Frida Saide, a Swedish aid worker who was held
hostage by jihadists in Syria in 2014, took the
stand at a Virginia federal court Thursday to
testify against one of her ca
Nicolas Henin, a French journalist held hostage for 10
months by ISIS terrorists in Syria, has told a court how he
was
made to sing a parody of Hotel California while in
captivity.
Wreathes across
America announces a new project in Maine - FLAGPOLE OF FREEDOM
PARK - will have flagpole 1776 feet above sea level, taller than
Empire State Building, flying worlds largest USA Flag. Park will
include EVERY veteran's name possible whether KIA, MIA,
returned alive, and since deceased. Names of donors will noted
at park. Watch for
launch news on Thursday, March 31.
U.S. man detained by Russians
forces while fleeing Ukrainian city is released
Tyler Jacob, a Minnesota
man who was living in Ukraine, was held for 10 days in Russia while
trying to leave Kherson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said....
Tyler Jacob, 28, who was living in Ukraine, was taken by Russian forces
around two weeks ago, her office said in a statement.
“I am relieved that Tyler is safely reunited with his wife and daughter.
Over the last two weeks, my team and I have been in close contact with
his family, the State Department, and the U.S. embassy in Moscow working
towards this outcome, and I am grateful that we were able to help bring
him to safety,” Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said in a statement....
A U.S. Navy
veteran who was jailed in Iran for nearly two years sued the
Iranian government on Thursday for $1 billion, alleging that he
was kidnapped, held hostage, and tortured.
The federal
lawsuit describes in unsparing detail the “prolonged and
continuous" abuse that Michael White says he suffered behind
bars,....
02/22/2012
Local Media Honors Long Time POW/MIA
Activists and Alliance Supporters – As you
know long time activists Jack and WilmaLaeufer
are retiring once they sell out their inventory. The
story that follows, published July 9, 2012 by Heather Rutz, is from the
Lima News.
[Begin Article] From time
to time, someone asks Jack and Wilma
Laeufer if their 41-year effort with the
Lima Area POW-MIA has been a waste of time, because they've never
determined what happened to their cousin, Owen G. “Pete” Skinner, a Navy
pilot who went missing in Laos on Dec. 12, 1970. It's a ridiculous
question, really. Through the efforts of loved ones who wouldn't let
the public or U.S. government forget, 919 Vietnam veterans of the
reportedly 2,583 American prisoners listed as missing or killed in
action/body not recovered have been accounted for.
The Laeufers, who are both
79, have a better question to ask: Who will carry the POW-MIA flag now
that they no longer can? After forming the chapter in 1973 and raising
$250,000 for the cause through merchandise sales, the couple are
dissolving the group this year. It's a painful decision, because they
are afraid the answer is no one.
The 41-year commitment is not
just for their cousin, although he is remembered everywhere in the
house: a collage with grandchildren and the family cat includes a photo
of Skinner's name on The Wall in Washington, D.C. “It's been about not
wanting these families to feel like they were going through this alone,”
Wilma Laeufer said. Jack Laeufer adds, “Their sons are our sons.”
Skinner was 37, married with two daughters, ages 10 and
13, when he decided to volunteer for the war in 1970. Jack and Wilma
Laeufer are both related to him.
Wilma Laeufer's mother and
Skinner's mother were first cousins. Skinner and Jack
Laeufer are also first cousins. Skinner
is six months older than Jack
Laeufer,
which means that if Skinner is still alive, he's nearly 80 years old.
The Laeufers both still
wear the same stainless steel bracelets they put on their wrists shortly
before that Christmas in 1970, and they've sold 30,000 bracelets with
Skinner's name. Jack Laeufer
engraved many of them himself. They kept 50 cents from each bracelet for
their work; the rest of the profit has gone to the Ohio POW-MIA chapter
and the National League of POW/MIA Families, which does the work of
accounting for the missing.
A naval instructor,
Skinner believed that after sending so many young men to Vietnam, he
should serve as well. Skinner was a navigator in a Bird Dog plane, which
flew ahead of jets and identified targets. The Laeufers believe the
plane experienced mechanical problems, but have scant information about
what happened. They've received anecdotal information that if he
survived the plane's failure, he may have been taken to Moscow for
information about how to defend against U.S. air power.
