From
the March, 1999 Coalition Newsletter
Update on the U.S. Russia Joint
Commission's Investigation into
the Reported Transfer of
American POWs to the Former Soviet Union
By Donna Downes Knox
The Joint
Commission, and its Support Directorate (JCSD), are charged with investigating
the question of whether American POWs were taken to the former Soviet bloc of
countries during any of the modern wars. The JCSD has worked for several years
to develop information that would either confirm or disprove reports of men
being taken and exploited for various purposes by our communist enemies.
Progress in this
investigation has been slow and the results, to date, remain inconclusive.
Despite Russia's repeated denials that American servicemen were taken to the
former Soviet Union, the picture of an ongoing communist program to retain and
exploit American POWs certainly has emerged. The Joint Commission's work might
make a difference for any men that were taken and held in captivity these many
long years. It might also prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again in
the future.
Although we find
ourselves frustrated that the hard questions about missing Americans go
unanswered, we must recognize that the Commission has done some good work. The
effort has led to some information about a number of missing servicemen...both
American and Russia. It provides a forum for ongoing dialogue and the exchange
of information. It allows insights into the concerns and considerations of both
countries. It develops new leads that can force the two governments to take
action that they might otherwise avoid. Though the whole truth will probably
only come through political resolve at governmental levels much higher than the
Joint Commission, the work of these investigators continues to be critical to
the accounting effort.
In November of
last year, the U.S. Russia Joint Commission held its 15th Plenary in Moscow. It
was Ambassador Malcolm Toon's last Plenary as U.S. Chair of the Commission.
Norm Kass, Executive Secretary of the Commission, has since released a
Memorandum detailing the meetings in Moscow. Below is a summary discussion of
the Commission's work.
At the time of the
Plenary, Russia had just given the U.S. Korean War Working Group (KWWG) some
6,000 pages of documents and 300 photographs from the Central Archives of the
MoD at Podolsk. The number of pages is now up to approximately 10,000. For more
information about what is being done with these materials, see Important
Documents and Other Research News, elsewhere in this Issue.
The Podolsk
records searched to date pertain mostly to the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation
Corps and, therefore, to U.N. air losses. These documents might indicate that
some men survived their loss incidents, and they might help locate crash site
remains, as well. JCSD reports that documents obtained from Russian archives
over the years have clarified the circumstances of loss and, in some cases, the
fates of the crew for 119 cases. 'Clarify' in this case, we are told, means to
shed light on, not to resolve.
Investigators
would like to expand their work at Podolsk to include records of the Russian
Operational Aviation Group, which operated in China during the Korean War. The
indication is that this expansion will go forward. It was also agreed that the
number of days researchers will spend at Podolsk will increase from 4 a month
to 2 each week. The Russians declined, however, to sign a research agreement
for this year, preferring instead that research be done by individual requests
for certain blocks of time.
The KWWG is also
working on the case of an American fighter pilot, Captain William Crone, who
was reportedly seen alive along with three other Americans at a Soviet air base
in Korea. The Russians deny that any American POWs were brought to Soviet soil.
In fact, the Russians proposed that the issue of Americans being transferred
from Korea to the former Soviet Union be closed. Ambassador Toon pressed for
more work on the issue, and the Russians agreed to continue the work, under a
condition that if they produce negative results, every session should contain
the phrase "At the present time concrete facts cannot be determined."
The Cold War
Working Group (CWWG) has pressed for expansion of the efforts at Podolsk to
include Cold War losses. The CWWG also has been working on several aircraft
losses, in particular those that occurred on the following dates: 29 July 1953
(RB-50); 17 April 1955 (RB-47); and four far east shootdowns; 6 November 1951;
13 June 1952; 29 July 1953; and 17 April 1955.
The last four
losses were over water and involved the Soviet 5th Fleet, whose records would
be housed at the Russian Central Naval Archives in Gatchina. The Gatchina
collection is thought to contain photographs of American aircraft before,
during, and after being shot down. A team of JCSD investigators traveled to
Gatchina after the meetings in Moscow. A plan was drawn up for continuing work
at that facility. The Russians stated that future work on the over-water cases
is tied to the U.S.'s readiness to proceed with salvage operations.
In the last issue
of our newsletter, we reported that the JCSD had discovered in the memoirs of
now-deceased Russian General Dmitri Volkogonov, the former head of the Russian
side of the U.S.Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, reference to a document
which states that the Soviet KGB was given the task in the 1960s of 'delivering
informed Americans to the USSR for intelligence gathering'.
This matter was
assigned to the Vietnam War Working Group (VWWG) of the Joint Commission. The
particular document that Volkogonov mentions is dated in the 1960s and the
surrounding debate has begun to characterize the alleged Soviet plan in terms
of the Vietnam War, as though it were unique to that time period. It is
important to remember that the collective evidence indicates a Soviet plan to
take American servicemen that was carried out over the course of many years,
beginning well before the Vietnam War. There is a great deal of evidence that
many American POWs were taken to the Soviet Union during the Korean War.
