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Peace at any cost is a prelude to war!
National Alliance of Families
For The Return of America's Missing Servicemem
World War II - Korea - Cold War - Vietnam
Dolores Alfond - 425-881-1499
Lynn O'Shea --- 718-846-4350
Web Site http://www.nationalalliance.org
email -- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bits N Pieces March 11th, 2000
Holding Our Own - Our POW/MIA's and their families never have great
days.
Good days are few and far between. This week, we had a good day.
#############
"2004, Is Not In The Cards For Bill" - We received an e-mail from
Sandra
Christensen, wife of POW/MIA William Christensen, that reads as
follows: "I
just received yesterday a letter from Robert Jones, (POW/Missing
Personnel
Affairs) stating that they were no longer going to look for William M.
Christensen. He says "that further pursuit of this case could be
fruitless".
So 2004, is not in the cards for Bill. Did a lot of people get these
letters? Thanks. Sandra
If any family members have received such a letter, or you know of a
family
member who has received such a letter, please let us know.
##############
The Clock Is Ticking........
###############
A 9th South Korean POW Returns From North Korea - March 3rd, 2000 -
Associated Press - SEOUL, South Korea - "A South Korean prisoner of
war
has returned home after nearly half a century of captivity in North
Korea,
Seoul's main intelligence agency said Friday."
"Suh Byong-ryol, 70, arrived in Seoul from a third country where he had
been
living in hiding since escaping the hunger-stricken North in December
1998,
the National Intelligence Service said. Suh arrived with three North
Koreans, including a 65-year-old mother and 38-year-old daughter, it
said.
The agency said Suh was captured by Chinese troops in 1953, shortly
before
the three-year Korean War ended in a truce. He had been forced to work
in
coal mines and on collective farms in North Korea until he fled, it
said....
"
"...Suh was the ninth South Korean prisoner of war to escape North Korea
and
return home."
###############
Russian Memoirs - By now, everyone has heard of the document simply
titled
"Russian Memoirs." Best described as a diary, the memoirs detail
information obtained through various sources of American POWs from World
War
II, Korea and the Cold War transferred to the former Soviet Union.
According to a February 26, 2000 Associated Press article by By Robert
Burns
"The assertions, while not confirmed, appear to support, and in some
important respects strengthen, a case the Pentagon has been building
for
several years: U.S. servicemen in the 1940s and 1950s were silently
swallowed up in the U.S.S.R.'s brutal Gulag system of forced labor,
never to
be heard from again."
"There has to be something to this,'' said Norman Kass, who helped
translate
the unpublished personal memoir from Russian and interviewed the author
on
behalf of the Pentagon agency in charge of prisoner of war and missing
personnel affairs.... "
"...The memoir is exceptional because it provides names of individual
servicemen. For example, it identifies by name 22 men said to have been
held
in late 1951 at the Kirovskij mining camp near the Kamenka River in the
sub
-Arctic pine forests of the Krasnoyarsk region. The memoir's author
cites
secondhand accounts of area residents seeing the prisoners, ``wearing
bare
threads and half-frozen,'' being led from the Kirovskij camp along a
road
to an undetermined destination - ``a dead-end....''
"...Kass said that although the events described by the author have not
been
independently verified, he believes the man is credible... there is no
question that he spent many years in the Gulag network of forced labor
camps
. The man, now in his late 70s, was exiled to Siberia and worked as a
permafrost engineer in the early 1950s near the Kirovskij mining camp
where
the 22 Americans were said to have been held."
"In the translation from Russian, only one of the 22 names can be
matched
with a missing American servicemen. He is listed in Army casualty
records
as Chan Jay Park Kim, a Hawaiian of Korean descent. Kim was a private
first class in the 24th Infantry Division's 34th Infantry Regiment,
captured by North Korean forces on July 8, 1950. On that day, the 34th
Infantry collapsed in its defense of the town of Ch'onan south of Seoul,
giving the advancing North Korean army entry to most of the rest of
southern
Korea."
"According to Pentagon records, fellow members of the 34th Infantry who
survived captivity in Korea told Army debriefers that once he became a
POW,
Kim tried to mask his ethnic background by using the name George Leon.
It is
that name which appears among the 22 on the list from the Soviet labor
camp
. "
"Army casualty records list Kim as having died in Korea in January 1951,
but
his body was not recovered.... "
"...Another section of the memoir describes the fate of 10 members of a
12-
man crew of a U.S. Air Force B-29 reconnaissance plane, which was shot
down
by Soviet forces over the Sea of Japan on June 13, 1952. American
search
and rescue teams recovered no remains from the plane, and in July 1956
the U
.S. government appealed to Moscow for information about the crew. The
State Department note said an officer believed to have been a member of
the
crew was seen in October 1953 in a Soviet hospital north of the
Siberian
port of Magadan. The Soviets replied that no American servicemen were
on
Soviet territory. "
"The Russian emigre said that in the 1980s he was told by an associate
with
extensive experience in the far eastern reaches of Siberia that he had
learned the names of two of the captured B-29 fliers: ``Bush and
Moore.''
