"However, the POWs had been classified by the government as killed-in-action during the Korean War (1950-53), with their "bereaved" family members even having received pensions from the government. The two men in question are Lee Ki-tak, 73, and Sohn Yoon-mo, 67. Lee was born in Songju, Kyongsang-bukto and Sohn hails from Tongyong, Kyongsang- namdo. Defense Ministry records confirm Lee and Sohn entered the South Korean Army. However, according to the records, they were killed during the war."

"If the North was aware of Lee and Sohn's POW status, it means that the North has accepted the South's recommendation of including POWs in the category of separated family members. But it is not certain that the North knew of their war history in advance."

"During the three-year Korean War, the population of both countries was mixed through successive waves of advances and retreats. Lee's wife Cho Keum-rye said, "My husband entered the Army during the war. I was notified later that he was killed in action." Cho said her husband's name is inscribed on a tombstone at the National Cemetery. Lee's son Tae-sok added, "We've received a pension through my father's death."

"Sohn's younger brother Sang-mo said, "My brother voluntarily entered the Army in 1950, and was seized by North Korean soldiers in December of that year." He said, "After the war, my brother was classified as dead, and we received a pension until his wife passed away," the younger brother said."

China Invites U.S. To Visit Two World War II Crashsites - Feb 9^th From the Associated Press by Robert Burns - "China invited the Pentagon to send search teams to two newly discovered aircraft crash sites in Tibet that may hold remains of American airmen missing from hazardous cargo missions over the Himalayas during World War II. Pentagon officials hope to conduct the searches this summer but say no firm plan is set."

"U.S. officials have tentatively linked one of the crash sites to a C-46 transport lost March 27, 1944, on a flight from Kunming, China, to Sookarating in the far northeastern reaches of India. The plane's crew of four is listed in Pentagon records as missing, Pentagon spokesman Larry Greer said Thursday. He said names of the four men were being withheld until relatives are contacted and told of the possibility that the remains could be found, recovered and identified by Pentagon forensic specialists."

"According to a book, "The Aluminum Trail," which details U.S. air supply missions over the Himalayas during World War II, a C-46 flying from Kunming on March 27, 1944, with a crew of four destined for Sookarating was last heard calling for a directional bearing. It was believed to have run out of fuel and crashed. It was the only C-46 making that flight on that date, according to the book. The four men on that flight, according to the book, were 1st Lt. Douglas R. Wight, the pilot; 2nd Lt. Herbert W. Evans, the co-pilot; Cpl. John W. Hanlon, the crew chief; and Pfc. Gerald Rugers, the radio operator."

"Less is known about the second crash site, also in Tibet. Both aircraft, which the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as World War II-era American planes, are presumed to have been flying "the Hump" -- the famous route over the Himalayas that American airmen used to ferry ammunition and supplies to Chinese troops fighting on the side of the Allies against Japan...."

"Chinese officials reported that a local herdsmen said he went to one of the crash sites years ago and saw three people dead. This apparently is the site of the C-46 crash. The herdsman said two bodies were huddled against each other in a small cave near where the aircraft crashed in a snow-covered ravine. That description suggests that they survived the crash only to succumb to the elements."

Koh Tang Remains? - February 6^th, from Reuters - "Phnom Penh (Reuters) - Cambodian authorities on Tuesday returned the remains of an unidentified U.S. Marine killed during a botched 1975 attack on Khmer Rouge forces on the Cambodian island of Koh Tang...."

"Twenty-five years ago on a little island called Koh Tang, 18 Marines gave their lives in the long tradition of the Marine Corps and our other armed services fighting for their country's security and the freedom of their people," U.S. ambassador Kent Wiedemann said at the ceremony."

"The unidentified serviceman is believed to be one of four U.S. servicemen still unaccounted for from the island and the nearby coast around Sihanoukville, said Col. Jeffrey Smith, head of the U.S. recovery mission in Cambodia. "The identification process will take six months to two years, he said. "Given the amount of remains, there is a high probability of certainty (in identification)," he said. Another U.S. official said an intact skull with teeth was recovered, which made identification easier because dental records can be checked."

"...Smith said the next recovery mission in Cambodia will take place in March 2002 and will focus on the three unrecovered Marines and the crew of helicopter shot down in northeastern Cambodia during the U.S. war in Vietnam."

A Message From Heart of Illinois - Contact Info MIAs Wm Ostermeyer or L Bogard Refno 1856 - POW/MIA Family member Elmer Getz is seeking to find and compare information with the families of: Lonnie P. Bogard and William H. Ostermeyer, both US Air Force, missing in Laos 5/12/72. Refno 1856 L. Bogard's home of record is listed as Mataire, LA. W. Ostermeyer's home of record is Orlando, FL. Email address for Mr. Getz is getz@san.rr.com USAF CPT Robert Beutel, Refno 1781,Tremont, IL, missing in

Laos 11/26/71, is his nephew. Thanks for your assistance! Sam Cretaro Heart of Illinois POW/MIA Assoc.

