From: jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Larry Jewell)
Subject: 'NamVet Newsletter, Vol.4, no.3 (4/8)
Organization: Purdue University
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 17:51:01 GMT

     W020   WHITMIRE        WARREN T. JR. ARMY  W1  01-May-68   SVN
     W391   WIDDISON        IMLAY S.      ARMY  E4  12-May-68   SVN
     W392   WIDENER         JAMES E.      USMC  E2  11-Jun-67   SVN
     W022   WIDNER          DANNY L.      ARMY  E3  12-May-68   SVN
     W393   WIDON           KENNETH H.    USN   E5  11-Jan-68   LAOS
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 45
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     W395   WIEHR           RICHARD D.    USN   E5  21-Jan-73   NVN/OW
     W398   WILEY           RICHARD D.    ARMY  E4  12-Jun-72   SVN
     W400   WILKINSON       CLYDE D.      ARMY  O3  12-Feb-71   SVN
     W027   WILLETT         ROBERT V. JR. USAF  O2  17-Apr-69   LAOS
     W122   WILLIAMS        BILLIE J.     USAF  O4  09-Dec-72   NVN
     W116   WILLIAMS        DAVID B.      USMC  O3  03-May-72   NVN
     W028   WILLIAMS        DAVID R.      USAF  O4  01-Apr-67   LAOS
     W029   WILLIAMS        EDDIE L.      ARMY  E7  03-Oct-66   LAOS
     W113   WILLIAMS        EDWARD W.     ARMY  W1  03-Apr-72   SVN
     W030   WILLIAMS        JAMES E.      USAF  E4  15-May-66   LAOS
     W032   WILLIAMS        JAMES R.      USAF  E4  29-Dec-67   NVN
     W101   WILLIAMS        RICHARD L (TOP) ARMY E8 08-Jan-68   SVN
     W114   WILLIAMS        ROBERT J.     ARMY  O3  11-May-72   SVN
     W033   WILLIAMS        ROY C.        ARMY  E3  12-May-68   SVN
     W404   WILLIAMS        THADDEUS E.   ARMY  O2  09-Jan-66   SVN
     W034   WILLIAMSON      DON I.        USAF  O3  07-Jul-65   NVN
     W035   WILLIAMSON      JAMES D.      ARMY  E4  05-Jan-68   LAOS
     W406   WILSON          CLAUDE D. JR. USN   O3  14-Dec-66   NVN
     W409   WILSON          MARION E.     ARMY  E3  03-Feb-68   SVN
     W133   WILSON          MICKEY A.     ARMY  W1  08-Jan-73   SVN
     W093   WILSON          PETER J.      ARMY  E9  19-Oct-70   LAOS
     W410   WILSON          RICHARD JR.   ARMY  E3  14-Jun-71   SVN
     W115   WILSON          ROBERT A.     USAF  O3  18-Jun-72   SVN
     W117   WILSON          ROGER E.      USMC  O3  11-Jun-72   NVN
     W130   WILSON          WILLIAM W.    USAF  O2  22-Dec-72   NVN
     W412   WINDELER        CHARLES C JR  ARMY  W2  05-Apr-72   SVN
     W039   WINTERS         DAVID M.      ARMY  E3  21-Apr-67   SVN
     W414   WISEMAN         BAIN W. JR.   ARMY  W1  23-Dec-70   SVN/OW
     W041   WOGAN           WILLIAM M.    ARMY  E4  16-Feb-69   SVN
     W042   WOLFKEIL        WAYNE B.      USAF  O4  09-Aug-68   LAOS
     W043   WOLOSZYK        DONALD J.     USN   O2  01-Mar-66   NVN
     W417   WOLPE           JACK          USMC  E4  03-Aug-67   SVN
     W110   WONG            EDWARD PUCK KOW ARMY E4 27-Mar-72   SVN
     W418   WONN            JAMES C.      USN   O1  17-Feb-68   LAOS
     W044   WOOD            DON C.        USAF  O3  16-Jan-66   LAOS
     W118   WOOD            WILLIAM C. JR.USAF  O3  02-Sep-72   LAOS
     W421   WOODS           DAVID W.      ARMY  E4  03-Nov-70   SVN
     W422   WOODS           GERALD E.     ARMY  W1  18-Feb-71   LAOS
     W046   WORCHESTER      JOHN B.       USN   O2  19-Oct-65   NVN
     WLS01  WORLEY          DON F.        USAF  E6  11-Mar-68   LAOS
     W427   WORTHINGTON     RICHARD C.    ARMY  W2  06-May-70   SVN
     W049   WOZNIAK         FREDERICK J.  USAF  O2  17-Jan-67   NVN
     W050   WRIGHT          ARTHUR        ARMY  E4  21-Feb-67   SVN
     W428   WRIGHT          DAVID I.      USAF  O1  13-Nov-70   NVN
     W085   WRIGHT          DONALD L.     USAF  O5  24-Nov-69   LAOS
     W051   WRIGHT          GARY G.       USAF  O4  17-Jan-67   NVN
     W053   WRIGHT          JERDY A. JR.  USAF  O4  07-Mar-66   NVN
     W054   WRIGHT          THOMAS T.     USAF  O3  27-Feb-68   LAOS
     Y350   YEAKLEY         ROBIN R.      ARMY  E4  11-Jun-72   SVN
     Y007   YONAN           KENNETH J.    ARMY  O3  24-Apr-72   SVN
     Y006   YOUNG           BARCLAY B.    USAF  O3  29-Mar-72   LAOS
     Y352   YOUNG           JEFFREY J.    ARMY  E3  04-Apr-70   SVN
     Y005   YOUNG           ROBERT M.     ARMY  O3  02-May-70   CAMB
     Z004   ZAWTOCKI        JOSEPH S. JR. USMC  E5  08-Feb-68   SVN
     Z008   ZICH            LARRY A.      ARMY  W2  03-Apr-72   SVN
     Z354   ZOLLICOFFER     FRANKLIN      ARMY  E4  24-Apr-72   SVN
     Z002   ZOOK            HAROLD J.     USAF  O2  31-May-66   NVN
     Z007   ZUBKE           DELAND D.     ARMY  E5  01-Mar-71   SVN
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 46
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

