...for as long as it takes
There will also be a section entitled "What Veterans Day Means to Me".
I have found the following piece on several places on the Internet. I would like to use this to inspire our readers to write something they are thankful to our Veterans for. And remember our POW/MIA's this Veterans Day and every day. The one thing we can do to show our gratitude is to fight for a full accounting of all those who continue to serve.
"Remembering-A Tribute to Veterans"
There has been a major development in the matter of POWs believed taken
to the Soviet Union. The news story came off the wire in the last hour.
Today, Vice President Gore gave Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov
a letter asking him to open Russian records so investigators can search
for any evidence concerning the missing men's fates.
There is no description of the letter tendered or its specific content.
It is of critical importance that the pressure be kept up on the
administration, to insure that they do not fail to follow through on
this first step.
Email alone will not be enough since it is most often not read in a
timely manner.
Call, Fax or walk in to your elected officials local offices and make
your feelings know in as respectful and determined a manner as it is in
your power to demonstrate.
Write letters to the editor of your local paper. Go to your township
committee or city council and ask them to officially endorse your
requests with an open letter to the Whitehouse.
Call radio and TV talk shows (CNN, CSPAN, MSNBC, FoxNewsNetwork, etc) if
the opportunity presents itself (The "What's on your mind?" segments are
perfect) and keep this story and this issue in the forefront of
everyone's mind. Most newsies feel the POW issue no longer exists. Let's
disabuse them of that notion.
(Don't mention my name please. They may hang up on you.)
Call and Fax the Whitehouse and express your approval of this major step
forward and then remind them just as enthusiastically that it will be
worthless without persistent follow up.
These are the points to be made in your communications. In addition to urging them to pursue vigorous follow through, they need
to:
1..Make the text of Gore's letter Public so the entire nation will know
exactly what was asked of Primakov.
Prepare your statement's before you call so you can keep it short. (You
can say a lot in less than a minute if you write it down first.)
Keep Faxes to a single page. That makes them more convenient for the
aides to carry around....
This is more important than you can imagine. Don't waste any
time...Please...This is something we've been waiting for for a long
time.
Thank you and Semper Fi,
Today's Washington Post reports that Russian Officials confirm the
existence of orders to transport American POWs to the former Soviet
Union. According to the article, Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), confirmed ".
..he and Toon were told yesterday by Vladimir Semichastny, KGB chief
from 1961 to 1967, that the Soviets did have a plan during the
Vietnam War to bring American prisoners to the Soviet Union.
But Semichastny, Smith said, would go no further than confirming the
plan's existence, leaving open the question of whether it was
implemented."
Appeals by high ranking US officials, including Secretary of State
Albright, for release of the document have been ignored by the Russians.
In an article titled "Yielding to Outcry, Clinton Might Ask Primakov
About KGB Document," the Washington Times reported "The White House said
yesterday that President Clinton may ask Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni
Primakov next week about Moscow's refusal to provide a KGB document
mentioning a plan to use captured Americans for intelligence purposes."
The article continued: "However, Mr. Clinton will only broach the
subject during next week's scheduled meeting in Malaysia if the Russian
government fails to turn over the document during a meeting in Moscow
this week of the US-Russian commission on prisoners of war..."
We hope that the Russians will turn over this important document to
Senator Smith and Ambassador Toon. However, we must prepare for the
worst, that they will not. If the document is not turned over to the
commission, we must then depend on the "Might" and "May" of the White
House. That is unacceptable.
We must turn the White House "May" and "Might" into "Will" and
"Absolutely"
Your voices are needed. We cannot do this alone. Time is short.
President Clinton leaves for his meeting with Prime Minister Primakov,
on Friday. We must make our voices heard, before he leaves. If the
Russians do not turn over the document to the US side of the Joint
Commission, the President must ask for it during his meeting scheduled
for either Monday or Tuesday.
Make your voices heard. Contact:
The Honorable Bill Clinton
Mr. Samuel R. Berger, National Security Advisor Madeleine K. Albright
The Honorable Yuli M. Vorontsov, Ambassador The PoW/MIA Forum has obtained copies of the document that Russian General
Dmitri Volkogonov donated to the Library of Congress. We also have a
partial translation of the Russian document.
This document points toward a KGB-planned transfer of captured US Personnel
to the then Soviet Union and is the same document cited in the November 9th
Article of the Washington Times "Kremlin Withholds report on POWs," by Bill
Gertz.
The story by Gertz indicates just how high up in the Clinton Administration
this has hit, including the fact that Madeline Albright personally appealed
to Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, a former KGB Chief.
