JAMES W. WOLD CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON U.S. POW/MIAs
in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the People's Democratic Republic
of Laos, and the Kingdom of Cambodia Before the House Committee on
National Security Military Personnel Subcommittee June 28, 1995
Introduction
Good Morning Mr. Chairman. I have served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs since May 1994. Although I assumed my post just over a year ago, I am not a stranger to the POW/MIA issue. I flew the RB-45C in the early fifties and I can identify with the airmen who were shot down during the Cold War. During the War in Southeast Asia, I flew over 240 combat and search and rescue missiong, many alongside men whose names we now place before the governments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I know what it means to see planes and helicopters go down and to have no answers regarding the fate of the aircrews involved. In 1973, during Operation Homecoming, I worked with many returning Air Force members, helping them make the necessary readjustments so they could resume their lives and their military careers.
These experiences serve as the basis for my commitment to this issue. I assumed this post dedicated to the truth and providing family members the answers they still seek regarding their loves one who remain among the unaccounted for. As a group, these individuals have endured more anguish and uncertainty than any other. Today, having a greater understanding of the issue, my resolve on their behalf is even stronger. As a government, the United States has committed more resources, deployed more personnel, and used more equipment than ever before in an effort to resolve the remaining cases of unaccounted for individuals in Vietnam, as well as Laos and Cambodia. We have conducted operations from high atop mountain karsts to the muck and mire of jungle swamps, and rice paddies. As President Clinton noted during his speech commemorating the new POW/MIA stamp last month, current accounting operations represent a "remarkable effort. There is nothing like it in all the history of warfare. Never has so much been done to get this kind of accounting."
Two days ago, we announced the resolution of the cases of Captain Lao T. Thomas and Captain Daniel R. Poynor, the pilot and navigator respectively of an F-4D aircraft lost during a mission over Laos on December 19, 1971. In this incident, the aircraft witnesses say exploded and crashed; no parachutes were seen, no radio calls or beeper signals were heard, and further observation of the crash site did not reveal evidence that the two had survived. During Joint Field Activity 94-5L, a team of American experts and Lao officials deployed to Xiangkhouang Province to excavate this crash site. Toiling under harsh conditions in searing temperatures for nine days, the team unearthed human remains including bones and portions of teeth, and crash site evidence such as ejection seat harness buckles, parachute riser relesease fittings, oxygen mask bayonets, and a dog tag indicating that the crewmemebers were in the aircraft at the time of impact. Their remains were recovered and repatraited on June 3, 1994.
I share this success with you to illustrate, as you well know, the painstaking, deliberate and slow process that we are confronted with to insure accurate identification and accounting of missing Americans in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Although there are many aspects to our accounting process, the recovery, repatriation, and identification of remains continues to be the key measure of our efforts. And for no small reason. The return of a fallen American's remains to their loved one, or conclusive evidence why we cannot recover those remains, ultimately will provide the only true comfort to the family.
The last time my office testified before a Congressional committee was on February 10, 1994, immediately after President Clinton's decision to lift the trade embargo against Vietnam. At that time, then acting director of the Defense POW/MIA Office Ed Ross, testified that the Department of Defense believed "the lifting of the trade embargo will provide us with greater access to Vietnam and to Vietnamese people, and will increase the prospects of attaining the fullest possible accounting." Today, sixteen months later, I can testify that has occurred. In the past year I have traveled to Southeast Asia on five occasions, twice as a member of Presidential Delegations and three times as the leader of the Department of Defense delegations. During these trips I have discussed the POW/MIA Issue with senior government officials in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; received numerous briefings from the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting detachment commanders in all three countries, and met with State Department officials at our Liaison office in Hanoi and our embassies in Vientiane and Phnom Penh. I have also had the good fortune to observe our Joint Task Force-Full Accounting and U.S. Army Central Identificaion Laboratory, Hawaii personnel in the field conducint joint operations with their counterparts in both Vietnam and Laos.