                          The Blackbird Syndrome?
     
     The media and the POW/MIA issue:  the blackbird syndrome The issue 
     of  American prisoners of war and missing in action since the  end 
     of World War II has never been a pressing national concern.  Is it 
     because The Washington Post and The New York Times have never done 
     a comprehensive news report on the issue?
     
                     For U.S. Veteran News and Report
                              By Paul Warren
     
                           Input by: Rick Stolz
                            Okauchee, Wisconsin
                      at: VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
     George McGovern,  the self-professed peace candidate for President 
     in  1972 and grandfatherly former U.S.  senator from South Dakota, 
     once  likened  the media and its coverage of events to  blackbirds 
     sitting on a telephone wire.
     
     When  one flies off,  McGovern said,  they all fly off.  When  one 
     comes back, they all come back.
     
     This  "Blackbird Syndrome,"  according to McGovern,  dictates what 
     reaches  the American public as news and what spin the major media 
     outlets put on their definition of news.
     
     In  the  United States,  the two lead blackbirds are The New  York 
     Times  and  The  Washington  Post.   They  decide  the  print  and 
     television  media agenda for the rest of the country.  If they  do 
     not  fly off the line in pursuit of a story,  neither do the other 
     blackbirds.
     
     A  classic  case of this "Blackbird Syndrome"  occurred in  recent 
     months  and  involved  the  highly  sensitive  issue  of  American 
     prisoners  of war from World War II,  Korea and Vietnam,  many  of 
     whom  were held in Soviet gulags.  The story is one that threatens 
     to upset Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and is such 
     an  emotionally  charged issue that it could rewrite  history  and 
     smash whatever credibility the U.S.  State Department still has in 
     the world.
     
     Yet  it  is  an issue that has gone unreported  because  the  lead 
     blackbirds, The New York Times and The Washington Post,  failed to 
     fly off the line in pursuit of it.
     
     James Sanders spent years researching this dark secret,  searching 
     through  musty  files  in  the  National  Archives,   the  Defense 
     Department  and the State Department.  Vietnam veterans John  M.G. 
     Brown and Thomas V. Ashworth contributed to the research and broke 
     the  story in the May 29,  1989,  issue of U.S.  Veteran News  and 
     Report  in a special edition entitled "A Chain of Prisoners:  From 
     Yalta to Vietnam."
     
     The  story detailed how tens of thousands of American prisoners of 
     war  in  World  War  II  and Korea  were  abandoned  by  the  U.S. 
     government.  According  to documents uncovered by Brown,  Ashworth 
     and  Sanders,  more  than 20,000 American and other 30,000  Allied 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 47
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     prisoners  were "liberated"  by the Soviets and then kidnapped for 
     use  in forced-labor camps.  The U.S.  did not press for return of 
     these men,  said Brown and Ashworth,  because Presidents Roosevelt 
     and  Truman feared the losses that might be incurred in an all-out 
     war with the Soviet Union.
     