The Laeufers tell story
after story about the families they've met, places they've traveled,
memorials they've experienced, parades in which they've walked, school
presentations they've given. The relationships and believing they are
making a difference with public awareness have sustained them.
Fifty-five years ago,
after Jack Laeufer returned home from serving with the Army in
the Korean War, Jack and Wilma married. A year later, they moved into a
home they designed themselves not far from where they grew up, just
north of Lincoln Highway. They're still in the home, and the
surrounding acres Jack Laeufer
used to farm are now cash rented. He also retired from BP in 1990, and
they raised two boys while running the POW-MIA organization. It became
an IRS-recognized nonprofit in 1984, but they've been tracking expenses
since June 13, 1974.
Wilma Laeufer
pulls out a 3-inch thick three-ring binder of expenses and orders
handwritten in her efficient cursive on ledger papers in reverse
chronological order. She flips from the 2012 pages at the front to the
back of the book. On that date, she recorded her first expense, $1.61
for “office supplies.” By April 1975, they were “in the black,” she
said, and have been since then. The federal government, Jack
Laeufer said, could learn a thing or
two about budgeting and accounting from his wife.
I have 9 cents unaccounted
for,” Wilma Laeufer said. “It bothers me.” The
words hang in the air at the Laeufers' kitchen table. “Unaccounted for”
is the same language used to describe the
missing in action. It's not the amount of money she is upset about, but
the idea that she can't find it.
The Laeufers have never
solicited donations. All the money they donate is from profits of sold
merchandise: POW stickers and decals; United States, POW and military
flags; mud flaps and flagpoles. Earlier this spring, they announced
plans to dissolve the chapter and began depleting the inventory.
The phone rings and a man
from a Fraternal Order of Eagles chapter in Wapakoneta is calling. He
needs another 50 of a certain size of flag. That leaves 54 left,
Wilma Laeufer counts. The phone
rings a little bit later; this caller will be by to pick up a flag he
wants. It's continuing like this, Jack
Laeufer said, as people scoop up what they can,
especially of the flags that are made in the United States of U.S.-made
materials.
As longtime suppliers to community and veterans groups,
the Laeufers feel as if they're letting folks like this down by closing
up shop. They wish they could sell a bit on the side, but the IRS
doesn't look too kindly on that sort of thing, they've been told. But
Wilma Laeufer thinks she'll end
up doing something, a new chapter not yet written. Jack
Laeufer's not so sure they'll ever
really be able to give up. “You know, they'll be closing Wilma's
casket, and she'll hold up her arm, saying, ‘I've got one more order.”
[End Article]
Four months ago on Nov 16, 2021, I received word that our older son,
Mark, had died suddenly
of coronary heart disease. Keith and I and many others attended his
funeral on Nov 20th,
south of Indianapolis. I was so sad that I was unable to send out my
usual Christmas cards.
I did not want to relate my sadness to you during the Christmas holiday
season.
I really miss calling and talking to Mark almost every other day, trying
to bolster up each other’s
spirits in what was easily an hour conversation over the phone. I was
so glad that in 2021,
two weeks in the Spring, we flew to Cocoa Beach, FL - just relaxed and
locally went to Flea
Markets (his favorite thing to do) and went for a week in August (his
birthday) at a timeshare
in Fairfield Glads, TN - we cooked together and visited some friends,
and yes, another Flea
Market. I treasure that time spent with him - We had given him and
Donna a week in 2018 and
2019 in Cocoa Beach, FL before she died in October 2019.
In October 2021, one of his sons remarried and we all enjoyed that day
in southern Ohio, and
had many photos taken of the wedding, seeing my other grandsons and
their families, plus
photos of the four generations, etc. Who knew it would be the last time
I would see him?
Keith, our younger son, comes over often and has helped me so much.
