The Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

Defense POW/MIA Weekly Update
KOREAN WAR/COLD
WAR DOCUMENT
FAMILY RESEARCH
No. 858-03 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov 17, 2003
U.S. -North Korea Conclude
POW/MIA Talks
The Department of Defense
announced today that U.S. and North
Korea representatives concluded talks
about arrangements to conduct five joint
operations to recover the remains of
American servicemen still missing from
the Korean War.
The meetings, led by Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel
Affairs Jerry Jennings, were held in
Bangkok, Thailand, Friday and Saturday.
Jennings focused on enhancing the safety
of the U.S. recovery teams, improving
the U.S. remains recovery process and
establishing a process for resolving
reports alleging that living Americans
may have been held in North Korea.
The operations in North Korea are
scheduled to begin early next year in
Unsan County, about 60 miles north of
Pyongyang, and near the Chosin
Reservoir.
In 27 operations since 1996,
American and North Korean teams
working in North Korea have recovered
remains believed to be those of more
than 180 servicemembers.
As a matter of policy, these talks deal
with the issue of recovering the remains
of missing Americans. POW/MIA
accounting is a separate, stand-alone
humanitarian matter, not tied to any
other issues between the two countries.
More than 8,100 Americans are still
missing from the Korean War.
No. 875-03 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov 20, 2003
Crew of World War II U.S.
Navy Aircraft Found,
Identified
The remains of seven American servicemen
missing in action from World
War II have been found in Russia, identified
and returned to their families for
burial with full military honors. A
group burial of the remains will be held
at Arlington National Cemetery on
Thursday, Nov. 20.
The seven Navy aircrew members are
identified as Lt. Walter S. Whitman Jr. of
Philadelphia, Pa.; Lt. j.g. John W.
Hanlon Jr. of Worcester, Mass.; Petty
Officer 2nd Class Clarence C. Fridley of
Manhattan, Mont.; Petty Officer 2nd
Class Donald G. Lewallen of Omaha,
Neb.; Petty Officer 2nd Class Jack J.
Parlier of Decatur Ill.; Petty Officer 3rd
Class Samuel L. Crown Jr. of Columbus,
Ohio and Petty Officer 3rd Class James
S. Palko of Superior, Wis.
On March 25, 1944, Whitman and his
crew took off in their PV-1 Ventura
bomber from their base on Attu Island,
Alaska, headed for enemy targets in the
Kurile Islands of Japan. The aircraft
was part of a five-plane flight which
encountered heavy weather throughout
the entire mission. About six hours into
the mission, the base at Attu notified
Whitman by radio of his bearing. There
was no further contact with the crew.
When Whitman’s aircraft failed to
return, an over water search was initiated
by surface ships and aircraft in an
area extending 200 miles from Attu, but
no wreckage was found.
In January 2000, representatives of
the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on
POW/MIAs received a report from a
Russian citizen who had discovered
wreckage in 1962 of a U.S. aircraft on
the Kamchatka peninsula on the east
coast of Russia.
Later that year, specialists from the
Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii
(CILHI), along with members of the
commission, found the wreckage and
some human remains.
The following year, the team returned
to the crash site to conduct an excavation.
They recovered additional
remains, artifacts and aircrew-related
items which correlated to the names on
the manifest of the PV-1.
Between 2001-2003, CILHI scientists
employed a wide range of forensic identification
techniques, including that of
mitochondrial DNA, to confirm the identity
of crewmembers. More than 78,000
servicemen are missing in action from
World War II.
Casualty Offices
Department of the Army
(800) 892-2490
Total Army Personnel Command (TAPC-PER)
2161 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22331-0482
Headquarters, US Marine Corps
(800) 847-1597
Manpower and Reserve Affairs (MRC)
Personal and Family Readiness Division
3280 Russell Road
Quantico, VA 22134-5103
Department of the Navy
(800) 443-9298
Navy Personnel Command
POW/MIA Section (PERS-621P)
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-6210
http://www.persnet.navy.mil/pers62/POW-
MIA/62P.htm
USAF Missing Persons Branch
(800) 531-5501
HQ AFPC/DPWCM
550 C Street West, Suite 15
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4716
Department of State
(202) 647-6769
Office of American Citizens Services and
Crisis Management
CA/OCS/ACS/EAP
2201 C Street, Northwest, Room 4811
Washington, DC 20520
2004 Family & Veteran Update Schedule
Date:
Location:
Feb 21....................Los Angeles, CA
Feb 24....................Honolulu, HI
Apr 2-3 ..................Washington, DC*
May 15 ..................Milwaukee, WI
Jun TBD ..............Washington, DC**
Jul 31 ....................Oklahoma City, OK
Aug 28 ..................Denver, CO
Sep 25....................Hartford, CT
Oct 23....................Portland, OR
Nov 20 ..................Orlando, FL
*The Korean and Cold War Annual Government
Briefings
** The Southeast Asia Annual Government
Briefing held in conjunction with the ‘National
League of Families’ Annual Meeting
January/February, 2004 Page 13