As you are aware, 2,202 Americans remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Of these, 1618 were lost in Vietnam, 499 in Laos, 77 in Cambodia, and 8 in China. I report to you today that the United States Govwernment has made, and continues to achieve, steady progress in its efforts for missing Americans as a result of the War in Southeast Asia. I would therefore, like to review our efforts, first in Vietnam, then in Laos and finally, in Cambodia.
VIETNAM:
President Clinton has repeatedly stated that further progress toward normalization will be predicated on progress in four areas: (1) concrete results from efforts by Vietnam to recover and repatriate American remains, (2) continued resolution of the fates of the 55 individuals involved in the remaining discrepancy cases, (3) further assistance from Vietnam in conducting investigations along the Lao-Vietnam border, and (4) accelerated efforts to provide POW/MIA-related documents. With regard to the recovery of remains, in 1993 we repatriated 82 remains, 43 from joint activity and 39 from unilateral turnovers. Last year we recovered and returned to the United States 61 remains, 40 jointly and 21 as a result of unilateral turnovers. Thus far this year we have repatraited 24 remains, 16 as a result of joint efforts and 8 from unilateral returns.
Of course, recovery of remains is not the final step in the accounting process. Regardless of how we recover remains, the ultimate goal is to identify them so they can be returned to the family for proper burial. During the present administration, we have identified 37 remains, 8 inm 1993, 26 last year, and 3 to date in 1995. In addition, the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii anticipates submitting 40-50 additional remains to the Identification Review Board later this year.
These numbers are a direct reflection of the excellent joint cooperation we enjoy with the Vietnamese. Our teams currently travel throughtout the country, and have virtually unrestricted access. Indeed, even areas that were once restricted -- such as around Cam Ranh Bay and Haiphong Harbor -- are now accessible to our teams. In addition, the Vietnamese have unilaterally taken broad steps to solicit cooperation from their public. During the past year, they listed the Joint Task Force detachment in the Hanoi phone book, widely publicized their amnesty program througout the country, and maintained their office in Ho Chi Minh City dedicated to recovery of American remains. These are more than symbolic actions, they are the continued signs of Vietnamse committment to help the United States resolve this issue.
In December 1994, I led negotiations in Hanoi which culminated in an agreement with the Vietnamese and Lao governments on procedures for conducting trilateral investigations in Laos. During the past seven months, we have successfully conducted trilateral investigations during each of four joint field activities in Laos, including the well publicized mission to Phu Pha Thi. In that instance, the Vietnamese commander of the sapper unit which overran the American base led a US-Lao joint team back to the site. He reconstructed events on top of the mountain, showing where Americans had been shot and killed. Taking advantage of his leads, the investigation and recovery team extended operations through Christmas --- but unfortunately recovered no remains.
During the previous two years, various U.S. Government delegations, along with the National league of Families, have requested that the Vietnamese Government provide us with archival material that could shed light on unresolved cases. Our efforts to acquire such Vietnamese documents have recently begun to bear fruit. In late 1994, at the urging of the Presidential delegation which visited Hanoi the previous summer, the Vietnamese announced they had created unilateral teams in the Ministries of National Defense and the Interior to search for documents. Since then, these teams have traveled throughout the country searching for relevant documents to turn-over to U.S. authorities. In January, we received an early indication of the quality of their work when one team reported on its efforts to locate "Feeder" documents related to the 559 Shootdown Record. The Vietnamese unilateral team provided a detailed account of their search effort, and ultimate inability to locate such documents. More recently, last month the Vietnamese provided the Presidential Delegation 116 documents totaling 187 pages, including sketch maps, provincial records, and a unilateral report detailing Vietnamese knowledge about the Special Remains cases. Two weeks later, the Ministry of Interior's unilateral team provided an additional 44 document totaling 86 pages. Since then, the Ministry of National Defense team has recovered and provided to US officials another 9 documents, including sketch maps of burial sites involving some unaccounted for Americans. The conclusion is that these unilateral teams are having considerable success in locating, retrieving, and providing to us documents which offer new leads that can further the accounting process.