The Russians admit that a Soviet KGB document exists of the planned
transfer, but claim that the transfer had not taken place and the Russians
have denied Albright's request.
With the US-Russian Joint Commission meeting in a few days with Ambassador
Toons (sound familiar?), Senator Bob Smith has decided to fly to Russia to
attempt to get a copy of the KGB plan.
Please go to POW/MIA Forum and you will see the first of 8 documents, the Russian document and a partial translation. It is under the heading: KREMLIN WITHHOLDS REPORT ON POWs.
Please give this widest possible distribution and take the appropriate
action accordingly.
Steve Golding So there it is again. They won't ask...They Will ask...The wind blew and
they changed their mind...in our favor this time...
The outcry Clinton 'might' yield to, came from you - the American
citizen who wants the answers and who let them know in Washington, just
how you feel.
From the very first, I have avoided pointing blame at individual
politicians for inaction on the POW issue. The fact remains, politicians
will do what they believe improves their chances for re-election. They
will do not what the majority of us feel is right, but only that which
the majority of us take time to TELL THEM WE FEEL IS RIGHT!!!!
While it would be admirable for them to take the initiative on their
own, we all know that is unlikely. So, as usual, we're going to have to
help them along.
More than any other in history, this administration has adhered to the
practice of checking the direction of the wind before setting policy.
Let's insure that President Clinton is not confused by a last minute
wind shift.
Call, Fax or email the White House now and let the President know you
want him to advise Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov that:
"Release of all KGB documents mentioning a plan to use captured
Americans for intelligence or other purposes, and all documents
referencing American POWs from the SE Asian Wars being taken to the
Soviet Union or other Communist Bloc countries for any reason, is
critical to insuring the confidence of the American people in the good
faith of the Russian people and the Russian government."
You might also mention briefly that the President's commitment to making
that statement and asking the hard questions, is equally critical to
strengthening your confidence in the administration...but please use
your own words on this last item.
If you do call, keep your comments short and polite. That will insure
they are remembered and it will also insure that more people will get
through.
If you Fax, put it all on the cover sheet. Anything over a single sheet
gets lost.
Give your name, town, state and phone# if they ask. That will add
credibility.
Don't make political statements. The goal is to get the message across.
After you call or Fax, email a copy of your statement to your
congressperson.
Most of you who write me, regularly say: "What else can I do to help the
issue?"
Well folks, this is it. This might be the most important thing you ever
do to get the answers we seek.
I'll end here because I have a phone call to make and a fax to send.
Have a great day,
Gunny
Mr. Tom Condon wrote the following piece in the local newspaper (The Hartford Courant,
November 12, 1998). If you would care to reply to the Editor of the Hartford
Courant, the e-mail address is: ctnews@courant.com Or if you would prefer to sign the guestbook in regards to the article, please go to the following URL: Lower Flag On Myth Of POW-MIAs
Congress last year required that selected federal agencies fly the POW-MIA
flag with Old Glory on six holidays, including Veterans Day. So, Wednesday,
the black flag with the silhouette of a prisoner was hanging sullenly in the
morning rain over post offices and office buildings, as well as many town
halls and Legion halls.
What is the point?
The flags were produced by a private organization, the National League of POW-
MIA Families, back in the '70s to beat the drum for U.S. soldiers missing or
held prisoner in Vietnam.
Isn't it clear by now that there aren't any Vietnam POWs? That there never
were any, after the war ended in 1973? That virtually all MIAs have been
accounted for? That ``Rambo'' was just a movie?
The POW-MIA phenomenon is brilliantly described by H. Bruce Franklin of
Rutgers University in ``MIA or Mythmaking in America,'' (Rutgers University
Press) published in 1992 and revised last year.
Richard M. Nixon was elected in 1968 claiming to have a secret plan to end the
Vietnam War. He was lying, we now know. His plan was to keep fighting, to
avoid the disgrace of losing a war. But, the Trickster had a problem. The
country was tired of the war, peace negotiations had begun and there was no
emotional support for the fighting, Franklin said.
With help from a little-known businessman named Ross Perot, Nixon came up with
the POW-MIA issue, with the flag, the family groups, the bracelets. It was
brilliant, in its perverse way. It fired up enough emotional support to keep
the war going another few years, and get hundreds of thousands more people
killed.
``By 1972, many Americans believed we'd gotten into the war to get our POWs
out,'' Franklin said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
Hollywood sensed the potential of the POW idea, and turned out the Rambo and
Chuck Norris films. Perhaps, Franklin speculates, we couldn't deal with
defeat, so we redefined the war with U.S. pilots as victims. Perhaps the
movies massaged the national spirit by replaying the war so we could win.
