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"As an American asked to serve, I was prepared to fight, to be wounded,
to be captured and even prepared to die, but I was not prepared to be abandoned."

(Former POW Eugene "Red" McDaniel - Source: VVnW POW/MIA Page)


Editor;

The remains of both US American Sailors that were Captured in Afghanistan on July 27 have been found. One of the Sailors was killed on the first day during the fire fight. The other was captured and known as “Missing- Captured”. A term given by the DOD and Pentagon. To the rest of Americans who know better, This Sailor, Navy 3rd Class Petty Officer Jared Newlove was an American POW.

It was stated that the “Pentagon had asked the Family of Jared Newlove not to discuss his capture in fear of causing him harm”. The Pentagon and DOD believes that hiding those captured by referring to them as “Missing-Captured” and not POW  is somehow protecting them. The opposite is /could be true. American POW’s are not seen as disposable objects. Those at the Pentagon and DOD also refer to what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan as “Conflicts” in some situations and as “Wars” in other situations. To the boots on the ground, they are at WAR and if Captured, they are POW’s and should be granted the rights under the Geneva conventions and the DOD should be held responsible and accountable and so should our Representatives.

We can say and think that terminology doesn’t mean anything to those we are at WAR with and that May or May Not be true. We can call those we are at WAR with “Enemy Combatants” , “Terrorist” or any other term that fits any other occasion.

Ask those boots on the ground if we are at War. Ask their Families if their loved ones serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are at War . Ask YOUR Leaders if those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are serving in War time. Ask your Leaders if our Country is at War. Ask those Senators and Congressional Leaders of “NH” this day if an American Serviceman or woman is captured in Iraq or Afghanistan this day why are they NOT considered POW’s and is that right ?? You be Responsible and Accountable..have YOU ever pointed a finger !! You support the Troops ? Prove it !!

Bob Jones
Meredith
Northeast POW/MIA Network




“Thank you is not enough and in this case we know it’s not necessary”!! This past June 17th hundreds of people, Bikers, Veterans, Men and Women were involved in the yearly POW/MIA (Prisoner Of War/ Missing In Action) Freedom Ride and Vigil That ends up and gathers at “The Rock” in Hesky Park, Meredith..The NH State Original POW/MIA Memorial” during Motorcycle week. Probably the only event  during the week that doesn’t cost the participant anything but a bit of time and heart.

The Thursday night POW/MIA awareness Vigil is in its “22nd” year with the goal of “Never” having to stand another, but until responsibility and accountability becomes part of our Governments effort in serving the troops that serves this Country, then the Vigil and effort will continue.

This day we (OUR COUNTRY) have two American Serviceman being held POW in Afghanistan and Iraq hidden by Terminology. We have asked OUR Representatives of this State (and Country) to Demand a change by DoD and we receive communication that they “Our Reps” have written letters!

Under DoD directives, specific situations determine the classification of military personnel. There no longer is a classification POW or Prisoner of War. The DoD dictionary does list POW, but it no longer exists as a controlling directive.
 
“When one American is not worth the effort then WE as Americans have lost”. We cannot be blinded by slogans such as “We support the troops” or “We must protect the Families” and stay silent while this blackest mark on Americas soul grows deeper and it all started with “VIETNAM”..Yes, we cannot allow history to repeat itself!! We don’t have to like the facts but it doesn’t change the facts.

Thank you for your support for this years Freedom Ride!

Bob Jones
Northeast POW/MIA Network

SAVE THE DATE
POW/MIA VIGIL AND FREEDOM RIDE
JUNE 16, 2011 ~ THURSDAY @ 7:00 PM
HESKY PARK MEREDITH

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23rd Anniversary of the Vigil
18th Anniversary of the Freedom Ride


Look Who Is A POW ~ What is wrong with this picture?

Look Who Is A POW - It's Manuel Noriega. Noriega received POW status, from the United States Government, in 1992, by virtue of his capture during the December 1989 US invasion of Panama. The former President of Panama and drug lord recently completed a 17 year prison sentence in the United States. Upon his release Noriega was extradited to France, where he faces new charges. The French Court also recognized Noriega's status as a Prisoner of War.

Look Who Is Not A POW - It's Army Private Bowe Bergdahl, captured almost one year ago in Afghanistan. There is no POW status for Bergdahl. Noriega is a POW, Bergdahl is not. What is wrong with this picture?