Since the lifting of the embargo, we have made tangible progress in determing fate in the original 196 discrepancy cases (those involving individuals who were last known alive on the ground in Vietnam). Investigations during the past sixteen months have enabled us to confirm the fates of an additional 18 individuals, reducing the number of those whose fate has not yet been determined to 55. Of these, each case has been investigated at least once, some as many as five times. In addition to determing the fate of these individuals, we continue to account successfully for individuals involved in these incidents. Since February we have identified two individuals, and CILHI anticipates some additional identifications will be made by year end. Nevertheless, we continue to press for more progress and accounting, particularly with the Special Remains and Last Known Alive Cases.
We also continue to conduct live sighting investigations when and where information warrants. The investigation of credible firsthand reports of live sightings receives our immediate attention and the first cut at available resources. The recent allegatins by Mr. Bill Hendon received substantial media coverage. A special investigator was flown in to Vietnam to conduct a thorough field investigation of Mr. Hendon's claims that a prison was hidden in a mountain at a specific location in Vinh Phu Province, approximately 50 NM northwest of Hanoi. The investigator, using the coordinates provided by Mr. Hendon and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, went to several site in question. One site turned out to be a truck depot; the otherwas in the middle of a rice patty. There were no mountains near either site, and no indications of underground facilities. The investigation concluded with no evidence of American POWs being uncovered. Since 1975, DoD investigators have received over 1,750 firsthand reports of live sightings. Follow-up investigations have not yielded any convincing, firsthand evidence of American POWs being held in Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
LAOS
Turning to Laos, since the CLinton Administration took office we have repatriated 70 remains (41 in 1993, 27 in 1994, and 11 thus far this year) and identified 22 (12 in 1993, 1 in 1994, and 9 this year), including those of Captains Thomas and Poyner. The Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii anticipates that the previously repatriated remains of as many as 40 -50 additional Americans still unaccounted for in Laos will be identified during calendar year 1995. The majority of these identifications will be remains repatraited during this Administration. (That is a bold faced LIE) These numbers represent significant progress when compared to the 72 remains repatriated from Laos during the first twenty years following the war, and the 56 of these later identified and returned to their families for proper burial.
Our Ambassador in Laos, Victor Tomseth, continues to support enthusiastically DoD's POW/MIA-related efforts. He maintains a very close, supportive, working relationship with the Joint Task Force's Detachment 3 personnel, and on numerous occasions has shared with me his wisdom, insight, and connections to senior Lao leaders to help Detachment 3 resolve thorny issues.
During the 1994 Presidential Delegation visit to Laos, we specifically asked the Lao government to increse the size of the American teams for joint field activities from 30 to 40 specialists. They agreed, allowing us to operate four field teams instead of three during operations beginning in late 1994. This additional team, coupled with greater cooperation and flexibility from the Lao, has enabled the Joint Task Force to boost the operational tempo of their efforts.
In order to give priority to the investigation of discrepancy cases in the area of the Sam Neua Caves, and in response to a Lao government request for a province by province approach, we agreed to schedule our operations to proceed from provinces in the north to those in the south. As the investigative and recovery work shifts to the southern regions of Laos, we anticipate seeing significant results in terms of repatraition of remains. A large number of the loss incidents that remain to be investigated and excavated in Laos are located in the southeastern region of the country along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The US Government has long maintained that trilateral investigations of specific incidents could provide critical answers to the accounting process. Specifically, we saw such operations as pivotal to involving Vietnamese witnesses and experts in our investigations and recovery operations in Laos. In August 1993 the governments of Vietnam and Laos initially agreed to conduct trilateral investigations with U.S. teams along their common border near the wartime Ho Chi Minh Trail. During our first attempt at trilateral operations in December 1993, the Lao Government would not permit Vietnamese witnesses to cross the border and participate in operations in Laos. Instead, witnesses were interviewed and their information was then used by the joint team in its investigations. The cooperation of the Vietnamese witnesses led to the location of crash sites during this operation and strengthened our resolve to obtain Lao approval for greater Vietnamese witness participation in future trilateral operations. One year later, in December 1994, I met in Hanoi with the Lao and Vietnamese government officials to establish the formal process and routine procedures for conducting trilateral operations in Laos involving Vietnamese witnesses. After often intense negotiation and discussion, all sides agreed that when a Vietnamese witness has been interviewed by representatives of the U.S. and Vietnam and deemed credible, the witness will then be interviewed in Hanoi by Lao officials. Members of the the Joint Task Force, Detachment 2 in Hanoi and the Vietnamese Office Seeking Missing Persons (VNO-SMP) then escort such witnesses to Laos to assist our investigators.
