POW/MIA UPDATE: November 3, 2010

[boardman]

AMERICAN IDENTIFIED: There are now 1,707 Americans listed as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. On November 2nd, the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) posted the news that the remains of one US Marine had been recovered. He has now been identified as SSgt Samuel E. Hewitt, USMC, listed as MIA in South Vietnam from a ground incident that occurred March 23, 1966. His remains were recovered June 24, 2010, and identified September 20, 2010, with notice just released by DPMO with the family’s agreement. Several others have been identified, but not yet announced by DPMO as they are awaiting family notification by the Service Casualty Offices. The number of Americans returned and identified since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is 876; another 63 US personnel, recovered post-incident and identified before the end of the war, bring the total to 939. Of the 1,707 Americans POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War, our unreturned veterans, 90% were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Laos and Cambodia under Vietnam’s wartime control: Vietnam – 1,306 (VN-478, VS-828); Laos – 335; Cambodia – 59; Peoples Republic of China territorial waters – 7. Over 450 are considered over-water losses.

FUTURE OF US-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION (USRJC) ON POW/MIA AFFAIRS UNKNOWN: After finally seeing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi name Representative Tim Walz (D-MN) to fill the seat reserved on the USRJC for a House Democrat, the Commission’s future is again uncertain. (Although Senator John Kerry, D-MA, is listed as a Commissioner, he has never taken any active role in the Commission; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, has repeatedly been asked to name a replacement, thus far to no avail.) Proposals under consideration within the Obama Administration bureaucracy, if adopted, could dramatically alter or even eliminate the Commission, plus destroy effectiveness of the support structure that exists in the Joint Commission Support Directorate (JCSD), headed by Commission Executive Secretary Norm Kass.

These proposed changes would place POW/MIA cooperation between the US and Russia under the broad umbrella of the bilateral initiative agreed upon by President Obama and Russian President Medvedev, subsumed into one of several sub-groups under DoD jurisdiction. This would have immediate, negative, impact, eliminating the flexible opportunities that now exist to reach higher levels of the Russian government, supported by the quasi-independence of the Executive Secretary and his JCSD staff. While not yet approved, the lower level DoD sub-group would undoubtedly be under the direction of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Robert Newberry.

There is precedent on which to base likely Russian reaction. In 2002, when a former DASD managed to get himself named as US Commission Chairman, such action was viewed by Moscow as deliberate downgrading of the Presidential Commission, only restored by Diplomatic Notes exchanged in July 2009. Now is not the time to dismantle what could finally be a strengthened, effective, US-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIA Affairs. Major national veteran organizations agree and have conveyed their views to Obama Administration leaders.

The League has strongly supported expanding the USRJC’s role under the leadership of General Robert H. Foglesong, USAF (Ret), supported by Executive Secretary Norm Kass, Director of JCSD, and his staff of skilled specialists who form DPMO’s JCSD Directorate. The Department of State (DoS) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently named replacements for their Commission seats. The Russian Federation recently selected its new Co-Chairman, as well as veteran group and parliament commissioners. Until this disturbing proposal to subsume the POW/MIA issue was discovered, the League had anticipated an increase in constructive Commission actions in the coming months. Now, the Commission’s future awaits a decision by the Obama Administration.

MORE OF MOSCOW IN THE NEWS: In late September, DASD Newberry spent a week in Russia, accompanied by Deputy Director of JCSD Roger Schumacher. Due to DPMO’s reluctance to consult beforeactions are taken or decisions are made, specifics are unknown, but the need for access to Vietnam War-related archives was likely raised, and they visited archives that have long been the focus of USRJC efforts, and there are indications of increased access in the near term. Newberry also met with US Ambassador to the Russian Federation John Byerle and other Embassy and JCSD-Moscow personnel to receive their updates and assessments, plus paid a courtesy call on the soon-to-be-announced Russian Chairman of the USRJC, counterpart to General Foglesong.

National Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Richard Eubanks and VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace were also in Moscow during the same time and met with officials and veterans of the former USSR who served in Vietnam (and, possibly, Laos) during the Vietnam War. Russian veterans, and those who were from Ukraine and other states then part of the USSR, have long been a major JCSD focus, due in no small part to the fact that the Russian Federation has thus far been uncooperative in providing Vietnam War-related archival documents and records, despite repeated League and official urging and formal requests.

NEW US AMBASSADOR TO LAOS SWORN IN: An impressive ceremony, hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, was held October 25th for Ambassador Karen Stewart to take the oath of office as the new US Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Ambassador Stewart is due to arrive in Vientiane in time to participate in the celebration of Vientiane’s 450th anniversary of its founding. This is the third posting Ambassador Stewart has been assigned during her impressive career, having attained the rank of Ambassador when previously posted to Belarus. League Executive Director Ann Mills-Griffiths, a long-time friend and colleague of Ambassador Stewart, attended the formal swearing-in.

In addition to offering congratulations to Ambassador Stewart and the Lao Ambassador, the League’s Executive Director took the opportunity to express the League’s appreciation to Secretary of State Clinton for her recent helpful interventions in support of POW/MIA efforts with senior Vietnamese and Lao officials. She also commended supportive actions by current and former US Ambassadors to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Secretary Clinton traveled to Hanoi today to represent the US at the East Asia Summit and for talks with senior Vietnamese officials. She will travel to Cambodia this weekend for talks with senior officials familiar to the League, including Prime Minister Hun Sen before continuing on to Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia where she will be joined by Secretary of Defense Gates, before returning to the US on November 8th. We wish her well during this important Asian trip, applauding efforts being made by State to initiate increased bilateral and multilateral engagement with ASEAN countries.

JPAC DETACHMENT TWO CHANGES COMMANDERS: On November 1st, JPAC’s Detachment 2 in Vietnam conducted a formal Change of Command, with JPAC Commander, MG Stephen Tom, USAR, serving as the officiating officer. LTC Todd Emoto, US Army Special Forces, last of the Special Forces officers still serving as a JPAC Detachment Commander, relinquished command to LTC Pat Keane, USA, a Foreign Area Officer (FAO), specializing in Vietnam. LTC Keane worked for a year attached to the US Embassy in Hanoi while undergoing the additional training required for his specialty, a status that should serve him and the issue well during his tenure. That is our hope. Losing someone as committed to the issue as LTC Emoto is difficult at best. We wish him well in his new assignment at Special Operations Command/Pacific (SOCPAC).

ACCOUNTING COOPERATION: JPAC currently has one Underwater Recovery team (URT) in Vietnam that is expected to conclude on November 10th. This team was a special mission extending the 100th Joint Field Activity (JFA), and has reportedly been searching for material evidence related to a loss in Thua Thien-Hue Province. Four Recovery Teams (RTs) are conducting the 116th JFA in Laos to account for US personnel lost in two incidents in Savannakhet Province and one in Xekong Province. These recovery operations are expected to conclude on November 16th.


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