An Examination of US Policy Towards POW-MIAs 1991

8/3/2019 An Examination of US Policy Towards POW-MIAs 1991

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AEation ofu . lc

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Towr W/

B he' US Senae Cmt o ForeigRelao Republican Sf

ursda Ma 2399

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PEPRED BY ORITY STF

O U.S. SENA COE ON OREIGN REITIONS

Senator Jesse He of North Carolna, Rankng Member

James P Lcier ta Director to te Minorirac E Usr Cie nvestiator

anie B. Perrin Editor and riterreor tano Laot and ProdctionNanc Ra Prodction ssistant

Te Mino Sa ao whe o hank Koeni of Senao G' a and DinoCauccio of Senao Smihs sa fo hei cooeion and encouagemen as we as AonGavin and Kaen OCaUahan who hav addd houan and houan of eneoe fohose who have phoned he Mino Sa of he S Senae Foein Reaion Commiee focoies of h eo


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A Enation ofU. S. PolicToward POW/

By he U.S. Sena Cmt on ForeigRelos Republcan Saf

Thursday, May 23 1991


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TAL OF CONTENTS

I

PROLOGUE TO PART I

HISTORIC AL PERSPECTIVETHE AFAND WORLD WAR I

WORLD WR II

HE KOREAN WAR

E SECOND NDOCHIN

PAT II

PROLOGUE TO PART II

LIVE SIGHTGS

"BLACK" OPERATIOS

ACCOUNTIBILITY

THE FRENCH EXPIEN

EPILOGUE: THE PEK MEMO

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l

2

3

4

5

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6

7

8

9-10


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CIBORNE PELL. RHOE SLA CHARMA

EP R BE . EWAREL S SARBAES MARYAD CASTO CALFORASTOPHER J O COECTCUT KERR SSACUSESL SO LLOS

R SFOR ORTH CAROLAEL P OHA EW ORKRES S RO VRG

JESSE EMS OR CAROLIARCHAR LUAR AAAC L KASSEBAUM KASASARR PRESSER SOUTH AKOTAAK H URKOWSK AASKAMTCH McCOELL KETUCKYHAK BROW COLORAOORR HATCH UTAH

ER RSTASO STA RECTORJAMES P LUCER MOR STAFF RECTOR

ea Coeae:

nitd tats matMM F WAHIG 256225

M 23, 1991

On October29 released an te reo reared by the Mo Sta of the SenateCommitee on Forei Relao based uon an on-gog vgan of the OW/MI sue at

invesigaion has coninued t as not and as never tended to be, a search for seci OW/MsSuch an eo wou be bo he coe o he reou avaable o he Mo Raher i

as an atemt to ascea hether he agenc of the US govement roible for OW/Msere doing the job th ere suosed to do--that , to d any OW/MI who might si be alive

Te intem concl are ve durbg Aer amg hundre o documen relangto the ra integence and intereg many famili and n of OW/M the Mino Staconcluded tha dese ubl ronouncemen to the cona, the rea teal ol of the S

govement as to act uon the resumon that a MI were dead

a rult the Mo Sta ound any evence ha suesed an MI might be ave asuno and arbia rejected and a o ere dcted oar nding and enig remainsodead eonnel even though the S govemen technues ofenian ere adequate anddee aed

Tese conclio although elcomed by the famili and en of OW/MIs ho hade ce the US govmt OW abhmen e ho ecd that ablhmen

Hoeve on Feba 12 the Ch o the Secl e or one of War and Msing incion (OW/MI) resied Colonel MllardA ec a man ho had acceted the osin ith high

moives and a see of dee dedan, felt that he cou no longer l the deman of du, honoand te under the ol whh he was d o leent

n a detaled and fohght lette whh d not become ubl un M Colonel eckconed that a "cover-u" has been roess He so of a "met to debun " He sa thatthere as no eo to uue "ve sighings" He statd hat "any or l in Vzea eveninadvnt as fact, abandd yea ag "ast, h ccd the S gvemnts amnto h ale a e o he M


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Te en tt of Colonel Pecks leter appea verbaim -- at the end of th repo.

Te fact that ColonelPeck's conclio were so sar to the conc ofthe Mo Sta a mater ofree rather than a vdican had hope that the Mo Sta viato woube able to alter their prela nds, becae the pla o a lberate o by the S

ovement todeceive theAmean people a mater that a o wou prer to belve uthble.

Howeve as the Mino Stapuued i inviat, it became clear that the US. peencewith the enam POW/MIs not uue in hto. choes of simir peences in dealn withothe and earlier ommunt reimes o the subject ofPOW/MIs came up with increasinequen.Althouh substanl poio of the cuent repo had alrea been prepared, directed the sta torack dwn the htocal preceden. felt that these preceden were absolute necessa to aundetandin of the present proble, even thouh it necessa deled the release of the repo.

Of coue, th ndaental htocal research requed a massive undeain to d theoal documents, most of them foer classed, the Nanal Archives and the su

aenci. Accordin, reade wil nd in th repo someth whh has never before been attempted:An htocal anas of the fate of u POW/MIs in the ha of the Bohevik reime aer WorWar the Soviet reime aer Wor War the Noh Korean ree ar the Korean Wa and theVenamese reime aer the Venam War.

n each case, the same dmin scena appea On the Communtse, the rees denidhoinS. pone, cona to may credible repo, while fact th were ho the US. POW/MIsas slave labore and as resee baa chs to et dloma reconiion and nancialasstace O the S. se, our ovement downpled or denied the repos of POW/MIs, andfailed to ta adequate steps to prove or dprove the repo, while elemen in our ovement puued

policiesintended to ma diplomaic reconiion and ancial suppo of the revoluiona repossible.

nd th evence convincin; doubte shou ame the cabl a clsd memrandacted in Pa which te the l sto. Paamines anecdotal evence which the Mino Stahaschse t irate the massive proble with the US. ovement's hand of the POW/MI sueproble which were on suested in the ntem Repo

ile ivesiaon into the present problems connues, it event om the work already doneby the Mino Sta that more me ad more resources need to be devoted to the wor Seator obSmith (RNew Hampshire), a lon-me stalwa in the ran ofthose dedicated to thePOW/MI cae,has inoduced S. Res. 2 to establh a Senate Select Committee o POW/MI Aai. S. Res. 2hasalready atacted we baan suppo, and dees the suppo o eve Senator.

Since the rst printg othis repor, the United Stat Senate unamouly aee to rte a Selt Cmmttee onPOW/I fairs to rer investigate .. P tward PO matte

,


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T repo ha reured ay hud o hou owr bo ay dedaed peo who hared heeh h beepeal re were o o e Dr as Jh MG. Bad Mark Sauer o BS alae KRT Seae h e ose of he Mo Sa ad o esa o hoe o Adr Ahw B a

Suer

Scere,

JESSE HELMSjlI


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OLOGUE O P

Thoughout this centu, the Unite States, as a nation, has anguishe ove the pght ofme soes of w, both own a missing he emotional oeal of the families, the ebt he o owes to those wo have pu thei lives on the line fo thei counties, and the humann of ea a evey single soldie, o sao o aiman ought to hav an ncalulble beango ou ntional oliies an ou hoo.

On the eod, the U.S goveent has pofessed to ve these ones "he gesttonal o." O the eod, this pioi vanishes. Instea, othe consieations emegeGa sons of a foein poli of peae an econclation; esie fo a new economc oe ofte a investment; ieolocl mpeatives to ownplay the hostl of antaonstic systes; ande natual tenen of the bueauca to elmnate its wokloa y n ases ake close"instea of ning the peope.

as Octobe, the inoty Sta publishe an ntem Repot se on hunes ofineews an eviews of aw integence ata in Depaent of Defense DD) es he

Iem eot suggeste that DOD was moe inteested n anpulatng an manang the issueh n ing livng POWs liste as missng. But s the investigation poceee, the weiht ofeienc o failue failue of the U.S. oveent to meet its sae ustcae eoeng.

Was it eall ossible tht ocals in the eutive Banch chage with the solution ofPO/I ssues coul hve file so msebly to espon to the nees of the mecan peole?Ws sml hat he emoions o the POW/- concee communty wee making an objetiveaisal of ODs wo imossble?

The esigntion of the diecto of O Secal Oe fo PO/IMes, o Md. Pe, submte on Febu 1, bu mae publi only last month, oee uneecte an

eao suppot fo the nings of the Inteim Report Co Pecs memoanum ofesignation appeas vebatim as the Epilogue to ths epot.) But the question emane: Was itedble ha suh a lue coul ou? To answe that question, it was necessa to tu to hsto


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P R O L O E T O P A R T

E GF WA

Gulf War is not yt istoy but t brif span of tin providd sval xamps oft inability of t U.S. Govmnt to cop wit t problms of accountin for t missinxampls wic ar still s from t nwspaprs.

naccurat battl casualty rportin rsultd in t nxtof of anil J Stomaris androy unlap bin ocially notid by O tat t soldirs ad bn Kid in Action (;infact, ts mn wr slitly woundd or takn prsonr by ny. Svral otr soldisrmy Major Ronda L. Corum, for xamplwr takn prsonr y ny bu wr nolistd as POW or MA r r subsqun rlas y Iraqs as a surpis o mrican pubic and national a.