Sorry it took me this
long to email you, but I am not moving all that fast anymore; however, I
really feel the need to
help the families that are displaced in Ukraine - they need our help so
badly, everyone in the
U.S. should help in some way in whatever way they can. Love,
Wilma
Subject:
Andre R. Guillet Air Commando, Combat Controller
by his sister, Doris Maitland
Doris and David Maitland gave us permission to
scan the attached booklet written by Doris in 2007 about her
brother, USAF SMS Andre R. Guillet, who has been missing
in action since 05/18/1966 in Laos. You'll
meet the young Andre, learn of his Air Force service, how his
family has sought information from the government, how they
have educated others about our POW/MIAs, and how the family has
kept his memory alive in our hearts.
It is a wonderful template for families to use to
tell the story of their loved one for family members, friends,
and future generations.
February 15, 2022 is the 49th anniversary of a shining moment
in American history: It was on that day in 1973 that American
prisoners of war came home from Vietnam with their honor
intact, after suffering unspeakable torture, some for over
seven years, at the hands of North Vietnam led by dedicated
Communist Ho Chi Minh.
It was
a day of great importance in 1973 in an America divided by the
war in Vietnam. And it is a day to remember all these years
later in an even more divided America.It is important for what
it teaches about honor, duty, country, and who and what we are
as Americans....
Tom spent his life serving and helping others,
living out the greatest commandment, to love your neighbor. He
was particularly involved in the POW/MIA ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our deepest condolences to his family and many, many activists and
friends. We worked with Tom for decades o the POW/MIA issue. His
writings brought attention to the plight of the families with no
answers.
From a 2012 Show of POW/MIA Freedom Radio: Mr. Tom
Ashworth: Tom will begin our discussion of the POW/MIA issue with the
question ofHostage Politics and why are our missing
Americans still being held by various governments around the world.
Mr.Ashworth is a former US Marine combat veteran of the war in Vietnam.
He is a noted author, speaker and researcher especially in archival
resources pertaining to our POW/MIAs from World War II, Korea and
Southeast Asia. Tom has assisted Senator Jesse Helms with An
Examination of U.S. Policy Toward POW/MIAs by the U.S.
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Republican Staff. He has provided
research for authors like John M.G. Brown with his book
Moscow Bound and the late Ted Sampley's
Veteran Dispatch. Tom has also been active in helping the
Hmong veterans, our allies from the war in Southeast Asia.
In writing the book Vietnam 101: A Class Like No Other, I traveled and
interviewed many Vietnam Veterans. Their feelings for serving America
were admirable. Nowadays, public opinion toward Vietnam Veterans is
high.
Those of us (99% of the
population) who have our freedom preserved by the 1% in uniform need to
address how Vietnam Veterans and their families were treated before it’s
too late.
I invite you to join College of
the Ozarks in a non-partisan resolution addressing this unfinished
business. This is an American resolution we can all support.
Sincerely,
Jerry C. Davis, President
Resolution
of Apology to Vietnam War Veterans
Yes! Sign
me up to show my support for the
non-partisan Congressional Resolution. I
agree it's time for Congress to apologize to
Vietnam Veterans and their families for how
they were treated during and after the war.
Yes! Sign
me up to show my support for the
non-partisan Congressional Resolution. I
agree it's time for Congress to apologize to
Vietnam Veterans and their families for how
they were treated during and after the war.
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – College of the Ozarks
President Jerry C. Davis called for a resolution to
acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of Vietnam
Veterans in his recently published book Vietnam 101.
Congressman Dan Crenshaw, of the Texas Second Congressional
District, put forth this legislation. If ...
‘A Flight to Faith:
The Story of a Vietnam P.O.W.’: New patriotic
play to open this week at C of O
By Tim Church
The College of the Ozarks production of “A
Flight to Faith: The Story of a Vietnam P.O.W.”
opens this week at The Keeter Center.
The play, produced and performed
by students at C of O,
chronicles the riveting journey
and true story of American hero,
Colonel John Clark. Performances
are free and open to the public
and seating is first-come, first
served, according to a press
release from C of O....
