Today I am here in defense of the men and women whose names appear on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. that our patriots from Rolling Thunder, Move America Forward, Gathering of Eagles and others have joined together to defend from the communists who are protesting the war.

John McCain, John Kerry, and seven administrations (including this one) seem to have decided the ‘last seen alive’ personnel, the MIA and POWs, both military and civilian, just weren’t worth caring about. John Kerry and others, whose greed and financial interests in normalizing relations with Vietnam overrode justice for the families of POWs and MIAs from across the country, should be called to task for their behavior. We should never forget, and we should keep this issue in front of our elected representatives.

To: Senator Kerry

Date: 24 July 1992

Re: Scrubbing of our 133 Names and the Real Universe of Potential POWs

The figure of 133 individuals ‘recorded in captivity’ used by the Select Committee in the June 24th hearing was an attempt to define the outer limit of individuals who were not listed officially by the services as POWs at the time of Operation Homecoming, but might possibly have been taken captive at some point during the war. In retrospect, it appears that what would have been a more relevant number, and what our 133 figure was misinterpreted as meaning anyway, was the total number, whether carried officially as POWs or not, of Americans we thought could have been live POWs as of early 1973.

Quite honestly, some of the categories in our 133 list were irrelevant to the question of who could have been a live POW. For instance, many of the civilians we listed as recorded in captivity were known to have died, but because there is no formal mechanism, as there is for uniformed personnel, to declare them dead, they were carried as POWs on some DIA lists. Other MIA names were on our lists of POWs merely because their names were, for some unknown reason, on the same list as a list of unaccounted-for POWs given to the Vietnamese in April 1973. Another 51 military personnel were on our list of 133 based on a cursory review of an Air Force debriefing document. DIA’s recent analysis of these 51 names indicated that most were cases of mistaken identity, confused names, or prison system name inquires and not POWs seen in captivity as the Air Force document led us to believe.

Another error in our presentation was the claim that in the larger 244 figure both DIA and the Committee agree that 111 had died in captivity. In their analysis of our list of 244, however, DIA says they still carry 20 of our 111 who “died in captivity” as actually “last known alive” cases, although there is evidence of death in some of these cases.

DIA’s review of our list of 244 revealed that of the 244 names, 83 deserve “priority status” as they could potentially have been POWs at the time of Operation Homecoming, although the evidence available in 1973, including eyewitness US POW reports, indicated that many of these men had died in captivity prior to 1973. Of the subgroup of 83 names from our 244 which DIA agrees were likely to have been captured individuals, 40 have since been accounted for as dead based on remains returned, returnee debriefs, or having been determined to have died prior to 1973 based on in-country investigations (Listed below as Individuals in Priority Cases but known to have perished). This leaves us with 43 individuals from our 244 who DIA admits are still possible POW candidates. Those 43 names are attached at Tab A (listed below as 43 Potential Candidates for LIVE POWs). All of those 43 cases are among those which DIA claims are “priority” cases for investigation in Southeast Asia.

One of the 133 individuals (Elliot, Robert M.) who the Select Committee identified as captured based on “generally reliable intelligence,” was in fact only identified by DIA as a possible POW in April 1992 after a thorough review of this type of intelligence under prodding by our Committee. This case has been elevated to a high priority case by the JTFFA.

The Real Universe

The 43 names from our list of 244 that DIA accepts as possible POWs today is not the entire universe of potential candidates for live POWs, however. Because we were looking only for names that the military services did not formally consider POWs at the time of Operation Homecoming, we left out (1) the large group of POWs which the US already knew as of January 1973 had been captured, and (2) the group of individuals who were “last known alive”.

The two groups above (POW/Last Known Alive) are overlapping lists. Some individuals were last known alive but there was no evidence of capture. Others were last known to have been captured alive. What the Committee should be focused on as the “potential universe” is the number of individuals who were last know alive PLUS those who were known to have been captured, and whose remains have not been returned and whose fate has not been determined through field investigations. *(Also of interest is the total in both of the last known alive plus POW categories as of 1973, since it is impossible to determine with any precision the date of death of an individual based on returned remains).

