This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas 
http://dolearchives.ku.edu

POW ACTION REPORT MIA

Air Force Association units and other groups throughout the country have launched vigorous campaigns in behalf of American servicemen who are prisoners of war or missing in action in Southeast Asia. In order to keep our readers informed of POW/MIA developments in Washington and elsewhere, and to provide an exchange of ideas and information among supporting units and organizations, AF/SD is inaugurating this column. It will appear each month, so long as the government of North Vietnam persists in its illegal and inhumane treatment of imprisoned Americans.

How Long?
"A child asks: 'Where is my daddy?' A mother asks: 'How is my son?' A wife asks: 'Is my husband alive or dead?'

"Communist North Vietnam is sadistically practicing spiritual and mental genocide on over 1,500 American prisoners of war and their families.

"How long?"

This quotation has been entered in the Congressional Record every day since January 26, 1970, by Rep. William J. Scherle (R-Iowa), as a continuing reminder to all members of Congress, and the world, that more than 1,500 American servicemen are prisoners of war or are missing in action in Southeast Asia.

Congressman Scherle, long active in support of the cause of MIA/POWs, says he will keep on entering his statement in the Record every day "until all the American prisoners of war are released." He, along with scores of other members of Congress, is determined to "keep the pressure on" until the Communists give a complete accounting of the men they hold prisoner and until humane treatment of these Americans is assured.

"The Committee of Liaison"
On June 26, a group calling itself the "Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam" released the names of 335 Americans it claimed are being held prisoner in North Vietnam. The list, it turns out, is a compilation of the same names released by the same group on three previous dates-January 15, March 11, and March 27, 1970.

The Committee of Liaison, a group of private individuals, is an offshoot of the New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam ("The New Mobe"), and was formed in January of this year. Its purpose is to receive the names of prisoners of war from the North Vietnamese government, and to pass on to relatives information concerning these men. The organization, according to its own information sheet, was formed at the request of the government of North Vietnam.

According to a New York Times story on June 26, North Vietnam has reportedly declared that the list of names released by the Committee of Liaison on that date was complete and that North Vietnam does not hold any men who are not listed on it.

The Department of Defense, however, calls the list "incomplete and unacceptable," and has said that the names of at least forty men believed to be in the hands of the North Vietnamese are missing from the list. In support of its contention, DoD released photos that have been published in North Vietnamese newspapers of two Americans identified as prisoners, whose names are not on the list (see photos, below).

In a statement on June 26, Daniel Z. Henkin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, said, "It should be noted [that] this privately compiled and unofficially released list makes no reference to our men held prisoner by Hanoi and its agents in South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The unofficial release of an inaccurate and incomplete list of names from unofficial sources," he said, "can only add to the great anguish of the hundreds of wives, children, and parents of the more than 1,500 servicemen who are listed missing or captured."

National League of Families
On June 30, a newly incorporated organization officially opened its Washington, D.C., headquarters with the ex- pressed hope and prayer that it could "go out of business tomorrow." The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, formed in late

(Photos of 2 men at bottom of page)

This photo of Navy Lt. James J. Connell appeared in a North Vietnamese newspaper on July 21, 1966, six days after his capture. Lieutenant Connell's name was not on the list released by the Committee of Liaison on June 26 of this year.

USAF Capt. Edwin L. Atterberry was captured in August 1967, and a few weeks later this photo of him appeared in two North Vietnamese newspapers. DoD says his name and at least thirty-nine others are missing from the June 26 list of POWs.

30	AIR FORCE Magazine . August 1970

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This document is from the collections at the Dole Archives, University of Kansas
http://dolearchives.ku.edu

(photo on page)
Sen. George Murphy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Bob Dole (R- Kan.), with Mrs. J. B. Stockdale at opening of League of Families office. Senators Pell (D-R.I.); Thurmond (R- S.C.) ; Boggs (R-Del.); and Jordan (D-N.C.) ; and Congr. Fish (R-N.Y.) and Bob Wilson (R-Calif.), also attended.

May, is a direct result of the meeting of families held on May 2, reported on in these pages in the June issue.

Membership in the League is confined to families of US servicemen and civilians who are prisoners of war or missing in action. Membership at this writing totals about 3,000 families.

