STATUS OF THE POW/MIA ISSUE: January 2, 2003





1,891 Americans are still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, though over 450 were at sea/over water losses:

Vietnam - 1,444 (North, 509; South, 935); Laos - 382; Cambodia - 57; Peoples Republic of China territorial waters - 8. The League

seeks the return of all US prisoners, the fullest possible accounting for those still missing and repatriation of all recoverable remains.



The League's highest priority is resolving the live prisoner question. Official intelligence indicates that Americans known to have

been alive in captivity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were not returned at the end of the war. In the absence of evidence to the

contrary, it must be assumed that these Americans may still be alive. As a policy, the U.S. Government does not rule out the

possibility that Americans could still be held.



Unilateral return of remains by the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) has been proven an effective means of

obtaining accountability, as have joint field operations in recent years, though the first in northern Vietnam occurred in 1985. A

comprehensive wartime and post-war process was established by Vietnam to collect and retain information and remains; thus,

unilateral efforts by Vietnam to locate and return remains and provide records continue to offer significant potential. Hanoi's decision

to establish a Special Research Cell to support their government's unilateral efforts was encouraging, a positive response to the May

1999 League Delegation. Archival research in Vietnam has produced thousands of items, documents and photos, but to date all

except 1+% pertain to returned POWs and Americans previously accounted-for.



Joint field operations in Laos are very productive. The Lao recently agreed to increase the number of US personnel permitted

in-country and allow greater flexibility during field operations. Agreements between the U.S. and the Indochina governments now

permit Vietnamese witnesses to participate in joint operations in Laos and Cambodia when necessary. POW/MIA research and

field activities in Cambodia have received excellent support. Over 80% of US losses in Laos and 90% of those in Cambodia

occurred in areas where Vietnamese forces operated during the war, but Vietnam has not yet responded to countless US requests

for case-specific records on loss incidents in these countries. Records research and field operations are the most likely means of

increasing the accounting for Americans missing in Laos and Cambodia.



U.S. intelligence assessments and other evidence indicate that many Americans can best be accounted for by unilateral

Vietnamese efforts to locate and return remains and provide relevant documents and records. Despite this reality, former President

Clinton regularly certified to Congress that Vietnam was "fully cooperating in good faith" to resolve this issue. The League disagrees,

but recognizes that legislation requiring the certification includes punitive measures that would reverse political and economic

relations to the level in place in 1994. The League supported steps by the US to respond to concrete results, not advancing political

and economic concessions in the hope that Hanoi would respond. The Clinton administration lifted the trade embargo, established

the US Embassy in Hanoi, normalized diplomatic relations, posted a US Ambassador to Vietnam, signed a bilateral trade

agreement and advocated normal trade relations. President George W. Bush also certified that Vietnam is "fully cooperating in

good faith," but added language to outline steps Vietnam should take to improve cooperation, stating: "As we look to further

strengthen cooperation, Vietnam's unilateral provision of POW/MIA-related documents and records should be improved, focused

initially on archival data pertaining to Americans captured, missing, or killed in areas of Laos and Cambodia under wartime

Vietnamese control. Vietnam should also focus greater attention on locating and providing information on discrepancy cases, with

priority on those last known alive in captivity or in immediate proximity to capture, and to locating and repatriating the remains of

those who died while in Vietnamese control that have not yet been returned. The League is confident that President Bush, Vice

President Cheney and senior officials from the Departments of State and Defense will press Hanoi for answers.



Statistics are provided by the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO)



Live Sightings: As of November 27, 2002, 1,918 first-hand live sighting reports in Indochina have been received since 1975; 1,903

(99.22%) have been resolved. 1,326 (69.13%) were equated to Americans now accounted for (i.e. returned POWs, missionaries or

civilians detained for violating Vietnamese codes); 45 (2.35%) correlated to wartime sightings of military personnel or pre-1975

sightings of civilians still unaccounted for; 532 (27.74%) were determined to be fabrications. The remaining 15 (.78%) unresolved

first-hand reports are the focus of current analytical and collection efforts: 14 (.73%) concern Americans sighted in a captive

environment; 1 (.05%) is a non-captive sighting. The years in which these 15 first hand sightings occurred is listed below:



Year Pre-76 76-80 81-85 86-90 91-95 96-2000 01-05 Total

10 1 0 1 1 0 2 15



Accountability: At the end of the Vietnam War, there were 2,585 unaccounted for American prisoners, missing in action or killed

in action/body not recovered. As of January 2, 2003, 1,891 Americans are still carried by the Department of Defense as missing and

unaccounted for, over 90% of them in Vietnam or in areas of Laos and Cambodia where Vietnamese forces operated during the war.

A breakdown of the years during which the 694* Americans now accounted for were recovered follows:



1965-1974 War years: (recently identified) 1



1974-1975 Post war years: 28



1976-1978 US/SRV normalization negotiations: 47



1979-1980 US/SRV talks break down: 1



1981-1984 1st Reagan Administration 24



1985-1988 2nd Reagan Administration 156



1989-1992 George H.W. Bush Administration 116



1993-1996 1st Clinton Administration 232



1997-2001 2nd Clinton Administration 76



2001-2003 George W. Bush Administration 13



According to CILHI, unilateral SRV repatriations of remains with scientific evidence of storage have accounted for only 177 of the 488

from Vietnam; all but 3 of the 178 Americans accounted for in Laos have been the result of joint excavations. The breakdown by

country of the 694* Americans accounted for from the Vietnam War:



Vietnam 488* Laos 178*

China 2 Cambodia 26



*4 remains were recovered from indigenous personnel; 1 from North Vietnam and 3 from Laos. In addition, three persons identified

were recovered in Vietnam before the end of the war.