The B-29's commander was Maj. Samuel Busch. A crew member was Master
Sgt.
David L. Moore. The memoir indicates that Busch and Moore were killed
-
possibly beaten to death - in the Siberian city of Khabarovsk,
apparently a
short time after their capture. Eight surviving crew members were put
in
solitary confinement in a prison in Svobodnyi, a city northwest of
Khabarovsk near the Chinese border, it said. "
"Charlotte Busch Mitnik, a sister of Samuel Busch, said in an interview
that
the memoir ``reinforces what I believe'' happened to him and jibes with
unconfirmed rumors her family heard shortly after her brother's capture.
"
#################
Cohen: U.S. Military To Move Slowly On Vietnam Ties - March 11th, 2000,
from
Reuters Hong Kong, by Charles Aldinger - "Defense Secretary William
Cohen
said Friday he looked forward to next week's historic visit to communist
Vietnam, but cautioned that the two militaries would move slowly in
establishing ties."
"We will take it step-by-step and not try to rush the process," said
Cohen,
who Monday and Tuesday will become the first U.S. defense secretary to
visit
Vietnam since the Vietnam War ended 25 years ago. "I think this is an
important step at this level, to have a visit by the secretary of
defense,"
he told reporters traveling with him on a trip to Asia."
"But he said the military-to-military relationship should not "rush
precipitously into something that is unrealistic." Cohen will go from
Hong
Kong to Hanoi Monday and then to Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon,
Tuesday in what he called a symbolic visit as Hanoi celebrates a
quarter
century after the 1975 fall of the U.S. backed government of South
Vietnam,
that marked the communist victory in a war that took the lives of
58,153
American military personnel. Around 2,000 are still listed as missing,
two-
thirds of them in Vietnam."
"I think there is certainly some symbolism involved. This may be the
beginning of a new relationship. Vietnam itself has indicated it wants
to be
more integrated in the world community," Cohen said. In Hanoi, the
secretary will meet Communist Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and
other
officials."
"Cohen said that while the visit will concentrate on increasing joint
searches in Vietnam for the remains of missing U.S. servicemen...."
#################
WHAT ABOUT THE LIVE POWs -
WHAT ABOUT THE MEN WE KNEW WERE STILL IN CAPTIVITY,
IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH OF 1973
##############
Why Does Johnnie Webb Still Have A Job?
##############
Those Who Do Not Learn From Past Mistakes Are Doomed To Repeat Them --
With
this in mind, we offer the following comment, in hopes that future U.S.
Negotiators, in dealing with Hanoi, will not repeat the monumental
mistakes
of past negotiations.
First read "How Communist Negotiate," - which states, in part, "Among
men
who adhere to logic, an agenda is understood to be only a list of topics
to
be discussed, concerning which agreed conclusions are later required.
For
example, Americans meeting to discuss arrangement for a baseball game
might
adopt an agenda as follows:
1. Place the game is to be played.
2. Time the game is to start.
3. Selection of umpires.
Communists, however, would submit an agenda like this.
1. Agreement that game is to be played in Shanghai
2. Agreement that game be played at night
3. Agreement that umpires be Chinese officials.
Thus, the communists seek to place their negotiating opponents on the
defensive from the outset. If their rigged agenda is carelessly
accepted by
their opponents, the Communists are able to argue that the only
questions
remaining are: exactly where in Shanghai the ball game is to be played,
exactly what time at night the game is to start and precisely which
Chinese
are to officiate."
Special Assistant to Ambassador Harriman, Chester Cooper, described
negotiations with the Vietnamese this way, "There are more pleasant ways
of
spending an afternoon then negotiating with the North Vietnamese. You
say
to them, we want to play baseball, and they say, all right, let's play
baseball. You say, nine men on a side? Okay, nine men on a side. Nine
innings in the game? Fine, they agree, nine innings in a game. Only by
the
time you finish, there are six men on each team and you're playing
hockey."
Mr. Cooper made this comment in 1968.
###################
Nothing Has Changed In Communist Vietnam - Stalled Vietnam/US Trade
Pact
May Lapse, From Reuters March 9th, by By Dean Yates - "A stalled trade
pact
between Vietnam and the United States might need to be completely
renegotiated if the current deal is not approved this year, the U.S.
ambassador to Vietnam said on Thursday. Ambassador Pete Peterson said
Washington was not putting a deadline on formally inking a pact that was
agreed in principle last July, but said time was running out for both
sides
to sign the deal and have it approved by the U.S. Congress. The United
States was ready to sign the landmark agreement anytime, Peterson said
in an
interview. Vietnam's government has hesitated, saying it wants more
talks
with Washington."