But t most bizarr cas was at ofSPC Missa Ratbun-Nay. SPC RatbunNaly andSPC avid Locktt wr co-drivrs of a (Hay qupmn raspot), capturd by raqisoldirs atr tir and anotr on bcam sparatd om a cnvoy. t two vics procdd not, ty cam undr nmy r. scond vicl manad to scap, btRatbun-Naly and Locktt wr surroundd and capturd.

Aftr r captur by rai forcs, Ratbun-Nalys du status was initially listd asunown, tn cand to missin. Howvr, s was nvr listd as "missin in action (M)or "pisonr of war (POW). sould b notd tat "miss," undr U.S. Army rulations, is quitdistinct om MA. "Mssn" is rsd for prsonnl uaccountd for in non-combat opations.From t rmys point of viw, t convoy was a non-combat opaion, vn tou it was undrav nmy r. rfor, RatbunNaly and Lockt wr nvr lsd as MA or POW, vntou t rmy ad information tat ty ad bn capturd undr r. is distiction is animportant illustration of ow O uss tcnical distinctions to avoid a ndin of POWM.

n a lttr t Mr. and Mrs. o Ratbun, Lt. Colonl J. G. Col, Cif POW/I ais,dmonstrats ow O, vn in ral-tm cass, fals to folow up ovious lads o to ask obviousqustions. n t narativ tat follows, it sould b kpt in mind tat RatbunNaly and ockttmust av bn an astonisn pai of prisonrs to t raq nds caus Ratbun-Naly is aCaucasian fmal, and Locktt is an ican-mrcan mal. Sinc Corum was t only otr U.S.

fmalprisonr, it sould not av n ard in raq to sk out a par o prisonrs tin tdscription of a wit fmal and a lak mal.

Colonl Col wrot:

At apprmately 3 pm (auary 30 1991) ut rth fhai the vy drve by a SaudiM-60 tak that had reetly reeived exteive battle damage ad wa patially blkig the rad Theupat f the ed H T the heard t expli and the ud f debri trikig their vehilebeed what they pereived t be eemy trp ahead ear the arhway it tw ad immediatelyiitiated a-tur alg the rad At thi time they etimated that they were 1-150 meter behidthe lead vehile whih wa tiuig rth After mpletig the tu the rew lked bak adaw that the ther HET [drive by athbu-Nealy and kett] had tied t tu abut but hadee uk ela ad S kett were beed t be till their vehile a the enemy trpappahed There wa iiti that they attempted t retu re r


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P O O E T O P A T I

at ee beig uuded by eemy toop, RatbuNealy ad okett wee lited amiig But O ad moe iomatio a well Coloel Cle wte te:

There were n ign f ghting r bld but pernal gr had bn tter arund thearea ad weapn were miing the Marin were earching rund the vehicle hutig fr theldier they were cnnted by everal Iaqi ft ldie at te d a m peelrrie apprmately 50 mete nrth headed in their dirctin N h were exchang by he

Marie wh departed the area and lled in attack helipter uppt hich dtyd he Cwithi 0 meter f the HETThe Marin retued t the area the flwig mg where heyolleted me f the pernal equipment and fund the vehicle uning but fund n tra f Meiar SP ketturing the battle in and arund Khai everal Iraqi ldie were ptur

Oe woul aume tat te aptue o Iaqi oldie i te aea would ave give teotity to i ot poitively wete o ot te ai ad bee aptued d ideed te Iaqiodie gave u iomatio:

llwing interrgatin f the eemy priner f war by Saudi frce tw reprt were

eeived Oe ered ifrmatin prvided by an Iraqi lieutenant wh aid he had witneed theapture f an merin male and female He rther tated that bth had been injured and that the white female had utained a injury t her arm e ecnd rept recived m audi frcnerned tw ther Iraqi prier f war m a captured patrl wh indit they had een a whtefemale ad a blak male near the cifBahrah Kuwait [nt far m the ite f the abandn T]

To te lay obeve, ti oud lke a god "liveigting" ept aed iumtaetat alot exatly dovetail wit te iumtae o te miing oldie But we atbu ake Cooel Cole wy i daugte wa ot lited a M Cole eplied tat te Iaqioe ould ot ake a poitive idetiatioa toug tee wee uded o pai witeemale ad bak mae oldie aptued i te aea

ooe Cole explaied ute tat te US iteogato ad o uet pitue o SPCatbeal to w te Iaqi oe (altoug o oue e pitue wa appeag i eveyewae te ete wo a tey tougt o it, o outDODwou ave emaea e a wtee podue e gept o te aptued pai bee aeptig te liveigti eot a geuie

Beae tee wa o poitive idetiatio Ratbuealy a okett ould ot belite a POW/I. Had tee bee a exteded wa ad exteded egotiatio to eue teet o ioe te ame o eite oe would ave appeaed ay lit o POW/ beigogt Tey wee lited ol a ming, tat i, uaouted o but t w to be i eemyad Had a diilt egotiatio bee equied to eue a etu lited POW/, Iaq eedeve ave etued RatbuNealy ad okett beaue tey wee ot o te lit Fotuately,tewa wa o bie ad pweul tat al pioe wee etued witut queti

Te ae oSPC RatbuNealy ad SPC okett i a vivid illutatio t keep in mind weoieig t bueauati midet tat ee t g utide atiial etiti in de ti eal people I te ae ad bee pologed te ept ad me mt eve yea lateite vid memoie o te evet ad gateed dut in DOD e, the ame at wuld have trueii


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PR OLOGE T O PAR T I

t DD woud ha e dismissed the reports as neried e-sihtns and stamped their casspremed dead This is an important case to keep n mnd when eam n ng th aments o othrcase et o er rom other wars

TH HTORCA BACKGROU

This rport oriina propod to td th pro o /ro th itna ar or more proper the cond Indochina ar t a or and or inor ation caaaial it came oios that th concern raid in th Interi Rport rasd lat ctor -the poic that there was no ednce o /, that al / hold prddead that eidence to the contrar shoud e discredited and disissed and a o these coindth the deterined prsuit on o remains o th dead while dimissin hope o indin anonai e--all ormed a pattern wth an ncanny similari to earlier wars o this centry

oroer the neotiatn techniqes o the ad ersa n the Vienam ara dnial that/ sted a demand or diplomatic recoition and nancial aid om the nted Statesa setion that / miht be ond i reconition and mone were orthcomn--al o

th had en seen eor And al o them had emered in dealins with Communist reimssinc 117

a reslt it was necessar to roaden the scope o this inestiation to td th hitoricaackrond Th std that oo is asd pon an exaination o hundrds o onc crtcas instrctions and eoranda now in th National Archies and the is o appropria aence

Th td eins ith a ar orotten pae o rican historth Expditiona Force in iria in 117-11 Th sdden rise o the oshe k reime th creation o the Rd

A m and the percei ed threat to lied armies and trrito in Eastern Europe ed to riosihtin near rmansk and the captre o thosands o ied includin American soldiers th Rd Ar Th attmpt to t thm ack in the ac o the intransienc and dcption oolhik dipoac add a th Gornnt it ot intret in thir at

A ris o paralle ents occrred ater ord ar II hen th o ment o JoephStain seized control o hndrds o prisoners owar ncluding mericans and milions o displacdpron caht in Nazi prison camps a the Red Ar was a lowd to mo nto Eatrn EropTh anihd ecrt cales o Aassador Harrman and th cassied ccountin pro ided Genera Eisenhower ade it clear that Stalin re sed to account or either s or ci iians onceth under Commnist control while ne ertheless demandin that Rssian or Eastern

Eropan prisoners lierated b the est e orcil retued to the o et nion

The Korean ar is coser to present emories et docmnts om that period also suestth aandonmnt o44 merican prisonr and a disincination the nitd tates to oow pon thir disappearance

ay th fat f P/ f th t ayb td t th dpt hy the ari ac Accords o 17 oe a are as Col eck indicatd that th r


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R LG AR I

aandonmnt o th Amrican POW/ took plac at th aris Con rnc and that thprsnt POW/ policis o th .. Gornmnt ar mrl an implmntation o awddcisions takn at that tim

art o this rport prsnts a mor dtaild analsis o prsnt POW/ policis withs ctd concrt xampls

v


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H I S T O R I C AL P E R S P ETV E

Expeditionar Force in orld ar I, to the So iettreatmentofPOsin orld arII, to the NorthKorean actions in the Korean ar, and nall in he Firs nd Secon Indochina ars--POs,incdin IAs, were sed b Communist reimes as cnical barinn ools in contraention ofinterationa aw

In 173, the Vietnamese sed POs in an attemp o blacil he Un e States intopro idin nearl$5 billion in socalled reparations oh he Une Saes an Vienm asserein that ear that PERTION HO COING brouh home ll own prisoners TheVietnamese bei ed that the had a deal--a dirt deal, to be sure, in which prisoners woul beexchaned or cod cash It was a dea brokered b Secretar of Stae Henr Kissiner ia a secrethandcarr ed letter It wold be pefect consistent w th the historical Communist poic to holdack prisoners aainst their wil, and e en the remains of the dead, to exchane or dolars at a aterdate The e dence o this inestiation, therefore, mst be weihed aainst the probabilities o thehistoical ackrond

ost o ths normaton is not well-known b the me can public ; howe er, all o it isbased on open-source material, incdin ocial S Go eent ocments that ha e beendec ssiied and colected om ocial aencies throuh Freedom of Informaion c requests anthrouh research om the Naional ch es, ashinton C