News of POW being shown and will see what is said. So far "Captured Soldier". If only we could care about him just half as much as the Father trying to get his son back from Brazil. Wish this Son in Afghanistan could mean as much ~ Bob Jones

Family pleas for captive US soldier's release

The Taliban released a video Friday of an American soldier captured in Afghanistan, showing him apparently healthy but spouting criticism about the U.S. military operation.

In Idaho, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's family pleaded on Christmas Day for his release and urged him to "stay strong."

Bergdahl disappeared June 30 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is the only known American serviceman in captivity. The Taliban claimed his capture in a video released in mid-July that showed the young Idaho soldier appearing downcast and frightened. He hadn't been heard from until Friday's video, in which he looks well and speaks clearly.

Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard issued a statement Friday from the family of Bergdahl, who live outside Hailey, Idaho. In their statement, the family urged the captors "to let our only son come home."

And to their son, the family said, "We love you and we believe in you. Stay strong."

Bob
Northeastpowmianetwork.org

Sen. Gregg ~ Concord - 225-7115

Sen. Shaheen ~ 657-7500

Rep. Shea-Porter ~ 641-9546

Rep. Hodes ~ 223-9814

*Contact information for all NH Congressional Leaders can be found on the bottom of our Politics Page


A review of the entire directive finds that the phrase Prisoner or War or the acronym POW is never used.

The fact that the terminology Prisoner of War is no longer used was confirmed by Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England. In his 11 October 2002 memo announcing the change in status of Capt. Michael Scott Speicher from Missing In Action to Missing/Captured, Secretary England stated:

"Although the controlling missing persons statute and directives do not use the term "Prisoner of War," the fact supporting a change in Captain Speicher's category from Missing in Action to Missing/Captured would also support the conclusion that, if alive, he is a Prisoner of War."

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, call it a duck. If an American service member is captured by hostile forces he or she is a Prisoner of War. Why not designate them as such?

The phrase Prisoner of War says two thing. First it says Prisoner - living breathing human being. Second it says held by the enemy. Prisoner of War is a phrase that inflames. America does not leave its servicemen, its Prisoners behind. We don't leave POWs behind. At least that is what they'd like us to believe. We know differently. Visit Terminology to learn more.

Why wasn't Matt Maupin listed as a POW??? read the article written by Ted Sampley in 2006.

Why our POWs were Declared KIA ~ Breach of Trust: POWs are left behind

Text of The Quang or '1205' Document ~ Handwritten note on cover memo from Pyotr Ivashutin, head of Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU) states.....

Last known Alive POWs ~ Defense Intelligence Agency List of "Last Known Alive" February 7, 1996

U.S. POW/MIA's Who May Have Survived In Captivity

Kremlin Withholds Report on POWs ~ American's Taken to Russia During the 1960s?

Remains Returned

Thank you POW/MIA Freedom Fighters for these links.


Presidents Page

This is an exceptional book. Please obtain and read ~
Don Amorosi, President Northeast POW/MIA Netork

Is Anybody Listening?
A True Story About the POW/MIAs in the Vietnam War


by
Barbara Birchim

Chapter Twenty-Eight ~ It Just Keeps Coming

When I completed writing and publishing this book, I thought my leads for answers on Jim Birchim’s case had come to a stop. Having done historical research for this book, I knew that the issue of POW/MIAs would continue in the wars to come. I, unfortunately, have been proved correct on the historical phenomenon and incorrect on my husband’s case.

This country is, once again, embroiled in a war in Iraq and we have a new MIA by the name of SGT. Matt Maupin who has been in that category since April 9, 2004. Each day, body counts are rattled off by the press, but nothing is mentioned about Matt. So this country is repeating its sordid past.

Some startling events have taken place in the last year in regard to live POWs. In May of 2005, three Japanese soldiers from WWII were discovered in a remote section of the Philippines. Now in their 80s and 90s, they have been in hiding in fear of retribution from Japan.

In June 2005, 170 Humong walked out of the jungle on the boarder between Laos and Vietnam. They had been in hiding since the end of the Vietnam War, some 30 years ago. They told of others still in hiding in very remote jungle villages.

In October 2005, North Korea admitted to holding soldiers captured during the Korean War. It’s believed by the South Korean Red Cross that the numbers of POWs and abductees could number 1,031.

In November 2005, a South Korean, held in the north for more than 30 years, was released to the south.

About two years ago, another South Korean escaped from the north saying that hundreds of Americans from the Korean War were still being held in the north.