"Even if we signed it today I'm not absolutely certain that we'd get it
(approved by Congress) this year," Peterson said, referring to a tight
Congressional calendar because of the U.S. presidential election later
in
2000. "The other reality is that if (the Congressional approval
process)
goes beyond this year it's not likely that it's this trade agreement
that we
would be willing to sign."
"It's more likely that we would in fact go back and renegotiate the
entire
agreement at some point. It took us three years to do this one, I would
suggest it would take some time to complete a second one," he said,
adding
the current document might simply become out of date. Sending the long-
awaited trade deal back to the drawing board would be a public relations
disaster for Vietnam, which has faced sustained criticism in recent
years
over the difficulty and cost of doing business in the country... "
"...Peterson also noted that a reasonable time period between initialing
and
formal closure of deals such as trade agreements would be around three
months. "In this case it shows, or suggests, that initialed documents
or
MoUs (sic) of whatever that are signed by Vietnam may not be so valid.
It
raises the question of whether the intent is really there," he said.
################
Obviously, a deal is never a deal to the leadership of Communist
Vietnam.
#################
A study published in June 1975, titled "Negotiating with the North
Vietnamese: A Military Perspective" details how the U.S. was maneuvered
by
the North Vietnamese both in the Paris Talks and subsequent negotiations
during the life of the Four Party Joint Military Team (FPJMT).
It was on two occasions during the early meetings of the FPJMT, that the
U.S
. "asked PRG to provide information on a specific MIA when (sic)
intelligence sources reported as still being held captive."
We know John McDonnell was still held captive but our information
indicates
that the U.S. delegation was inquiring about another POW. That puts two
POWs alive in captivity after Operation Homecoming.
During the life of the FPJMT no information was ever provided by either
the
North vietnamese or the Viet Cong on American POW/MIAs
According to the study "The most significant weakness of the USDEL,
(U.S.
Delegation) however, was not one of tactics and strategy, but rather a
matter of US Government priorities. Which was more important, return of
the
DIC's (Died in Captivity) and a full accounting of the MIA's or
continued US
support of the RVN (Republic of Vietnam Government? The answer, of
course,
was continued US support. For the USDEL to accomplish its mission,
concessions would have had to be made which would have increased the
SRV's
chances of a victory in South Vietnam. The US Government was not
willing to
make those concessions."
The study's abstract states it much more clearly. "The thesis concludes
with an observation that the US Delegation was unable to fully
accomplish
its mission primarily because continued US support of the RVN Government
was
of higher priority than recovering America's dead and missing."
###################
Vietnam Celebrates -- Extended plans are under way to celebrate the 25th
Anniversary of North Vietnam's victory over the American's. Well, at
least
that's the way Vietnam sees it. According to an March 9th Associated
Press
article by Paul Alexander "The central highlands town of Buon Ma Thuot
geared up today for its biggest event in a quarter-century with a dress
rehearsal for a rare military parade to mark its place in history..."
"...Communist forces took lightly defended Buon Ma Thuot in just a few
hours
on March 10, 1975, the first major victory in a final push that
surprised
even them with its efficiency and speed. In just over seven weeks, they
would capture Saigon, the capital of U.S.-backed South Vietnam, and
reunite
the divided country, ending a bloody conflict that killed 58,000
American
troops and 3 million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians."
"The large scale of events in Buon Ma Thuot shows the importance that
the
government is placing on commemorations for a war that it often says it
wants to put into the past. But it remains clear that Vietnam, while
not
seeking a formal apology from the United States or other countries that
fought against the communists, would welcome aid, investment or
reparations.
..."
"...Leading up to the parade Friday that also will include groups of
farmers, youths and women, Buon Ma Thuot has made the traditional
slaughter
of a water buffalo. The military parade will be a rare occurrence in
Vietnam
. The biggest in recent memory was for the 20th anniversary of the
capture
of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City."
"Next up on the list of historical dates is the fall of the imperial
capital
of Hue on March 26, followed by the capture of Danang, Vietnam's third-
largest city, three days later. The military's normally low profile
will be
particularly high next week when William Cohen makes the first visit by
a U.
S. defense secretary since the end of the war."
#################
A Good Question - A recent e-mail raised the question, why is Secretary
of
Defense Cohen visiting Vietnam during the Vietnamese celebrations of
their
"victory?" Doesn't a visit by Secretary of Defense Cohen, during this
"celebration period" legitimize Communist Vietnam's "victory."
#################
National Alliance of Families Eleventh Annual Forum is scheduled for
June
22th - 24th, 2000, at the Wyndham Hotel, Washington, D.C. (Same as
last
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P.O. Box 40327
Bellevue, WA. 98015.
Remember All Contributions Are Tax Deductible.
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