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H AF D WORLD WR I

US problems in accounting for POW/s did not suddenly emerge in the Secondndochna War; in fact the basic Communist tactics were already evident at the birth of the SvetUnon n the Bolshevik Revolution

Tda mst mercans hae orgotten that there were two man front un World arthe estern Frnt whch was the center of lled attentn and which toda tll reee tet u an te Eatern nt ure en the le ee ne te reao BrestLtos th the German an threw uan orces frm artcatn th te leThereupon the lles rew apprehensve about the German threat to the port Murmans anArchangel and sent the led xpedtonary Frce to Siberia to protect the rear

a result o the hting agant Sovet Bolshevik forces arond changel n 1918-1919there were many casualties and eewitnes account o hundreds of US. and Brith an Frenh peronnel who dsappeared Nevertheless ocial cables om the US military attache atrchangel ctd much lower numbers than the eyewitness report of missing personnel The USoernment poli conceng thee an other n the two categore of missin in action (MA) anlled n acton, body not recovered (KABN frm the erican peditonary Force n usa

a etaled n a November 1930 memorandum om the US Acting sstant Chef of Sta G2tate the llowing:

adinistative deteination as been placed on eac o te ecods tat te eekiled in action on te date te ee epoted as issing

n ter wr all o the en wh ere MA ere etene t be KB n te ate the were reporte as misn

ublc outcry over ths ractce resulted n the formaton the 1929 VFWS Grae

etraton xpedton whch was able to ent r account for 86 set o remans Man otherwere neer dented However given the techncal and scientic limitations o forenc n 1929the amunt tme elased and the number o natnalites nvlved ome of the reman a haebeen mente

Meoandu To: Acting Asistant Cie o Sta Subject: Aeged conneent o eican Oces ndSoies in Russian pisons," Novebe1 1930


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T H E A EF A N D W O RL D W A R I

In 2, the Yok m reported that

e Amecan pone hed by e ove Govenmen of Ruia have bn old by he olhvia hey ae ed becaue he Unied ae ovenmen ha no mad vioou dmand fo hi

eeae2

It was widely knon that the Bolsheviks hed may America POWs ad other U.S. citizesagast their wll. I fact the ew Soviet Govermet attempted t barter U.S. POWs held theirprisns for US diplomatic recgtio ad trade relatis it te ree. e Uited Statesrefused, eve though the Soviets had at oe time threateed " ..that Americas held b the Sovietgoerment wuld be put to death...."3

Presdent Hardg's Secretar f State, Charles Evas ues i respose t the Sovetsdemand for recogito ad trade eatios i retu fr U.S. prsers said that

e Uned ae wi no conid any ueion of any chaace om ha ovmn unil he

mecan now hed a pione ae pemid o lave he couny.

ut seera moths ater the United States conuded the Riga Agreement wth the Svietgovermet to provide humaitara aid to starg Russa childre The Rga Agreemet hadspecf requrements that the Soet authortes must release all Americas detaied i Russia, adto fatate their departure The US Goermet was expectig 20prisoers to be released; butS authortes were surprised whe 100ericas were released.5

fat ot a Amera prsoers held b the Sviets were released. Te Soviets held someak, presumaly for leverage i any ture egtiatios with the Uted States. Hwever i 1933

whe Frankn Deao Roseet recoged the Soiet geet these prisers were treeased, ad other tha the appret recovery of19 sets remas satisactr acctig the MIPOWs that were held by the Soviets was made b the Uited States.

Sne a admnstratve determiato had ee paced o each their records that they were ked in acton o the date the were reported as missig as far as the ited Statesgoverment and laws of the Uited States were coeed these me were legall dead. Other thato a smal umber f US. govemet oicias wit access t the itelliece abut these me

Soet onentraton amps and pros, these men were lega ad therse geerall csideredtbe no oger aie One such nteigee document dated Noember 2030cites a aidavittaken he S Juste Department of exander Grue, a Lata-Amerca, who was idetified

2 ave Reeae Repeaedy ouh" The New York es Apil 18 19213 bd4 bd5 Hebe Hoove Heb Hoover, Ameican Epicolume I, h Hoov Iniion on Wa, Rvoluion andeae (ao Hny Reney ompan 1961 pp427-433


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T H E A EF A N D W O RL D W A R I

as a "Russia seama He had bee imprisoed i the Soviet gulag, icludig i the ifamousLubiaka Prso, where he states he saw four merica rmy ocers ad 15 merica soldiers,ad was the trasferred to Solovetz Islad Priso where he met may merica soldiers adcivilias Grube urther waed the US goveet that ay iquiry made to Soviet ocials of

specic idividualswlresult i their immediate executio

This episode i the history of World War I illustrates succictly the major problems whichstill aect attempts to accout for ad esure the repatriatio of U.S miltary persoel capturedby Commuist regmes i the aftermath of World War II, the Korea War, ad the Secod IdoChia War: ) The bureaucratic ad legal assertio by the U.S. Goveet that the me who wereMIwere killed i actio o the date they were reported as missig or sometime thereaer; 2) theattempts by the Commuist regime to use prisoers as barter for ecoomic ad diplomatic beets;3)the dissimulatio ad lies of the Commuist regime about the estece ad locatio of prisoers;4the oagai o-agai retur of remais; ad 5)where there is o clear military victory over theCouist eey the vulerability ofU.S. POW/Iwho are at the mercy of the reluctae of

the eemy ad U.S. govemet to pursue a clear ope poli for their repatriatio

TH ERCAN EDIONARY FORCE

STER FRONT

Durig World War(94-98), military persoel captured by Germay ad the CetralPowers o the Weste Frot were retued home whe the U.S., British, or Weste Europeaalies liberated the POW camps, or aer the capitulatio of Germay ad its allies i Noveber,98.Aaccurate, detailed accoutg of these POWs i Europe was possible because the UitedStates, as a member of the llied Forces, was the victor. Victory aorded merca ocialscomplete access to the Germa records of merica POWs ad the territory i which they wereimprisoed

However, Russia prisoers who were still held i Cetral Powers priso camps preseteda problem for the llies aer their victory t the beng of the war Russia forces fought wththe llies But after the Bolshevk revolutio of97the Bolsheviks withdrew Russia troops fromthe fightig aer sigig the Treaty of Brest-tovsk wth the etral owers i Marh 1918 oeof the ussias el i Gera aps ha Bolshevk spates while others i ot The Allies

hoped to sort out the Bolshevk soldiers ad recruit the ati-Bolshevks to ght agaist the ewregime i Russia ccordig to a War Departmet cable:

It is believed that a period of one or two months woud suce to discover which of the sodiers coudbe used for the work in question and which ones woud be too thoroughy imbued wth bosehvst [sic]ideas to be trusted. The former coud then be sent to the Ukraine and the atter ef in concentrationcamps6

However, oce defeated, the Germas could o loger maage the camps, ad attemptedtotur the Russia POWs loose, lettig them head east for the Russia border. But the llied

Wa Department be No 1272, Mitary Inteigence Subject: RUSSINPRISONERS ARRIVING INRANCEFROM GERMA December 17, 1918_2-3


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T H E AE F AND O RLD AR I

Commissioners were sil aaid of tug hem oose for fear ha he Russians would jon the RedArmy, and in February, 1919 he es oo conro of hse Ger caps

France, in paricuar did no wan any beraed Russi Ws o Gy o go o

the nerior of France, possiby on accoun of he Boshes [sic] danger." I fac whn hermans reeased he Russian prisoners of war, 50000 of he

und heir way France. They expeced a war wele o the frmer ll; th wereiered wihou delay9

he ies aso were apparenty conceed abou ercan, Brish, and French POs who mih sti be held prisoner as a resut of comba wih he Bolshevik Red rmy in norheRussia, and may have wanted the Russian prisoners for bargaining leverage.

ter rest-Lovsk ook the Bolshevk forces ou of the war Geran and AusroHunarian orces were free to move ino the Uane and Batic saes. The German acion wasperceived by ied forces as a hrea to he norhe Russia por of Muans ad rchangewhee tons of lied war matera were sill sored. Furher he U.S. goveen waed o provdefor the sae evacuaion of Czechosovak forces who had een ghg h Russia agans heCentra Powers

he roup of sodiers numbered over,000voluneers and draes mosy om Mchgan,isconsin, and innesota. he roops were paced under Brish coand and in voaon oftheir stated mission, were used n comba operaions in suppor of he Brish and French pans to

secure tha part of Russia om he ermans and he Red rmy.

A report rom Coone J.A. Rugges, the U.S. miiary atache in rchangel datedNover 25 8 ists casuaties divided into categories such as led Action (KA) Missingn cton A, ec.0 hese were casuaies om the 339h U.S. Ifanry Regmen which hadeen sent to chane in he ae summer and eary fal of 1918 o serve under Briish command.

