[061802Z.OH 06/16/96] ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE ROUTINE R 061802Z JAN 94 ZYB PSN 118079P26 FM CDR JTF-FA HONOLULU HI//J2// TO SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP: RSA// INFO WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASH DC RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC//CA/EAP/VLC/CCS/OCS// JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//J5// USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI//J2/33/J30-M// USCINCPAC LO WASHINGTON DC CIA WASHINGTON DC//DEA/SEA/I8/DDO/EA/ICOG// DIA WASHINGTON DC CDRUSACILHI HICKAM AFB HI//TAPC-PED-H// RUEHBT/USDAO BANGKOK TH//PW-MIA// ***THIS IS A 2 PART MSG COLLATED BY MDU*** UNCLAS //N03460// MSGID/SYS.RRM/CDR JTF-FA/J252// THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS A VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTION OF AN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT FIELD REPORT// SUBJ/INTERVIEW OF REQUESTED SOURCE, BUI DUC TUNG// REF/ENTRY NUMBER 67, LIST OF 83 INTERVIEW REQUESTS, PRESENTED TO ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER TRAN QUANG CO, MAY 93// RMKS/1. BACKGROUND. ON 15 DECEMBER 1793, A JOINT U.S./VIETNAM ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM INTERVIEW TEAM INTERVIEWED RETIRED BRIGADIER GENERAL (BUI) BUI DUC TUNG, A 65 YEAR OLD VINH CITY RESIDENT. MR. TUNG IS A FORMER CADRE OF THE 31ST REGIMENT. 2ND PEOPLE'S ARMY OF VIETNAM (PAVN) DIVISION. THE TEAM MET AT THE HUU NGHI HOTEL MEETING ROOM, VINH CITY. TO INTERVIEW MR. TUNG, LISTED IN REFERENCE AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING U.S. PERSONNEL MISSING IN ACTION IN VIETNAM. THE U.S. CONTINGENT CONSISTED OF TSGT [XXXX][XXXX][XXXX], JTF-FA ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM COORDINATOR; AND P02 [XXXX][XXXX][XXXX], JTF-FA ANALYST/LINGUIST. THE VIETNAMESE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CONTINGENT CONSISTED OF COL LE KY, MINISTER OF DEFENSE; MR. NGUYEN VAN THANG LOI, MINISTRY OF 118079/008 1 OF 6 O61802Z JAN 94 CDR JTF-FA HON INTERIOR; AND MR. NGO SI HO, NGHE AN PROVINCE REPRESENTATIVE. MR. TUNG HAD NOT BEEN INTERVIEWED BY A JOINT TEAM BEFORE. 2. SUMMARY. THE SOURCE, MR. BUI DUC TUNG, FORMER 31ST REGIMENT COMMANDER, SECOND PAVN DIVISION' PROVIDED GENERAL INFORMATION CONCERNING U.S. LOSS INCIDENTS IN THE SECOND PAVN'S OPERATIONS AREA- HE PROVIDED LOCATIONAL AND CIRCUMSTANTIAL INFORMATION POSSIBLY RELATING TO CASES 0678, AND 0728. 3. DETAILS. AFTER FORMAL INTRODUCTIONS BY COL LE KY AND TSGT [XXXX] MR. BUI DUC TUNG (BUIF DWCS TUNGF) PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: A. MR. TUNG BECAME COMMANDER OF THE 31ST REGIMENT, 2ND PAVN DIVISION IN 1965. THE OPERATIONS AREA FOR THE 31ST REGIMENT INCLUDED SOUTHERN QUANG NAM - DANANG, QUANG NGAI. AND NORTHERN BINH DINH PROVINCES, AS WELL AS A PORTION OF THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS. B. MR. TUNG RECALLED THAT AT THE END OF APRIL OF 1967 HE WAS ATTACHED TO THE 1ST (BA GIA) REGIMENT, 2ND PAVN DIVISION AS A