We Promised More From the National Intelligence Estimate and The Critical Assessment Prepared by Senator Bob Smith - As we get deeper into this NIE and its Critical Assessment we must commend Senator Smith and his staff for their excellent work. They are true friends of our POW/MIAs. Here are two excerpts from the Critical Assessment -

NIE STATEMENT: "...we think Hanoi has not been completely forthcoming on certain POW/MIA matters: In some instances, we believe full disclosure would prove embarrassing to the regime. For example, Hanoi continues to deny that US POWs were mistreated while in captivity in the North. We think Vietnam still has records it could make available to US investigators but which would discredit its denials of mistreatment. A few reports of transfers of US POWs to Russia and other countries are unexplained, and the books remain open." (p.6) (U)

ASSESSMENT: Under the heading Key Judgments above, the NIE chooses to define "certain" POW/MIA matters where Hanoi is not completely forthcoming as (1) for example, records which would discredit SRV denials of POW torture, and (2) a few reports of transfer of US POWs to Russia and other countries. (U)

With respect to (1), it remains unexplained given the gravity of key outstanding POW/MIA questions why torture would be cited in this Key Judgments portion of the NIE as the most important and relevant example to use, and not other more embarrassing examples such as the holding back of any unacknowledged American POWs after Operation Homecoming in 1973. (U)

On June 17, 1998, I asked [blanked out] the NIO for East Asia, the following question:

Sen. Smith: Would it not be embarrassing to release information that they held back American prisoners? Yes or no,

[Blanked out] Yes.

Sen. Smith: " ...So why wouldn't you say just as conjecture, that if it is embarrassing for them to provide torture information, it would be just as embarrassing for them to tell us that they held back American POWs after the war. Wouldn't it?

[Blanked out] I suppose it would.21

The fact that the NIE does not reflect a more relevant example bearing on the POW/MIA accounting issue under the Key Judgements heading is not only disappointing, but very misleading to the NIE reader concerning the scope of knowledge the SRV may still possess concerning unaccounted for POW/MIAs. (U)

It bears noting that the Office of the Secretary of Defense has also formally expressed concern with the citing of this specific example under the Key Judgments portion of the NIE, stating, in part:

[ Entire comment BLANKED OUT]

With respect to (2), on unexplained reports of possible POW transfer from Vietnam to Russia and other countries, the NIE judges that because a few reports are unexplained and the books remain open, then this means that Hanoi has not been completely forthcoming, even though the NIE subsequently states in a later section on p. 24, "...we lack good evidence that POWs were transferred to the USSR..." Given this subsequent statement, it seems odd that the NIE can reach a Key Judgement on p. 6 that Hanoi has not been completely forthcoming on this topic. [ ]

I agree that the books must definitely remain open on the transfer issue based on more pressing information previously made available to the IC but inexplicably not referenced in the NIE under the heading of unresolved transfer reports on p. 23. 23

However, these matters notwithstanding, the evidence before the IC has been much more continuous and voluminous that Hanoi did not acknowledge and return all US POWs under its control in 1973 than is (sic) has been on the transfer issue. As such, it is bizarre that some unexplained reports of transfer would meet the threshold for inclusion in this section, yet a larger body of evidence on other unresolved subjects bearing on continued SRV stonewalling on POW/MIA issues. would not be included here. As such, the Key Judgment in this section is woefully inadequate, shallow, and misleading to the NIE reader with respect to the potential scope of SRV knowledge.

From another section of the Critical Assessment:

NIE STATEMENT: (With respect to the 1205/735 documents), "In particular, the numbers of POWs allegedly held by Hanoi at the times mentioned are inconsistent with reliable US Government statistics and far outnumber the actual total of open cases. (p.8) (U)

ASSESSMENT: The NIE statement that the number of POWs allegedly held is inconsistent with reliable US Government statistics is not proven or demonstrated anywhere in the NIE - it is merely asserted. Given the priority assigned by the National Security Advisor to the President for an assessment of these documents, it is simply unacceptable that a detailed analysis of the numbers is not presented in the NIE. This is especially disturbing because the NIE's claim on its face is, in fact, demonstrably false as shown below. (U)

First, with respect to the so-called "735" Document:

According to the English translation of the 735 document, the Russian GRU reports a statement by a North Vietnamese official to a North Vietnamese leadership gathering, that "...we published the names of 368 American pilots who were shot down and taken captive in the territory of the D.R.V. (North Vietnam) ... The overall number of American pilots imprisoned in the D.R.V. is 735. As I already stated, we published the names of 368 pilots. This is our diplomatic move." The time frame for the report is dated "End of December, 1970/early January, 1971," according to the GRU cover page to the translated text from Vietnamese to Russian. (U)