Durin the winter of 1918, afer a series of poory paned and execued Aed iaryoperations, the Red rmy nay prevaied on he eld over the heavy ounumbered llied forces.hee were a few sprn and early summer vcores for he Ales, bu in he summer of 1919 ledorces bean o withdraw from rchange. he 339h Ren reued o he Uned Sas va

7Se heYCA Sevice wih Fighting Men, illia Hward Ta, e. a e.Assaed PressNY. 1922320-322 "I wa exceedingy dic or heseAllied ahorii dede js what shold be dne wh he enh e a eace oGerany as hey were i hey were reed oRssia, hey igh join heRed orcs.IWa ae caeN 1272,Dcber17 1918.9 Serice With Fightng M en, pp320-322.10 S ea he ar eae Miiary Inelgence BranchN. 205-22Nveber26 919

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Eu?pen thesummr f1919. Bythe springo920, all U.S andaled troops wereout oSoetterItoy.DungtheIrthdrawal,BrtshforcessezedanumberofRussanBolshevksas hostagestotradeforBrtshPOWsandMAswhowere stll heldby theBolshevks, andmaderoomforaout5,000WhiteRussianemigrants whowantedto leave their homelandbefore theRedArmyoveran

the territor. When Archangel was nally takenby theBolshevik forces, 30,000citizens1 wereexecutedbytheCheka12 forces

"RDS R MISSING FROM O R

It is dicult to accet the ocial U. accounting of U casualties of the 1918-1919Northe Russia pedition parcularly because all men who were M were oally determnedto be KIA-BNR on the date they were reported as missing. According to several accounts, sevralhundred US., French and British soldiers were le unaccounted for during the ghting in NothernRussia. Indeed, the oicial histo of the pedition states there were "hundreds missing from our

ranks.3 However, oicial cables from the US. militay attache at rchangel cted appromatey70MIs, excluding French and British missing personnel

Negotiations with the Bolsheiks for the repatriation o the missing failed olRuggles stated:

Ngoiations for th Xhang of prisonrs hav n trminatd y ordrs om GnralPrshng,aftr having n dlayd although undr disussion om oth sids, through failur of thBolshvik ommandr o oain authoriy om OO

In fact, the Bolsheiks wanted diplomatic recognition in retu for the release of

llied POWs; at the suggestion of the U ecretar of tate the U ecretar of War remindedthe US. Militar Attache at rchangel of this fact in a May 1 1919 letter "the United States hasnot recognized the Bolshevik regime as a government either de facto or de jure The negotiationsnever resumed

1 Russia and th Wst undrnn and Stalin Gorg Knnan, (Bostonittl and rown and Company, 960).12h Chka was th all-Rsian traordinary Commission to Comat Countrrvolution and Saotag, thBlsvk's srt ol; t was t forrunnr of th GPU th StatPolitil Dirtorat whih in turn rdd thNKVD h Popl's Commissaiat of nal airs, whih am th KGB, th Committ for Stat Sutyo Company ors, stunants DwghtFistlr and r May, mt with Bolshvik ors in an attmpto sur th rlas of apturd Alid srvmnThy rordd th ming W had 500 Russian prisonrs y

had svn of ours. W wr worid aout hundrds of missing om our ranks and arrangd a tru to t anxhang Ngotiation was diulntrrtrs wr no vry in. But h Rds larnd wha w wr u forand haggld nd was, thy tradd us wo of th svn mrins for th 500 Russian soldirs, and w had to ossin a round of igartts o sal th argain W nvr did larn what had om of th missingTlgram No o: Mlitary ntllign,From: Arhangl,U.S War Dpartmnt, April 4, 99.15 a May , 99 lttr to th Ating Srary of Stat,FrankPolk, om th U.S Srtary of War hav thhonor to aknowldg ript of your lttr (NE-M"), datd April 99, rgarding th ngotiations wth thBolshvik govrnmnt in Russia for th xhang of id prsonrs rfrrd to n algram No 30 om thMtay Attche, Archngel, sa n accordanr tin, bl w nt t t Militr Atteon May , rminding him that th Unid Stats has not ro th olshv rm as a govnt ithr dfato or d jur"

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T H E A EF A N W O L W A

hrouhout the summer and fall of1919 3315 relacements ere sent to bera to rotateout man of the oriinal U troo6 he 1919 and 1921 reorts of the ecretar of War recordsthe casualtes for the rchanel htn and the beran eedton as follos

Klled n Acton. 137 (ncludn 28 resmed lled)Ded of ounds43Ded of dsease122Ded of accdental causes4ucde................5otal deaths.................353

he totals lsted above om the combned 1919 and 1921 ocal annual reorts of theecretar of War conceal the fact that out of the 44 combat deaths of Amercan solders ocallepoted n 1919 n Northe Russia 12 of those deaths or 88% of those ocal combat deathfiues were made up of some 70 Mdeclared dead and another 57 solders ho ere declaredKABNRY

hs fact as left out of the ocal ecretar of War reort on U casualt ures omcombat n Northe Russa he vast maorit of these mssn men never receved a roeraccountin urther the ractce of the ecretar of War of lumn theM and the KBfures toether as those lled acton necessarl calls nto queston the eneral credbl ofthese official fures One hstoran maes note that ten U OWs om the rchanel edtonwere repatriated throuh nland and eden

UB SON

n fact, there is evidence that some of these men were actua ave and held rsons andconcentraton cams n Russa b the Communsts A November 12 1930 memorandum hchdetaled an adavt taen b the U Justce Deartment om a Russn seamn" stated

He ived Mch 1 12 inLubinPison t Moscow whee he sw fou 4) ein myOces nd een 1) ein soldies who hd been thee since 11 ...tht he subsequently wstnseed to Soovetz islndPison whee he met mny Amein soldies nd civilins nd nmes two ofthem s M. Mtin o Mten nd M. Heininu both of whom he thins e eicn my Oces

sent to the snd om ldivosto. He lso mentions oneoy Molne whom he sttes hd been segeantin the US Amy t chngel om which plce he hd been sent s pisone

6nl epot of the Secety of W 11 Oce of the Chief Mility Histoy Wshington p 27Telegm No 2042 To Milit InteligenceFom Achngel "Febuay 4 11AnnlReport ofthe Secretary of War, 1919, p. 74. War Department Memorandum " ctn t Chef of S 2 Subect lleged connement ofAmeicn Oces nd Soldies ussin pisones" Novembe 12 10.

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T H E A E F A N D W O R L D W A R

nternal US government letter which evaluates the ioation povided by the

Russan seaman states:

. I have looked into ths uestion and nd that at least one se tat has an important bearingon t namely the se of William J. Martin Company 339t nt hich regiment seed inArcangel or Nort Russian pedition Under date of Feb 3 9 9 a report om rchangel shoedarti miss

.ng in action Under dat of March 4 92 e made a determination shoing 'Was

killed 1 actn Jnuary 9 99. determination as no doubt predited on te unexplainedabsen o te soder or about o yr [until the ABNR determination as made]. also oundanother case ich may pibly be involved it is tat o Linsay Reterord up in my mind beuseofthe mention by the Russian sailor ofl indsay. Lindsay Reterford as reported missing anda similar determination [ABNR] as made in s case

"T I S

ree ears ater n te nite tates recoge te Bosev goveent 19 sets of remains were reporte as "identied" b the US Gaves estration In the separate199 VWGraves pedition 86 emains of the 27 missig o KB m battles fought bythe ercan peditionary Force at Arcangel were claimed to have been identie This e unaccounte for om the rchange post Futher that of the 86 emains "identied" it is ikelythat a nmber of these "identications" stretched the capacity of foensic science at that time

Refugees o Russia eeing into Erope drng the late 1920s contined to report that aner of Americans were stll hed by the Sovet goveent in force laor camps t isnoteworthy that some of the US troops sent to rchangel were themselves US immigrants from

Eastern Europe or the sons of US mmgrants om Easte urope who had been rate intothe merican Army It has been speclated that the Soviets ept the because of their nationalorigins or te nationa orgins of their familiesZ

The US Govement di not pblicly admit that US iltay pesonne remaine in thecstoy of te Re ry in Russia pon the re o te meican peditionar Force n RussiaHowever on April 18 1921 the New Yrk m reported

It has been demonstrated that te Soviet government is holding Americans in te hope thatthe United States ll agree to recognize the Soviet [govement] or enter into trade relations ith

it or release communists om prson in ts countryz

Se US government letter To: Mr Huckleberry evaluating te adavt taken by the U.S.Justice epartment"ovember 8 902 See Benjamin D Rhodes, Thenglo-Americn Winter War wit Rusia, 1918-1919.2 "Captives Reease Repeaedly Sought" The New York es April 18, 1921.

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hee mhs ae Pesie Haig espe a appeal m Msc f "bea amece" he "chile a he sick" He isuce a membe f his staff Hebet Hver cabe a ep Msc ha he meica Reie Amiistratin u

ndeake elief fo one million Rssian chiden and povide some medil supplies fo theihospias--bt sbject to ceain onditions.

