Latest Update: http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/League/Updates.html

UPDATE: September 2, 2011

AMERICANS IDENTIFIED: There are now 1,683 Americans listed by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. On August 29^th, DPMO posted the names of Col Gilbert S. Palmer, Jr, USAF, listed MIA in Laos 2/27/68, and Lt Col Edward D. Silver, USAF, listed MIA in North Vietnam 7/5/68, as accounted-for. Col Palmer's remains were jointly recovered on 11/17/09 and identified 5/19/11. Lt Col Silver's remains were repatriated 6/26/98 and identified 5/31/11. DPMO also recently posted the news that Major Thomas E. Clark, USAF, PA, listed as MIA in Laos on 2/8/69, and Major Bruce E. Lawrence, USAF, NJ, listed as MIA in North Vietnam 7/5/68, are now accounted-for. Major Clark's remains were jointly recovered on 11/16/05 and identified 6/3/11. Major Lawrence's remains were recovered 6/26/98 and identified 6/3/11. The number of Americans returned and identified since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is now 900; another 63 US personnel, recovered post-incident and identified before the end of the war, bring the total to 961. Of the 1,683 unreturned American veterans from the Vietnam War, our POW/MIAs, 90% were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Laos and Cambodia under Vietnam's wartime control: Vietnam — 1,292 (VN-473, VS-819); Laos — 326; Cambodia — 58; Peoples Republic of China territorial waters — 7; over 450 were over-water losses.

ACCOUNTING COOPERATION: JPAC's Underwater Recovery Team (URT) recently suspended operations off the coast of Vietnam and redeployed to Hawaii. Some 35 US personnel are now in Vietnam conducting field operations, testing an altered recovery structure. Vietnamese Recovery Teams (VRTs), are handling all logistics requirements and advance preparation, before being joined by a smaller number of US personnel. If successful, this new recovery construct is a way to expand the pace and scope of recovery operations, called for by Vietnam since the League Delegation in March 2009. Initial reports indicate the process is working well; however, increased accountability will be the key to determining success. Two Recovery Teams (RTs) recently concluded operations in Laos, and they numbered far fewer US personnel than allowed for each 30-day Joint Field Activity (JFA), as did the teams recently operating in Vietnam. These operations were even smaller until passage of the FY2011 budget was confirmed, at which point some of the previously dropped operations were restored to the schedule. Also importantly, the USNS Bowditch conducted an underwater survey along the coastline of Vietnam, though not yet along the northern provinces, a step that would be most welcome due to the number of overwater losses near the coast of what was North Vietnam. Hopefully, increasing bilateral military-to-military relations and cooperation will allow this to occur in the near future. Recently, USN ships were also again docked in Vietnamese ports.

Semi-annual POW/MIA Consultations between the US and Laos are scheduled for September 13-14^th in Hawaii, hosted by MG Stephen Tom, USAR, JPAC commander. The next US-Vietnam technical talks will also take place later in September. The last technical talks were held in Hanoi April 27^th, the first such discussions since the League Delegation in March. Despite League provision of a concept paper and coordination in advance with US officials, the working-level talks were poorly planned and badly implemented. Predictably, the response was equally mediocre. The hope was for specialists to actually engage in conversations with counterpart Vietnamese officials to explore ways to renew multi-lateral technical-level access to relevant archival documents, primarily from Vietnam, that could expedite joint operations to account for missing US personnel, especially along Vietnam's borders with Laos and Cambodia. JPAC-led consultations with the Cambodian POW/MIA Committee took place June 15^th in Phnom Penh. Hopefully, all of the upcoming technical talks will focus intelligently on working-level archival research cooperation, a critical requirement for mission success.

Korean War Accounting: It was recently announced that the US and North Korea will enter into talks to re-start remains recovery operations that were halted in 2005. Recently, there were again two Recovery Teams (RTs) in South Korea; the reality is that there have been no successful field recoveries there to date. Heavy population reduces chances for successful excavations. Korean War/Cold War briefings, hosted by DPMO, are currently ongoing in the Metro DC area.

Chairman's Comment: Until field recoveries are again approved in North Korea, the best hope for Korean War accounting lies in identifying remains previously returned unilaterally by North Korea and those disinterred from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) that were buried post-war as unknowns. The identification process has advanced dramatically, now enabling such IDs to be made, but more forensic anthropologists are needed. Ironically, qualified forensic anthropologists are frequently assigned to lead field excavations, instead of utilizing skilled forensic archeologists, thus diverting time and attention from remains identifications.

WWII Accounting: JPAC also recently had two Phase Two Testing Teams (P2Ts) and one RT on Wake Island. Three RTs concluded work in Germany, and one Investigation Team (IT) also completed work in Micronesia, all focused on WWII remains recoveries.

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Ann Mills-Griffiths
Executive Director
National League of POW/MIA Families
5673 Columbia Pike, Suite 100
Falls Church, VA 22041
703-465-7432
http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/