National Alliance of Families
For The Return of America's Missing Servicemen
World War II - Korea - Cold War - Vietnam - Gulf War
Dolores Alfond - 425-881-1499
Lynn O'Shea --- 718-846-4350
Web Site: http://www.nationalalliance.org
email -- lynn@nationalalliance.org

April 26, 2003
Bits N Pieces April 26, 2003

Spc. Edgar Hernandez
Spc. Joseph Hudson
Spc. Shoshana Johnson
Pfc. Patrick Miller
Sgt. James Riley
CWO David Williams
CWO Ronald Young
Welcome Home!
As we celebrate the return of our Iraqi Freedom POWs, please remember that one soldier remains unaccounted for as a result of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As of this writing, Army Sgt. Edward J. Anguiano remains unaccounted for, as a result of a March 23rd ambush. Sgt. Anguiano is listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN).

Initials M S S Found On Wall Of Iraqi Prison Investigative teams made up of representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the Navy made a startling find while inspecting the Hakmiyah Prison, (also reported as Kahmiyah Prison) in Baghdad. Etched into the wall of one of the prison cells, investigators found the initials M S S, initials that match those of Michael Scott Speicher.

The location of these initials add credibility to an earlier report of an American being held at this prison in the mid_ 1990's. The British Independent reported that the source of this sighting is "regarded as reliable by the CIA."
What are the odds of a source reporting an American prisoner at Hakmiyah, and then finding the initials of an American suspected of being a prisoner on the walls of that prison?
CNN reported, "The importance of the find, according to Pentagon officials, is that it appears to corroborate intelligence from an informer who told the United States Speicher had been held at the prison. In other cases, U.S. search teams found evidence in Iraq that contradicted previous intelligence and indicated some informants were lying about what they knew about Speicher, officials said. "We know that some of the sources ... gave us information that was intentionally not true," the official said."
U.S. officials were quick to point out that there was no way of knowing who carved initials on the wall. They were also quick to point out that the initials, if Speicher's, were not proof that he is alive. Just once we'd like to hear some government official point out that there is no proof he is dead!
Did Scott Speicher carve these initials? Let's think about this. The overwhelming majority of those held prisoner by Saddam were his own people. Followed by citizens of Kuwait captured during the last Gulf War, or citizens of other nations in the area. Unless the State Department is holding a secret list of American's held in Saddam's prisons, we would guess there were very, very few Americans held by Saddam.
What this means is that the vast majority of prisoners spoke the languages and dialects of the region. One would assume any initials or messages carved in the prison wall would be in one of those languages or dialects. Remember the languages and dialects of the Middle East have a vastly different alphabet than ours. Also, unlike Westerners, they read and write right to left.
We are sure some citizens of the region held in Saddam's prisons could read and write english. But, would they leave their message in English, in the hope that one day the U.S. would liberate Iraq and inspect this specific Iraqi prison? It is far more likely that any one from the Middle East, even someone fluent in English, would leave their initials or message in a language and dialect of the region.
Of interest, and barely reported, is the fact that another set of initials is located directly about the M S S initials. Those initials appear to be M J N. The photos we have been able to locate on the internet are cropped to best show the M S S but one television report did air a full view of the prison wall with the additional initials visible.
Also clearly visible, between the two S's is a smaller H. (We have attached two photos to this edition of Bits, to show the M S S and H)

The first question we would want answered is are these initials, M J N and H any part of Speicher's authenticator or escape and evade codes? Do those initials mean anything to the Sunliners who flew off the USS Saratoga, the night of January 16, 1991? Or, do they mean something to the Speicher family?
If these initials are Speicher's it's a good thing Speicher carved them in a wall and didn't stomp them out in the grass or sand. We all know how well vegetation spells. Even the career debunkers would have a hard time writing off these initials, as a natural formation in the wall.

On Friday April 25th, the Washington Times ran an article by Bill Gertz. According to the article "CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency officials said they are making progress in finding a missing Navy pilot and have dismissed months of faulty intelligence reports."
"U.S. intelligence agencies concluded this week that they were fed false information on Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, who has been missing since the 1991 Persian Gulf war, as the result of the searches of three sites in Iraq, one intelligence official said yesterday. The searches by an Army team of three sites in Iraq where Capt. Speicher was reported by Iraqis to be held came up empty."