Augus 20 92 a fmal areement beteen te vet te nite tats te"Riga Agreement" as cnclue Am te cnts f t te viets as tel

The Sovie Auhoities havng pevously ageed as the absolute sine qua non of any astance on thepat o he Amecan peope to elease al Ameicans detained in Russia and to cilitate thedepae om Rssia of al Ameicans so desiing the R. [Amein Relief Administation]

eseves the igh to suspend tempoarily o terminae all of it eef wo Rusia e offaiueon he pat of the Sovet Authoiies to flly comply with tha condition . [emphassadded].

he e Saes veme expecte he repatriai f appmaely 20 cies bu i fact mre ta 00meicas ee epariate as a result f his ageement

Hebe Hve e his aubigap

e povision fo eease of Ameican pisones was suggested by Secetay Hughes whonfomed me the Depament knew hat thee wee about tenty of them Moe than a hunded

Amean psones n Russian dungeons wee eleased on Septembe 1, [11

Even s reprts cntinue be eceive b te Department f tate tat me Americas he i Russia The iscepacy betee e cal frmatn n te as f te gvemet 20mercans el a te actual umber f mre tan ne unre release avehe U.. Gvermet its rst taste f etiatin fr Americans el aainst eir bymmuiss

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World War II was a great military vctory for the United States Armed Forces. In both theEuropean and the Pacic theaters the enemy unconditionaly surrendered. However despite thetota victoy i Europe by Aied forces, thousands and thousands ofU .S. soldiers--perhaps as manyas 20,were never repatrated from prisoner ofwar (POW) camps, prisons ad forced abor andconcetration camps

These American soldiers were being held i Nazi prison camps, along wth other AliedPOWs and some Nazi captives, whe they were overru by the Red Army. Thus, hundreds ofthousands of Allied POWs who had bee held by the Nazs, as well as millions of Western Europeancitizens, or Displaced Persons, came under Red my contro. ndeed, this number icreasedbecause General Dwight D isenower, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, decided tostop the U.S. and British drve eastward nto Gerany, n orer to wait for Soviet forces driingWest, so that .S. ad Soviet forces coud meet n Berln

"CREDITS" FOR REPATRON

One such meican G I was Matin Siegel, who was eld prisoner in Staag IV-B, Muhberg(a Nazi POW camp in eastern Germany overrun by a Red Army tank battaion Siege was theU.S s' termediary ad trasator ith aor asii Vershenko, the oicer i commad ofthe Red Army tank battaion that overran the camp.

The first question the Siegel asked ajor ershenko was, "When were the S POWs tobe repatriated?" Vershenko said he was primariy concerned with the "Russia prisoners hed ina separate compound at Staag I-" as "they had to be intervewed ndividually sice they fet thatthere were many 'cowards, traitors and deserters among them and they had to be deat withepeditiously' Secondariy, with regard to the repatriation of U.S. and Alied POWs now under

Red Amy cotro, the Soviet ajor stated "the Russias and the Americans had agreed to a pactwherein the Russians would receive 'credits for each Ameican POW retued," and the Sovetoicer told Siegel, the repatration of U.S. POWs was a "complex logistical matter."

1 Private letter fom Martin Siegel detailing h experien in a GermanPOWcmp overran by the Red Army, May17, 190.

iid.

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W O R L D W A R I I

The Russan Maor's vew othe repatraton process or S and Alled s under Redrmy control or nancal or economc credts probably accurately reected hs ew o Soetrepatraton polcy In act the Russan Maor's ew paralleled the assessent o the Soetsrepatraton polcy by S Maor General R Barer Baer was the Alled Ce egotator

or the repatraton o Alled s nder Red Ay control Barer wote a reot to the Cheo Sta o the Spree Alled Headuaters that aer ore tha our hors o dscussos wth hsRed Army counterparts

the SHAEF [Supeme Headuates othe llied Euopean Fo epenta me to theconviction that Btish and Amein pisones o a ee, in eect, beig held hostage by theRussians until deemed expedient by them to pemit thei elease T latte pont as uthe boeout by subseuent eents

Meanwhle, Segel the Aerca G stll held n Stalag IVB wo s stll ale) decded thatas a result o

the llousness ohis Majo Veshenos] esponse and the ocious tone in hich tis nomation[about epatiation] as gien, it gae me eal pauseThat ngt, my bunate, l Wlliam Smtho the 9th Diision shaed ou mutual nce and [e decided to tae o on ou on e ntevening, e libeated to Russian bicles, got thu a gap in the e hee a Rsian tan aspaed and too o Wes to hee e thought the Amein my ould be

They made t saely to Amercan lnes but only aer a "two wee adenture" that ncludedmakg another escape aer "beng captured by a band o anatcal 'Htler Youth' stll at large Sovet occped Germany

Segel and hs partner made a wse decson to escape A cable o the nth nted StatesArm to the Supree led Headuarters dated May 17 1945 descbes the deteoratngcondtons n Segel's ormer P camp Stalag IVB Muhlberg, aer the wo GIs escaped

Repos eceied that 7,Unit Stat and Bish PWs omely in ULBUR[StalagV-B] andNOE RESA871-E nee medil suppes, aiona mei atention and ooMay have le because o conditions Repos indicate mp leade doing all n his poe to enocest-putode Russians alleged to have theatened to use o to pevent pe emphasis added]

Thus through coletely derent ersonal exeeces, a GSegel and a General arker-- came to essentally the same conclson about Soet repataton polcy The GI rskedescape rather than trust the Soets to repatrate h The General concluded and reported to

3 Memadm by Mao Geneal R W Bae "Repot on Coneence ith Russian Ocials Relatie toRepatiation isones Wa and Displaced esons, dated ay 19 Siegel, as cited , as Cable, "Fom CG Ninth United States my, To Fo Action C SHAEF FORWARD AENTION ,REF O: 21617," May 17, 194

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W O L D W

The plem f accunting f /wa clct fct tt t Svtwere us as uncpeative in he epatriatin f h milln f ilac civln pe we as in he Far Eas he Svi guared a e f prine--uman capital an lave la in tei

viewwo were no ny Alied and As PO, ut al hun f thuan f ilacedWesern Eupean ciizen, as wel s ate upean citzen w eeatl wnte t eefrm Red Army ccupie territ Natinalitie f mll cuntre f ete upe, le teDuc and egians as well a fmey Nazi ccupie cuntie e nc, tagcll, a lttlemiia, piical dipmtic leveg w e Svt gvnt t cu te ttin fheir ciizens a he end f the a. sult, ten f tuans f utc n Bln anhundreds f husands f French wee neve epatate t Sve

Te Fench in paricul e the unt the Svt ma em w l li wimplemented y h Svets nt nl wt ega t t ne ctu n cc

eae u s wih eg t hune f un f enc uc Bln n teWesern Eupean wh were caught in Svet ccupie tt n ue

A windw hug which a glim f th fate f tee citzen--i ti paticula caeFench POs--can e en is the fllwng cle m e lle Can Min n Fance he Supreme Allie Heaquer f all f up Sent Ma 30 194 Vict n upe, day was May 7 95) he cale ead:

ordne your teepone request ble omFiteenth rmyFreh Dethment to enerlCRE A Hotel COENALPA of 2 My is prp r your nformtio

eport ofLt D , ordig to coned reports ussis still do ot relsetousnds ofFren exPW's nd ivilis forig tem to wor My trsferre eswrds tounnown destintion Plese inform high uthoriy exPs re evuted dly om this reo UDNE Civiins ed under diult food nd ommotio oditos. [emphsis dde]

"CRC OF OR 1,000,SR EOS

The nex da a ca etaling te aue f te e f ll pn f w andispaced ciizens ed in Sve er wa nt m Supme Hute ied Eisenwer, the US. Miliary Misin in Mcw Eisenwe want an explanatin m theSvies fr he sw pace f eaatin f these citizen he "scpnc etwen e llems update gures f varius iplac ete un citens n pne f waknown o be in Svie ccupied teir an the nume ctull atte th Sviet weeuined y Eisenwe

Lest vibe displed persons nd prisoers of wr gures show lmost 1Western

Euopen (Frenh, elgin, Dut ndLxemborgeois) eiter reptrited om or t present held

e ECE OUE, o HAEFFOWAD,From MION to HFOWADG-5" EF NO MF-14427, My 30, 1945


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W O R L D W A R I I

Te Begin uiies s eped disepn bu i s mpively smlle n se fe Fencnd Duc

In the French and Dtch cases, the dscrepan res are astnshn en assn

that a arter f a mlln French ctzens were treers--a seemnl exaerated estmate-headng West t Aled lnes, 850000 French ctzens stl were nt repatrated m Red Armcced terrtry

Wth regard t the Dtch ctzens, assmng ne arter f the ttal Dtch dscrepancynmber were treers, then sme 116,250 Dtch ctzens stl were nt repatrated m etcced Ere. It s nderstandable, as senhwer stated n earler cable t the U. MltarMssn n Msw, that ese res were sn the Dtch and French eents cnsderableanety.

In late Jne, the U Mtar Mssn n Mscw sent senhwer a cabe wth the etrey. The et repl was nt encran. The cable read

Upn eceip f S-91 66 ded 19 June we pesened e queres conined eein [Leuenn Genel]GOLUBEV [Sve sisn Admins f Repiin] nd ve eceived e fllwing eply me Svies]:

In nswe yu lee f 0 June:

I d n ve e exc d n e mvng und fpesns m Wesen EUROPE nd eefe nnsy muc bu em

I knw ee ve een eed y e Red Amy:

Fenc: Au 500 f whc 056 persns ve lready een sen ome nd u 50wo egeing edy be sen me

Belgins: 7980 pesns eed fwic 590 ve een sen me e emnde in e pcs f being

uned ve

The dscreancy between the et nmbers fr bth the French and the Dtch andHAs nmbers s nsettlng, as s the ets cam that they cannt say mch abt thehndreds f thsands f Weste Erpean slders and ctzens wh apparentl dsapeared ned Army cced terrtry.

iSe lee T Lieuenn GenelK D Glubev Red rmy Sve Asssn Adminso f Repin Fm:Mj Genel Jn R Dene Cmmnding Genel U.S Mta ssin oscow June 0 195 le T SAEF MAN FOR EISENHOWER ROM: US MTARY SSON MOSCOW ROGMMELL AND DEANE" REF NO: 78 June 5 195.

