Barbara C. White
Sent in by Bob Necci and Andi Wolos of AIIPOWMIAI
As most of you know my brother, Samuel Larry James, became Missing in Action
over Cambodia on April 18, 1973. Larry was a Navigator on a F4 Phantom Jet.
The wingmen flying with him that day observed no explosions or parachutes. It
was the policy of his squadron not to use beepers, and no beepers were heard.
Aerial photographs of the probable crash site were taken. An unnamed source
in the government said to a journalist that “James was probably a POW
according to our intelligence.”
A sighting report was seen at the JCRC (located in SEA at that time)
concerning my brother and his pilot. The report told of American pilots in
that area being taken into custody by Vietnamese troops. The Vietnamese were
taking the pilots towards Vietnam.
In the book The Men We Left Behind by Mark Sauter, on page 200 and American
CIA agent overheard Samuel Larry James telling his name and that he was okay
on a radio transmission that was intercepted by this CIA agent. The CIA does
not release classified documents so this report has not appeared in Larry’s
file.
As family members we have continued to contact anyone and everyone to find
evidence concerning my brother for 25 years. Very little has appeared in his
file.
For years we have been told that nothing was known. We were told that the
probable crash site was swept clean and used as farm land. In 1993 my
brother’s daughter (considered by the government as his Primary Next of Kin)
was told that an old woman saw the plane crash, and she walked to the site.
My husband discovered that this explanation did not refer to Larry’s crash
site. It was 30 miles away and referred to another incident. The entire
scenario was removed from my brother’s file and was not mentioned by Casualty
again after that.
The government sent a letter stating my brother’s case was inactive and did
not recommend excavation. Then one year ago I discovered on the Internet a
joint team going into Cambodia to do excavation. My Mother and I waited to
hear if in fact a team went in to my brother’s crash site for excavation. We
waited and waited. No word came. In June we made our trip to Washington, DC.
Nothing was in Larry’s file about a recent excavation. We verbally asked the
SEA official at Air Force Casualty if a team had gone into Larry’s site. He
answered yes. Evidently Air Force Casualty was waiting (months) to notify the
Primary Next of Kin (my brother’s daughter). He said he did not have her
current address. My husband showed it to him in the file. All this time had
passed and the address was there in the file. He said the Primary Next of Kin
had to be notified then my Mother and me.
We finally received a report with vague explanations. I wrote Joint Task
Force-Full Accounting for more detailed answers. Evasive answers were
returned one month later with photographs of the excavation. The photographs
were not labeled and very difficult to discern. The report stated that teeth
with restorations were found but we were never told how many teeth. Bone
Fragments were said to be found but we were never told how many fragments were
found. My mother and I have not been asked for a blood sample so Mt. DNA has
not been used. We were told about limited plane parts and personal effects.
The excavation team said they found my brother’s identification tag. Lately
quite a few tags have been found at crash sites. Were they at the crash site
or in a drawer to be pulled out when needed?
On December 10, 1998, I received a phone call from AF Mortuary saying a dental
identification would be made on my brother and the pilot. Years ago we asked
the AF Casualty about my brother’s dental file, and we were told that they did
not have it. The small bone fragments in size and quantity, personal effects,
and plane parts were determined to be a group identification. 25 years later
we are down to a few chips of bone, few chips of teeth, ID tags, and plane
parts to determine the identity of two soldiers. Where is justice and truth?
My brother’s daughter will be allowed to choose the individual service
(location and time) and my brother’s daughter will confer with the pilot’s
wife to set a time for the group identification service. My mother does not
have a say in any of these decisions. Not conferring with my mother about
Larry’s case is foreign to me. No one is closer to a son than his mother.
This does not mean that uncertainty has been lifted or that we now have an
answer about Larry’s fate. It means we were told what the government has
decided.
My brother will be marked identified on the government's book, but the truth
has not been told.
My mother and I wrote letters to our Congressmen and Senators. Please
continue to pray for my brother and my family. To my family my brother’s fate
is still unknown. However; God is certain.
Sincerely,
Email rwhite@airnet.net
Advocacy And Intelligence Index
For Prisoners Of War/Missing In Action, Inc.
Barbara White