By adding the distinct names of still unaccounted for individuals on the DIA “POW” and “Last Known Alive” lists plus a handful (6) of individuals who for some unknown reason are Vessey discrepancy cases but not “last known alive” or “POW” cases, we are left with a total of 128 names of individuals who we do not know for sure have died (although there is evidence to suggest that effect for many if not most of these cases).

The “Last Known Alive” cases are somewhat of a misnomer in many instances there is often significant evidence that the person was killed while being captured or shortly after the loss incident due to injuries sustained in the crash or loss incident. There are some cases however where the individual was known to be alive on the ground and was simply never located, seen, or heard of again. These cases run the gamut of loss circumstances with no two cases exactly alike.

The number 128, however, is only a current subset of what would have been the “universe” at the time of Operation Homecoming, before we began getting remains back and, in the late 1980’s, conducting in-country field investigations. The number of potential POW candidates as of Operation Homecoming would have contained far more names (perhaps 200-225), than the current number, although we have determined subsequently that many of these men died well before Operation Homecoming. For others, whose remains we received with little or no explanation of the date or circumstances of death, we have no way of knowing when they died.

Conclusion

The number of 128 as a universe for potential POW candidates is based on DIA’s own categories such as “POW”, “Last Known Alive”, or “Vessey Discrepancy Case”. This number is very close to what DIA told us was their potential POW universe during the closed “live sighting” briefing after our “numbers” hearing. While some of these individuals would reasonably be considered to have died (see some samples of Wick’s “Last Known Alive” case summaries), I think it makes for a realistic if somewhat conservative “universe”.

Of course, 128 is not the absolute maximum for the number of possible POWs. As joint field investigations and archival research have revealed, several (8-9) individuals never suspected to have been captured alive, now appear to have been captured and based on interviews, documents, and other investigative activities. (See Wick’s 7/22/92 memo at Tab C.) This means that there are likely to have been additional MIAs captured that DIA and the services were unaware of in 1973, and still are unaware of, although the number is not likely to be more than an additiona one or two dozen. These additional cases are likely to be discovered as field inversgiations continue over the next several years.

Interesting Statistics:

1) As of Operation Homecoming, DIA carried a total of 111 individuals as POWs. 42 of the 111 have not had their remains returned nor have they been officially determined to have died during the war although there is evidence of eath in many of the remaining cases.

2) Of the original 119 Vessey Discrepancy cases:
-22 have had their remains returned and identified
-35 have been determined to have died prior to 1973, but their remains have not been located
-62 remain as compelling discrepancy cases