"As a result, we are now eliminating some sources [of intelligence] whose veracity is questionable," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "All the rash of reports we had from late last year to early this year on Speicher were found to be intentionally false," the official said. "It appears the Iraqis were really good at putting out misleading information."
"A special team of intelligence officers recently arrived in Iraq to begin searching for Capt. Speicher and were led to a prison earlier this week where the initials "MSS" were found on a prison wall. The initials found at the Kahmiyah prison may have been written by Capt. Speicher, officials said."
"Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the MSS initials were found at an Iraqi prison known as the "judgment center," where interrogations of prisoners were carried out. "Obviously finding the initials is encouraging," said Mr. Roberts, who for years has been pressing the Pentagon to resolve the Speicher case. "It's another piece of the puzzle. Scott left his own record," he said."
"U.S. investigators in Iraq are looking for Iraqi records on the case and are trying to locate Iraqi officials who may know about Capt. Speicher's fate and whereabouts, he said."
"We know the Iraqis kept very detailed records, so we're hopeful more information will be forthcoming soon," Mr. Roberts said in an interview."
"... An Iraqi informant led the U.S. intelligence team to the prison, where other English_language words were found scrawled on walls, the official said."
"U.S. officials have said one problem with investigating the case of Capt. Speicher is legislation signed into law in October by President Bush. The law, known as the Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act, gives the U.S. government the power to grant refugee status to any Iraqi or Middle Eastern national who helps the United States rescue a living American Persian Gulf war prisoner. The increase in bogus intelligence reports on Capt. Speicher followed passage of the law."
"The recent searches helped prove that the source of the bad intelligence on Capt. Speicher cannot be trusted, the intelligence official said. "We don't know whether it was intentional disinformation, or whether it was the result of someone seeking personal gain," the official said." "The discovery of the bad informant has helped searchers focus their efforts on more promising leads, the official said. CIA and DIA investigators in Iraq now are looking for several key officials who are believed to have knowledge of Capt. Speicher's fate...."

Cheap Shot the official quoted in the above article blames the "Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act," also know as the Speicher Bill for an increase in false intelligence, yet this unnamed official is quoted as saying "We don't know whether it was intentional disinformation, or whether it was the result of someone seeking personal gain,"
Yet, this official chooses to blame the ""Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act." It continually amazes us that those charged with handling the POW/MIA issue so vehemently oppose any legislation that might lead to the return of a POW or the truth about his fate. By the time most POW/MIA legislation passes, it has had the life beaten out of it.
Not so with the "Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act," and we thank God, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and his point man on this legislation, Larry Vigil for that.
So the unnamed official who doesn't know if the false reports on Speicher were "intentional disinformation, or whether it was the result of someone seeking personal gain," choose to blame legislation with the potential to bring Speicher or any other POW from Vietnam, Korea or the Cold War home.
We Would Remind Our Readers the Iraqi lawyer, known as Mohammad who walked six miles to tell Marines where PFC Jessica Lynch was held, and his family will fall under the protection of the "Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act."
On April 8, a Press Release was issued from the Office of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, author of the "Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act." Text of that press release follows:
"WASHINGTON, D.C. _ Today Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R_CO) received confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act of 2002, which he authored last Congress, also applies to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The law offers to grant refugee status in the United States to nationals of Iraq or the Middle East region who bring forth information that helps bring home an American POW/MIA."
"The DHS's confirmation means that Mohammad, an Iraqi man who brought crucial information to the Marines that resulted in the return of American POW Jessica Lynch, is covered under Campbell's law, as well as any others who bring forth crucial information to bring home American POW/MIAs. Currently Mohammed has received temporary refugee status and is in the custody of the Marines."