     To  prevent additional embarrassment,  the governments of the U.S. 
     and  the  Soviet Union decided to cover up the  these  POWS.  That 
     coverup, according to Brown and Ashworth, continued through Korea, 
     when  more  American prisoners were abandoned,  this time  to  the 
     North  Koreans  and Chinese.  The Vietnam War followed  a  similar 
     scenario.  When  the war ended,  American POWs were left behind in 
     Vietnam  and  the U.S.  government knew but refused to  admit  it. 
     Despite  substantial  documentation  of  these  events  by  Brown, 
     Ashworth  and  Sanders,  almost all major media outlets  in  North 
     America  have  failed  to pick up the story or to  put  their  own 
     researchers onto it.  The Toronto Sun,  The Washington Times,  and 
     the  Wall  Street Journal,  have been the few media blackbirds  to 
     ignore the others and print the story.
     
     When contacted about possibly using the story, the national editor 
     for  one  of the nation's largest newspapers bluntly asked if  The 
     New  York Times or The Washington Post had used it.  When informed 
     that neither had, the national editor said he would consider using 
     it when either of those two printed it.
     
     Refusal  by the Times and the Post to do any stories of  substance 
     regarding  POWs  and  MIAs is the norm.  Neither has ever  done  a 
     comprehensive piece on the issue.  Neither has ever followed up on 
     the  courageous POW/MIA reporting done by the Wall Street Journal. 
     Although  both the Times and the Post have run POW/MIA stories  in 
     the past, they have been largely "fill-in-the-blanks"  journalism. 
     On these stories a reporter is given a story idea by an editor and 
     the  reporter then goes to one or two sources who will agree  with 
     that  editor's  view  of the story,  or sources who are  the  most 
     convenient (in this case the government and the National League of 
     families), without ever delving deeply into the issue.
     
     The  majority  of these story ideas are generated in  meetings  of 
     editors,  most  of  whom  are  white-collar,   upper-middle-class, 
     college-educated  men  who never served in the  military.  At  The 
     Times  and the Post,  a premium is placed on journalism educations 
     obtained  from such bastions of liberalism as Columbia University, 
     Stanford  University and the University of Missouri.  The editors' 
     views  of the Vietnam War,  and the issues peripheral to  it,  are 
     shaped  primarily by left-of-center intellectuals who have  little 
     regard   for  the  American  fighting  man.   Their   journalistic 
     philosophy  of  Vietnam and the military has also been  shaped  by 
     those reporters who covered the war.
     
     The  American media's view of Vietnam,  and,  to some extent,  the 
     American public's view of Vietnam,  was shaped largely by two men, 
     Neil  Sheehan and David Halberstam.  Both worked for the New  York 
     Times  and  both  were among the earliest  American  reporters  in 
     Vietnam,   although   Sheehan   was  working  for   United   Press 
     International in the early years of the war.
     
     Halberstam and Sheehan were much like Siamese twins in those early 
     days of the war. They shared ideas, sources and,  more important a 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 48
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     liberal  philosophy that did not permit them to see anything  good 
     or noble about the American military.  Their views on the war were 
     adopted by virtually every other correspondent who followed them.
     
     In  his  Pulitzer  Prize-winning book,  "A  Bright  Shining  Lie," 
     Sheehan  goes into great detail about how he and Halberstam became 
     disillusioned  with American involvement in Vietnam and how  other 
     reporters came to share that disillusionment.
     
     Sheehan writes in his book that "The claim that young reporters on 
     the  scene were inventing bad news had become more ludicrous  than 
     ever  by the late summer of 1963,  because by now the majority  of 
     the  established  correspondents  in Asia  who  regularly  visited 
     Vietnam  saw  the war in essentially the same terms that we  did." 
     The anti-war and anti-military stories by New York Times reporters
     from  Vietnam influenced not only other reporters,  but television 
     correspondents,   since   all   the  major  networks  have   their 
     headquarters in New York City. Thus, it was not surprising when in 
     1975  television and print reporters,  indoctrinated for years  by 
     New  York Times and Washington Post liberalism regarding  Vietnam, 
     treated  the  fall  of Saigon as nothing but a total  victory  for 
     Hanoi and nothing but a total defeat for the U.S.  The ideological 
     lines  remained  the same 14 years later,  when the  Soviet  Union 
     pulled out of Afghanistan. The Soviet retreat was portrayed by the 
     major  American media,  taking their cues from the Washington Post 
     and the New York Times, as a glorious celebration, if not outright 
     victory, rather than the humiliating defeat it had been.
     
     Soviet soldiers were portrayed by the American media as victims of 
     the  war,  rather  than  the perpetrators  of  it.  The  treatment 
     accorded  the Soviet soldiers by the American media was a far  cry 
     from  what  American  soldiers received when they came  home  from 
     Vietnam.
     
     Once again, the influence of one of the two leading blackbirds was 
     evident in Afghanistan. This time it was The Washington Post.
     
     Within  10  days  of the announcement in April  1988  that  Soviet 
     troops  would  be  pulling  out  of  Afghanistan,  three  American 
     reporters  got into the country,  the only three western reporters 
     in Kabul at the time. One was an ABC-TV correspondent from Moscow. 
     One was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The other 
     was with the Washington Post.
     