When Carol Van Strum moved to Five Rivers,
Oregon, in 1974, she thought she had found the perfect rural
idyll. Surrounded by National Forest, her four young children
could grow up close to nature. They loved fishing and playing by
the river, fascinated by the little 'dipper' birds that sat on
the rocks. 'They knew everything that lived down there,' she
recalls. 'There were beavers and otters in the river, and all
the fish and herons and ospreys. So they just were part of
that.' Then one day the children fell sick, choking and gasping.
...Agent Orange, according to Tran, is the
mother of them all, though. ‘If we allow it to be forgotten,
the tragedy of pesticides will continue,’ she says.
And whether we mean Vietnam or Oregon, no one
has been made properly accountable.
The People Vs. Agent Orange is available to
rent or buy at vimeo.com
Ex-Marine released from Iranian jail in 2016 fights
espionage claims
An FBI investigation alleges Amir Hekmati traveled
to Iran to sell classified secrets
After Amir
Hekmati was released from Iranian custody in
a 2016 deal trumpeted as a diplomatic breakthrough,
he was declared eligible for $20
million in compensation from a special U.S. government fund.
But payday never arrived, leaving Hekmati to wonder
why....
There was no way I was going to tell him I
was an SAS sergeant and with my eight-man, long-range patrol — call
sign Bravo Two Zero — we had been dropped deep into Iraq to destroy
their Scud missile launchers....
'It is not right': Bill offers hope that flyers of CIA's Air
America will finally win recognition
Vietnam War-era veterans fell through cracks, denied benefits
...Air America lost 240 crew members during the Vietnam War era. The
lack of recognition from the U.S. government that employed them is
particularly galling to Mr. Hansen and his fellow Air America
pilots. Their names are not featured on the memorial wall of CIA personnel
who lost their lives on a covert mission.
“The agency didn’t want to admit that they were there,” Mr. Hansen
said. “They were reluctant to admit anything...
Flying
Leatherneck Aviation Museum In Danger of Shutdown
Museum Has The Largest Collection Of
Historical Aircraft, Flown By Marine Corps Aviators,
In The World
Our history and the courageous
people who made the best of it happen are too often
ignored or left to fade away by those who really
should pay it the proper respect. Unfortunately;
more evidence of that situation has reached us here
at ANN.
On April 1, 2021, the United States Marine Corps
intends to permanently close the Flying Leatherneck
Aviation Museum....
From: Bob Miller Sent: 20 February, 2021 13:17 Subject: Re: FW: news
... I am constantly amazed at
the continuing "expose's" those with Gulf War Syndrome from the 1991
and 2002 Iraqi interventions.
My 300 page nonfiction book,
"America's Disposable Soldiers: The Real Truth Behind Gulf
War Illness," with 27 pages and 403 references, which came out
in 2002, was completely ignored by DOD and the Pentagon, but
not before they threatened me with court action for violation of
the National Security Act, and prison time if I did not cease
and desist my research to prove there was not only Sarin in
Iraq, but a host of other chemical weapons to which our veterans
were exposed. I had served for four years as a DIA Mideast
intel analyst from 1991 through 1994, saw report after report
about our troops being exposed to Sarin, and saw what was not
being reported!. Most of it was highly classified and code word.
Only some years later around 1997 did I get so annoyed over the
continuing cover up that I started gathering information with
some help from friends up the river. By 1999 I knew I was in
trouble, but continued when the Director of the VA, Principi,
confided to me in an interview that he knew what was behind it
all but had his hands tied like the rest of us, and would i send
him a copy of my book when it came out.
The whole process was slowed
down as no one in the States wanted to touch the subject, and I
had refused to let DIA edit the manuscript. Finally a Canadian
outfit printed it in 2002. I sent a copy to Principi and a few
months later he announced the VA would no longer wait for DOD to
admit that so many of our veterans were sick from strange
problems which DOD stated were not there, and now all veterans
needed to do was provide copies of their orders that they had
been in the Iraq theater, and VA would take care of them.