Since the accord was struck last December, we have conducted trilateral operations in conjunction with all four subsequent joint field activities in Laos, including our return to Lima Site 85 on Phou Pha Thi mountain which I mentioned earlier. To date, both Lao and Vietnamese government support for trilateral operations has been excellent with approved Vietnamese witnesses being allowed to participate fully in the joint field investigations. We are convinced that such operations will allow us to resolve some of the more difficult cases that remain in Laos. Our Judgment is based on teh additional information that has been gained regarding cases in which Vietnamese witnesses have participated. Concurrently, we continue to request that the Vietnamese Governmment search for relevant wartime documents relating to their control of territories in Laos, including the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Of particular interest to us are specific reports of shootdowns, captures and burials -- documents, for example, which record the wartime operations of the 559 Group. On January 20, 1995, the Vietnamese reported finding NO RELEVANT DOCUMENTS other than the book "Statistical List of Enemy Aircraft Shootdowns," which was passed to the U.S. officials in 1993. Despite our successes, much more remains to be done. Resolving the outstanding discrepancy cases is an important example. These cases involve incidents where we have reason to believe that the Americans involved survived the initial loss event in the vicinity of Pathet Lao or Vietnamese forces. We therefore believe that the Lao government may have information concerning the unaccounted for American which could assist us in resolving the associated case. As with the Vietnamese, we have repeatedly raised the issue of discrepancy cases with the Lao Government. In November 1992, Major General Thomas Needham, then commander of the Joint Task Force, presented to Lao officials a list of 44 specific loss incidents representing 81 Americans that we refer to as the Lao prioroity discrepancy cases. Although these discrepancy cases have been investigated or excavated, only one has been resolved. During the Presidential delegation visit last month, I stressed to several senior Lao Government officials that our inability to resolve these cases would compel us to reinvestigate them. In that regard, I would like to take a minute at this time to assure the families of these men and the Congress that we will leave no stone unturned in our quest for answers to each of these cases.
I have given priority to obtaining access to the archival holdings of several Lao ministries in the near future, as well as a commitment by Lao officials to reinitiate the oral history program. The archival research and oral history programs along with Lao unilateral research efforts offer a promising avenue for producing new leads in cases that have thus far been investigated without positive results. To this end Lao officials have committed to pursuing unilateral archival research at the central, district, and province levels. While we wait for these programs to startup, we continue to develop leads from other sources. Analysts from my office are conducting comprehensive searches of archival researchers with additional case leads. We are also reexamining the "off the scope" losses; doing-in-depth analysis of operational factors associated with each loss incident.
Regarding archival research efforts in Laos, there is some progress to report. For example, we have implemented an archival film research program that to date has resulted in the review of over 2300 films. To truly appreciate this effort, you must understand the horrendous condition of these films. Many sit in loose piles without storage containers; those that are stored are kept in metal containers, often exposed to extreme heat and humidity. ALthough some of the more important films are now stored in a temperature - controlled environment, many already have been damaged by extensive exposure to the elements. The dilapidated condition of the films requires a reviewer to use a flat bed editing machine to watch each movie. As a result of the unique operating conditions, we must regard reviewing these films as a longterm project.
Only eight correlations to missing Americans have been made as a result of the joint archival film screenings to date. Despite gleaning only limited information from these historical films, we continue to review all known films and seek to uncover additional ones. During the May 1995 Presidential Delegation visit, we also asked Lao officials to assist us in recovering several hundred reels of Lao film containing wartime footage reportedly located in Vietnam. We requested that they approach the Vietnamese regarding the films and expressed our strong desire to jointly study any related films recovered from Vietnam.