"The Voice of America broadcasting service has complied with Campbell's Bring Them Home Alive Act by regularly broadcasting news that all Iraqi's who provide information to bring an American home will be protected under the law and receive asylum, pending extensive background checks." "Campbell said of the developments:: "All the pieces are here. Voice of America has complied with my law and has been broadcasting regularly, some of the brave Iraqi people are willing to help, and at least one has even come forward with crucial information already. "I will work with the Bush Administration and my colleagues in Congress to see that Mohammed is given asylum. As we all know, he has risked his life by coming forward and temporary refugee status obviously only protects him temporarily. And I will work with VOA to make sure that the message specifically mentions that an Iraqi citizen has actually received asylum because of this law. I want the Iraqi people to know that they do not have to be afraid to come forward, I want them to know we are good to our word when we said we would protect them if they brought forth crucial information. "Now is the time to try our hardest to bring Americans home, not months from now, not ten years from now. I will do all I can to make sure this law is fully utilized. The goal of bringing Americans home is too important to let go." End Press Release
On April 9, Senator Campbell and Senator James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman of the House Committe on the Judiciary sent the following letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Thomas Ridge. Text of the letter follows:
"America is deeply grateful for the courageous rescue by U.S. Special Operations forces of American POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch in Iraq. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to the brave Iraqi lawyer, known only as "Mohammed," who witnessed her plight and risked his life several times to get our forces the information they needed to rescue Jessica. America can repay Mohammed's bravery and compassion. Should Mohammed and his immediate family wish to come to America, we can welcome them through legislation that both of us worked to enact last Congress _ the Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act of 2002."
"The Act provides that you can grant refugee status in the U.S. to any alien and his immediate family who is a national of Iraq or a nation of the Greater Middle East Region who personally delivers into the custody of the U.S. Government a living American Persian Gulf War POW/MIA or an American POW/MIA from a successive conflict, operation, or action. We championed this legislation last year to ensure that Iraqis would be kept safe if they came forward with crucial information. The legislation's initial motive was to encourage the rescue of Michael Speicher, a Navy pilot shot down over Iraq in 1991 and still unaccounted for."
"Today we recognize that U.S. servicemen and women are currently being called upon to serve our country in Iraq. As of today there are seven Americans listed as POW, and another seven listed as MIA. As the October 15, 2002 House Committee report stated before Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced, [t]he nation owes it to . . . all those who may be called upon to serve in the coming months to take every step possible to ensure that no American soldier is left behind." Hopefully, word of this legislation will encourage Iraqis to assist in the rescue of American POWs and MIAs." "We urge you to offer Mohammed and his family the opportunity of a new life in a peaceful land. America would understand if he would rather stay in his homeland and help build a free and democratic Iraq, but we owe him the opportunity to make that choice." End of text
Did The U.S. Know PFC Lynch's Location Before Mohammad Made His Six Mile Walk To The Marines According to an article in the New York Daily News, by Derek Rose "A courageous Iraqi spy working for the CIA videotaped the Nassiriya hospital where Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was being held before her daring rescue a U.S. Official said yesterday."
"This as a CIA asset who brought a video camera into the hospital, who walked from the entrance to her bedside," the official said. "The intelligence before the operation was as good as it gets. As a result, the Special Forces preformed superbly."
Operative from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the CIA's military counterpart, trained and equipped th spy with a concealed video camera, and he taped various entrances and a route to Lynch's room the day of the raid, the official said."
:What this individual did speaks for itself," the official said. "It took a lot of courage."
"U.S. agencies had intelligence on Lynch's whereabouts even before an Iraqi lawyer identified only as Mohammed hiked 6 miles to tip of the Marines after seeing her slapped around at the hospital, the official added...."
How Our Iraqi Freedom POWs Were Liberated From the Washington Post, April 15th "Marine Combat Headquarters, Central Iraq _ The Marines were told to look for House 13. Inside they hoped would be U.S. soldiers captured by the Iraqis. As they made their way through a dusty warren of two_story mud_colored hutches in the Iraqi town of Samarra, they found House 11. They found House 12. But no House 13."
"What they did see were more and more Iraqis swarming around. First a child who popped around a corner, then two or three men. Soon there were dozens of people staring at them from the streets and the rooftops above them. "Something's not right," Lance Cpl. Curney Russell recalled telling his squadmates."
"Some of the Marines began to worry that the tip about U.S. prisoners was a setup for an ambush. "We thought it could be a 'Black Hawk Down' situation," said Russell, recalling the 1993 raid that turned into an ambush in Mogadishu, Somalia, in which militiamen killed 18 U.S. soldiers."