Isn't it strange now that
others keep hyping the chemical/Sarin issue as if it is
something they just found out about. I also gave many of my
former associates in DC headaches about our guys lost in various
parts of the world, and was again threatened with serious legal
action... even to the point where they reclassified data I had
obtained as unclassified. I had hundreds of documents I was no
longer supposed to have? Zimmerlee can tell you about those as
he too encountered the same problems when I did. When America's
Abandoned Sons came out, Senators from Missouri and New
Hampshire read it and called for the hearings which led to
DPMO's 'well deserved' downfall.
FYI, if interested, you
can find my books on Amazon, or my website
BOBMILLERBOOKS.COM
Smile.... stay well and stay
healthy you all.
Bob Miller
Subject:
Your POW NETWORK Email to Bob Miller?
Date:
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 09:07:54 -0500
From:
Bob Miller
......
I also read the article
you sent and feel bad about it. While the war probably could
not have been avoided, the way it was fought and its outcome
could have been. I wish I had said a lot more at the time.
But I didn't want to go to jail and already had enough
people with their sights on me and wanted to throw me under
the bus. For 38 days before the ground war started the Czech
chemical equipment was alarming as low readings were
supposed to do. Our own equipment was useless as it only
went off for lethal doses we needed to detect earlier in a
NATO confrontation with the Warsaw Pact. I saw the 1991-2
lost Army chemical tapes which the Army then lost shortly
later.
When the ground war
started the reporting was much more spotty, even after the
Khamisiyah event in which tens of thousands of our troops
got healthy doses of Sarin and other chemical debris. The
really sad aspect of the whole affair is we provided him
with a lot of the stuff, and documented his approach to
using it on the Iranians. When they put too much into the
wind before the Persians the Persians quickly took
counter-measures to limit the effect. So for day after day
when the prevailing winds were towards the Persians,, Saddam
released small doses which gradually had the ultimate
effect. And even years later when it was all over,
Schwartzkopf too denied chemicals being present... how sad.
Had he led the attacks from the front lines rather than
drinking coffee and donuts from his comfortable headquarters
near Riyadh.... maybe our veterans would have fared better
these days?
While writing my book,
every qualified DOD source I spoke with made me feel like an
idiot, not only the chemical issue but DU too, so I ignored
the latter but wished I hadn't. But I knew it would be a
problem, and now we are talking about it? Today I recall
many around me in DC asking, who the hell is this guy, he is
getting in or way. One senior person cut me to pieces in a
public briefing. Looking back now I wish i had just shouted
back that he was a 'posterior sphincter muscle' and needed
to at least consider other opinions. Someone later informed
him of my background and a few days later he got onto an
elevator with me at Clarendon, and apologized for the event
and hoped I understood? But the damage was done.
I was long retired by
the 2002 Iraq conflict a decade later, but again spent
months in meetings in DC and again ran into a lot of
resistance, not only over the skimpy ground force that would
hold Iraq afterwards, but even more so, in the post war
political solution, which many supported me. But then Bush
said no and insisted each Iraqi would have one vote to
determine their political future after the country
stabilized. With sixty percent Shiite, and our already
confrontational situation with Shiite Iran, it made the
outcome obvious. The Sunni, Kurds and minorities are what
they are today - victims of endless chaos and corruption,
while Iran runs the show in Baghdad.
And if you want to know
how many Iraq there feel, their own health problems related
to the chemical and DU problem are horrific even as we
speak. Why they have not brought this to our doorstep and
made us suffer too, is a miracle. Then too there were our
WW-II POWs who perished by the tens of thousands in Siberia
into the late 1940's and decades that followed, but that is
another saga left for some future time.
Please forgive the
frustrated discantings of an old man. I know that history
marches on. I hope you are all well, and extend my thanks,
appreciation, and even awe, for all you do to keep a light
of hope burning in our troubled world. God Bless you all.
Bob Miller
Bob Dumas
3/9/30 - 2/6/21
The POW/MIA community lost one of it’s most fervent activists last
week. Bob Dumas dedicated his life to finding his brother, Roger,
and in the process became a leader in the search of all American
prisoners-of-war and the missing-in-action. His journey would lead
to a White House meeting with Ronald Reagan and a very long
contentious dialogue with the President’s National Security Advisor,
Admiral James “Budd” Nance, which ultimately resulted in, as
reported by Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, Bob’s $200M lawsuit
against the President.
