News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: NLF News

Date: May 22, 2001

"Update Line The League has a 24-hour, 7 day a week update line. Please call 202-659-0133 to find out the latest detailed information regarding the POW/MIA issue or click here to see the text online. The last update was 5/21/01.

May 17 On May 17th, the League was informed that the remains of a Navy Seaman, listed as KIA/BNR on June 16, 1968, were recently identified and returned to his family for burial. The remains were jointly recovered October 6, 1993. On May 1st, the Defense POW/MIA Office web site posted a change in the number of missing civilians from 39 to 38. This man now accounted for was lost in a helicopter incident on August 9, 1967, with five manifested personnel on board. Five remains were recovered immediately, identified and returned to their families, and this man's remains were mistakenly interred as an Army serviceman. A sixth set of remains was recovered several days later and ID'd in the early 1980s as those of the Army serviceman previously buried. Identification efforts on the disinterred remains were recently renewed, thanks to a dedicated CILHI data analyst, attesting to the determination that CILHI brings to the accounting mission. The number now missing and unaccounted for in Vietnam is 1,487, with 417 in Laos, 67 in Cambodia and 8 in the territorial waters of the PRC. Over 90% of the 1,979 Americans still missing from the Vietnam War were lost in areas under Vietnam's wartime control. The names of all Americans recently identified will be on this update line and published in the League Newsletter as soon as released by the Defense Department, providing the respective families concur.

May 1 The Bush Administration has not yet named a new Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs to replace Bob Jones. DPMO Deputy Director Alan Liotta is now serving as Acting Director. The League is pleased that on May 1st, the Senate confirmed Mr. Jim Kelly as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, a key position in working with all of the countries relevant to POW/MIA matters and a retired Navy Captain.

Annual Meeting The League's 32nd Annual Meeting will be held June 21-23rd at Crystal City's DoubleTree Hotel, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Family members and concerned supporters are urged to attend this important, first annual meeting of the Bush Administration. DOD-sponsored, commercial round-trip travel for two family members per missing man has been approved. Registration and hotel reservation forms are available by calling the League office. The deadline for assured reservations at the DoubleTree Hotel is May 25th, and May 30th is the deadline to register for the annual meeting.

Virginia Residents Effective July 1, a bill was passed to allow production of special license plates with the POW/MIA logo . Before production can begin, DMV must receive 350 PREPAID applications.

Important Link http://www.cilhi.army.mil/ - The United States Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii. CILHI has a threefold mission:
1) Search for, recover, and identify remains of American military personnel, certain American civilian personnel, and certain allied personnel unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts and contingencies.

2)Conduct humanitarian missions as directed by competent authority.

3)Provide technical assistance in these matters as requested by the appropriate geographic Commander-in-Chief (CINC).
Q & A Q: "Is the National League of POW/MIA Families nationally eligible for donations through the Combined Federal Campaign/United Way? "
A: "The requirements for meeting qualifications are difficult and require annual audits, nonprofit 501(c)3 status and all but a small percentage (under 25%) of donations to be spent on programs. In the League's case, that is a threefold, single objective: the return of all POWs, the fullest possible accounting for our MIAs and the repatriation of all recoverable remains of those who lost their lives serving our country during the Vietnam War. The League easily meets all criteria and has for many years.
We're nationally eligible for the Spring, 2001 campaign; our CFC number is #1174; however, the name of the League can be written in if donors don't have it readily available.
There are many worthy causes and countless requests, but we hope that the League's many years of responsible credibility, the importance of our mission to today's active-duty community and our urgent need for additional staff will persuade many to seriously consider the League as deserving of CFC/United Way contributions. "
Q: "Our state recently enacted legislation requiring the display of the POW-MIA flag at state and municipal buildings. Is there any official protocol as to where it should be displayed when on a pole along with the US and state flag."
A: "The flag, since it pertains to missing Americans from across the country, flies beneath the US flag and, if on the same pole with the state flag, beneath the US flag and above the state flag. Of course, it is preferable that there be more than one flag pole if three flags are to be flown, but it isn't always possible. If there are two or three separate flag poles, the POW/MIA flag just flies a bit lower than the US flag, as all other do."

Current Status There are 1,979 Americans still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

E-Mail The Official e-mail address for The National League of POW/MIA Families is info@pow-miafamilies.org

The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia
1001 Connecticut Avenue
Northwest, Suite 919
Washington, D.C. 20036-5504
(TEL) 202-223-6846
Federal Tax ID #23-7071242"