POW/MIA
Michael Scott Speicher (July 12, 1957 - possibly January 17, 1991) was a U.S. Navy pilot whose F/A-18 Hornet fighter was reportedly shot down by an air-to-air missile fired from an Iraqi MiG-25 the first night of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991; since then there has been no evidence of his death, nor any evidence that he is still alive. There is much controversy over the possibility that he might have survived and been taken prisoner by the Iraqis. A lieutenant commander when shot down, he has been promoted to captain in his absence.
At the end of the Gulf War, Speicher was listed as "killed in action". In January 2001, the Secretary of the Navy changed his status to "missing in action"; according to Scott Ritter, this was "the first time the Pentagon ever made such a reversal". His status was changed again, to "missing/captured", on October 11, 2002, one day after the United States Congress authorized the use of military force in Iraq.
His possible situation became a more high-profile issue in the build-up to war. In March 2002, the Washington Times ran five successive front-page articles about it and on September 12, 2002 U.S. President George W. Bush mentioned Speicher in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly as part of his case for war against Iraq.
As of 2007, despite U.S. military control of Iraq and a major investigation on the ground in there, Speicher's whereabouts have yet to be discovered. Though there has been a great deal of intelligence gathered, including Speicher's E & E (Escape and Evade) sign left on the desert floor near the crash site along with the discovery of a flight suit believed to be worn by Speicher at the time of his crash, Speicher himself is still missing. While many believe he was abducted and killed, no proof has been found of his death.
On August 13, 2009 the remains of Captain Michael Scott Speicher arrived in Florida 18 years after having been shot down in the Persian Gulf War. The plane containing his remains touched down at Jacksonville Naval Air Station at 3 p.m. Captain Speicher's final resting place is at the Jacksonville Memory Garden.
SSG. Matt Mapin's long deployment is finally over.
Keith Matthew "Matt" Maupin (13 July 1983– 28 June 2004) is a United States Army PFC captured by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 while serving in the Iraqi War after his convoy came under attack by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire near Baghdad, Iraq. On June 28, 2004, Al Jazeera reported that he was executed by his captors who shot him in the head. On June 30, 2004, an Army spokesman said the video showing Maupin's alleged death was "totally inconclusive
Maupin mobilized with the 724th Transportation Company based out of Bartonville, Illinois. Maupin and the 724th TC arrived in Kuwait on February 20, 2004 and on March 5 proceeded to LSA Anaconda, Iraq with the 7th Transportation Battalion, 172d Corps Support Group, 13th Corps Support Command, to begin missions delivering fuel to various coalition installations.
On April 9, 2004, Maupin's fuel convoy came under attack near the Baghdad International Airport. In what was described as a 5-mile long ambush, the 26-vehicle serial was pummeled by gunfire, mortar rounds and RPGs, disabling many of the civilian fuel tankers and Army vehicles. After the remnants of the convoy reached safe ground it was learned that around ten soldiers and civilian KBR contractors were wounded while one soldier and a civilian driver had been killed in the battle. PFC Maupin was among the nine people unaccounted for – seven civilians and two soldiers. One of the missing civilian drivers, Thomas Hamill, had been taken hostage during the ambush and escaped his captors on May 2, 2004. The bodies of five other civilians and the second soldier were subsequently recovered (all are thought to have been killed in the ambush); Civilian driver Timothy Bell remains missing and is presumed dead since he never appeared in a hostage video.
On April 16, 2004, Maupin appeared on a videotape broadcast by the Arabic-language TV network Al Jazeera. The tape, reportedly delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, raised hopes that Maupin was still alive. In the video, the soldier identified himself as "Private First Class Keith Matthew Maupin", a standard procedure followed by prisoners of war which protect their rights under the Third Geneva Convention.
On June 28, 2004, Al Jazeera reported that Maupin was executed by a group identifying itself as the Persistent Power Against the Enemies of God and the Prophet. The method of execution in the alleged report was a gunshot to the head. The U.S. Army has deemed the tape inconclusive because it is unclear whether the man was Maupin or if anyone was executed at all. The military continues to search for Maupin as his family and community holds out hope for his safe return.
The Clermont County community, friends of Maupin's family, and Clermont High School Crew raised funds and received donations to build a memorial pavilion in his honor at the finish line of the rowing race course on Harsha Lake beach, East Fork State Park, Bethel, Ohio.
Maupin has been promoted three times since he was declared missing in action, first from Private First Class to Specialist, then to Sergeant, then lastly, Staff Sergeant. As of Feburary 23, 2007, he and Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie are still missing.
Matt's body was found in late March 2008, but confirmation was not made until March 30, 2008, in Iraq.
American Legion Magazine ~ SSG Matt Maupin is Missing in Iraq
by Matt Grills
Remember POW Matt Maupin's sacrifice for our freedom. Do not forget our live
prisoners of war from our wars still left behind. Our POW/MIAs from all of
our wars need us to help bring them home.
