Rolling Thunder XI - To Artie Muller and the Ladies and Gentlemen of Rolling Thunder, Congratulations, on a job well done! Our POW/MIA's were well represented in the weekend events, starting with a demonstration at the Vietnamese Embassy on Saturday afternoon. Sunday's Ride for Freedom was the largest ever, with a 20 mile backup of bikers. It was a sight to see!

From the Associated Press by Janelle Carter "Washington (AP) -- Emblazoned with jackets and buttons remembering America's missing war heroes, nearly 200 veterans on motorcycles rallied outside the Vietnam embassy Saturday to push for a final accounting of those lost in action. "The POWs (prisoners of war) have been failed in an obscene way," said Ted Sampley of Kinston, N.C. "They've just been abandoned." He complained that in many ways the country treats its veterans as "debris of war that needs to be swept out of the way...."

"...Dolores Apodaca Alfond, chairperson of the National Alliance of Families, said families deserve information. "The families are interested in knowing the truth," said Alfond, whose older brother, Maj. Victor J. Apodaca, never returned from Vietnam..."

Speaking of Ted Sampley - The latest edition of the U.S. Veteran carries a very interesting article on the Vietnam Known, titled "MIA FAmily Group Director Helped the Pentagon Fake Vietnam Unknown Soldier."

Never in the history of Bits 'N' Pieces have we ever commented on the actions of any other family group. In this case, however, we must quote from the document used in the Sampley article and leave our readers to make up their own minds.

The memo dated August 26, 1982 is from Richard Childress and is on the letterhead of the National Security Council. The quote "At my urging on at least six occasions in the past month, Ann Griffiths has not gone public. She is under increasing pressure to do so as Secretary Marsh's original memo is in the hands of veteran's groups. Jack Anderson has a copy and had called the League and the Army flag officer has made the rounds to veteran's groups and the Congress. The League knows the full interment precedent, the state of identification on each set of remains, the fact that records have been shredded and the propensity of the Army to push for early action. Should such facts go public, rather than "heal the wounds" of Vietnam, they would be reopened, the accounting process would be undermined; the hard-won trust built up with the POW/MIA families over the past would be jeopardized, and the credibility of the Central Identification Lab (which many families have visited) would be thrown into doubt."

We congratulate Ted Sampley for having the courage to bring this information to the public. Remember it was Ted Sampley and the U.S. Veteran who first broke the story identifying Michael J. Blassie as the Vietnam Unknown.

Update - The Vietnam Known - On May 14th, the Pentagon exhumed the remains of the Vietnam Known, Michael Blassie, for forensic examination and mt-DNA testing. Now, we and the Blassie family wait.

Offering possibilities - The Pentagon stated that forensic evidence, in the case of the Vietnam Known, more closely matches Rodney Strowbridge than Michael Blassie. At the time, Race and height measurements were established using the highly unscientific methods of Tadeo Furue. Indeed, it was eventually established that Tadeo Furue was completely unqualified for the position he held at CIL-HI.

The Pentagon, in an effort to draw attention away from the fact that the identity of the Unknown was known or suspected by all, offered the possibility that the Unknown could be anyone of nine servicemen lost in that area.

What the Pentagon failed to mention was the fact that there was a tenth man lost over An Loc. One of those aboard the C-130 was a Vietnamese loadmaster. This information was provided to the National Alliance of Families, by the next of kin of one of the crewmen.

During our recent trip to De Ceit we located documentation which stated: "On 27 April 1972, Maj Harry A. Amesbury Jr., 1Lt. Kurt F. Weisman, 1Lt. Richard L. Russell, Tsgt Donald R. Hoskins, Tsgt. Richard E. Dunn, Ssgt Calvin C. Cooke Jr., and one Vietnamese loadmaster were flying on a C-130E which was engaged in an emergency resupply mission over An Loc City in South Vietnam."

Once again, the Pentagon provided only the part of the story useful to set up their smoke screen. It would not due to raise the possibility that... well, we can't even say it.....

According to the documentation "a ground search was not conducted until 27 February 1975. At that time a fairly complete set of remains were found. These remains were identified as 1LT. Weisman. All other individuals involved in the incident are currently carried as Dead, Body not Recovered."

