February Trip to D.C.

By Donna Downes Knox

In February, John Zimmerlee and I spent a week in D.C. In that time, we met with members of Congress and their staff, and with people at DPMO and JCSD. We also spent a few days in the National Archives.

On the Hill we met mostly with people on committees that have jurisdiction over matters important to the Full Accounting. That means Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Intelligence, and Appropriations. We met with our long-term supporters and with people new to the issue, and we stressed to each of them the importance of pressing on.

Specifically, our agenda this year centered around matters involving declassification of information and notice to families of missing men; foreign policy, appropriations, and Korean War family outreach. We learned of some legislative initiatives that are in the making already, and we laid the groundwork for additional initiatives, if and when they become necessary.

At DPMO we met with Alan Liotta and were briefed on the latest in the stand-off with North Korea relative to joint recovery operations (see Remains Recovery and Identification, elsewhere in this issue for more on the stand-off.) We met with DoD General Counsel Colonel Jim Gravelle about the issue of notice to families of classified information about un-named POWs. (See Department of Defense Instruction 2310.5: “Accounting for Missing Persons”, elsewhere in this issue for more information about the Notice/Unnamed POWs issue.) We met with Dr. Angelo Collura and others in Research and Analysis about a number of document requests that were outstanding, including the 944 List and the MIA/CAP list, both of which will be entered into the Coalition’s database for cross referencing with the PMKOR and other known lists of men. This growing database should prove to be a helpful reference tool for families who are trying to piece together what is known about the status of their loved one.

We met with Norm Kass, executive director of the JCSD. The JCSD is following up on some interesting leads, but Norm made it clear that prospects for any real progress on the question of transfers to the Soviet Union are dim, given the rather tepid enthusiasm for political resolution of the stalemate at the highest levels of both the U.S. and the Russian governments. It seems that our best hope is more resolve in the next Administration to see meaningful results.

We spent a few days at the National Archives wading through thousands of pages of POW/MIA documents. The collection is huge, and ever growing. It takes a great deal of time and energy to go through the information. We hardly put a dent in it. Most of what you find there is not helpful, but every once in awhile you find something that is.

We realized more than ever how much we need a comprehensive system in place, whereby families will get notice of all significant information found by government officials pertaining to the status, whereabouts or treatment of missing servicemen. Individual families should not be limited to information that specifically pertains to their relative. There is too much other information that is important to the overall issue of what happened to the men that disappeared. If a document sheds light on the politics or practices of the time as they pertained to POWs, that document is relevant to every man’s case. It is just not reasonable to expect families to fly to the archives and keep up on what’s there. Right now a large gap in the reporting system exists. Too much information can fall between the cracks.

While visiting the archives, DPMO and the JCSD, we were also reminded of the hard work and dedication of many workers in each of those offices on behalf of us and our missing loved ones. Many people work long hours to piece together a mystery that was left unsolved decades ago. The task is challenging, to say the least. We may complain often about a lot of things, for that is the role we must play in this process. But we also appreciate the work being done by those individuals who are truly dedicated to the fullest possible accounting for our missing loved ones.

Coalition Headquarters
P.O. Box 7152
Roanoke, VA 24019-0152
info@coalitionoffamilies.org