The press reported all of these stories in short articles on back pages. I have not seen follow-up reports on any these stories, nor have I seen articles that questioned our government as to what they were going to do about getting our LIVE American POWs home from Southeast Asia.

Let Vice-President Dick Chaney have a hunting accident and the press covers it for days. So why isn’t the press livid with the lack of our government’s interest about our men rotting in foreign prisons? It seems to be a golden opportunity for the press to crucify either or both political parties.

I know why our government doesn’t do anything. A four star general at the National League of Families government briefings in Washington, DC, admitted to me: our government looks at the country where the live sightings take place and if they don’t want to deal with that country, then they do not act on the live sighting reports. At least he was honest.

In December 2004, I was contacted by Dickie Hites at Joint Prisoner/MIA Accountability Command (JPAC). (This book was at the publishing house at the time.) He informed me that a recently released document had come across his desk that appeared to pertain to my husband. It was the debriefing of a Vietnamese in June 1969, in Saigon.

He had seen “a U.S. Army lieutenant on 2 April 1969 at the T-5 Liaison Station in Cambodia. The officer had been captured at Kieng in Kontum Province, SVN, by NVA soldiers. He had been wounded in the head when he attempted to flee. Despite his wounds, the prisoner appeared to be in fair condition; he was awake and alert during the observation period.”

The document describes the physical characteristics of the lieutenant, which fit Jim, and says that he was being transported north to the T-9 station. After researching all those men who were listed as POWs and MIAs in that area within six months of that April date, Dickie Hites told me the only lieutenant missing in the area was Jim Birchim. Because the government won’t admit this, they continue to label Jim with an MIA status. The document is the first to surface that puts Jim alive months after the initial incidence on 15 November 1968.

If that document isn’t amazing enough, in September 2005, I received a document from the National Archives, the result of my requesting information on Jim Birchim. The debrief of a returned POW in March 1973 at Clark AFB was one of the documents that came to me. On this statement it appears that the POW listed every man he came in contact with during his five years in the Vietnamese prison system. Of the forty-one names listed, one of them is James D. Birchim. In addition, Jim is the only one of the forty-one who has not been accounted for. The debriefed POW is alive today, but I’ve been unable to contact him. I’ve elicited the help of both JPAC and DPMO, and neither seems interested in making contact with this man on my behalf. I can only assume that they don’t want me talking with him.

Since I now have two documents that appear to show Jim was a POW, I will continue to push for him to be recognized as such. I’m sure this, too, will be an up-hill battle.

Barabar Birchim


Update January 11, 2010

AMERICANS RECOVERED: 1,721 Americans are now listed by Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

DPMO recently posted the names of Major Russell C. Goodman, USAF, of Utah, KIA/BNR in North Vietnam on February 20, 1967, his remains were recovered December 15, 1993 and identified September 14, 2009.

Also announced were Staff Sergeant Melvin C. Dye, USA, of Michigan, and Sergeant First Class Douglas J. Glover, USA, of New York, both MIA in Laos February 19, 1968. Their remains were recovered November 21, 2007 and identified February 4, 2009.

The number of Americans accounted for since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is now 862, though another 63 US personnel were recovered post-incident and identified before the end of the war, bringing the total to 925.

To the family and friends of these three men, the League offers understanding and the hope that these concrete answers bring long-awaited peace of mind. Of the 1,721 unreturned veterans still missing and unaccounted for, 90% were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Laos and Cambodia under Vietnam's wartime control.

Because of our war on terrorism and our involvement in Iraq,
we now have a whole new set of POWs and MIAs.
I hope that through reading my story, people will get a better
understanding of the ramifications of being classified as POW or MIA.

Is Anybody's Listening ~ Barbara Birchim

Learn more about this book on the Recommended Reading page

Call To Action!

Help Us Pass H.Res 111

The following organizations support passage of H. Res 111

the Korea-Cold War Families of the Missing, World War II Families for Return of the Missing,
Coalition of Families of Korean and Cold War POW/MIAs, Colorado POW/MIA Coalition,
VietNow, POW Network, Rolling Thunder National, Run for The Wall,Vietnam Veterans for Veterans of Indianapolis, Lima Area MIA/POW, and the National Alliance of Families.

Co Sponsors are Needed for this Legislation.

Co-Sponsors to Date -- 249

.Res 111 - "That there is established in the House of Representatives a select committee to be known as the Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs."

"The select committee shall conduct a full investigation of all unresolved matters relating to any United States personnel unaccounted for from the Vietnam era, the Korean conflict, World War II, Cold War Missions, Persian Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation Enduring Freedom, including MIA's and POW's missing and captured."

The Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs concluded in 1993 that; "There is evidence, moreover, that indicates the possibility of survival, at least for a small number, after Operation Homecoming...."

Much new information has surfaced regarding the mis-handling and suppression of POW/MIA information. A former analyst with the Defense POW/MIA Office, provided this information along with many other disturbing details requiring Congressional attention. Specifically, he detailed a report referred to, in house, as the "185 Report," This report discussed the possibility that as many as 185 American POWs were alive as late as 1976. During the same time frame the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC)concluded their own study. They found the possibility existed that as many as 57 American servicemen might be alive.

In the fall of 2008, we learned that investigators for the Senate Committee compiled a list of 59 names representing the "small number" the committee evidence "idicates he possibility of survival." Investigators also stated they represented the "minimum number" of POWs. Isn't it time we find out what happened to that "small number" and address the "unresolved matters" relating to our POW/MIAs.

In March 2006, memos written by a former Defense Intelligence analyst while serving as an investigator with the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs were discovered. These memos detailed the Vietnamese admission that some 19 servicemen listed as died while missing were in fact captured. These servicemen survived for varying lengths of time, one by Vietnamese admission survived three years. The committee never addressed this matter. In an interesting side note, 10 of the nineteen servicemen Vietnamese official acknowledged "survived into captivity" are among the 57 our own (JCRC)concluded might still be alive.

In February of 2005, the Joint Commission Support Directorate, the investigative arm of the U.S./Russian Joint POW/MIA Commission concluded; "Americans, including American servicemen, were imprisoned in the Soviet Union."

This is but the tip of the iceberg, requiring congressional attention. It is time to address the volumes of new information available on POW/MIA matters from World War II, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam and the Gulf. We ask you all to contact your congressional representatives and request that they co-sponsor H.Res 111. We've posted a list of all 435 congressional representatives on our web site, along their phone and fax numbers. You can even email your Congressional Representative directly from the site. There is a sample letter. Use it, as is, alter it to make it more personal, or write your own letter.

It's time for Congress to take another look at the POW/MIA issue.

Make sure you contact your congressional representative, asking them to co-sponsor H.Res 111.

Carol Shea-Porter (D - 01) has signed on in support
202-225-5456
202-225-5822
1330 Longworth HOB
Washington D.C. 20515
http://forms.house.gov/shea-porter/webform/issue_subscribe.htm

Paul Hodes, II (D - 02) has signed on in support
202-225-5206
202-225-2946
1317 Longworth HOB
Washington D.C. 20515
http://hodes.house.gov/contact.aspx

National Alliance of Families For the Return of
America’s Missing Servicemen

World War II – Korea – Cold War – Vietnam – Gulf Wars

Dolores Alfond ~ 425-881-1499

Lynn O’Shea ~ 718-846-4350

Web Site ~ www.nationalalliance.org

Email ------ lynn@nationalalliance.org

May 3, 2008 ~ Bits N Pieces

The POW Status -- When Matt Maupin was buried among the honors bestowed was the awarding of his medals.  These medals included the Purple Heart and the POW Medal. 

Isn’t it ironic that a captured serviceman, returned under his country’s flag is now designated a POW, by our government.   Yet, our government denies that same individual a POW status when it is needed most, when he is in enemy hands.

We recognize this enemy, like the Viet Cong before them, does not adhere to the Geneva Conventions.   However, the designation of captured American service members as POW tells the world the value we place on our personnel and tells the enemy how we expect these men and women to be treated.  

The designation POW paints a picture.  It clearly states a service member is in enemy hands.   Missing/Captured is ambiguous.  There was no ambiguity to Maupin’s status; he was a POW under the Geneva Conventions. Had this been the Vietnam War, under the same circumstances, Maupin would have been designated a POW.  We’ve proven that, over and over again.

 The public understands the POW designation.  A Missing/Captured designation is a question mark. Clearly, in the case of Matt Maupin there is no question.  Yet, sadly our government refused to provide Maupin the moral protection a POW designation provides.

In our March 15th newsletter, we related two incidents, one involving the media the other personal, that illustrated the general public’s lack of awareness regarding service members captured in Iraq.  That’s what the Missing/Captured designation does.  It misleads the American public.

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The Waiting ~ Just four U.S. soldiers are missing in Iraq.
For their parents, it's a lonely vigil.
By GINA CHON


the waiting story


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This site updated: July 29, 2010
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