The Volkogonov
issue, so to speak, was one of much debate at the Plenary. The Russians brought
former KGB Chairman Vladimir Semichastnyy to testify that he has no
recollection of any 'separate' plan to acquire American servicemen from the
Vietnam War. The Russians concede that smaller pieces of a larger KGB plan could
have existed, but the official Russian position is that no plan to acquire
Americans was ever implemented such that POWs were brought to the Soviet Union.
They proposed that the issue of the KGB document be closed.
Ambassador Toon
emphasized that the U.S. continues to view Volkogonov's mention of this
document as sensational, and he stated that our investigators should be allowed
to interview Prime Minister Primakov, since he was head of the Foreign
Intelligence Service at the time in question. The U.S. Commissioners want to
meet with other Russian officials, as well, about the matter, but most of those
meetings were not accomplished during this session.
After the Plenary
session, JCSD investigators submitted a detailed report to the Russians, making
their case for why the Volkogonov matter should be a priority. The official
response from the Russians to the report was a continued denial and the
expressed desire that the matter be dropped, but on the working group level,
plans were laid to continue the inquiry.
When the level of
cooperation from the Russians began to wane a few years back, the Joint
Commission turned to the countries of Eastern Europe, former Soviet allies, for
information about our missing men. These countries have not exactly produced
smoking guns, but new information is being developed.
A cooperative
effort to interview people with relevant knowledge and to review archival
holdings is underway in several countries. JCSD investigators believe that, for
example, records from the Communist Party, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the
Ministry of Defense, and records pertaining to diplomatic assignments during
the Korean and Cold War era, if uncensored, could provide valuable leads. We
already have evidence indicating possible involvement with American POWs by
governments of at least some of the Eastern European Soviet satellite
countries.
Here is a brief
overview of the status of investigations involving countries of Eastern Europe:
The JCSD will
continue to work with Karta, a Polish organization that investigates Soviet
crimes against the Poles. Karta has assisted JCSD investigators in the recent
past by sharing dozens of reports about Americans in the Soviet gulags during
the late 1940s and the 1950s. The Department of Defense and Karta have recently
signed a one year contract, pursuant to which these reports will be researched
further. The sources will be located and questioned in depth about their
knowledge of Americans in Soviet prisons. Their earlier reports were made a
long time ago, and not with any particular focus on the question of Americans.
Karta will examine
the holdings of various universities and historical societies on the question
of missing Americans. With the consent of Polish officials, Karta might also
review Polish government holdings that have been identified as likely to
contain relevant information. The governmental points of contact are in place
and JCSD investigators report a good working relationship with them.
A JCSD team
recently returned from Bulgaria and reports having discovered some possible
evidence about American POWs in the hands of the Soviets during the Korean War.
A mechanism for cooperation by the Bulgarian government is being established so
these leads can be developed further.
JCSD investigators
report that cooperation from the Czechs has been less than hoped for thus far.
However, last fall Czech President Vaclav Havel wrote a letter assuring the
U.S. that the Czech government is sensitive to, and supportive of, American
efforts to account for missing servicemen. Havel pledged to assist in efforts
to review relevant government holdings, such as those from the Communist Party
and the Czech Security Service. According to investigators, there is more work
to be done before the level of cooperation by the Czechs would be considered
satisfactory.
JCSD investigators
believe that relevant Hungarian archives have been reviewed for information
pertaining to American POW/MIAs, and that nothing significant has been found.
They will ask Hungarian officials for a formal listing of all holdings that
have been reviewed, and for a statement of their findings.
A JCSD team of
investigators has been to Romania. They left a research plan and will follow up
to develop future cooperation.
Major General
Roland LaJoie recently made a trip to Moscow to get acquainted with his
colleagues and their counterparts in Russia. I asked him to characterize his
initial assessment of the Russians' position on the question of Americans
having been transferred to the Soviet Union. He feels the Russians believe that
no evidence will be found that proves a KGB plan to transfer Americans into the
former Soviet Union was ever implemented. The Russians proposed that the issue
be closed, but they are willing to continue the work because the Americans
believe more needs to be done.
U.S. access to
records at Podolsk has been good. Podolsk is a military holding. U.S.
investigators have not yet been given access to relevant KGB or GRU files,
which would tell more about the Communist Party's activities.
General LaJoie
would like to see the Joint Commission continue its work with a three prong
approach: The Commissioners and their counterparts will interact and mount an
ongoing effort, while the JCSD team of investigators continues its field work.
When necessary, political involvement from higher levels of government will be
sought. On that matter, he said Vice President Gore had just asked him for a
list of talking points to use at an upcoming meeting with Russian Prime
Minister Primakov. We welcome high level talks on the issue and hope that real
progress will follow. For discussion of the Clinton Administration's policy
with Russia relative to the POW/MIA Full Accounting, see What is U.S. Policy
with Russia on the Full Accounting?,elsewhere in this issue.
There is early
talk of a possible 16th Joint Commission Plenary later this Spring. Meanwhile,
the U.S. team will continue its field work in Russia and in Eastern Europe. At
this point in his tenure at co-chair of the Joint Commission, General LaJoie
seems to look ahead to a developing agenda that will continue the work that had
already begun.
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