TACTICAL OBSERVER. AT THIS TIME A LARGE U.S. MARINE FORCE CONSISTING OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE REGIMENTS WAS CONDUCTING SEARCH AND DESTROY OPERATIONS AGAINST LOCAL GUERILLA FORCES IN BA TO AND MO DUC DISTRICTS OF QUANG NGAI PROVINCE. DURING THESE OPERATIONS A BATTLE INVOLVING THE PAVN REGIMENT AND THE U.S. MARINES OCCURRED ON DAU MOUNTAIN (NUIF ZAAUF) (BS6349) (SEE PARA 7A). MR. TUNG WAS AT THE REGIMENT'S MOBILE SURGICAL UNIT ON DAU TUONG MOUNTAIN (NUIS DAAUF TWONGJ) (BS5858), AKA HIGH POINT 592, WHEN HE SAW A WOUNDED AMERICAN PW BEING BANDAGED. HE HEARD THAT THE SOLDIER WAS TAKEN PRISONER NEAR TAN PHU (BS6252), TO THE EAST OF THE VE RIVER, AND HAD BEEN TRANSPORTED BY TWO SOLDIERS ACROSS THE RIVER AT THE HOA BRIDGE (SEE PARA 7B) NEAR HANH THIEN (BS6154). THE PW WAS TALL, RATHER LARGE, HAD BLACK SKIN, AND WAS BANDAGED PRIOR TO HIS ARRIVAL AT THE MOBILE SURGICAL UNIT. BECAUSE OF A HEAVY BLEEDING WOUND IN THE RIGHT HIP REGION HE HAD TO BE REBANDAGED BEFORE BEING SENT TO THE MAIN ARMY MEDICAL FACILITY IN THE REAR. THE FOLLOWING MORNING MR. TUNG RECEIVED NEWS FROM THE REGIMENT PERSONNEL TRANSPORTING THE PW THAT THE PW HAD DIED BEFORE HE COULD BE MOVED TO THE MAIN ARMY MEDICAL FACILITY. MR. TUNG HEARD THAT THIS WAS CONFIRMED BY THE MEDICAL UNIT'S PERSONNEL. MR. TUNG ALSO HEARD FROM THE TRANSPORTING PERSONNEL THAT THE PW WAS BURIED IN A BOMB CRATER ON DAU TUONG MOUNTAIN, WITHIN 700 METERS OF THE END OF KA STREAM (SEE PARA 7C) C. MR. TUNG NEVER SAW THE AMERICAN SOLDIER'S GRAVE OR MET ANY OF THE PERSONNEL WHO HAD TREATED THE WOUNDED AMERICAN AFTER THE INCIDENT. BUT HE DID PROVIDE THE NAME VAN CONG BICH AS 118079/008 2 OF 6 061802Z JAN 94 CDR JTF-FA HON POSSIBLY HAVING FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS WOUNDED AMERICAN. HE WAS ALSO UNAWARE OF ANY REPORTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN SENT TO HIGHER HEADQUARTERS REGARDING THIS INCIDENT. IF A REPORT HAD BEEN FILED, IT WOULD HAVE SAID "THIS UNIT CAPTURED A BLACK AMERICAN SOLDIER, BUT HE WAS HEAVILY WOUNDED AND TAKEN TO THE MEDICAL UNIT WHERE HE DIED AND WAS BURIED," ACCORDING TO MR. TUNG. D. DURING SEPTEMBER OF 1967, WHILE AT THE 31ST REGIMENT HEADQUARTERS ON CHOM MOUNTAIN (NUIS CHOMF AT9030), MR. TUNG RECEIVED A REPORT THAT TWO AMERICANS HAD BEEN CAPTURED IN THE VICINITY OF HIGH POINT 330 (BT111276) (SEE PARA 7D). ONE OF THE TWO WAS BADLY WOUNDED IN THE STOMACH AND BEING TAKEN TO THE REGIMENT'S MOBILE SURGICAL UNIT TO THE WEST. HE HAD NO REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE OTHER PW. THE WOUNDED PW, HAVING TRAVELED TO THE AN TAY VILLAGE AREA (AT9126) WEST FROM THE BATTLE AREA, WAS WOUNDED A SECOND TIME BY AN EXPLODING ARTILLERY ROUND. HE WAS THEN TAKEN TO THE HOME OF MRS. THUONG IN AN TAY VILLAGE, WHERE HE DIED OF HIS WOUNDS AND WAS BURIED IN MRS. THUONG'S GARDEN. MR. TUNG DISCOVERED THE INITIAL REPORT OF TWO PW'S WAS FALSE AND. IN FACT, ONLY ONE HAD BEEN CAPTURED. E. ON 10 FEBRUARY 1965 TWO AMERICAN ADVISORS WERE KILLED IN A BATTLE BETWEEN ELEMENTS OF THE 31ST