From the 135 list

43 Potential Candidates for LIVE POWs

Adams, Samuel
Borah, Daniel Vernor Jr.*remains returned, highly questionable
Cichon, Walter Alan
Clarke, George William Jr.
Creed, Barton Sheldon
Cuthbert, Bradley Gene
Demmon, David Stanley
Dexter, Bennie Lee
Dunlop, Thomas Earl
Dusing, Charles Gale
Edismoe, Norman Edward*remains returned
*Elliot, Robert Malcolm
Entrican, Danny D.
Estocin, Michael John
Ferguson, Walter Jr. When we signed the peace agreement with the Provisional Revolutionary Government in May, 1973, instead of letting hundreds of our men go, some, like Ferguson, were declared dead/body not recovered. But two reports of live sightings of Ferguson keep hopes alive, even though a Senate Select Committee Report dated 1993 declared him dead/body not recovered
Finley, Dickie W.
Flynn, Sean Leslie son of Errol Flynn, Times reporter, killed by Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in 1971
Francisco, San Dewayne
Gerber, Daniel A., mennonite missionary
Greenleaf, Joseph G. determined KIA, body not recovered - highly questionable
Hall, Harley Hubert infamous blue angel, paraded through Hanoi, communists lied, interviewed by Soviet interrogators, analysis of the few bones recovered questionable, classified by Kerry’s committee as KIA, remains returned
Hestle, Roosevelt Jr. seven POWs last saw him alive, DOD denies
Lane, Charles Jr.
Luna, Carter Purvis
Mclean, James Henry
Mims, George I. Jr.
Mitchell, Archie Emerson - missionary
Moore, Thomas the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) in 1973 said ‘died in captivity’, remains never returned
Morrison, Joseph C.
Niehouse, Daniel Lee - civilian, ‘died in captivity’ - according to the communists
Phillips, Robert Paul
Price, Bunyan Durant-POW under Khmer Rouge control
Pridemore, Dallas Reese status: “captured”
Reynolds, Terry L. civilian UPI reporter, captured and held in Cambodia with his Australian photographer, held in Sampan Loeu hamlet, about 40 kilometres south-east of Phnom Penh in 1972.
Rozo, James Milan survived into captivity, body not recovered, presumed dead
Schmidt, Walter R. Jr., not released, not on a list
Small, Burt Chauncey Jr. *received Green Beret after he got to Vietnam because of his age, U.S. government ‘classified’ most of his records, will release no information, Vietnamese claim no knowledge of him, presumed dead
Sparks, Donald L.
Stone, Dana freelance photojournalists, working for CBS, captured with Flynn, presumed dead, killed by Khmer Rouge in 1971 in Cambodia
Tromp, William Leslie
Vanbendegom, James Lee
Vietti, Eleanor A. civilian doctor who went there to help Vietnamese leprosy patients, Archie Mitchell & Daniel A. Gerber with her, Vietnamese government denies any knowledge of them

*New Case nominated for priority investigation and passed to the JTF-FA in May of 1992.

Individuals in Priority Cases but known to have perished

Disz, Ralph Campion
Blood, Henry F.
Bowers, Richard Lee
Clark, Richard Champ
Cocheo, Richard Newell
Cook, Donald Gilbert
Debruin, Eugene H.
Delong, Joe Lynn
Dexter, Ronald James
Gardner, John G.
Godwin, Solomon Hughey
Graf, John George
Gregory, Robert Raymond
Greiling, David Scott
Grzyb, Robert H.
Hammond, Dennis Wayne
Hangen, Welles
Hanson, Robert Taft, Jr. (doesn’t have his own page - that I can find)
Horne, Stanley Henry
Hrdlicka, David Louis
Johns, Vernon Z.
Kalil, Tanos E. (doesn’t have his own page, but his story is told here)
Mayer, Roderick Lewis
McIntire, Scott Winston
Olsen, Betty Ann Christian missionary nurse - killed in captivity
Patterson, James Kelly
Powers, Trent Richard
Putnam, Charles Lancaster
Ray, James Michael
Rehe, Richard Raymond (I’ve seen him on at least one last seen alive list)
Reilly, Edward Daniel, Jr.
Salley, James Jr.
Shelton, Charles Ervin
Simpson, James Edward (can’t find a page, but looks as though there is a James Simpson who is alive and writing about his Vietnam experiences out there somewhere.)
Sykes, Derri
Terrill, Philip B.
Tucker, Edwin Byron
Wiles, Marvin Benjamin C. (doesn’t have his own page), on last seen alive lists
Yonan, Kenneth Joseph
Young, Robert M. (no page, on remains returned list)

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List of New POW cases, some a part of- Project X

Bram, Richard C.
Dingwall, John F.
Egan, James T.
Greer, Richard (documents say Richard, he’s actually Robert Lee Greer)
Hamilton, Roger Dale
Harris, Gregory J.
Hasenbeck, Paul A. part of the Mangino Four
Mcdonnell, John T.
Mangino, Thomas A. part of the Mangino Four
Massucci, Martin J.
Mellor, Fredric M.
Newton, Donald S.
Nidds, Daniel R. part of the Mangino Four
O’Grady, John F.
Platt, Rober L. Jr.
Scharf, Charles J.
Schreckengost, Fred T. *remains returned*
Winters, David M. part of the Mangino Four

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