AMERICANS IDENTIFIED: There are now 1,695 Americans listed by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. DPMO just posted the news that the remains of Capt. Darrell J. Spinler, USAF, listed as KIA/BNR June 21, 1967 in Laos, were jointly recovered November 17, 2010 and identified January 5, 2011. The remains of SFC Donald M. Shue, USA, listed as MIA in South Vietnam on November 3, 1969, were jointly recovered April 3, 2010 and identified January 6, 2011. Finally, the remains of SP4 Randal D. Dalton, USA, listed as KIA/BNR on July 24, 1971 in Cambodia, were recovered September 11, 1989, and identified January 18, 2011. Also early this month, DPMO posted information that the remains of LCDR William P. Egan, USN have been identified. Previously listed as missing in Laos, his remains were recovered December 22,, 2009 and identified February 11, 2011. The number of Americans returned and identified since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is now 888; another 63 US personnel, recovered post-incident and identified before the end of the war, bring the total to 951. Of the 1,695 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 – 1,300 (VN-477, VS-823); Laos – 330; Cambodia – 58; Peoples Republic of China territorial waters – 7. Over 450 were over-water losses.

LEAGUE DELEGATION BACK FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA: League Executive Director Ann Mills-Griffiths and Senior Policy Advisor Richard T. Childress met with US foreign officials in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia over the last three weeks. The delegation traveled first to Laos, where they visited two excavation sites in the south, then on to Vietnam on March 16th and to Cambodia on March 20th, before returning to Bangkok on March 23rdand back to the US. A summary report will be published in the upcoming League Newsletter.

Discussions in Laos brought progress that may, at long last, finally result in Lao Government agreement for participation by DIA’s Stony Beach specialist in POW/MIA investigations. Other issues were raised, including the need for Vietnam’s archives to address cases of US personnel missing in Laos. Despite US failure to respond to Vietnam’s 2009 proposal to expand the pace and scope of field operations (due to inaction by Congress to allocate funding), Vietnam reiterated its hope that such expansion would soon occur, offered to positively consider any initiatives we wish to propose, agreed more can be done on archival research and provision of records and agreed to work bilaterally and multilaterally (with the US, Laos and Cambodia) to expand opportunities for greater results in locating relevant archives. In Cambodia, there is willingness to respond positively to any request made by the US. Authorization comes directly from the Prime Minister to Cambodian POW/MIA Committee Chairman General Pol Saroeun, Chief of the Cambodian Armed Forces and his Deputy, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Interior Sieng Lapresse. All members of the Cambodian POW/MIA Committee are very senior and cooperate closely with DIA’s two Stony Beach specialists in Phnom Penh, as well as with JPAC when conducting joint field operations.

ACCOUNTING COOPERATION: MG Stephen Tom, USAR, Commander of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) recently was in Cambodia, visiting two excavation sites, one a Recovery Team (RT) and the other an Underwater Recovery Team (URT). He then visited Laos where he held POW/MIA consultations. The 117th Joint Field Activity (JFA), scheduled to begin January 14th, had to be canceled due to the lack of certified helicopter support and the Lao Government’s unwillingness to permit the teams to travel by truck on surface roads. They did approve issuing 45-day visas that will enable 30-day operations at sites to be extended, if needed for completion. The Lao also supported JPAC requests related to team safety that are most welcome. Although there had been serious obstacles to ensuring helicopter support for field operations in Laos and Vietnam, agreements were recently reached, and a waiver to allow transport of personnel should be forthcoming shortly with DoD approval. There are still several steps that must be addressed before the helicopter situation is resolved, one being a reasonable cost for contracted helicopter support, but the JFAs are now ongoing in both countries and very recently concluded in Cambodia.

FUTURE OF US-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION (USRJC) ON POW/MIA AFFAIRS STILL UNCLEAR: All veteran and family groups support General Robert Foglesong, USAF (Ret) and his efforts to ensure that the USRJC remains valid, productive and independent. White House clarification is expected very soon.