PAVN REGIMENT AND A RIFLE COMPANY OF THE 5TH BATTALION, ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM (ARVN), IN THE VICINITY OF VIET AN (UNLOCATED), EASTERN QUANG NAM PROVINCE. THE ADVISOR'S BODIES WERE RECOVERED BY ARVN FORCES SHORTLY AFTER THE BATTLE. F. AT THE END OF 1966 MR. TUNG RECALLED HEARING OF A U.S. BOMBER SHOT DOWN IN THE EASTERN PART OF QUANG NAM PROVINCE, TIEN PHUOC (BT1214), PHUOC HA (UNLOCATED). THE AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTEDLY HIT BY 12.7 MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE AND EXPLODED IN MID-AIR. MR. TUNG WAS UNAWARE OF ANY RECOVERY EFFORTS OR SHOOT DOWN REPORTS. G. WHEN A U.S. SOLDIER WAS CONSIDERED TO HAVE LOST HIS ABILITY TO FIGHT, HAVING BEEN CAPTURED OR SURRENDERING TO PAVN FORCES, THE U.S SOLDIER WAS NO LONGER CONSIDERED AN ENEMY, TREATED HUMANELY, AND KEPT AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE FROM DANGEROUS B52 STRIKES. H. ACCORDING TO MR. TUNG, IT WAS COMMON FOR U.S. FORCES TO GET HIT BY THEIR OWN BOMBING. BECAUSE OF THE DESTRUCTIVE FORCE OF THE BOMBING HE BELIEVES IT WOULD BE HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE CAUGHT IN A BOMBING AREA COULD EVER BE FOUND. I. WITH NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. TUNG, THE JOINT TEAM AGREED TO CONCLUDE THE INTERVIEW. // 118079/008 3 OF 6 061802Z JAN 94 CDR JTF-FA HON MSGID/SYS.RRM/CDR JTF-FA/J252// THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS A VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTION OF AN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT FIELD REPORT// SUBJ/INTERVIEW OF REQUESTED SOURCE, BUI DUC TUNG// RMKS/ 4. CORRELATIONS TO EXISTING POW/MIA CASES. A. THE INCIDENT DESCRIBED IN PARA 3B POSSIBLY CORRELATES TO CASE 0728 BASED ON THE GENERAL INCIDENT LOCATION, AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATED WITH CASE 0728. B. THE INCIDENT DESCRIBED IN PARA 3D POSSIBLY CORRELATES TO CASE 0678. BASED ON THE GENERAL INCIDENT LOCATION. 5. POTENTIAL LEADS. A. VAN CONG BICH (VAWN COONG BICHS). A FORMER SECOND PAVN DIVISION POLITICAL OFFICER. WAS REFERENCED BY MR. TUNG AS POSSIBLY HAVING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INCIDENT DESCRIBED IN PARA 3B. MR. BICH WAS INTERVIEWED ON 11 NOVEMBER 1993 BY THE JOINT ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TEAM. B. MRS. THUONG (BAF THWONGJ) OF AN TAY VILLAGE. QUANG NAM DANANG PROVINCE. IT WAS REPORTEDLY AT THE HOME OF MRS. THUONG, WHERE THE PW DESCRIBED IN PARA 3D DIED OF HIS WOUNDS AND WAS BURIED. 6. MATERIAL EVIDENCE: NONE. THIS SOURCE BROUGHT NO RECORDS. NOTEBOOKS. DIARIES. OR ANY MATERIAL EVIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH UNACCOUNTED FOR U.S. PERSONNEL. 