The point is that it was never true. Years of Bo Gritz commando raids, rewards
offered, supposed ``live sightings'' and stunts such as floating bottles with
cash and notes down the Mekong River has never produced a single unrepatriated
American POW.
The POW question has now been investigated by three congressional committees,
by the National Defense University, by the departments of state and defense.
Each case has been exhaustively checked out.
There are no living POWs, they all concluded. There are only 2,078 MIAs listed
from the war, a tiny number, given the terrain and length of the conflict. And
though the bodies haven't been recovered, and many won't be, all but a handful
have been accounted for, Franklin reports.
To keep the myth alive, as true believers do, is a disservice to the families.
How can they close the book when they're told of a faint chance their loved
one is alive?
It also obscures the real veterans' issues of substance abuse, medical care,
jobs. The real MIA's are in shelters and prisons. They're here. And it ignores
the devastation suffered by Vietnam.
We learned much about ourselves in Vietnam, at such cost, yet, Franklin warns,
we're on the verge of forgetting it. All we remember are the movies.
Dear Editor:
What I saw and experienced in Indochina, the Cold War, and as a POW
investigator, causes me to take issue with Tom Condon's viewpoint, "Lower Flag
On Myths Of POW-MIAs" (Courant, Nov. 12).
I cannot say, based on hard evidence, that any American POWs are still alive
in Indochina, North Korea, China, or Russia. Neither can I say all are dead.
Two Japanese W.W.II POWs, well in their 80s, and three Korean POWs, have
turned up alive in the past 3 years.
But that's not even the point. What does matter, is that an estimated 9000
"Unrepatriated POWs" were alive at the end of various wars, not just Vietnam,
and were not allowed by their captors or circumstances to return home.
This is why the POW/MIA Flag still flies.
Many of these men survived years, even decades after the wars were over, only
to die in the Soviet Gulag camps, and possibly prisons in China, North Korea,
and North Vietnam. The fact that they might all be dead does not mean that
the truth about their immense sacrifices and untold heroism should not see the
light of day.
My research as an intelligence officer, and the investigations of other
professional investigators and historians, indicates that approximately 9000
American POWs were illegally detained or taken into the USSR over a period of
57 years (1918-1975). Moscow never accounted for any of these secret
detainees, which it exploited for intelligence and political purposes along
with at least a million other foreign POWs it harbored, in the midst of 30
million of its own citizen-prisoners.
Beginning with the 1918-1920 North Russian and Siberian Expeditions at the
end of WWI, to suppress the Bolsheviks, between 43-200 American POWs were
secretly detained and not returned. It was the first time Moscow kept
American citizens and learned it could get away with the act.
In the 1930s, American citizens ranging from leftist sympathizers to American
intelligence agents were kidnapped in Moscow and imprisoned "incommunicado."
One of these agents escaped in 1941, after 5 years in Siberian camps, and
walked 4000 miles to safety -- in India. It took him a year. I've debriefed
the only known survivor who escaped with him.
At the end of WWI, the Soviets secretly incarcerated, until they died, 7000
American GI's that they obtained from German Stalags. Stalin's motive was
revenge for tens of thousands of Soviet citizens that the Allies would not
repatriate to Moscow. US Army documents from 1945 admit that the missing 7000
POWs were placed in the "MIA column" of accounting (joining the total 78,000
missing from that war) so "the numbers would balance."
During the Cold War, 134 American pilots and airmen were shot down over the
USSR, some killed, some captured. Because the US did not admit to violating
Soviet airspace, Moscow did not need to account for these men. Russia today
has not accounted for the fates of the detained captives or returned the
remains of those killed.
In the Korean War, an estimated 2000 POWs were transferred to Siberia via
Manchuria. A Hungarian military officer reported seeing 200 of these American
POWs as late as 1964, working on a road-building project. Another 200 POWs
were transported directly to Moscow from Korea, via Prague and East Berlin,
where they were subjected to a series of psychological, biochemical warfare,
medical, and nuclear experiments. An eyewitness to this operation, former
Czech General Jan Sejna, testified in Congress to this in 1996. He swore to
the truthfulness of his statements to me on his death bed in August 1997.
The transfer of American POWs to the USSR continued, he said, in lesser
amounts, into the Vietnam era. General Dmitri Volkogonov, the head of the
Russian side of the Joint Commission, knew this, but was not allowed to reveal
the secrets he knew while he was still alive. Instead, he revealed part of
what he knew in his just-published autobiography, "Reflections."