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"NO EVN VAL ASSURNCES W TO BEH"

However, even before Eisenhower had received his reply, he Sovies had informed USmiiay ocials at a separae meeting in Hale, Germany, ha "al poliical prisoners hel ineman concenraion camps overun by he Red Army had been released" Furhermore, Alliedoicials repored to he Secrea of Sae wih respec o he "category of displace persons, noeven verbal assurances were o be had"

Te resuls of the Allie-Sovie meeing in Halle, Germany, were detailed in a memo seno e US. Secrear of Stae an is quoted below The meeg produced an agreement on a panfor repatriation

agreed to by representatives of Supreme Headquartes, lied ediioa Foce, ad SupemeCommand Red rmy, at Halle Germany, May 22 1 for he mos expediious oveland delivery

o Alied and Sovet ex-pisones o wa and displacd pesos libeaed by he Allied pediionaryFoce and he Red Army. The two delegaions were headed Lieutena General KD Golubev, Redrmy, Soviet Assisat Administato o Repaiation, ad Major Geeal RW. Barker, US,

Assistan Chief of Sa, G1, SHAF7

Tis meeting, more tan any oher, determined e fae of hundres of ousans of peoperappe in e Re Army occupie errior of Eastern Europe. This memoranum, which was sentJune 1 1945 o te U.S Secrea of State, explains that a the Halle, Germany, meeting the ReArmy refused o permi he Aies

o l anspo airca ino Soieoccupi eio . Alhouh Geeal Golubevwould ot aeeto the incorpoaion o a paaaph poidi rst pioiy delive o US. and K expisones ofwar, he gavehmos solemn pesonal assuancs ha all US ad U expisoes of wa would,in act, be given peereial treatment A request for second pioi for Wte Euopeane-political deportees,i accordane with he desires of he Wese uopea govee ha suchpesons be epaiaed beoe hei pcive expisones ofw ad ohe displaced pesons, wascountere by he la asseion ha all poliil psone held i Gea ccaio mpsoverrun by the Red Army had been released and tha here were, acordingly, no more politicalprisoners in Sovieoccupied territoy With respec to his categoy o displaced pesons, not even

verba assrances were to be had8

Tus, as far as fomer poiical prisoners were concerned, he ocia Soviet position was aal poliica prisoners a been released Wi regar o te repatiation of isplace persons wofoun emselves in Red Army occupied terio at he end of he War, "not even verbal assurances

were to be had"

17 Memorandum, SECRET, "To: Scea of Sae, Fom: Heah, Depu o obe uphy, Subject: Overland

change of -Psones of Wa ad Displaced Pesos Lbeaed by all Al piioa Foc ad he Rd

rmy," June 1, 1945. bid

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"HU NT N T BT N UG-"

The foowng US integence report from SS-CIG es, dated prMay 19 mayprovide some nsght nto the fate of the hndreds of thosands of French, Dtch, and Begans ofwhom the Soviets wod not even gve erba assrances"

Informant, a Pol fo to sv i th Gma my, was k piso by th Rssias i 194H was kpt fo a tim i th Tansit Camp i KAN, th NSK u h dpotd osIEIA to th EVKAYAm a VDIVOSTOK A h d of945 -Ai, h pdan ti to gt to o. H was, howv, astd by h h hd go byodMOCOW, a lac in th POW a I mp i TOV, whch was occupd byGms, Fch, Aias, Biish, Dtch, Blas Th pisos umb, i h ios[] tmation, wll ovr 20,000; hy w both milita ad cvlia, mot lkly ov by thsan ring th onsiv

ll io w fo to wok, an th foo thy w giv was vy bd d mootoo. yw hos ot i hus but i gous

3. monotono foo as om tag disas whih mad th l ad ams swll t atm mn ait with thi isa i. Infomant was tol that mo ha ,Itlias, mothan 00 rnh an amatly Romaian [sc] an Hgaa pions had i ith mann r wr alo many asalt among Pol an oth natioalitis

4. Pon n this camp l m of v hgh ltr an lag a gat xt manyl of sn. Informant obsd that Gma gs w mployd o a scial task thrang of blits fo a fo gin aaf, whch wol cay abou 5 m a achiva t was allg of 1 ,0 klomt r ho Th Rsians w xtmly ntstd in ths

brint, an m wokig o th ivton w gant all ossibl failitis both i wok ath ontion of lif in th am ..

. th w also som Blgians an uth, a oths, cludig om glish m a svalo an, t o wom t m obably ow to h ish a U.S.Aathoti Wh h wa lavg, ths glis a As askd ugly (as id hFh os an m) o noti h li athois of hi pigh ot sued irahg an with a ovoy of li atioals.

"U F R WENG BOTN"

In antication of the hndreds of thosands of sodiers and ctzens who wod have to bereariated in the wae of the Western aes and Red rmy victory over the Naz forces theWetern Aies and the Soiets agreed Febrary 11 1 at the Yata Conference to provsionswhih wod epedite ther repatration These rovisions aowed their respectve mitary oicersinto Aied and Sovet controed territor at varios collection points in each contry throghot

19 omt ECRET, Oc of Sttgi vis tal Itlig Gop, pot mb 958, tild"U. PO an nt Cam ar MOV, ril May 195

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Eope in ode to pocess, aange fo tanspotation and otewise oesee te egistation andthe cae and feedng of the soldes ho ee to be epatated The locatons ee theseepatiation offices ee to be sent as ageed to, as ell as that tese oces ould be assignedliaison oces to assst them in te epatiation pocess

Less tan a month ate te sing of te Yalta aeement, n an U R G E N T TOPSECRETesonal Messae to the esdent, U Ambassado W veel Haman cabled om

Mosco:

Since the Yalta Conference General Deane and have been making constant eots to getthe Soviets to cay out this ageement in ll. We have been baed by pomises which have not beenllled. 2

Specically, Haiman stated in te same cable "I am outaged" that

the Soviet Government has declined to cay out the ageement signed at Yalta in its othe aspectsnamely, that ou contact ocers be peitted to go immediately to points whee ou pisones aest collected, to evaluate ou pisones, paticulaly the sic, in ou ow aplans, o to send ousupplies to points othe than Odssa, wich i 10l om point o libeation, whee they aegently neded21

Futemoe, Haman in the same cable stated:

Fo the past ten days the Soves have made the same statement that Stalin has made to yo[FDR] namely, that all pisones ae in Odessa o entained theeto, wheeas I have now positivepoof that this was not epeat not tue on Febay26,the date on whch the statement was st made

his suppots my belie that Stalin's statement to yo is inaccate.

In fact Haman in te same cable rote

thee appea to be hundeds of o pisones wandein about Poland tying to locate Ameincontact oces o potection am told that o men don't le the idea o getting nto a Rsianmp The Polish people and the Polish Red Coss ae bein extemely hospitable, wheeas food andliving conditions in Russian mps ae poo n addition we have epos that thee ae a numbe ofsick o wonded who are too ill to move hese Stalin does not mention in his cable. Only a small

pecentae o those epoted sic o wounded aive at Odssa

Odessa as a Black Sea pot in te Ukaine, toug ic some 2,900 U.S soldies eepocessed and epatiated It is the only camp n te entie Soet occupied zone in Euope n hc

2able, UR G E N T. TOP SECRET, "APesonal Message fo the Psident, FomU. S. Ambassador to Russia WAverellHarriman," March 8, 1945.21 ibid.

ibid. ibid

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cotact rsol wr alwdth Yata agrmnt notwthstandng--and was th sorc omch o Harrmas otrag

"GT FFCTS N GA TO T CAATTON OF O BD OW"

Sx days atr mbassadr Harman snt anthe ble t sgtn, ts te t theScrtary o Stat Edward R Stttns Jr t dses t be ted at sm lngth

I assume the Department has been informed by the War Department ofthe ret diclties GenealDeane [hea of the US Miita Mssion to Moscow] and I have been having with the Sovietovernment in regar to the care an repatriation of or iberated prisoners ofwar In the beginningit appeare that the Soviet authorities were going to interpret our agreement substantialy as we i,name that e be aowe to sen our onat oces to several points within Poan to which or

prisoners rst n their ay to y in emergency suppies an to evauate our woune on theetrning trips ofthe panes, athogh in Soviet panes rather than Unite States panes We obtaineauthority for one ontact team of an oer an otor to go to Lubin wth one plane oad ofsppliesan they have one extremely sel work there No other teams or sppli have sine beenpermitte an authority for the Lbin team to remain has reently been withdaw e Soviets haveno contene that Oessa is the ony present 'camps an poits of conentration referre to n the[Yata agreement to which or ontact ocers are to be peritted

Our prisoners have suere seous hardships om lack of food, clothing, medil attention, etetera in ning their way to oncentation points in Poand and on the long rail trp to Odessabecause e have been stoppe om sening in or contact te and emergen sppes Aonsierabe nmber of sick and wonded are stil hositaled in Oan I have been rgig for theast to eeks Genera Deane be permitted to survey the sitation with a ed y ocer Twasrst approve in writing with the qalication that arrangements mst be made with Polshauthorities ocer of our military mssion infoaly approahed the Polih Embassy here andas avse that no Poish athoration was necessa as it was entiely with the competence of thee A We hae bn nabe hoee, o ge ahoton or Denes trip

It seems ear that the Soviets have changed their point of vew dring the lat seveal weeks and arenow rigiy etermne that none of or ocers shal be peritted in Poland

I sa Mootov again toay about the situation He maintaned that the Soviet Govement wasfing its obigation uner the agreement an both the Red Amy athorities an the PoishProvisiona overnment bjete to the presene of our oers in Poand When I pressed onwhat vai bjetion the Re Army o possiby have, he pointed out that we ha no agreement wththe Poish Prosiona overnment In spite of my contention that ths was a Soviet responsibilityhe kept reverting to the above fat I then irety asked him he wa impying that we shod makesuh an arrangement wh Pos an if so whether he Re Army wo remove its objections Hei not anser this question irey bt eft me wth the impression that he wishe me to raw thateution

I am satise that the obection comes om the Soviet oveent and not the Proviiona Polihovernment as our military mission had been in informal cont wth the Polish Embsy here whohae een eeme oerave have a Posh athorts ncin the Polh ed Coss to oprsoners in Poland

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meet each of your requess. I now reques you to ee ine i is paicula ae Plse llmbassador Harriman to explain o you in deail y dsirs2

rch 22 94 President Roosevelt received Mrshl Ss ely

I am in recit of your ssage abou the evacaio o oe US po o wa oPoand.

