by Marilyn Grote March 2, 2001 - How Many South Korean POWs Is North Korea Holding - The answer is 351, according to the Korea Times, in an article published March 2nd, the Korea Times states "The government has a list of 351 South Korean soldiers who have been detained in North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War, a recently issued government report said."
March 9, 2001 - Republican lawmakers requested on Thursday a Senate investigation into the fate of the only American armed forces member still missing from the Persian Gulf War and into the handling of the case by the CIA and the Pentagon."
"Lt. Cmdr. Michael S. Speicher of Jacksonville, Florida status was changed to missing in action. Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and fellow Republican Sens. Bob Smith of New Hampshire, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Mike DeWine of Ohio asked Thursday for a full intelligence committee investigation."
March 11, 2001 - Remains of World War II Pilot Recovered In France - >From Reuters, March 8th, "A French news magazine said on Thursday it had identified a World War Two American pilot whose remains were found in north France last month as a veteran flyer who survived Pearl Harbour and shot down three Japanese planes."
"Paris-Match said the body was that of Lieutenant William Patton who went missing in action in January 1945 when his P-51 Mustang became separated from a formation escorting bombers from England for a raid over Nazi Germany.
March 16, 2001 - The Department of Defense today informed the League that the remains of one American, listed as KIA/BNR in North Vietnam since August 30, 1967, have been identified and returned to his family. The remains were jointly recovered on August 4, 1993 and accepted by the NOK as identified on October 21st of last year. DOD has not yet announced the name of this Navy officer. The remains of Warrant officer 2nd Class Howard B. Comer, missing since November 24th, 1969, were turned over to US officials on December 14, 1993, during joint field operations in South Vietnam. Remains of the third, also US Army, were jointly recovered and repatriated June 27, 2000, but his name was not publicly announced at the request of his family. The fourth American, Mr. Gustav G. Hertz, was a civilian employee of the US Government. Now identified, the government of Vietnam in 1989 unilaterally repatriated his remains. The accounting for these four Americans brings the number still missing and unaccounted for in Vietnam to 1493; 418 in Laos, 67 in Cambodia and 8 in the territorial waters of the PRC. Over 90% of the 1,986 Americans still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War were lost in areas under Vietnam's wartime control.
March 19, 2001 - The remains of a young Melbourne flyer, Flying Officer Geoffrey Wells were returned. He was among those of four Australian airmen who died 57 years ago fighting the Japanese in New Guinea. The remains were in the wreckage of their Bristol Beaufort bomber, found on the ocean floor near Kawa Island, 80 kilometres west of PNG's Trobriand Group. They will be buried with full military honors at Bita Paka in May and the RAAF will help family members attend the funeral at Rabaul.
March 23,2001 - Rough diplomatic seas for the United States and Japan rose yesterday when two California congressmen said they will introduce legislation today to reopen the 50-year-old Treaty of Peace With Japan to demand that Japanese companies pay slave-labor compensation to former POWs. The bill by Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R- Huntington Beach) would pit Congress against the U.S. State Department and the government of Japan, both of which maintain that reparation claims for World War II were settled by the treaty.
March 30, 2001 - Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert L. "Bob" Jones leaves his post as the person in charge of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO). There has been no announcement from the Bush Administration on his replacement or interim chief of DPMO. Stay tuned. . .
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