"Unable to find the house and leery of a trap, their commander prepared to order them to withdraw. Then a man with a light beard in dingy yellow pajamas peered out from a house, trying to get their attention. "I'm an American," he called out, quietly but urgently."
"So began the rescue of seven U.S. prisoners of war on Sunday, but it almost didn't happen. If Chief Warrant Officer David Williams, the senior officer among the POWs, hadn't beckoned them, the Marines would have pulled out, two of those involved in the rescue operation said in interviews Tuesday."
"Their accounts shed new light on how the Marines came to find the only U.S. service members listed by the military as POWs in Iraq when President Saddam Hussein's government was toppled. The liberation of the seven soldiers from the Army's V Corps provided an emotional coda to Saddam's ouster for U.S. military commanders in Iraq. Five of the seven were from the ill_fated 507th Maintenance Company convoy ambushed in the southern city of Nasiriyah on March 23, a detachment that also included Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was rescued separately on April 2. The other two prisoners recovered Sunday were pilots aboard an AH_64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter brought down by a barrage of gunfire early March 24."
"With no other soldiers believed captured, coalition forces report just two Americans and two British still missing, formally categorized as "duty status whereabouts unknown." British units found two bodies in shallow graves on the Faw peninsula Monday and are trying to identify them, while U.S. forces are examining other remains to determine if they match one of their missing."
"From the view of the Marines, Sunday's rescue mission came together with unusual speed, involved some dicey moments and succeeded in part by chance and with the surprise help of the guards holding the Americans. The Marines from the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion were rolling north out of Baghdad toward Saddam's home town of Tikrit for what they thought would be a final showdown with the deposed leader's loyalists. They'd covered about 70 miles and reached the town of Samarra when they got the word."
"Local Iraqis approached the Marines, telling them that the seven POWs were being held in town and giving directions where to find them. Russell and his squad leader, Cpl. Christopher Castro, said Tuesday they weren't sure whether a police officer or a civilian provided the information. But it appeared to come at the behest of the men holding the Americans, because the Marines were told to knock three times first and the guards would open the door with their weapons holstered or on the floor."
"A battalion commander summoned the Marines from Delta Company and hurriedly scratched out a map. Delta Company had already experienced fierce combat in the war, and Castro had seen one of the Marines from his squad killed and another shot up badly. "
"The Marine commander didn't want them going into Samarra with guns blazing and warned them not to open fire unless necessary. Two of Delta Company's platoons were ordered to secure the area, while 3rd Platoon would conduct the search with an Arabic_speaking interpreter."
"One group of Marines came under sniper fire. The rest were on edge. Castro, a 21_year_old squad leader from San Antonio whose ever_present sunglasses earned him the nickname "Hollywood," kept in mind the two ambushes he'd seen earlier in the war. They came upon a small square but none of the houses had the correct Arabic numeral on it." "At first when we couldn't find it, I thought maybe it was a setup," said Russell, 18, of Manchester, N.H., who was just six days out of infantry school when he was sent to Kuwait last winter. "I saw a guy on the rooftop and said to Corporal Castro, 'Hey, we've got a guy on the rooftop!' All of a sudden I saw 10 or 20 other people coming out on the rooftop."
"That's where the fear factor hit," said Castro. "We were about to pull out." Then Lance Cpl. Aaron Greenleaf heard the POW call out and shouted, "Sir, I can hear them over here!"
"Russell was the first to the door. "I ran up, knocked on the door three times _ bang, bang, bang!" he recalled. "They didn't come. My CO (commanding officer) said, 'Kick the door.' "
"After Russell smashed it in, the rest of Castro's squad stormed in, shouting, "Get down! Get down!" While Williams evidently saw the Marines outside the house, the other prisoners later recalled that they were stunned when they heard the door broken down. One of the Marines yelled, "If you're American, get up and get out," Castro and Russell said, and they began to separate the seven prisoners from their captors."
"The three Iraqis they found in the house had disposed of their weapons. The now_freed POWs intervened on their behalf. "Don't hurt them," pleaded Williams, the senior POW and an Apache pilot, the Marines recalled. "They're our friends. They helped us out."
"As the highest_ranking soldier among the seven, Williams had assumed leadership of the beleaguered group, sometimes representing their interests with the captors in trying to improve their conditions. A father of two from Fort Hood, Texas, Williams, 31, had been flying the Apache that went down, then ran across fields and swam down a canal before being captured by armed Iraqi farmers who hit him and paraded him up to Baghdad."