It is true and verifiable that during this time-frame, Hanoi did, in fact, publish a list of exactly 368 names, entitled, "U.S. Pilots Captured in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from August 5, 1964 to November 15, 1970." Yet, nowhere in the NIE is the confirmation of this statement in the "735" document acknowledged. The IC has a responsibility to share this information with the reader of the NIE. It did not. Why?[ ]

The 368 list was published by the DRV's Ministry of National Defense, and is dated November 15, 1970. The list was released to representatives of Senators Kennedy and Fulbright in Paris on December 22, 1970, and provided to certain other foreign governments as well. 27 All of the names of the men on the list had been unofficially provided to American peace activist Cora Weiss between May and November, 1970." (U) 28

The 368 list itself consisted of 339 Air Force and Navy pilots and crewmembers currently in captivity, 9 such personnel previously released, and 20 such personnel listed as dead. 29 The status of the 339 listed as captives was already known to the Pentagon based on the Cora Weiss lists and U.S. intelligence and casualty information at the time, although this was the first "official" acknowledgment of their status by Hanoi.30 (U)

Based on Department of Defense POW/MIA lists31 only 335 Air Force and Navy pilots and crewmembers captured in North Vietnam prior to November 15, 1970 were later repatriated to the United States (one in Sept. 72, and the remainder following the signing of the Peace Accords in 1973 (Jan-Apr). (U)

This fact essentially means only two things: Hanoi made the political decision to release a full and complete list of airmen captured in North Vietnam in December, 1970 (which was the only category of men in this category from this time period later released in 1973) or Hanoi, as the 735 Document alleges, viewed the December, 1970 list as a diplomatic move, whereby the-decision was made not to acknowledge all airmen captured by North Vietnamese forces at this point in the war. (U)

Incredibly, the NIE is completely silent on this vital and obvious question of Vietnamese intentions, as described above. More importantly, the evidence is powerful that Hanoi did not and would not have released, in 1970, a complete list of airmen captured by North Vietnamese forces, nor did the U.S. Government believe it to be a complete list of U.S. POWs held in North Vietnam at the time.32 Yet, the NIE would have its readers believe otherwise without even attempting to demonstrate its unsupported contention. (U)

In addition, according to official U.S. Government statistics, forwarded to the Director of Central Intelligence during this period, as of December, 1970 (the same month as the alleged "735" report), the Department of Defense officially listed 462 POWs, 962 MIAs, and 117 Non-Hostile missing, for a total of 1541 "missing and

captured personnel."33 This statistic alone puts a lie to the NIE's contention that "735" (less than half of 1,541) is inconsistent with reliable U.S. Government statistics. (U)

Based on an examination of these wartime statistics, to include factoring in all U.S. air losses over both North Vietnam and North Vietnamese controlled areas of Laos (no airmen captured in Laos were on the disclosed 368 list), it is plausible that Hanoi could have had a pool of 367 additional US personnel "imprisoned. in the DRV" who were not acknowledged as captive in December, 1970 (367 + 368 list,= 735). Moreover, based on the actual total of open POW or MIA cases from North Vietnam and Laos, (as of 1997 - 607, of which the majority were loss prior to January, 1971 ), and inherent uncertainties concerning dates of death with respect to many of the approximately 500 remains repatriated from Southeast Asia since the end of the war, the possibility of 367 additional personnel having been held in captivity during this period, in point of fact, does not far outnumber the actual total of open cases, as the NIE claims. This is a glaring and readily apparent mathematical error in the

NIE. (U)

The plausibility of the scenario in the "735" document being more historically accurate than the NIE.'s implicit contention that Hanoi chose to list all POWs it held: in the North in 1970, is further demonstrated by information in another Soviet-era report previously disclosed to the IC. 34 In that report, originated by the Soviet Ambassador in Hanoi during the war, I.S. Scherbakov, and entitled, "Soviet-Vietnamese Negotiations in April, 1967," the Soviet Ambassador advises his North Vietnamese counterparts, "it is not necessary to inform the Americans on the exact number of prisoners. A half of them could be handed over and the others could be released later in exchange for repair of damage inflicted by the U S. bombardment of the DRV."34 It is interesting to note that the 735 Report - describes a similar scenario being followed by Hanoi's leaders. Yet, inexplicably this evidence is not presented in the NIE. (U)

Footnotes:

21:Transcript of Briefing on National Intelligence Estimate provided to U.S. side of U. S. Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, U.S. Capitol, S.407, June 17, 1998, p. 26-27. [ ]