As for the Unrepatriated POWs, alive or dead in Indochina, it matters that
the truth about what happened to these men comes out. I knew two men
personally who were captured and held after Saigon fell. One was Jim Lewis,
who was released nine months later and died in Beirut. The other was Tucker
Gouglemann, who died in late 1976 in NVA prisons. His remains were eventually
returned, and forensics verified he was tortured and killed.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 American POWs were reportedly executed
around the same time that Gouglemann was killed. There are indications that
another 20 survived at least until 1979, just before Bobby Garwood came out.
Having spent more time than most in Indochina, I too am skeptical of most of
the live-sighting reports. However, as a former clandestine service officer,
I also know that Indochina is an excellent place to cover-up what really
happened to the unrepatriated POWs, and it is this information -- the fate of
our men -- that we need to determine.
We have not been told the truth about America's Unrepatriated POWs, not in
the Indochina War, nor the wars preceding it. As I testified twice before
Congressional committees, this lapse in full disclosure extends to components
in both the US and Russian governments.
I found boxes of unclassified documents that were being improperly hidden
from the public and families within the DOD's own POW/MIA Office. Defectors
from the Soviet military and intelligence professions have reported that US
POWs were taken into the USSR. These transfers of Americans remain classified
secrets in Russia today, as Volkogonov told us from the grave, controlled by
the same professions in the SVRR who ran the KGB.
The only myth about the POWs is that we've been told the truth. Until that
myth is exposed for the lie it is, keep the POW/MIA flag flying right up
underneath Old Glory. It's meant to keep us honest.
CDR. Chip Beck USNR (Ret)
"Yellow/Black Ribbon Campaign"
"There has been some confusion over the wearing of the "yellow ribbon" in recognition of Operation Just Cause. To prevent this, I have added a black ribbon and a small POW lapel pin to the yellow ribbon I wear. (see below) If you use 1/8" ribbon 1 3/4" long and one of the 1/2" POW
pins, it is small and tasteful enough to be worn on a suit coat or with a tux. The small pins are available from The US Veteran's dispatch. Call 1-800-452-8906 for pricing and availability."
For those of you who haven't heard, our Brother, Medal of Honor
Recipient MSG Roy Benavidez recently underwent surgery which resulted in
an amputation below his right knee. Please keep him in your thoughts and
prayers. Roy is one of the greatest Heroes of the Vietnam War and an
encouraging email would be a good way to let him know his courage and
sacrifice have not been forgotten."
His Email address is:
RPBCMH17@yahoo.com
or send cards to him at the
following address:
Roy Benavidez "Get well soon Roy" Special Request for a Veteran
The following piece, "Nobody Gets Left Behind", written by Dennis Johnson, originally appeared in the September issue of the Moonduster Chronicles. And here is a special message from Dennis:
"The 'Tommy' mentioned in "Nobody Gets Left Behind" is fighting severe PTSD. Slowly, with great care, he is finding his way back. Tommy could use some hope and encouragement. Please take time out to send him a message at: Tommy and I'll see that he gets it"
We all volunteered for the team...boys
wanting to be men.
Then, missions where we knew
we had no support...
Six of us going in with bad intel...being
hit so hard 4 brothers died.
So the promise was broken: men
were left behind.
Tommy and I wished we had died that
day.
And in our pain and shame we left
you...and each other.
I put it all away...buried so deep
it couldn't hurt me anymore.
Tommy hid in a bottle, then it was
drugs and the streets.
Yet we still have days...
We've again sworn the promise...retaken
the oath...
I work for Operation Just Cause.
We will bring you home.
Tommy is in pretty bad shape but
his good days are a little better...
He really likes to hear about what
is being done.
And the honor of knowing each of
you.
You will never be forgotten.
There are still 6 of us on the team.
We pray for you and each other.
Please... forgive us.
Our promise to you, our brothers:
"I swear by my life and my blood...
Nobody gets left behind".
*Note--There is also a mail link for Tommy at Raptors' Nest
Special Message:
Let's get behind this one everyone and send Tessa our best wishes and
prayers that she finds her brother or at the very least answers about
his fate. There is both a mailing address and an email address below.
She won't be back for 30 days but let's let her know that we were all
behind her in her search. Thanks and Happy Veteran's Day all my brothers
and sisters.
*****************
Tomorrow, Tessa "Champion" Gonzalez is leaving on a flight from South
Texas
heading for Vietnam in search for her brother James who is listed as
MIA.
The complete story behind this planned trip is available at
http://www.valleystar.com/HTML_pages/sections/starrio.htm.
