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<My
address omitted>
March 8, 2000
The
Honorable Rick Santorum
120
Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator
Santorum;
I am writing in
regards to some news I heard recently through the National
Alliance of Families and I am extremely concerned about
plans by the Department of Defense to discontinue their
efforts in demanding a full accounting of missing American
military personnel from the wars that we have previously
fought in.
It is my
understanding that the National Alliance of Families was
provided with a set of briefing slides which outlined the
long term plans of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel
Office (DPMO). According to the brief, there was no
indication that any funds had been set aside for the Joint
Task Force -- Full Accounting (JTF-FA) past the year 2004.
Moreover, on page
4, under the title "POW/MIA Accounting" was the
following statement, captioned VISION: "By the end of
the year 2004, we will have moved from the way the US
government conducts the business of recovery and
accounting to an active program of loss prevention,
immediate rescues, and rapid post-hostility
accounting." If I am interpreting this statement
correctly (and I believe that I am) than the US Government
has decided against any further plans for actively
pursuing and repatriating any more of Americas heroes past
the year 2004. This could not possibly be true -- could
it?
I'd like to take
a moment to remind you and your colleagues of Article VI
of the Code of Conduct. It states "...I will trust in
my God and in the United States of America." If, what
I fear is true, than our service personnel can keep faith
and trust that they will be abandoned by our
government if taken captive in future wars and
engagements. Furthermore, Air Force Pamphlet 50-34 (Vol.
1, Ch 7, Pg. 136, Para. 4) states that "Just as you
have a responsibility to your country under this code, the
US Government has an equal responsibility -- always to
keep faith with you and stand by you as you fight in its
defense. If you become a POW, you may rest assured that
your government will care for your dependants and will
never forget you. Furthermore, the government will use
every practical means to contact, support, and gain
release for you and all other POWs."
Is there some
unwritten (or omitted) statement or law that places a
'statute of limitations' on active accountability of
and/or actively pursuing our missing fathers, husbands,
sons, brothers, and loved ones -- our heroes?
The above passage
does not appear to have a statute of limitations
tied to it and would apply to those who still remain
classified as POW/MIA from WWII, the Korean War, the
Vietnam War, and the Gulf War, etc... -- therefore, I feel
we have a classic example of a government going back on
its promise to American military personnel...again!
At the end of
both the Korean war and the Vietnam war, our government
made the mistake of accepting and acknowledging lists of
POWs provided by the opposition -- when in fact our own
intelligence indicated that those lists were far to short
to be the truth. Will we once again have to rely upon the
near-sightedness of economically-driven, self-minded
politicians and greedy communist nations? I ask you to
keep in mind that North Korea recently put a price tag on
several sets of American remains that they had supposedly
uncovered in the Unsan region of North Korea.
In closing, I
appeal to you to take the necessary actions afforded by
the powers of your office and position; in ensuring that
the appropriate funds are provided to fully account for
missing American military personnel. Additionally, the
United States can not afford to blindly allow DoD and DPMO
to forever close the book on those who currently remain
POW/MIA. For all their pain and suffering, we owe our
POW/MIAs so much -- and they ask for so little; that their
country bring them home. Anything less is just not
acceptable.
Sincerely yours,
John M. Blades
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