Help others and it will make you a
better person. Thank you Matt for fighting for our freedom. Welcome home. Danny "Greasy" Belcher, Executive Director Task Force Omega of KY Inc. Vietnam Infantry Sgt. 68-69 "D" Troop 7th Sqdn. 1st Air Cav |
On Oct. 23, 2006, Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie, 41 was categorized as DUSTWUN (Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown) when individuals allegedly kidnapped him while he was visiting family in Baghdad, Iraq. He is a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, Baghdad. The Pentagon changed his status to missing-captured on December 11.
The Army's Warrior Ethos states, "I will never leave a fallen comrade." Soldiers in theater are following all leads to find him and bring him home safely.
Altaie is the second Soldier serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to be listed as "Missing - Captured." At this time, Staff Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, also remains missing. Our thoughts go out to their families during this most-difficult time and want them to know we are doing everything possible to account for their loved ones.
SSG. Alex Jimenez's long deployment is finally over.
U.S. Army Spc. Alex Jimenez, from Lawrence, Mass., of Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment lifts weights near Youssifiyah, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq in this Feb. 5, 2007.
Spc. Jimenez has been identified by the Pentagon as among those whose whereabouts areunknown after a May 12, 2007 ambush in Iraq. The attack near Mahmoudiya, in a Sunni stronghold 20 miles south of Baghdad, left four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator dead, and three other soldiers missing. The Pentagon has acknowledged that it believes the missing soldiers are in terrorist hands.
Their comrade, Pfc. Joseph Anzack, 20, from Torrance, Calif. was found floating in the Euphrates river Wednesday May 23, 2007.
Spc. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass. remains had been identified in Iraq on July 9 2008.
Spc. Byron W. Fouty 's long deployment is finally over.
Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., of Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment is seen in Quarghuli village near Youssifiyah, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq.
Pvt. Fouty has been identified by the Pentagon as among those whose whereabouts are unknown after a May 12, 2007 ambush in Iraq. The attack near Mahmoudiya, in a Sunni stronghold 20 miles south of Baghdad, left four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator dead, and three other soldiers missing. The Pentagon has acknowledged that it believes the missing soldiers are in terrorist hands.
Their comrade, Pfc. Joseph Anzack, 20, from Torrance, Calif. was found floating in the Euphrates river Wednesday May 23, 2007.
Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, of Waterford, Mich., had been identified in Iraq on July 9 2008.
Bowe Robert Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986 in Sun Valley, Idaho) 
is a soldier in the United States Army who was captured by the Taliban in southeastern Afghanistan in June 2009. Captured July 18, 2009.
Bowe Bergdahl is a POW! -- On July 19th a video tape surfaced showing Army Cpl. Bowe Bergdahl, missing in Afghanistan since June 30th, alive in enemy hands. Based on this video, Bergdahl's status was changed from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (Dustwun) to the equally ambiguous Missing/Captured (MIA/C).
Regular readers of Bit N Pieces know that we have complained long and loudly over these ambiguous designations. We have also shown that prior to 1992 captured American servicemen were always listed as POWs, in spite of Department of Defense (DOD) denials. We've produced the documents proving our case. Those documents may be viewed at www.nationalalliance.org/bits/naf2005/050507.htm . We are still waiting for DoD to produce documents supporting their position that POW was never a casualty status.
In the past we have written about DOD Directive 1300.18, which governs casualty reporting. The revised directive, dated January 8, 2008, now includes a definition of the phrase "Prisoner of War" while emphasizing it is not a casualty reporting status. Item E2.46 of the revised Directive describes the phrase "Prisoner of War" this way.
"Prisoner of War (POW). POW is not a casualty status for reporting purposes. For reporting purposes, the casualty status and category would be missing-captured. POW is the international legal status of military and certain other personnel captured during an armed conflict between two countries and that status entitles those captured to humanitarian treatment under the Third Geneva Convention, "Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoner of War." The international status of POW is automatic when personnel "have fallen into the power of the enemy." There is no action required by any country in the conflict to have that status applied to their personnel and for their personnel to be entitled to the humanitarian protections of the Geneva Conventions."
We asked this question in 2005, never receiving an answer we ask it once again. 
Why would the Dept. of Defense provide a designation, or legal status, for captured American service members, inferior to that provided under International Law of the Geneva Conventions?
Our enemies routinely violate the rules of international law and the Geneva Conventions regarding the care and treatment of captured Americans. Terminology will not change that. Terminology does change world perception regarding the value we place on our captured personnel.
In the eyes of the enemy, doesn't it downgrade the worth of American service personnel, displayed on television worldwide, for the Department of Defense to designate him/her "domestically" as "Missing-Captured" rather than Prisoner of War, while expecting international law to protect him/her as a Prisoner of War? To the world, Bowe Bergdahl is a POW. To his country, he is ambiguously and contradictorily designated Missing/Captured.
The Department of Defense has found a way to insure no POWs are ever again left behind, by simply eliminating the POW designation used ever since our Revolutionary War.