The oral history program involves interviewing individuals who may have recollections of wartime events connected to American POWs and deceased U.S. personnel, or who have written memoirs or kept diaries. During their most recent consultative talks with Lao officials, the Joint Task Force submitted a list of names of Lao citizens who we believe possess POW/MIA - related information that would be of value in developing new leads. Despite repeated requests to talk with these individuals, the Lao government has yet to make any available for interview purposes.
During my visits to Vientiane, I have had several opportunities to meet with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Soubanh Srithirath. On more than one occasion he has stressed that his country lacks substancial archives of wartime materials. He states that the Pathet Lao did not keep extensive records during the war, emphasizing that many of their wartime leaders were selected for their courage in battle. In response, I have stressed the values of a comprehensive oral history program. Specifically, I have said that an oral history program will allow the Lao government to start building its archives of war-related materials, to include POW/MIA documents.
During the may 1995 Presidential Delegation visit, we requested at the highest level that the Lao Government get the archival research and oral history programs moving. President Nouhak Phoumsavan's pledge of support for the two programs to the President Delegation has resulted in the Lao Government conducting a ministerial-level meeting on June 15th to discuss the programs. They have promised to forward to us a report of that meeting, which should provide direct evidence of the level of their commitment.
CAMBODIA
In Cambodia, we continue to receive excellent cooperation from the government. They recently created an inter-agency committee to consolidate efforts by its various ministries to work the POW/MIA issue. The committee, chaired by General Nuon Sareth, has streamlined the coordination and approval process for out in-country activities. Six joint field investigation have been conducted in Cambodia under this Administration with four occurring in 1993, one in 1994 and another this past spring. Operations are conducted as new information is uncovered and made available to field investigators. The next operation is planned for fall 1995. As a result of our field activities conducted since January 1993, we have repatriated 10 remains (7 in 1993, 2 in 1994, and 1 thus far this year) and identified 4 previously repatriated remains (3 in 1993 and 1 in 1994).
CLOSING
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to stress that the process and the mechanisms necessary to achieve the fullest possible accounting are in place. Although the pace at times can be agonizingly slow, the results I have outlined for this committee today demonstrate that our procedures are effective. We must never forget, however, that the goal of achieving the fullest possible accounting can only be achieved with diligence and hard work. With that in mind, I launched the ongoing DoD comprehensive review of all Southeast Asia cases, which I hope will be completed in mid July. This all-encompassing look at every individual case will provide a solid analytic assessment of the appropriate "next steps" for achieving the fullests possible accounting. Our unaccounted Americans deserve no less. I will work to ensure that we keep our promise to them. Thank You.
- JAMES W. WOLD Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Prisoners of War/Missing in Action
Mr. Wold is a combat veteran of the war in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, he flew 241 combat missions, including search and rescue missions for fellow crewmembers and other servicemen lost over Vietnam and Laos.
As a pilot of his A-1H Spad, he flew numerous close air support missions for U.S. Army Special Forces Teams and other ground tactical units. He is a highly decorated veteran, having been awarded the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 5 oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with 16 oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star and numerous other awards.
During his military career, he rose to the rank of Brigadier Generaal at the age of 41, becoming one of the youngest generals at that time in the service. He served as the Defense Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and commanded Detachment A of the 56th Special Operations Wing in Vietnam. He was Chief of the Colonel's Division at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Pentagon, and was personally involved in the reception and resettlement of senior U.S. prisoners of war released by the Vietnamese during Operation Homecoming in 1973.
He retired from the Air Force after 26 years of distinguished active duty. He returned to North Dakota where he ran a successful general law practice in Cooperstown. Additionally, he served as senior legal advisor to his local city and county governments as well as States' Attorney for prosecution of all criminal cases within his country's jurisdiction.
He holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Masters in Aerospace Engineering, and a Masters in Advanced Management from the Harvard School of Business. He earned the Juris Doctorate in Law from the University of North Dakota.
Mr. Wold is a resident of rural Luverne, North Dakota. He was born and raised in Minneapolis and is married to the former Jo Anne Norheim of Pasadena, California. They have four children and 14 grandchildren.