Finding the MIA

When United States and United Nations troops were moving north in November 1950, the promise was that they would be home by Christmas. This is at last coming true for First Lieutenant Dixie S. Parker of Iowa, who was killed 27 November 1950.

After fifty-seven years his body, lost in the foxhole where he died, is being returned for burial in our national cemetery.

While thousands are still unaccounted for, the search goes on with GIs being identified every so often. While all wish the process was moving faster, and more completely, our hats must go off to the government (www.dtic.mil/dpmo) and their continued effort to locate, identify, and bring home those who died in this awesome war.
http://www.wmbb.com

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Is 57 Years Long Enough to Keep a Secret?

I note that the names of five new Korean War veterans have been etched into monument (see CBS News report). It seems that at least one of these men, and perhaps all, belonged to a Special Ops team, and their actions (and thus whereabouts) have been kept secret all this time.

While I am pleased that these veterans have been duly recognized, I can't help but wonder about how this might play into the more than eight thousand Americans who are still MIA in Korea. Do we know about the disposition of these individuals but still cannot release this information to the public, to the family, because the nature of the operation is still being held secret? It has been 57 years since that war began, and there are still families that do not know what happened to their loved one. If it is the case, that the government is withholding information about these MIAs, then it is time they stopped and gave an accounting.

Staff Sergeant Elizabeth Feeney, with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hawaii, recalls for us that the motto of her command is simply: "until they are home." And yet, so many are still unaccounted for. Maybe the next step is declassification.

Senior Fellow Paul Edwards