     While  the ABC crew had problems with its feeds out of Afghanistan 
     and  getting  air time in the U.S.  for its stories,  the  Atlanta 
     Journal-Constitution  reporter was consistently a day ahead of The 
     Washington  Post  on the diplomatic initiatives that  were  taking 
     place in Kabul.
     
     Yet,  when  the international media was permitted into the country 
     en  masse  about five days later,  they invariably turned  to  the 
     Washington  Post reporter to catch up on what was going  on.  They 
     interviewed the Washington Post reporter and from his responses to 
     their  questions they based their questions and their views on the 
     situation  in Afghanistan.  Among the new arrivals was a New  York 
     Times  reporter  who  fed  voraciously off the  notebooks  of  his 
     Washington  Post comrade.  Not only was American media coverage of 
     Afghanistan in those few days after the announcement of the Soviet 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 49
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     withdrawal   influenced    by   Washington  Post   standards   and 
     philosophy, so was the rest of the world's coverage.
     
     Thus, the Soviets became the victims,  their humiliating retreat a 
     victory,  while the mujahedeen rebels were bloodthirsty puppets of 
     the American government and the CIA.
     
     It  is any wonder then why American POWs from three wars have been 
     ignored by this country's blackbird-life media?  Such a story fits 
     neither  their  liberal  agenda nor their views  of  the  American 
     military.
     
     Until  the  one  of the two leading media blackbirds  decides  the 
     POW/MIA  issue is a humanitarian,  political and diplomatic  issue 
     worth  pursuing  and flies off in pursuit of it,  the rest of  the 
     blackbirds will remain firmly planted on the telephone line.  Paul 
     Warren  is  a  20-year veteran of the newspaper business  who  has 
     reported  extensively from Southeast Asia,  Latin America and  the 
     Middle East.
     







































     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 50
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

                           Bo Gritz and MIA/POWs
     
                           Input by: Rick Stolz
                            Okauchee, Wisconsin
                      at: VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
     The  following information is provided to the POW NETWORK courtesy 
     of THE CENTER FOR ACTION and Bo Gritz:
     
     In  February of 1987,  Prime Minister Kaysone of Laos was  excited 
     about trading Americans in return for money for himself.  He asked 
     his nephew, Prae Le, to represent his interest in the deal, and an 
     amount  of US$1.12 million was to be paid for four American  POWs.  
     Particulars  regarding  identification were communicated  back  to 
     Washington through COL Paul Mather,  then OIC of the JCR Committee 
     and  a  DIA  agent.   Cables  were received  from  our  Washington 
     contacts  that  the  money would soon be  in  place.  Assets  were 
     positioned, and we waited for the funds to arrive. They never did, 
     and  we feel that it was most likely due to interference from then 
     Assistant Secretary of Defense, Richard Armitage.
     
     Our  first  trip  into the Golden Triangle (12/86)  to  meet  with 
     General  Khun  Sa  was prompted by an NSC request  to  investigate 
     reports that he was holding US POWs.   He wasn't,  and stated that 
     he had heard nothing of Americans being held anywhere in Southeast 
     Asia.   However,  if  we were convinced that they were being held, 
     then  he  would send his agents out to "scour the countryside  for 
     captive Americans."
     
     During  a meeting with Khun Sa in April of 1987,  he reported that 
     he had dispatched five "categories of agents" to check on American 
     servicemen being held captive in Laos.   None had been found in an 
     area  delineated from Vientiane,  north to the China  border,  and 
     west to the Shan/Burmese borders.  Khun Sa admitted that he didn't 
     know about eastern Laos.
     
     In  May-June  of  1989,  we were back in the  Golden  Triangle  to 
     discuss the opium eradication program with General Khun Sa. During 
     a  side  conversation,  we  told  him about  the  aborted  Kaysone 
     attempt.  He listened with interest,  then said that he knew Prime 
     Minister  Kaysone personally -  he had loaned him money so that he 
     could travel to Russia for studies.   Did we want another overture 
     to be made to him regarding a buyout of American POWs?   We jumped 
     at the offer.
     
     This week, we received a letter from Khun Sa.   The following is a 
     direct quote:
     
                                                   Mont Tai Army  Base,
                                                              Shanland.
                                                      February 5, 1990.
     
          ..."Concerning the POWs in Indochina, we made a direct
          approach to Prime Minister Kaysone who assured us that
          there were no American MIAs in Laos. Despite his reply,
          my search is still going on through my agents.  Let us
          hope we hear some encouraging reports on them this year."
     