23: See [blanked out] Soviet-MIG defector, Alexander Zuyev [ ] follow-up JCSD interviews with him (U), and published claims by Zuyev in Malcolm McConnell's book, Fulcrum (U); in addition to the report by Russian Presidential Advisor and Co-Chairman of the Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, the late Dmitri Volkogonov, discovered in early January, 1998, concerning evidence of a KGB assigned mission and plan to "transfer knowledgeable Americans to the USSR" in the late 1960s, made available to the MIC by the JCSD on January 14, 1998 (U)

27: Memorandum to President Nixon from National Security Advisor, Henry A. Kissinger, dated December 23, 1970; Joint Chiefs of Staff Memorandum for the Record of the December 22, 1970 meeting of the NSC Ad-Hoc Group on Vietnam, dated December 23, 1970; Memorandum of Conversation of the USSR Ambassador to Vietnam with Chief of the Department of the USSR of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, dated December 22, 1970; AP Bulletin dated December 22, 1970, UPI Bulletin dated December 22, 1970; New York Times News Service, dated December 25, 1972; and American Embassy Rome message, May 3, 197 1. (U)

28: See "Cora Weiss" lists of POWs obtained by Defense intelligence Agency, released to Sen. Smith in 1993 from DIA holdings previously sent to National Archives in 1984 (U); Memorandum from Secretary of Defense to Service Secretaries, dated August, 1971. (U)

29: Memorandum from Chief, Evasion and Escape Branch, Production Support and Resources Division, Defense Intelligence Agency, dated June 21, 1972. (U)

30: Statement by Dr. Roger E. Shields, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, dated January 28, 1974, p.4. (U)

31: Chronological List of U.S. Personnel lost, captured, missing, and repatriated from Southeast Asia, Defense POW/MIA Office Official Reference Document, dated May, 1997. (U)

32: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird stated at the time, based on DoD's review of the 1970 list, "I do not accept it as a complete list of all the prisoners held in North Vietnam." (Memorandum from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretaries of the Military Departments, dated August, 1971). He reinforced that position 21 years later in testimony before the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs on September 21, 1992, stating "I felt those lists were inadequate ... it was not complete information, and we knew of the existence of other POWs when those lists were delivered to us... We felt there were more... We had solid confirmed evidence that there were more POWs in the North at that time." In addition, Acting Secretary of the Army, Thaddeus Beal, wrote to the Secretary of Defense on July 10, 1970, stating, "At present, Cora Weiss maintains that about 334 Americans are detained by Hanoi. But the facts are that 780 Americans are listed as missing in North Vietnam, and 769 in South Vietnam and Laos. We know with some certainty that of this number, 376 are PW in North Vietnam and 78 are PW elsewhere in Indochina. We expect that among those listed as missing, substantial numbers will eventually turn up as captives... To accept Hanoi's admission of responsibility for less than 350 US PW as conduct constituting reasonable, humane, or internationally responsible conduct is to betray those other forgotten Americans." (U)

33: Message for Director, Central Intelligence Agency from American Embassy Saigon, "following are official figures from missing and captured personnel lists prepared by Deputy Comptroller for Information, DoD...... dated May 10, 1971. (U)'

34: See letter from Chairman and Vice-Chairman, SSCI, to CIA, dated December 3, 1997 and letters to DIA Director from Sen. Smith dated February 6, 1998 and April 15, 1998.

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New POW Update - Senator Bob Smith plans to start a POW update, to be distributed by email. If you are interested in receiving the update, contact Russ Thomasson at Russ_Thomasson@smith.gov

We suggest you put the word "update" in the subject line.

National Alliance of Families Twelfth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 21st - 23rd, 2001. Our Forum is conducted to coincide with the governments annual POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years government briefings, for Vietnam family members. Remember the government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings. It is important that family members attend these briefings. We do not want to give DPMO reason to implement their "dead" Strategic Plan and end active investigations by 2004.

We Have A Hotel - This years meeting will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel, 1489 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington Va. Room rates are $106.00 single or double, plus tax. Reservations will be accepted after Feb. 14^th. To make reservations call 703- 416-1600 Remember to say you want the National Alliance of Families Group Rate. The deadline for reservations is May 29^th, 2001. The hotel is ½ mile from Regan National Airport. If you plan to drive to D.C. hotel parking is $5.00 per night.

The Hotel is convenient to the Meto, and has three types of eating facilities, from nice to fast food. The Hotel is walking distance to the Government briefings. For those not inclined to walk, transportation will be provided.

Remember, the Alliance is an all volunteer organization. Our meetings are open to all, without charge. At this time of year, we actively seek contributions to finance our Forum. If you wish to contribute, donations may be mailed to:

National Alliance of Families

P.O. Box 40327

Bellevue, WA. 98015.

Remember All Contributions Are Tax Deductible.