Wih regad o your inoaio au aeg lag b of sick ad jud Aiin Poand o awaitig evacuaio o Odssa, o who hav o coad h Sov auhoii I ussay ha he information is inaccuae. Acually, apa o a a ub who ae o hi wayto Polish soil as of Mach 16 I have oday civ a po wh a h 17 b oto Odessa in a few days

Wih refrenc o he requs conad your msag I ut ay h i ersonaly I would b ady o giv way v o h d o o B vnstane the matter one he ner of ove ar a h o d of ove coanders whodo no wan o have aound odd oc who, wl havg o lao o opio, ling after wan al kinds of meeigs and conact poio agan poibl ac o sabog byGerman agents not ye ferred o ad ohe thing ha dive he aeio o he coades adteir subordinates om heir direc duies Our commanders bear ll ponsibili for he sae ofaairs a the ont and in the imdiae ra and I do ot se how I n sic heir ighs o anyexent.

I mst also say that U. ex-prisoners of war liberated by he Rd rmy have been reaed ogood conditions in oviet capsbee coditions than hos aod Sove e-pioes of wa inU.. cms wher soe o h wee lodgd wh Gea wa pos ad w subd o ufaitreatmen and unlawful ersecuions including beaing a ha b coi o he Goverment on more ha one occasion.

President Roosevelt ently cceted Mshl Sts eon sice ssdorHrrimns nd Genel Denes suggeston to llow

our risoners of war en route o Napls o give sois o he wpap o hap hy havebeen subjeced o bewn poin of iberaion and arival a Odssa and ha i aw o uesiosof corresondents he War Dpare elai th povsios o ou ag ad h Sovoernment's ure to rry o the rosons of our reement acordn to any resonabeinerretaion. .

ws rjecte In ct our dys ter rshl Stns ely Generl Geoge C. Mshll the US o St issued n order on "revised olicy" to the US Mlty Msson Moscow nd otheAi Euron ommnds whic red:

Cle "From: Preside Roosevelt To: Mashal alin, Mach 18, 1945 Ce E and ECRE From Premier J V Sali To Pside RoosvelMach 22, 194527 Ce From: mbassador Haian in Moscow No. PH1449 Mach 14 1945

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"M NCNATN T BC U"

Te Soets also refsed te Bts contact teas access to te psoners n Red ycontrolled terrtory wo cae under Soet control wen te Red ry oerran Naz prson capsA Brts goernent cable dated prl 0, 194, o te ctng Secretary of State, Sr OeSargent, to Lord Halfax, ten te Bts bassador to te nted States reads

t is clear that Sovet Goveent will not allow our contact tms nto Poland. eRssans dey the estence of any Britsh prisoners ofwar n Poland but we have evidence that theeae psoners of war cnentate at Caow and Czestochow and n hospitals s a clear breach the Yata ageement We have theeoe ted to the Red Cross chanel 3

Te same da tat Lord Halfax receed te aboe telegra, Sargent sent Lord Halfx a

telegra wc concluded tat te Soets ae

sme lato to backmail nto deang th Wasawauthorties

In oter words, te Soets were atteptng to orce te rts to ge de facto recogntonto te Sovet upet Pols Prosonal goement, te sae deand tat bassador Harranbeleed was beng ressed by te Soet Cossar o Fore as, oloto, order to endt serous ardss o lac of food, clotng, edcal attenton, et cetera, of U.S solders,aout wc bassador Harran cabled te US Secretary of State

Te US and Brts forces, eanwle, were lg up to te Yalta aeeent Soet lasonocers were nsed nto te lled coand structure, and tese Soet ocers went about terbsness of assstng led forces to repatate, forcbly or oterse, Soet and aste uropeancitizens and solders wo were n led contoed tertoy cable a o Esenowes eutyComander, a Brts arsal, states

that e ow have 5 Sovet Lason Ocers woking under the directon ofMajor General Dragunwho s chaged wth the respoibiy of assstng in the problem of reparaton

2hat each rmy Grup has a ganton to handle epatiaton matters, and in thesegazatons we have woven Sovet Lason Oers who ae doig valuable work3

Teegam, "Fom: Actng Secetary of State, o Lod Halax, No 96 Api 20, 95 Teegam, "Fom: Actng Secretay of State, o Lord Halax, No 33, Apr 20 954 Cable, "o Edwad R Stettnus, Jr U S Sereta of State, From: Ambassado aman n Moscow No PH-9 Mach 9. ale, " AGWAR, From SEF SGNED DDER (senhower's Depu Commander Brtishasha Tedde)," EF N 8-9400, ne 29 195.

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Many Sovet ctens dd not want to etu to Sovet occuped tety, snce thse Svetscapued by the Gemans and ecoveed by lled fces, wee oe ecveed n Geman wkcamp unfoms hese Sovets captued by the Geans had ee en the pt f stag o

jontng a abo battaon. Most joned Gean a battans nce epatatd t the SetUnon many of these Sovets wee mpsoned edatey sae a caps wee, theSovets sent to save abo camps wee consdeed uc, snce the thes wee en sht

a esut, Sovet ctes and sodes n ed c wee extee euctat t eepatated The foowng descpton s f an attept by ed ses t epatate 399 feRussan sodes by tan to the Sovet Unon

hese men rese enrain They begge be sh ey resise enrainmen byaking heir ching an resing eave heir qarers. I was necessary se ear gas an sme

rce rive hem . Tear gas rce hem he biing in he snw where hse wh hac hemseves e exhase an beeing in he snw. Nine men hange hemselves an ne hasabbe himse eah an ne her wh ha sabbe himsel sbseenly ie; while20 hersare in he hspia r selinice wns e enrainmen was nally eece 368 men wh weresen accmpanie by a Rssian liaisn cer n a rain rrying Aerin gars Six menescape enre. A nmber men in he grp claime hey were n Rssians.39

T ACCS T CAS ACIC

n the Pacc theate even though the Sovets wee atecmes n the wa et aganst

Japan they managed to take conto of tetoy just acoss the Sovet Unons contguus deswth Manchua hnaas we as the nothe sands of apan I dong so, the Sovets wee abeto see some Japanese POW camps hodng Aed psones

n 1945 dung the cosng days of the wa wth Japan U.S tay ntegence MecyTeams ee sent nto hna and Mancha o aange fo the we-beng of the lled POWs nJapanese camps Geneay Japanese toop commandes coopeated wth the Me Teams, butthe oves (as n Eope) and hnese ommunsts dened Mecy eams access t caps n aeasunde he conto

Acabe fom the Secetay of State to the Unted States Poltca dse fo Geany statestha the State epatment has been anous n handng" the etu f Sovet ctens and sodesfom Westen Euope t avod gvng the Sovet authtes any petext fo deayng the etu fAmecan POWs of Japanese now n Sovet occuped one, patcuay Manchua

39 emranm he Unie Saes Plii Avisr r Germany (Mrphy) Frm Mr Parker W hrmannich" Janary 28 94eegram "T he Unie Saes Piical Avisr r Germany (rphy) a erlin Fr: Secreary Sae, N7462114/8-2745" Ags 29, 945

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he Sovets even sent a delegaton to Hano to forcbly repatrate any French ForegnLegonnares s n custody of the apanese who were dented as ctzens of the Sovet nonor as ctzens of any of the east bloc natons were surendered by the Alles to the Sovets

76,000EC paw S.. . N RUSS Z"

Fve days after vctory was announced n Europe (V-E day the Assocated Press,rom Aled Advance Headuarters n Rems France repoted that

Nealy hal o the estimatd 2,Bith and 6mein pisones o wa still inemany ae beeved o be whn he Russan zone o occupaon and Supeme Headuaes haswce euested a meeting o an ageement o aange he etu42

en days later a meetng between the Soet and Aled command took pace he meetngat Hale ermany on May 1945 was

o the pupose o coneng wih epesenaives o the Russan igh Command on the matte o

epaiaion o psones o wa and dsplaced pesons43

eutenant enera KD oubev Red rmy Sovet Assstant Atrator for Repatatoled the Sovet delegaton and Major eneral R arker SA sstant Chef of Sta -SHAEF ed the Alled delegaton