I can't tell you much more than the Article on line has, so I won't beat
a
dead horse and repeat the news in another format.
Please Tessa, and everyone else in her group traveling with her in your
prayers. She will be returning home on the 10th of December and I will
send out another update soon after that date to let everyone know how
the
trip went. If I hear anything prior to that date, I will be sure to let
everyone know as soon as I get the information.
Over the past year, Tessa has worked really hard on making this trip to
Vietnam happen, from fund raising to afford the trip to physical
endurance
training, she has literally busted her butt to reach her goal. If you
would like to send her a message of support. her email address is
TCGonzalez@aol.com. I don't know how long AOL will hold unread email
however I am told that after so many days they delete it off their mail
servers. If you would like to send her a small note or card, feel free
to
send it to the following address and I will ensure that she receives it
as
soon as she gets back home.
Tessa "Champion" Gonzales Tessa's Email Addy is: TCGonzalez@aol.com
30 and 35 years ago this month
"Feedback Needed"
It's the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us Freedom of the Press.
It's the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It's the Soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the Freedom to Demonstrate.
It's the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the Right to a Fair Trial.
It's the Soldier who salutes the Flag, who serves under the Flag,
whose coffin is draped by the Flag,
who gives the protester the Right to burn the Flag.
----written by Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC
(I would like to thank Jodi Harris for giving me the idea to do these sections)
----and---
Sent in from Gunny
2..Publish any statements Gore made to Primakov during the exchange and
any questions he asked verbally.
3..Publish Primakov's response verbatim.
Gunny
Sent in by:AIIPOWMIAI
Nov. 11, 1998
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20500
Tel: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461
e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
National Security Council
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20500
Tel: 202-456-9481
Fax: 202-456-9460 OR 202-456-2883
Secretary of State
2201 C St. NW
Washington DC 20520
Tel: 202-647-5291
Fax: 202-647-1533 OR 202- 647-7120
e-mail: secretary@state.gov
Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington DC 20007
Tel: 202-298-5700 Fax: 202-298-5735
e-mail: russ-amb@cerfnet.com
from Steve Golding
Webmaster, PoW/MIA Forum
Russia Won't Turn Over KGB Document.
For the full story, go to:
The Washington Times
Sent in by the AIIPOWMIAI
Hartford Courant Website
By TOM CONDON
I am a Desert Storm veteran. Long before that battle, I served in Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia, from 1969 until the fall of Indochina in April 1975. I
also experienced Cold War conflicts in a dozen other countries. Throughout, I
was involved in special operations, including 23 years as a CIA Clandestine
Service officer. After I retired from the CIA, but before I retired from the
Navy, I spent from 1995-1996 as a POW Special Investigator for the US - Russia
Joint Commission on POW/MIAs.
Arlington, Virginia
"If you can't get a POW logo pin, at least consider adding the black ribbon. A 5 yard roll of 1/8" ribbon is about a dollar so for two bucks, you can make up a hundred ribbons which you can pass out to friends and co-workers."
1700 Byrne Street
El Campo, Texas 77437
Dear Brothers,
We learned fast...and became brothers.
And got so close it seemed that...
If one of us was cut...
We all bled.
We couldn't count on anyone but
the team...but that had always been enough.
And the 2 left barely made it back...
Sometimes not sure who was carrying
who.
We never got over it...never got
past it.
Yeah, right.
But I made it.
But he made it, too.
And horrible nights...
When we wish we had died with you
that day.
"Nobody Gets Left Behind".
May God Bless each man, woman,
and child who gets involved.
It is what gives me hope and strength...
And some small chance for redemption.
And maybe his bad days not quite
so bad.
He wants to help but isn't ready
for that yet.
I thank God for Tommy...
C/O B.T. Champion
P.O. Box 924944
Houston, Tx
77292
(Rededicated on Veterans Day)
A Vietnam Veteran
POW/MIA links
Veteran/Military Links
Miscellaneous Links
Feel free to send links of interest to NL@ojc.org
"Sharing Agreement to Enhance VA Service to Native Americans"
"The Retired Enlisted Association's Legislative Affairs Office"
"VA to Open 25 New Outpatient Clinics
"Veterans Day Message"
(from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
"Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Veterans Hotline"
"WANTED-One Million Retired Military Veterans
Submissions of original work posted in all issues of "The Moonduster Chronicles" do not necessarily represent the views of Operation Just Cause, the Operation Just Cause Staff, or its members as a whole. All comments, criticisms and points of view
are welcome. Please send them to: NL@ojc.org