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 51
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     We interpret Kaysone's statement as that of a man who is now under 
     too  great a scrutiny to deal as before.   Khun Sa's intention  to 
     continue his search is encouraging - maybe he doesn't believe him, 
     either.  "Let us hope...", indeed.
     






















































     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 52
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     
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                       " Bring them home --- NOW !!! "
     












     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 53
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990



     =================================================================
        O u r   N a m   V e t s   a r o u n d   t h e   w o r l d !
     =================================================================

                Helping in the Nicaraguan Election Process
     
                             By: Bob Richards
                 The New York Transfer - Staten Island, NY
                              (718) 448-2358
     
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
     
                             January 31, 1990
     
               AN URGENT APPEAL FOR FUNDS from Bob Richards
     
              Support a UN-OAS Election Observer in Nicaragua
                   Help Buy Antibiotics for Nicaragua !
       
       
        On February 25th, Nicaragua will hold its national election. As 
     part  of  an international effort to ensure that this election  is 
     free and fair,  and to protect Nicaragua from American attempts to 
     discredit  the  process,  thousands of internationalists  will  be 
     working  in  Nicaragua  during the election  campaign  and  voting 
     period.  I  will be traveling to Nicaragua in mid-February as part 
     of  an election-observer group sponsored by Casa Nicaragua.  It is 
     hoped  that  our presence,  as UN-OAS Election  observers  serving 
     throughout Nicaragua, will make it very difficult for the election 
     to be subverted. 
       
       Preparations for this trip have been hectic and quite costly.  I 
     have managed to save enough Yankee dollars for the trip, and for a 
     possible one-week extended stay. This expense -- together with the 
     need  for  even more bucks to get me through job hunting  upon  my 
     return (I will most likely lose my job as a result) -- has left me 
     short  in  several areas.  I need 35mm film (Fujichrome 100 to  be 
     specific)  --  about  20 rolls of 36 exposures would do the trick. 
     The film will cost me about $150 more than I have. 
      
      Now,  why  should anyone donate film?  Well,  when the slides are 
     edited,  I  will  pick  the  20 or so best  and  most  informative 
     pictures  and make them available at cost to those who donated the 
     film.  Those  who  are interested may get a first-hand glimpse  of 
     Nicaragua,  and  at  history in the making.   In  addition,  these 
     slides  and the notes I take will help me to document the election 
     procedures  I  observe,  which  we are asked to do  by  the  group 
     sponsoring our trip.
      
       I will also be bringing some sorely needed items with me for the 
     Nicaraguan  people,  namely antibiotics.  I have already  received 
     some donations for the antibiotics,  but not nearly enough to fill 
     the   70-odd  pounds  of  baggage  which  I  have  allocated   for 
     humanitarian  aid.   For  $2500 I can fill all my  excess  baggage 
     allowance   with   70,000  doses  of  desperately   needed   basic 
     antibiotics  that are now unavailable in Nicaragua.   If  you want 
     to  donate  toward  the cost of medication,  please send  a  check 
     indicating it is to be allocated for medical aid.  I  will take as 
     much medication as I have money to buy.
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 54
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

      
       Here are some of the medications that Nicaragua has requested:
     
        Levothyroid: 100 tablets cost......................... 16.20 
        Gentamicin ophthalmic solution:    1 dozen vials ..... 35.30
        Pilocarpine ophthalmic solution: 1 dozen vials ....... 45.50
        Proparacaine HCl ophthalmic solution: 1 doz vials..... 39.70
     
       Finally,  the  personal  financial drain of this trip  has  been 
     serious,  and any help would be well received and appreciated.  If 
     anyone wishes to help contribute toward my costs, please mark your 
     contribution "Election Observer." 
      
       We  can't all go to Nicaragua,  but we can all do what we can to 
     insure  that the election on February 25th is a fair one,  without 
     violence, well-witnessed, and free from invasion.  Your assistance 
     in  this endeavor can help us ensure democracy and freedom for the 
     Nicaraguan  people.  All donations should be received by  February 
     13th,  as  I  will  be leaving on the 16th.  I will  be  returning 
     sometime  between Feb.  27th and March 3rd.   I hope to offer some 
     assistance to the Nicaraguan people, and to learn a lot from them.  
     I will share my experiences with you when I get back. 
                
                              Bob Richards
                               Sysop, The NY Transfer BBS 
      
     Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer -- it is needed!  
     Please send all contributions to:
      
                               Bob Richards 
                             34 Cornell Avenue
                          Staten Island, NY 10310
      
                            Let Nicaragua Live!
      
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
                          ---NY Transfer News---
     
                             February 9, 1990 
             PLEASE DONATE $ FOR MEDICINES GOING TO NICARAGUA!
      
          As of today, we have received pledges totalling $400 toward 
     our modest  goal of $800 worth of medications for Nicaragua.  
     Please read on, and GIVE WHAT YOU CAN toward this humanitarian 
     effort. We REALLY have room to take more  medications, if we have 
     enough cash to buy them.  We have received a donation to cover the 
     cost of film.
     
