-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! FULL ACCOUNTING~ OR FORCED ACCEPTANCE? The Truth Behind The POW/MIA Accounting Effort Of America's Missing Servicemen In Southeast Asia By Amanda Y. Kidd Slowly since the war's end in 1973, and now more rapidly in recent years, America's missing servicemen of the Vietnam War are finally coming home. Or so it would appear to those who have not yet learned the sad truth behind the POW/MIA accounting effort. The long-awaited dream of "closure" that the families of many of our nation's missing servicemen cling to with unyielding hope is being increasingly dashed by tragic inconclusiveness that leaves more questions than answers and proves to be severely counter-productive to the originally intended purpose of the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Missing Personnel Office (DPMO)~ (the sub-branch of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for missing service personnel). "I think it's possible" states Kathie Preston Johnson, daughter of U.S. Air Force CMSgt. James Arthur Preston when asked if her father may still be alive. Preston, a relative of this author as well, was declared Missing In Action along with a crew of seven other members of U.S. Air Force personnel when their AC-47D gunship, "Spooky 10", was lost to enemy fire over Laos on May 15, 1966. Others aboard the aircraft were: Col. George W. Jensen; pilot, Capt. Marshall L. Tapp; co-pilot, Col. Lavern G. Reilly; observer, CMSgt. George W. Thompson; navigator, CMSgt. James E. Williams; flight engineer, and CMSgt. William L. Madison and SMSgt. Kenneth D. McKenney; door gunners. Despite extensive search and rescue efforts immediately following the aircraft's loss, no trace of wreckage or any of the crew was ever located. Thirty-three agonizing years of waiting proved fruitless, not only for the Prestons, but for other families of the crew as well. Joanne Reilly, wife of Col. Lavern Reilly, observer, has traveled to Laos in previous years with other MIA wives in search of the truth that the U.S. government has blatantly refused to provide. Preston's son Terry is very matter-of-fact in his expression of disappointment toward the handling of his father's case. "I either want to see him walk through the door alive... Or I want someone to show me a body that will prove to me that he isn't." Neither the Preston family nor the families of the seven others who were lost with him have been given either such means of closure. In May 1999, the U.S. government presented each family with a highly inconclusive report signed by Dr. Thomas D. Holland, Scientific Director of the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, which claims that 23 small, non-mt-DNA-tested bone fragments "may" be those of one or all of the crew members. The remains were highly fragmented, rendering individual assessment impossible. Ironically, closer evaluation of the written excavation report provided by Joint Task Force- Full Accounting reveals repeated statements that no mass graves of the crew were ever located although three were claimed to have been dug by former members of the North Vietnamese ground troops who were directly responsible for the shootdown of the aircraft. Only once were soil disturbances noted which are reported to be associated with a single grave of one individual. Nonetheless, on December 13, 1999, despite the inconclusiveness of the "group identification" and the lack of mass graves, the Pentagon released its official, public announcement that all members of this crew of U.S. military service personnel are now "accounted for." Evidence of possible survival of several crew members have been met with apathetic disinterest among those within DPMO. Live sighting reports, captivity photographs, and accounts of the name "Preston" having been heard by several returned POWs while still in captivity have not deterred the agencies from their adamant decision. A full-military memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery is scheduled for May 15, 2000~ The 34th anniversary of the crew's loss date. Sadly, the coffins will be virtually empty of human remains while questons persist regarding the true fate of the eight men aboard the ill-fated gunship, "Spooky 10". Despite the years of agonized waiting, closure has evaded the families of those who have yet to return to American soil. The despair in the voice of Melinda Preston Wood, the youngest of Preston's three now-adult children, reflects the equally helpless sentiments of numerous other families who have suffered similar tragedies of the government's "empty coffin, group burials" in the past. "But what can we do about it?" she wonders. Sadly, it appears that very little can be done unless massive policy changes occur in Washington, D.C. The blatant refusal to consider the feelings of MIA families has become the primary fatal flaw among those within the United States' national POW/MIA accounting agencies. "They're going to have the ceremony whether we go or not" states James Preston's daughter, Kathie Johnson. Tragically, Johnson's words well-summarize the practice of "forced acceptance" that has already buried numerous empty coffins in Arlington National Cemetery. Yet another such burial will now attempt to silence her father. Without a complete overhaul of accounting policies at a national level by political leaders who remain sympathetic to the POW/MIA issue, it leaves one with no choice but to shudder at the though of whose voices will be wrongfully silenced next. Note: Amanda Y. Kidd is a Georgia freelance journalist and a relative of CMSgt. James Arthur Preston~ Missing In Action~ Laos. Comments regarding the above article are welcomed and the author can be reached through the following contact information: Telephone: (770) 258-9585 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