"In interviews on Sunday as they were being evacuated from Iraq, Williams and other prisoners said that unlike their early jailers, their final captors were compassionate and used their own money to buy them food and medicine. "The biggest thing that I have to say is the last three guys that were holding us captive were the best," Williams said Sunday. "They were police officers, not army. They treated us very well."
"The Marines asked if the Iraqi guards wanted to come as well, but they declined, saying the town was their home. The prisoners, weakened by their captivity, seemed almost dazed at what was happening around them. "They were kind of shaken up," Russell said. "They looked a little scared but they were happy to be getting out of there."
"With the crowds milling nearby, the Marines wanted to get the POWs out quickly. "All I thought was, 'Let's get the hell out of here before they start firing at us,' " Castro said. He put the freed soldiers in vehicles, helping Spc. Shoshana Johnson, who had been shot in both feet, and sped them out within two or three minutes of bursting into the house."
"From there, the prisoners were taken about four miles down the road to a secure area, where two men from an Army "human exploitation team" talked with them for an hour or so while the Marines found fresh clothes for the soldiers, who'd worn the same Iraqi pajamas for 21 days."
"A CH_46 helicopter arrived within 90 minutes and whisked the seven to the Numaniyah airfield about 80 miles southeast of Baghdad, where they were quickly ushered onto a C_130 Hercules transport plane to Kuwait. Castro and Russell went along with them, sticking close to the prisoners as they escaped Iraqi airspace."
"The plane ride proved an emotional roller_coaster for the freed prisoners as they absorbed their salvation. Spec. Joseph Hudson, 23, laughed, flashed the thumbs_up sign and proclaimed his everlasting love for the Marines. Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young, 26, excitedly talked with the airmen and fellow prisoners. Sgt. James Riley, 31, Spec. Edgar Hernandez, 21, and Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, sat more quietly. Williams smiled and then became choked up as he recalled thinking that he'd never see his wife again. By then, a bond had formed with their rescuers. On hitting the tarmac in Kuwait, Williams implored the Marines not to leave them and they accompanied the soldiers to a medical facility and stayed the night with them."
"They just kept hugging us," said Castro, sounding a little embarrassed."
"Riley said during the plane ride to Kuwait that he and his fellow POWs were not heroes but the men who came to rescue them were. Castro rejected that Tuesday."
"All we did was our job," he said. "People have been thanking us every day." Still, he allowed, "It was good to get them out alive."
As We Celebrate the return of our Iraqi Freedom POWs,
let us remember all the POWs are not home...
World War II Korea Cold War Gulf War I Gulf War II
Why Does Johnie Webb Still Have His Job??????????????
The National Alliance Of Families Fourteenth Annual Forum is scheduled for June 26th _ 28th, 2003. Our forum is conducted to coincide with the Governments annual Vietnam POW/MIA Family Briefings. We urge all family members to attend this years government briefings. A separate briefing for Korean/Cold War families will be held in July. The government will provide free airfare to two family members to attend the government briefings. There is no charge or registration fee to attend the government briefings and you do not have to belong to an organization to attend these briefings.
This year the Alliance meeting will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City located at 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Arlington Va. Rate for single or double occupancy is $99.00 per night plus tax.
Many of you will remember this hotel from the previous Alliance meetings (1994 _ 96). The hotel is located across the street from both the Crystal City Underground Food Court and the Metro Stop. The Sheraton is within walking distance of the hotel hosting the government briefings. The Alliance is working on transportation between hotels for those who prefer to ride. To make your reservations, call 703_486_1111 and remember to say you want the special National Alliance of Families rate.
The Alliance is an all volunteer organization. Our meetings are open to all, without charge. At this time of year, we actively seek contributions to finance our forum. If you wish to contribute, donations may be mailed to:
National Alliance Of Families
P.O. Box 40327
Bellevue, Wa. 98015
Remember all contributions are tax deductible.
Lynn O'Shea
Director of Research
National Alliance of Families
for the Return of America's Missing Servicemen
World War II - Korea - Cold War - Vietnam - Gulf War
email:lynn@nationalalliance.org
Website:

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