Operation Just Cause ...for as long as it takes
POW/MIA - Last Month in Review
by Marilyn Grote
November 7, 2000 - The remains of Capt. Richard Rich were buried in Arlington Cemetery. Capt. Rich's family and members of OJC were in attendance.
November 9, 2000 - Remains believed to be those of 15 American soldiers, missing in action from the Korean War, will be repatriated on Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, Korea time. This is the largest number of remains recovered during a single joint recovery operation.
November 10, 2000 - Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will discuss North Korea's missile policy and the status of Australian soldiers who went missing in the Korean War during a visit to Pyongyang next week. But the November 14-16 visit, the first by an Australian minister since 1975, is principally designed to continue the dialogue between Western powers and the gradually thawing communist state.
Downer will also raise the issue of Australian soldiers declared missing in action (MIA) during the 1950-1953 Korean War, several of whom are still unaccounted for.
"There are a number of MIAs, there is one case in particular where the relatives have approached us...and we will follow that matter up," the official said.
November 11, 2000 – Veteran's Day. The remains of 15 U.S. servicemen who died in Korea and six others who perished in Vietnam were returned to American soil Monday.
The remains of three soldiers were turned over by Vietnamese officials on Saturday at a ceremony attended by President Clinton in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
The remains arrived at Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu in 21 silver caskets, each draped with an American flag.
November 28, 2000 - A South Korean soldier who was captured by communist troops during the 1950-53 Korean War has fled North Korea, South Korea's main intelligence agency said Monday. The 66-year-old veteran and two family members left North Korea in October and recently arrived in Seoul after traveling through a third country, the National Intelligence Service said. The agency did not disclose the third country. Many North Korean defectors have passed through China on their way to asylum in South Korea. The ex-soldier, whose name was not released, was a private in the South Korean army during the war and was seized by North Korean forces in 1951. He worked most of the time since in a coal mine in Onsung, a city on the North's northeast border with China, South Korea said. The veteran was the 17th South Korean POW to flee North Korea since the war, according to Seoul officials.
November 29, 2000 - WWII MARINE RAIDERS IDENTIFIED, RETURNING HOME
The remains of 19 World War II Marine Raiders killed in action on Butaritari Island (Makin Atoll) and listed as missing in action since August 1942 were recently identified, and will be returned to their families for burial.
The remains are those of:
Capt. Gerald P. Holtom, Palo Alto, Calif.
Sgt. Clyde Thomason, Atlanta, Ga.
FM1C. Vernon L. Castle, Stillwater, Okla.
Cpl. I.B. Earles, Tulare, Calif.
Cpl. Daniel A. Gaston, Galveston, Tex.
Cpl. Harris J. Johnson, Little Rock, Iowa
Cpl. Kenneth K. Kunkle, Mountain Home, Ark.
Cpl. Edward Maciejewski, Chicago, Ill.
Cpl. Robert B. Pearson, Lafayette, Calif.
Cpl. Mason O. Yarbrough, Sikeston, Mo.
Pfc. William A. Gallagher, Wyandotte, Mich.
Pfc. Ashley W. Hicks, Waterford, Calif.
Pfc. Kenneth M. Montgomery, Eden, Wis.
Pfc. Norman W. Mortensen, Camp Douglas, Wis.
Pfc. John E. Vandenberg, Kenosha, Wis.
Pvt. Carlyle O. Larson, Glenwood, Minn.
Pvt. Robert B. Maulding, Vista, Calif.
Pvt. Franklin M. Nodland, Marshalltown, Iowa
Pvt. Charles A. Selby, Ontonagon, Mich.
