leaves behind a brother Peter and her beloved nieces Colleen and Patti and several grandnieces.
On December 5, 2015 the POW/MIA community lost one of its fiercest allies and researchers. After a yearlong battle with cancer, Lynn O’Shea, the Director of Research for the National Alliance of Families, passed away in her sleep while in hospice in New York City. She leaves behind a brother Peter and her beloved nieces Colleen and Patti and several grandnieces.
Lynn became involved in the POW/MIA issue in the late 1980’s by pure happenstance after purchasing the POW/MIA bracelet of US Army Sgt. John Jakovac, an ammo bearer from Detroit, Michigan who went missing on patrol on 31 May, 1967. When she became curious about the fate of her missing man, she started her own research which lead her to a National Alliance meeting where she met like-minded individuals and soon became involved as part of the leadership of the organization.
Lynn became involved in the POW/MIA issue in the late 1980’s by pure happenstance after purchasing the POW/MIA bracelet of US Army Sgt. John Jakovac, an ammo bearer from Detroit, Michigan who went missing on patrol on 31 May, 1967. When she became curious about the fate of her missing man, she started her own research which lead her to a National Alliance meeting where she met like-minded individuals and soon became involved as part of the leadership of the organization.
Monthly for over 20 years, Lynn and Alliance Chairperson Dolores Apodaca-Alfond wrote the Alliance’s newsletter sharing the most up-to-date topics in the issue with our membership. Lynn and Dolores became affectionately known as “The Dynamic Duo.”
Monthly for over 20 years, Lynn and Alliance Chairperson Dolores Apodaca-Alfond wrote the Alliance’s newsletter sharing the most up-to-date topics in the issue with our membership. Lynn and Dolores became affectionately known as “The Dynamic Duo.”
Lynn, also along with Dolores, spear-headed hundreds of activists for public protests in the late 80’s and 90’s. Some of her more memorable protests were in front of the White House and also at the Vietnamese Consulate in DC. Yet, Lynn’s real passion, her God-given talent, if you will, was research and analysis. As she worked the Jakovac case she began to establish a keen understanding of the major issues within the POW/MIA issue. As she began to research other cases, she also began to help other families by doing archival research and later on when Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs) became possible, she became the queen of FOIA requests.
Lynn, also along with Dolores, spear-headed hundreds of activists for public protests in the late 80’s and 90’s. Some of her more memorable protests were in front of the White House and also at the Vietnamese Consulate in DC. Yet, Lynn’s real passion, her God-given talent, if you will, was research and analysis. As she worked the Jakovac case she began to establish a keen understanding of the major issues within the POW/MIA issue. As she began to research other cases, she also began to help other families by doing archival research and later on when Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs) became possible, she became the queen of FOIA requests.
Over time her mind was like a filing cabinet – she could pull out almost any piece of information on any of the Vietnam cases she had worked on and could remember details that often times family members had forgotten about.
Over time her mind was like a filing cabinet – she could pull out almost any piece of information on any of the Vietnam cases she had worked on and could remember details that often times family members had forgotten about.
She had an affinity toward the missing men she referred to as “the ground pounders,” those men who were doing the grunt work on the ground, particularly in South Vietnam. She felt that because the intricacies of the cases of men who went missing in the South, they were often over looked so she tried to give them the attention they deserved. The digital age was certainly a friend to Lynn as the National Archives began putting more and more documents online as well as other research- based archives.
She had an affinity toward the missing men she referred to as “the ground pounders,” those men who were doing the grunt work on the ground, particularly in South Vietnam. She felt that because the intricacies of the cases of men who went missing in the South, they were often over looked so she tried to give them the attention they deserved. The digital age was certainly a friend to Lynn as the National Archives began putting more and more documents online as well as other research- based archives.
She worked closely with many families learning the details of their cases through their eyes, making sure that every available piece of information out there was in their hands. She made sure they were armed and ready when they dealt with government officials, particularly when the two sides were at odds. No one has ever worked harder or been more loyal to the families of the missing than Lynn O’Shea.
She worked closely with many families learning the details of their cases through their eyes, making sure that every available piece of information out there was in their hands. She made sure they were armed and ready when they dealt with government officials, particularly when the two sides were at odds. No one has ever worked harder or been more loyal to the families of the missing than Lynn O’Shea.
Susan Milliner, sister-in-law of US Army Warrant Officer William “Billy” P. Milliner lost in Laos on March 6, 1971 described Lynn as one of the most ethical, honest and driven people she has never met in the issue. Going further she said, “Lynn always worked for the truth, she didn’t care what the truth was, good or bad. She was willing to accept it no matter what because she felt that the truth was the only thing that the families and our missing men deserved.”
Susan Milliner, sister-in-law of US Army Warrant Officer William “Billy” P. Milliner lost in Laos on March 6, 1971 described Lynn as one of the most ethical, honest and driven people she has never met in the issue. Going further she said, “Lynn always worked for the truth, she didn’t care what the truth was, good or bad. She was willing to accept it no matter what because she felt that the truth was the only thing that the families and our missing men deserved.”
It is somewhat difficult to summarize all that Lynn did to help families and to further the POW/MIA issue because she was always working quietly behind the scenes. She rarely allowed herself to be recognized for her efforts because, in her eyes, this was always about the men and their families.