It was a brilliant strategy that ultimately evolved into an
unprecedented Federal lawsuit in which Bob prevailed and the Federal
judge ordered the Secretary of the U.S. Army to reclassify Roger
from MIA to POW.
The national news coverage caught the attention of North Korea and
Bob would receive a call from the North Korean ambassador to the
U.N. Mission in NYC. Thus began another “unprecedented”
accomplishment for Bob - a relationship with North Korean
ambassadors that would continue for years with hundreds of phone
conversations and several in-person meetings.
Sadly, as the North Koreans wanted to negotiate for POWs the U.S.
government continued to deny the truth that American POWs were left
behind. Years later Bob would testify before the U.S. Senate Select
Committee on POW/MIA affairs. Committee Co-Chairman Bob Smith (John
Kerry was the Democratic co-chair) asked Bob for his advice on how
to approach the North Koreans on negotiating the POW/MIA issue. Bob
new exactly what the Korean’s wanted and it would be almost 30 years
before his recommendation would actually be acted upon. What the
North Koreans have been asking for since the Korean War Armistice
was signed, Bob said, was a one-on-one negotiation between the U.S.
President and the Supreme Leader of North Korea.
When Roger was reported missing in the early part of the Korean War,
Private First Class Bob Dumas, volunteered to go to battle in North
Korea where he would look for his brother whenever he had the
opportunity. He did two tours in the brutal 3-year war and was
awarded three Bronze Stars. Shortly after the war while his mother
was on her death bed he promised he would never stop looking for
Roger. He never stopped. It’s safe to say there are very few who
have worked as long and as hard and has accomplished as much as Bob
Dumas for our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action.
Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the release of four Islamist
militants who were convicted and later acquitted in the beheading of
American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002....
Subject:
Fwd: National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition
Chairmanship of POW MIA Committee
Date:
Fri, 15 Jan 2021 20:16:57 -0500 (EST)
From:
JOHN MOLLOY <hokahey76@comcast.net>
Dear
Coalition Members and Friends,
As you
know, the sad and unfortunate passing of Larry O'Daniel,
resulted in the the office of Chairman of the Coalition's
POW MIA Committee being vacating. In an effort to fill the
position, I contacted former Vietnam POW CAPTAIN Eugene
'Red' MacDaniel, USN (ret.)
who willingly accepted the position. We are most grateful
to CAPTAIN McDaniel for his tremendous sacrifice to our
nation, for hisservice
to the Coalition for many years and for being willing to
accept the aforementioned position.
The
Coalition website will reflect the change shortly.
Blessings to all.
John
John J.
Molloy, OSJ
Chairman
National
Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition
Subject:
Passing of Larry J. O'Daniel, Vietnam veteran, POW-MIA
Activist, Author, Chairman of POW MIA Committee of National
Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition
Date:
Tue, 12 Jan 2021 13:02:46 -0500 (EST)
From:
JOHN MOLLOY <hokahey76@comcast.net>
Dear Coalition
Board Members, Officers and Compatriots,
It is my sad
duty to advise you belatedly of the passing of Larry J. O'Daniel.
The last time I
spoke to Larry it was last Spring as he had planned to visit a
friend in South Vietnam with whom he had served in military
intelligence. Since then Larry had been off the radar. I just
learned today that he died at home several months ago.
Larry was a
Captain in the United States Army and served primarily in the III
Corp Area in i968/9 where his function was to identify and
neutralize the Viet cong- including those holding American POWS.
After leaving the military he continued his efforts on behalf of
American prisoners of war and missing in action and was the author
of "Missing In Action Trail of Deceit" in the late 1970s. It was so
controversial that it was reportedly removed from the libraries as
it was one of the first books to reveal that our government
abandoned our prisoners of war and missing in action. He later
authored additional books: "Help Me I'm Still Alive" and in 2000,
"Trails of Deceit." Larry was relentless in his efforts on behalf
of our missing servicemen and he will be missed.