Should we ask why only once set of remains was recovered from the loss area? where was the rest of the crew?

When sending up a smoke screen it is always wise to stand upwind.

Servicemen Accounted For - The Pentagon has declared Navy Lt. Cmdr. Donald V. Davis and Air Force Capt. Carey Allen Cunningham accounted for. According to the Associated Press the only remains for Capt. Cunningham were "16 scraps of bone." Associated Press reported that the Cunningham identification was based on mt-DNA testing.

To the Davis and Cunningham families - we hold you in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time. We truly hope that you have your answers.

Speaking of mt-DNA - From the New Scientist February 28th, 1998 - "Bearing False Witness Chance Matches Are Much More Likely with mt-DNA Tests" - "A type of genetic fingerprinting with a high chance of producing a false match has helped convict six people in the US. The increasing use of this type of DNA evidence, based on DNA from the mitochondria (mt) of a cell, has sparked heated debate about whether it should be admissible in courts at all...."

Discussing the limitations of mt-DNA testing the article concludes by stating "Because of these limitations, Britian's Forensic Science Service in Birmingham uses mt DNA only to eliminate suspects or to back up other pieces of evidence, Dave Werrett, director of research and DNA services at the FSS says it is vital that expert witnesses explain to the jury that a random match is far more likely with mt DNA. "What we do is put all the caveats up front."

What is Britian's Forensic Science Service - It is AFDIL's British counterpart and they will not use mt-DNA testing as a primary or sole means of identification.

How unique is an mt-DNA sequence? Not as unique as CIL-HI, AFDIL and the Marine Corp would like us to believe! Stay tuned.

Clinton Certifies - In a letter to Congress, dated May 21, 1998, President Clinton certified Poland, Hungry and the Czech Republic's full cooperation in "efforts to obtain the fullest possible accounting of captured and missing U.S. personnel from past military conflicts or Cold War incidents..."

Thanks to Senator Bob Smith - for the first time, thanks to the efforts of Senator Bob Smith, the POW/MIA flag flew over the Capitol for Memorial Day Weekend.

From UPI - MIA team arrives in North Korea WASHINGTON, May 26 (UPI) -- "A five-member Defense Department team has arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea, to begin reviewing military records for clues to the fate of American servicemen reported missing in action during the Korean War."

"The team will conduct its search at the Fatherland Liberation Museum in Pyongyang. Last year, a similar mission turned up documents relating to the fate of several American prisoners of war. Those documents are still being analyzed, according to the Pentagon. When the analysis is complete, the documents will be given to the families of American POWs."

North Korea Repatriates Remains - On Memorial Day, May 25th, 1998, the North Koreans returned the remains of two individuals believed to be American Servicemen.

"REFERENCED REPORT PROVIDED INFORMATION OF URGENT POLITICAL SENSITIVITY," so reads a Defense Intelligence Agency message sent to USDAO SAIGON VIETNAM on June 15, 1973. Only evidence of American POWs left behind in Vietnam would warrant a message of "Urgent Political Sensitivity." That was the situation facing DIA in June of 1973.

On April 10th, 1973, two days before Assistant Secretary of State Dr. Roger Shields declared all the POWs home or dead, a North Vietnamese soldier defected to the south. The defector, who held the rank of "aspirant and was commanding officer for the 157 Co. 21st Bn, 2nd Div," provided stunning information that six (6) American POWs remained in a POW camp in Quang Ngai Province. He had seen the six (6) Americans as recently as late February 1973.

If you want to hear more: Join us June 18 - 20th, 1998 in Washington, D.C. Once again, we will meet at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel in Washington D.C. Room rates are $103.00 per night double occupancy. To make reservations, call 800-526-7495. Make your reservations, now.

Remember our meetings are open to all, at no charge. In order to make this Forum a reality, funds are needed. Please consider a contribution to The National Alliance of Families. The Alliance is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible. Contributions may be mailed to The National Alliance of Families, P.O. Box 40327, Bellevue Washington 98015-4327.

Confirmed - for Saturday morning 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon - AFDIL and DPMO breifing.

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