It is somewhat difficult to summarize all that Lynn did to help families and to further the POW/MIA issue because she was always working quietly behind the scenes. She rarely allowed herself to be recognized for her efforts because, in her eyes, this was always about the men and their families.
Here are links as well as brief summaries of some of the Lynn’s amazing research ...
Here are links as well as brief summaries of some of the Lynn’s amazing research ...
Project X – “a study.... initiated for operational purposes in August 1975 to evaluate the possibility of any of the unaccounted for being alive. The conclusion reached is: "There is a possibility that as many as 57 Americans could be alive, although it is highly probable that the number is much smaller..."
Project X – “a study.... initiated for operational purposes in August 1975 to evaluate the possibility of any of the unaccounted for being alive. The conclusion reached is: "There is a possibility that as many as 57 Americans could be alive, although it is highly probable that the number is much smaller..."
(The DoD when presented with Project X, denied knowledge of such a project or report.)
(The DoD when presented with Project X, denied knowledge of such a project or report.)
The 19 New POWs/Tourison Memos – As part of his body of work for the 1992 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, DIA senior analyst Sedgwick Tourison penned a series of memos that Lynn uncovered which shed light on the fate of 19 servicemen who were listed as MIA but Vietnam later admitted to actually holding these men into captivity.
The 19 New POWs/Tourison Memos – As part of his body of work for the 1992 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, DIA senior analyst Sedgwick Tourison penned a series of memos that Lynn uncovered which shed light on the fate of 19 servicemen who were listed as MIA but Vietnam later admitted to actually holding these men into captivity.
(DPMO, instead of attempting to take these findings and integrating them into the individual case files, they instead attempted to do a character assassination on Mr. Tourison in the hopes of devaluing his findings.)
(DPMO, instead of attempting to take these findings and integrating them into the individual case files, they instead attempted to do a character assassination on Mr. Tourison in the hopes of devaluing his findings.)
Yet Lynn’s greatest achievement was her ten years of relentless research that lead to the publication of her book, Abandoned in Place in 2014. The book provides a brief history of the POW/MIA issue and then chronicles Operation Pocket Change, a rescue attempt made in 1980-81 in Laos to recovery American POWs still being held six years after the end of the Vietnam War.
Yet Lynn’s greatest achievement was her ten years of relentless research that lead to the publication of her book, Abandoned in Place in 2014. The book provides a brief history of the POW/MIA issue and then chronicles Operation Pocket Change, a rescue attempt made in 1980-81 in Laos to recovery American POWs still being held six years after the end of the Vietnam War.
Col. Don Gordon (USA-Ret) Special Operations Command, J2 Director of Intelligence 1980-1983, who was involved with many aspects of Operation Pocket Change had this to say about Lynn’s research and her book at the time of publication:
Col. Don Gordon (USA-Ret) Special Operations Command, J2 Director of Intelligence 1980-1983, who was involved with many aspects of Operation Pocket Change had this to say about Lynn’s research and her book at the time of publication:
“O'Shea leads readers to form their own reasoned conclusions. She writes the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched compendium, private or government, classified or unclassified, about this complicated and emotional subject. It is an event long needed to be told accurately and with respect for the missing in action and their families. O'Shea is fidelis to that cause. She carefully distinguishes fact from speculation. Abandoned in Place is a meticulously detailed, thoroughly verified, and reliable story, well told. It describes plans to rescue about 35 United States Military servicemen strongly believed held in a prison camp in Laos in 1980. Step-by-step, O'Shea builds a strong case that some US military likely remained under North Vietnamese and Lao control after the war.”
“O'Shea leads readers to form their own reasoned conclusions. She writes the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched compendium, private or government, classified or unclassified, about this complicated and emotional subject. It is an event long needed to be told accurately and with respect for the missing in action and their families. O'Shea is fidelis to that cause. She carefully distinguishes fact from speculation. Abandoned in Place is a meticulously detailed, thoroughly verified, and reliable story, well told. It describes plans to rescue about 35 United States Military servicemen strongly believed held in a prison camp in Laos in 1980. Step-by-step, O'Shea builds a strong case that some US military likely remained under North Vietnamese and Lao control after the war.”
Matt Burke, a reporter at Stars and Stripes and a strong supporter of POW/MIA families dedicated a recent piece to Lynn in tribute, Here. Burke writes, “O’Shea’s decades of meticulous research uncovered the government’s Project X Study and the Tourison Memos — documents that indicated that American service members who had been declared dead by the U.S. government had made it into enemy hands alive and that dozens could have been alive in captivity at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.”
Matt Burke, a reporter at Stars and Stripes and a strong supporter of POW/MIA families dedicated a recent piece to Lynn in tribute, Here. Burke writes, “O’Shea’s decades of meticulous research uncovered the government’s Project X Study and the Tourison Memos — documents that indicated that American service members who had been declared dead by the U.S. government had made it into enemy hands alive and that dozens could have been alive in captivity at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.”
The webadmin recently discovered a Special January 2016 Bits N' Pieces tribute to Lynn O'Shea.
The webadmin recently discovered a Special January 2016 Bits N' Pieces tribute to Lynn O'Shea.
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