           --- Sysops
       
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
                          ---NY Transfer News---
       
                             February 17, 1990 
                        MANY THANKS From NICARAGUA!
      
       Bob Richards arrived in Nicaragua on Friday, Feb 16th, and 
     safely delivered a carton of medications requested by the Managua 
     Hospital. Thanks to all of you who contributed, we were able to 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 55
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     put together a $500 package of ophthalmic antibiotics and thyroid 
     tablets. This humanitarian gift to the Nicaraguan people will help 
     in a small way to offset some of the suffering caused by US 
     government policies. We also received a donation for print and 
     slide film to document this historic moment in Nicaragua's 
     political life. Bob will be taking notes, and when he returns, you 
     can read about his experiences here on the NY Transfer.
      
       Our profound thanks to the following people for their generous 
     (and politically correct!) donations of cash and services: 
     
             Shelly Belzer                Phyllis Monahan
             Viola W. Bernard, M.D.       Brenda Parnes 
             Linda DelBalso               The People's Life Fund   
             Kathleen L. Kelly            Sandra Pineda-Miller
             Barbara Krasnoff             Mickey Zacuto
                                             
                            Let Nicaragua Live!
     








































     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 56
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

                                NAM in '90
     
                              By: Mike Harris
                      + T.M.E. + ... Coos Bay, OREGON
                              (503) 269-1935
     Hello All
          I  have  finally returned as promised from a 10 week trip  to 
     the  Orient.   It  is nice to be back and to read all of what  you 
     have  to say on the net again.   I have lots to share but  running 
     out of time today so will be brief.  If anyone has any questions I 
     will be glad to try to answer them.  
          I  went  over as International Operations Officer with  Point 
     Man  Ministries.   I  went to Bangkok,  Udon  Ratchathani,  Nakhon 
     Phanom, and Korat Thailand.   Vientiane,  Savannakhet,  and Pak Xe 
     Laos.  Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Danang, Hue, and Hanoi Vietnam.   Not 
     to mention many smaller towns, villages, etc.
          I  worked  with  a couple of former SF's  in  Thailand  doing 
     missionary  work.   It  is  interesting.    They  are  fighting  a 
     different battle this time.   It involves training a lowland cadre 
     to  go  to the highlands to teach the 'Yards on how to  fight  the 
     enemy  (Satan)  and win this one.   I witnessed our Heavenly  C.O. 
     (Supreme Six) win victory after victory!!   It was Glorious!   Our 
     Point Man team arrived on 2-2-90.   We went up to the Northeast of 
     Thailand  to  do  some  remodeling and ministering and  it  was  a 
     success. 
          Then  four  of  us  took  7  day  trip  into  Vietnam.   Very 
     interesting  to  say the least.   All of us are Vietnam  Veterans.  
     Our mission was to take bibles in to the underground church there.  
     Through  much  prayer and warfare we accomplished  the  task.   It 
     really  felt  good to go in under their noses and be  victorious!!  
     We  were on alert step by step.   As I heard someone say,  "It was 
     nice to go back with John 3:16 instead of an M16
          I looked for old "Hardware" but didn't see a whole lot.  Much 
     was  hidden  behind military bases.   Saw many of our old  trucks, 
     buses,  and jeeps still running the roads though.   Many have been 
     customized  into some strange looking contraptions  however.   Saw 
     quite  a  few MIG's sitting at Tan Son Nhut,  Danang,  and  Hanoi.  
     Looked  for  my  old  riverboats but didn't see any  with  my  own 
     eyeballs.   A  couple of our guys did when they went thru Bien Hoa 
     on the way to the tunnels of Cu Chi.
          The  war  museum  in  Saigon was as  tasteless  as  would  be 
     expected.   But  the  one in Hanoi was actually  pretty  balanced.  
     They  even  had a cross standing there with pictures of our  POW's 
     pasted  on  it.   I'm sure a tribute to their  "Faith".   Saw  the 
     Hilton.  Took some pictures.  
          All  in  all  it was a real experience.   The  walls  of  the 
     Citidel  in  Hue are still unrepaired.   Many bullet  holes  still 
     visible.  Lots of memories but the rush was somewhat abated by the 
     mission  at hand.  Vietnam seems to be like a plant that was never 
     watered  for years.   The buildings have not received a fresh coat 
     of paint since we left.  But there is a glimmer of hope!  They are 
     desparate and have loosened the noose around their peoples necks a 
     little.   Water is being poured slowly upon the withered plant and 
     it is beginning to grow and turn green again.  There is hope where 
     I was not before.  
     