Mrs. James B. Stockdale, wife of a Navy captain who has been a prisoner in North Vietnam since September 1965, is Chairman of the Board of the new organization. She was formerly National Coordinator for the original League of Families, which she founded and which became the nucleus for the present League.

Vice Chairman of the League is Mrs. Kenneth W. North, of Wellfleet, Mass., wife of an Air Force major identified by the League as a POW. Thirteen other family members, including nine wives, three mothers, and one father, serve on the Board of Directors. Six of these, the father and five wives, are from Air Force families. They are: Col. Edwin Brinckmann, USA (Ret.), of Shalimar, Fla., father of Air Force Lt. Col. Robert E. Brinckmann (MIA); Mrs. Arthur J. Cormier (TSgt .- POW), Bay Shore, N.Y .; Mrs. Robert C. Davis (Capt .- MIA), Burlington, N.J .; Mrs. Arthur S. Mearns (Lt. Col .- MIA), Los Angeles, Calif .; Mrs. Samuel R. Johnson (Lt. Col .- POW), Plano, Tex .; and Mrs. Bobby G. Vinson (Col .- MIA), of Alex- andria, Va. Mrs. Vinson also serves as Assistant National Coordinator for the national office.

Mrs. Iris Powers, of Lutz, Fla., the mother of an Army warrant officer who is missing in action, is the National Coordinator. Another member of the permanent staff, all unpaid volunteers, is Office Manager Mrs. Kevin J. Mc- Manus, from Brightwaters, N.Y., wife of an Air Force captain imprisoned in North Vietnam. The all-woman staff will be assisted by volunteer workers recruited from local MIA/POW families.

The offices of the National League of Families are at 1 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20002. The space is being provided at no charge by the Reserve Of- ficers Association, which owns the building. It is within easy walking distance of the Capitol and the offices of all members of Congress.

The Air Force Association will make its facilities and staff personnel available to support the League in any way it can be of assistance. We are confident that in this, we speak for every member of AFA.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization is being financed by the families themselves and through contributions from concerned individuals and organizations.

The Fairchild Hiller Corp.
Fairchild Hiller Corp. continues to lead industry in pub- licizing the plight of the American MIA/POWs, with creation of special display units to distribute information about the prisoners at trade shows and public gatherings. This is the latest of many actions taken by that company.

A year ago, in August 1969, Fairchild Hiller initiated a company-wide letter-writing campaign. More than 10,000 employees-nearly ninety percent-wrote to the govern- ment in North Vietnam. Thousands more letters were sent to other governments, and to UN representatives, urging them to use their influence in Hanoi. Fairchild Hiller Pres- ident Edward Uhl personally wrote to the heads of 100 other companies, inviting them to join in the campaign. And, at Mr. Uhl's urging, the National Association of Manufacturers sent a circular to all its members suggesting they encourage their employees to write letters.

Fairchild Hiller followed up its letter-writing campaign with public-service messages in leading newspapers across the country, and in magazines. In response to requests, to date they have distributed more than 100,000 poster re- prints of these messages. In late April, Fairchild Hiller took out full-page ads in two Washington, D.C., newspapers, publicizing the May 1 rally for MIA/POWs, held in Con- stitution Hall.

Late last year, Fairchild Hiller made available to families of prisoners and missing servicemen, and to others, a spe- cial Christmas card that carried a message telling the re- ceiver how he could help. They filled requests for more than 50,000 cards.

Our thanks, and that of the MIA/POW families, to Fairchild Hiller employees, to their President, Edward Uhl, and to Maston M. Jacks, a former USAF information officer and now Fairchild Hiller's Manager of Information Service.

***

Next month: more on the Committee of Liaison, and reports from the states of Florida, New Mexico, California, Texas, and New York.
-MAURICE L. LIEN

(picture at bottom of page)
Mrs. Wilmer N. Grubb and her son, Jeff (left), meet Maj. Fred N. Thompson, a POW released by Hanoi; Mrs. Kevin J. McManus, a POW wife; and AFA President George D. Hardy, at the office opening. Mrs. Grubb's husband, a USAF major, was identified as a POW in propaganda photos in 1966, but his name was not on the June 26 list.

AIR FORCE Magazine . August 1970	31

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