7. COMMENTS. A. MR. TUNG WAS QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT DAU MOUNTAIN (NUIS DAAUF) IS ACTUALLY MORE THAN JUST ONE MOUNTAIN. HE SAID THAT DAU MOUNTAIN CONSISTS OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGE BETWEEN COI MOUNTAIN (NUIS COOIS) (BS6349) AND LON MOUNTAIN (NUIS LOWNJ) (BS6947). HE SAID, AS DID MR. BICH AND MR. VO XUAN DURING THE INTERVIEW OF MR. BICH, THAT COI MOUNTAIN WAS KNOWN TO THE LOCAL PEOPLE AS DAU (ZAAUF) MOUNTAIN BECAUSE THERE IS A SAP. "DAU" (ZAAUF) IN VIETNAMESE. TAKEN FROM TREES ON THAT MOUNTAIN WHICH HAS A WIDE VARIETY OF USES. HE ALSO SAID THAT HANH MOUNTAIN (NUIF HANHF) AND SU BUNG (SWR BUNGJ) ARE IN THIS AREA. HOWEVER BOTH PLACES REMAIN UNLOCATED. B. THE HOA BRIDGE REFERENCED BY MR. TUNG IS REPORTEDLY MADE OF STEEL AND STILL STANDING. 118079/008 4 OF 6 O61802Z JAN 94 CDR JTF-FA HON C. MR. TUNG POINTED OUT THE BURIAL SITE, ON A 1:250,000 SCALE MAP, JUST EAST OF HIGH POINT 592 NEAR THE END OF AN UNIDENTIFIED STREAM. HE REFERRED TO THIS AREA AS PHUOC LUC (PHWOCS LWCJ). KA STREAM (SUOOIS KAR). AND KHOAI STREAM (SUOIS KHOAIS). THE STREAM ON HIGH POINT 592 IS PROBABLY THE CA (OR KHOAI) STREAM BASED ON HIS DESCRIPTION. HOWEVER. NONE OF THE NAMES HE PROVIDED CAN BE LOCATED IN THAT AREA. HE SAID THE NAME KHOAI STREAM WAS USED BY MILITARY UNITS HOPEFULLY TO KEEP THEIR OPERATION AREAS SECRET AND THIS NAME WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE KNOWN TO ANYONE OUTSIDE OF THE PAVN. HE EXPLAINED THAT SOME PLACES COULD HAVE MANY DIFFERENT NAMES USED BY BOTH THE LOCAL POPULATION. AS WITH DAU MOUNTAIN (PARA 7A). AND THE MILITARY. (MAP USED: SERIES 1501. EDITION 3. SHEET ND 49-5.) D. WHEN MR. TUNG POINTED OUT THE BATTLE AREA AS HIGH POINT 330 (BT111276) ON A 1:50.000 SCALE MAP. MR. TUNG HAD ALREADY VERBALLY DESCRIBED THE BATTLE AREA AS PHUOC HA HAMLET (BT1328), PHUOC SON VILLAGE (BT0824). PHUOC HA HAMLET WAS APPROXIMATELY 2 KILOMETERS NORTHEAST AND PHUOC SON VILLAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 2 KILOMETERS SOUTHWEST OF HIGH POINT 330. (MAP USED: SERIES L7014, EDITION 3-DMA. SHEET 664D-2.) E. MR. TUNG APPEARED TO BE PLEASED TO MEET WITH THE JOINT TEAM. HE APPEARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AS DIRECTLY AND THOROUGHLY AS POSSIBLE. ALTHOUGH ON SOME OCCASIONS HE WAS FORCED TO GENERALIZE HIS RESPONSES. UNABLE TO RECALL SPECIFIC DETAILS. HE STATED THAT THE CURRENT MIA SITUATION IS TRULY A TRAGEDY FOR ANYONE WHO LOST LOVED ONES FROM EITHER THE U.S. OR VIETNAM AND HE REGRETS THAT THE WAR EVER HAPPENED. F. THE MEMBERS OF THE JOINT TEAM CONFERRED ON THE QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED DURING THIS INTERVIEW. TEAM MEMBERS AGREED THAT THE NEED TO REINTERVIEW THIS SUBJECT WOULD DEPEND ON WHETHER FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. TUNG ARISE DURING THE COURSE OF THE ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TEAM'S FUTURE WORK. G. REQUEST THE VNOSMP MAKE BUI DUC TUNG AVAILABLE FOR REINTERVIEW IF NECESSARY.// BT DLVR:CDR JTF-FA HONOLULU HI(1)...ORIG J2(0)...INFO FOR USCINCPAC HONOLULU H(11) 00499/17/1291 J30-M(1) J3(1) 00-01-04(1) WWMCS(0) MDT(0) LRN061PCMT(0) J52(1) J51(1) J1(1) J032(3) J03(1) CDO(1) 118079/008 5 OF 6 061802Z JAN 94 CDR JTF-FA HON *** MDU office codes that have received this message: *** MDUOPR 118079/008 6 OF 6 061802Z JAN 94 CDR JTF-FA HON