     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 57
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

            Nicaraguan voters wanted end to war, observer says
     
                            By: Linda Burchard
               In the 3/1/90 Berkshire Eagle Pittsfield, MA
     
                         Input by: G. Joseph Peck
                         NAM VETs Managing Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
       PITTSFIELD (MA) -- A Stockbridge resident who was among election 
     observers  in  Nicaragua  this  week attributed  the  election  of 
     opposition  candidate  Violeta Barrios de Chamorro to the  voters' 
     wish for an end to war and economic privation.
     
       Nicholas  Peck (no relation to NAM VETs Editor)  of  Stockbridge 
     also  praised the Sandinista government's running of that national 
     election.
     
       Peck  was part of a delegation of Berkshire County and  Columbia 
     County, N.Y.,  residents who observed the election in Malpaisillo, 
     the sister city of Berkshire Amistad that is about two hours north 
     of the capital of Managua.
     
       "We  were impressed,"  said Peck.   "The government of Nicaragua 
     deserves  a  lot  of credit for devising such a  wisely  organized 
     election system.
     
       "They  created  a  special  independent  authority,  called  the 
     Supreme  Electoral Council,  made up of people from the  different 
     parties, which ran the election."
     
       He  termed  the  election procedures  elaborate,  including  the 
     placing  of a black strip along the back of the white  ballot,  so 
     that  holding  the ballot up to the light would not  disclose  the 
     mark made by a voter.  Also, polling places were near one another, 
     so no one would have to walk more than five miles to vote.
     
       Peck  attributed  the election of Chamorro as president  to  the 
     Nicaraguan  people's war-weariness and wish for improved  economic 
     conditions,  rather  than  to dissatisfaction with the  Sandinista 
     government.
     
       "A  lot  of  people  said,  'We're really  not  opposed  to  the 
     government.  We just want peace,'" he said.  "I think they figured 
     it was a way to finally get the U.S. off their backs.
     
       "Don't  forget  the Sandinista government has been  running  the 
     country  under an embargo from the United States and with terrible 
     pressures.   They  were being denied loans from the  International 
     Monetary Fund and the World Bank because of U.S. opposition."
     
       "Even  though people have been suffering in the war (between the 
     government   and  the  U.S.-supported  contra  rebels)   and  also 
     economically,  the Sandinista party still got more than 40 percent 
     of the vote," Peck added.
     
       The  area group went with a dual purpose:  to serve as observers 
     and  to  take medical supplies and material to a health clinic  in 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 58
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

     Malpaisillo.   Peck  also took to children in Nicaragua  paintings 
     done by children in the Sunday schools of the First Baptist Church 
     in  Pittsfield and St.  Paul's Episcopal Church in Stockbridge and 
     at Village School in West Stockbridge.   He brought back paintings 
     by Nicaraguan children to their U.S. counterparts.
     
       The  observers  flew  to Managua on Feb.  17 and  returned  late 
     Tuesday night.
     
       The big question,  Peck said,  is what will become of Chamorro's 
     coalition  as it tries to put together a government.   Her  United 
     National Opposition alliance is not really a party but a coalition 
     that   includes   the  Communist  Party,   while  the   Sandinista 
     representatives  have the largest share of any single party in the 
     National Assembly.
     
       "The  Sandinistas didn't lose total control of the country,"  he 
     said.   "They have the largest,  strongest,  most cohesive bloc of 
     representatives in the National Assembly."
     
       Voters  in Malpaisillo were strongly for the Sandinistas,  about 
     63 percent voting to re-elect President Daniel Ortega, said Peck.
     
       His  group  met with 22 women whose sons had been killed in  the 
     war.   "They told us,  'Remember this government earned our trust, 
     so we're going to vote for the Sandinistas,'" he said.
     
       About 85 percent of Nicaraguan registered voters actually voted, 
     compared  to  the  usual  turnout  of  only  about  half  of  U.S. 
     registered voters, he said.
     
       "The  only intimidation I saw was from the United States,  which 
     threatened  them  with more suffering,  and that influenced  their 
     votes," he said.
     
       "The  strange irony to me was that the people went to the  polls 
     and  were  able to cast utterly secret ballots.   Each person  was 
     registered  to vote and knew the election was held fairly.   There 
     were  not any illegal votes cast.   Yet the United States,  by its 
     actions,  was right there in the voting booth,  because of the war 
     and the economic strangulation."
     

















