28 October 97
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Laos has returned the possible remains of an American aviator missing in action from the Vietnam War to U.S. officials. The remains were presented Tuesday (28 October 97) to U.S. Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin by Soubanh Srinthirath, Laotian vice minister for foreign affairs. ``We appreciate the compassion of the Lao citizens who have cooperated in the return of these remains and hope ... that other Lao citizens will come forward with information which will help other American families come to closure on the death of their loved ones,'' Chamberlin said. The remains were the first returned under a new program in which Laotian teams unilaterally investigate leads on cases that joint U.S.-Laotian teams have been unable to resolve. They are believed to be those of an Air Force pilot lost Dec. 24, 1970, over Xiangkhouang province in northeastern Laos. They will be flown to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. Washington has made improved relations with Laos conditional on cooperation in resolving the fate of 454 Americans still missing there from the Vietnam War. The United States has reported excellent cooperation, and visits by American investigators have accelerated. The remains of 115 Americans have been identified. The U.S. war in Laos was conducted under secrecy. Most missing American servicemen were aviators downed on bombing runs to cut supplies from communist North Vietnam passing through officially neutral Laos to U.S.-backed South Vietnam.
THE BUYER MEETING ON MISSING PERSONS PROVISIONS HOUSE - SENATE CONFERENCE, FY 98 DOD AUTHORIZATION ACT 29 October 97
Chairing this meeting of family members, family member organizations, veteran service organizations, former civilian and military POWs and concerned citizens was Representative Steven Buyer, Chairman, Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House National Security Committee. Also present were Representatives Gene Taylor, James Talent and Sam Johnson. The Conference negotiations were extremely tough. Let me state a fact, if Sen. John McCain wanted to kill this Conference, he could have. Each senator has the power to stop passage of a bill from the House even if it passes unanimously. Sen. McCain did not do this. He chose the course of compromise. Of the 20 items that were placed on the table, 13 survived the conference. While we did not all that we wanted, overall, we did make good progress. Allow me to make two observations of the dynamics of what I saw come from this meeting. First, we almost had total agreement, the Missing Persons provisions of the Conference will strengthen current law. This is of primary importance. Secondly, Representative Buyer has committed his committee to oversight on this issue. Let me paraphrase Rep. Talents remarks: You have been able to accomplish the impossible. For the last three years, this issue has almost singlehandedly shut down Defense. So if someone tells you there is no interest in POW/MIAs, they are wrong. Representative Buyer has asked for our input into the oversight process. Lets make sure we get that information to him. The Military Personnel Subcommittee 2340 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. Voice: (202) 225-7560 Fax: (202) 226-0789 It would also be appropriate for us to thank those on this committee for obtaining for our servicemembers and civilians these new protections. The committee is Buyer, Talent, Bartlett, Lewis, Watts, Thornberry, Graham, Bono, Ryun, Taylor, Skelton, Pickett, Underwood, Harman, Kennedy and Maloney. - Bob