     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 59
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990



     =================================================================
                      R e m e m b e r   T h e m ! ! !
     =================================================================

                    Pen Pals for Incarcerated Veterans
     
                              By: Joyce Flory
               NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor
                    Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM
                              (505) 523-2811
     
        As promised last month, here's an update on what has or has not 
     been happening in my quest to get a list of incarcerated vets.
        I have heard from USS Liberty and they have one man that they 
     sent my letter on to. Combat Arms told me they have no list, 
     therefore can't help.
        In Albany, NY I've been shuffled around from Deputy Dir. for 
     program development to Div of Criminal Justice to Dept of 
     Correctional Service by form letters and nothing further.
        I have since added to my correspondence list -
          John Opager (more a bit later) of Ill.,
          Pam Peterson of Ill.,
          Dave Fleming of Iowa,
          Jack Rutledge - Correctional Institute of Ga.,
          Ed Howdershelt of Fla.,
          James Nannemann of Iowa, VHCMA in Texas,
          Vietnam Helicopter Assoc.,
          ... called 1-800-4A-Match, and have a young lady, Jennifer 
     Switzer, at NASW looking around to help.
          John Opager added to my list of incarcerated vets by giving 
     me the following:
          Hugh L. Erwin #86926
           Nottoway Correctional Center PO Box 488 (0-128) 
           Burkeville, Va. 23922   
          Thomas J. Adams EG 172282 RCI  
           Columbus, Ga. 31907.
       He also has promised to send me a list of the incarcerated vets 
     chapters country-wide and put me in touch with Pam Peterson, who 
     sent me the address of the Incarcerated Vets network. I've not 
     heard anything yet, but they were only contacted a short while 
     ago.
     
        I have written all 3 of the incarcerated that I have addresses 
     for, hoping to get their help in finding others in their prisons 
     that may wish to add to our list.  Again, too soon to hope for 
     responses from them.
     
        As usual, if there are any other addresses that I haven't 
     written to that you may think will help, please leave them in the 
     Namvet Echo, send to 301/105 or send them to me at: 
     1825 Evelyn -  Las Cruces, NM 88001.
     







     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 60
     Volume  4, Number  3                               March  7, 1990

       XXXXX           XXXXX                XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX           XXXXX                XXXXX   \   \   \  \ \XXXX
       XXXXX           XXXXX.::::::::::::::.XXXXX  INCARCERATED   XXXX
       XXXXX           XXXXX   ---------    XXXXX \ \ \  \  \  \ \XXXX
       XXXXX          .XXXXX   W W   I I    XXXXX.   VETERANS \  \XXXX
       XXXXX         ::XXXXX   ---------    XXXXX::.  \  \  \   \ XXXX
       XXXXX        :::XXXXX -------------  XXXXX:::.             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX K  O  R  E  A  XXXXX::::             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX -------------  XXXXX::::             XXXX
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       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX -------------  XXXXX::::             XXXX
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       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX  `..........''`XXXXX::::             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX .:(O) .  (O):. XXXXX:::'             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::' XXXXX       ..       XXXXX::               XXXX
       XXXXX      .:'  XXXXX     . ..       XXXXX:                XXXX
       XXXXX      ::   XXXXX    .  ..   `   XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX      ::   XXXXX  '    '..   `  XXXXX.                XXXX
       XXXXX      ::   XXXXX"  '        `   XXXXX .               XXXX
       XXXXX      ``.  XXXXX  '  . . .    ` XXXXX  '. .........,  XXXX
       XXXXX       ::  XXXXX''  ..''.'''.   XXXXX    .'         '.XXXX
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       XXXXX    ....::'XXXXX     ':::::;'   XXXXX  .:''. .:::'    XXXX
       XXXXX  .:::::'  XXXXX     .:         XXXXX :'. ..:...      XXXX
       XXXXX.::'   ::  XXXXX: PREPARED TO   XXXXX  .''      ''..  XXXX
       XXXXX::'    ::  XXXXX`:   FIGHT      XXXXX.'             '.XXXX
       XXXXX'      ::  XXXXX ``.            XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX       ''  XXXXX  PREPARED TO   XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX      ::   XXXXX      DIE   ...'XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX      ::   XXXXX       `...'    XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX     `..'  XXXXX        .'      XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
       XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
       XXXXX           /\     .'         .'                       XXXX
       XXXXX         /\  \     .        .                         XXXX
       XXXXX        /  \  \...' `.     .'                         XXXX
       XXXXX       /     NOT PREPARED TO BE DESERTED              XXXX
       XXXXX      /       .'.' .  .`.'                            XXXX
       XXXXX     /    ~   | :  :  :    .                          XXXX
       XXXXX    /         |`.  :  :  .  .__________               XXXX
       XXXXX   /    ~   ~ ||.` `  : ||  \         /               XXXX
       XXXXX  /  WRITE OR VISIT AN INCARCERATED VETERAN SOON !    XXXX
       XXXXX /        ~   ||  . .'.    /          /               XXXX
       XXXXX/    ~   ~   ~||        ||/          /                XXXX
-- 
#L.W. Jewell Moderator at the Veterans Information Site (veteran@cc.purdue.edu)#
#& WWII-L Listowner: "Sunday's horoscope is note worthy because of its strange,#
#sudden and wholly unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all   #
#phases of life." "Your Horoscope" L.A. Evening Herald Express, Sat, 12/06/41  #
Newsgroups: alt.war.vietnam