One of the ponts of dscusson at ths meetng was the falure of the Sovets to prode Sand rtsh lason ofcers permsson to vst ther fellow solders who were formerly s heldby the ermans and who were now beng held n camps Red rmy occuped terrtory I a cableom Esenhowers Depu Commander rtsh Marshall edder to varous Aed Commandocals and S dplomats Marshal edder descbes Sovet duplc and pol on ths mater

Beoe the HE Coneence we had made numeous aemps to vs PW Camps n heRussan Zne and aways me a m esa Ae he HALLE Coneence enea OEBEVasked to vsi Camps whee Rssans wee being kep We ageed and asked hm o pemssion tovs Camps n he Russan one He ageed to alow o ou Oces o vist 5 Camps One o my

41 Achmedes A Pati, Whyiet Nam? Pelude to Ameica's Albatross, pp 4 44 and 89 on hedebeate shootin o U S Amy Captain John Bich, the head o a Me Tam, by Chinese Communs toopsdenyng hm access to a POW mp unde hei conol42 "SHEF sks Rssians bout Feed Ps ssociated Pss dispatch, NCE HEQUARTERS, Reims,Fance, May 945Repo, "Fom: Mao Geneal R Bake, Subct Repot on Coneen with Russian Ocials Relative to heRepaaon oPsones o Wa and Dspaced Peons To e Che o Sta Supeme Haduaes E (Aeduopean Focs)," May 194

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representatives started on the trip acompanied by a Rssian Major who sad he had e nesaryorers. Afer visiting the rst and nerest Camp he Rssian Oer rdd orders igned byGeneral GOLUBEV restrictng our Oers visit to the one Cm T s he ny nstane of Sovietauthorities permitting US or Britsh Oers to vsi Camps in eir ar, wh s n shar onras

to the liberal poli pursued by us

RCAN Ws , N FFC BNG HTAG"

Fom he beginning of he s day confeence in Halle Gemany i was fo he Allies adcl meen. n hs pos meen epo ae woe

When the Russian Mission ws nally assembled it numbered some frty oers and for

to enlisted en ong the Rssian ocers were one Lieenant enera and sx MaorGenerals The Russian part arrved in requsitioned German vehiles of all mak, and Amerintpe arored car, uy equipe [armed], and a radio trk whh n operain most f he imeAl Russian ale personnel were heavily arme with pistos, sbmahne gns and ri

The meeing bean wh he Sovies esing o allow epaiain f llied soldies by aianso which made he enie epaiaion pocess much oe cubese and lgisicallydifficl ake descibed

Aer oening statement ! propose the immediae iaion f stes ookng owardpropt release and return to Allied ontrol of all British and American prisoners of war then inRussian custoy using air an otor transport This proosal was rml ressted b GeneralGOLUBEV who cite all manner oflol adinistrative iculties whch relue the operation.e state that serviceable airelds i not est which was known by myself to be not the se an so nfor Te Russian position was ve cear that neither now nor at an tie n the ture,woul the perit Alie airplans to be use for the ovement into or out of their territor ofprisoners of war or displaced persons, except 'Dstingushed persons, sik and wouned.

Afe he iniial meeings wih he Sovies lowe level discssions wee held by he paiesin an aemp o wok ou mually accepable aangeens Hweve as ake we hesemeengs having poven fle he decson was made ha all discussions wee be

carre on rectl between the heads of the Missions, with certain members of heir resetiveparties in attendance. On the Russian side those presen nmbered normaly om wen to twentyve including several genera ocers The SEF represeniv n aenne nrmaly wereself General ICKELEN Brigadier VENABLES and wo t for rersentatives of thetechnical servcesY

Cable ECRET "To AGWAR FOR WRCOSFrom: SHAEFMA SNE, F. NO : S94080,June 9 945 descrbing cam vsit ndent n late May, 94.45 ibi ibi7 b

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that

W O R L D W A R I I

arker wrote that it was aer the rst forhor session of the meeting in Halle, Germany

he SHAEF [Spreme Headqarers f he Alied Erpean Fres] represenaives me he rcnvicin ha Briish and Amerin prisners f war were, in ee, being held hsage by he Rssians nildeemed epedien by hem permi heir release

This is the rst hgh level report that openly sggese that the Sovets may not repatrateall of the llie Os in Re rmy occpie territoy fact aer s ays of meetings wth theSoviets, arker concle that

here is every indicain ha he Rssians inend make a big shw f rapid repariain f r menahgh I am fhe pinin ha we may nd a recance rern hem all fr an appreciable ime cme,since hse men cnsie a vaabe bargaining pin will be necessary fr s herefre arrange fr

cnsan iaisn and visis f inspecin 'ncver' r men

"NY MB F W T RN NRUN N"

On May 9 four ays before the start of the Halle meeting, a cable signe by Eisenhowerat the ies Spreme Heaqarters, state that

Nmbers f US prisners esmaed n ssian nrl 2,

er the Halle meeting, given Barkers conclusion that tish an merican prsoners ofwar were, in eect, being hel hostage by the Russians an that the Soviets were reluctant to retthem al, for an appreciable time to come, sice those en constitte a valable bargaining point,the retrn of a S an ritish PWs hel in e Amy occpie territoy appeae o e i seiosobt

Frthermore, a TO SECRET May 95 letter om Major GeneralJohn R Deane, theS Army Commaning General of the S Military Mission in Moscow to Lt General Savin, theAssistant Chief of the Re rmy in Moscow inicate that the Soviets were still holing over 5500US liberate" Os Deanes letter state

ibid ibid

I have had a ble m General Marshal in which he saes he has reeived infmain whichindies ha 197 Unied Saes liberaed prisnes f war are nw nder cnrl f Marshal

lbkhin

o Cabe, SECRE PRIORI " AGW Frm: SHAEF SIGNED EISENHOWER REF NO: S61" ay 19 194 .1 TOP SECRET"T Lt a avin ssisan Chief f Sa f he Red Arm ees missaia fDeense Mscw USS.R, Frm ar General Jhn R. Deane, U.S. Amy, Cmmanding General, U.S. MiiayMissin Mscw N 19 May 31 194

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O May 30, 1945, more ta tee week er e ere, e KeEisehower's Surgeo eeral at SHE Heaquater reee a eoam o te ubjetDisplaced Pero lled ex-P a ema "2 oow ot om t e

memoradum deailed te umber of lled ex a lae ro lle SrmeCommad repored were beig hed capive terrtory ocued by te e my o May 301945:

Russia Sphere.

BelgiaDutchBriishUSFrec

50,0004,000

20,000

20,000

250,000

115,000140,000

850,000

The eer memoradm dated May 30, 1945, tate 20,000 mea remae uerRed Army cotrol. Maor Geeral Deae requeted ifomato om te itat Cief of teRed my i Moscow about over 15,500 merca te Soet were beeed to be olg aeer daed May 31, 195. Terefore it is dcult to recocl tee facts wt a cable sed byEisehower o Jue 1, 195, wic read:

C t is now estimated that only small numbers of US prisone owar s rem Rsn hnThese no doubt ae scattered singly and n small groupsa no nformaton s alable of ny lrgenumbes in specic camps They are being eceied now ony sma dblets nd beng reportedaeceived.

Eerything possible is beng done to recove U.S personnel and to ender accurate ndomt eots theeon to the Wa Depatment53

The caim of he secod Eiseower cable ta "oly smal umber of US roer of warsi remai i Russia hads ad ha hese o doub are catered sigly ad i small groups aso informaio is availabe of ay large umbers pecic cam" drectly otrat teiformaio i he eer memoradm w tate a mere 48 o eler tat 20,000 U.S.POWs were sil beig eld by te e rmy rtemore, t retly otrat te omatoi Geera Deanes letter dated te day beore tat "ormao w ates tat 15,597 UteStaes ieraed prisoer of war are ow uer otrol of l obk." e te otet

52 eoandum, To: General Kenne, Esenhower's Sugeon Gene SFdquarers, Subjet DisplacedPesons Aie ex-PW an Geman PW, No. S 383.6-2 D, My 30, 194553 ae "To AGWR, rom: SHAE ORWARD, SIGNED EISENHOWER, RE No. F-2059," June 1,945.

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of ajor nral Dan OP SEET lr, and n conn of h r mmorandum,h Enhowr cabl of Jun 1 aar o b an am o glo ovr a iou roblm

A any ra, h Einhowr cabl wa mrly foowing h ocl US nw roaganda

ln On h am day a h cabl aing only mall numbr of US rionr of war ill rmainn Ruan hand, Te New York es rord h War Darmn had announcd ha

ss of the Ame sodes tke soe Eoe e ccoted fo UdeSecet Roe P Pteso sd Tmes ht t s ot execed h m ofthose who e seg ced s mssg co w e te hvg ee soes ofw4

n ohr word, on Jun 1, 1945, h US govn' ublic oiion wa ha moAmrcan akn ronr hav com om and bn raad, vn hough h claifidcab raffic for h rviou forngh wa roring bn 15,000 and 20000 ill hld

"TMS OW (Curent S}' SL GOn Jun 5, 1945, Allid command, om i hadqur in Pai, Franc, announcd ha

25,0 of om 90,00 mn who ad rud om rman POW cam ar h Allid miliavcory wr mn who had bn lid a ing in Acion IA)5S ivn ha 90,000 US oldrhad rud a h m of h announcmn and ha h US War Darmn for hEuroan Thar had rcord of 77,500 US Pronr Takn, 102,500 Amrican hould havrurnd from Euro no 90,00

n or word um of 77,500 known POW and 25,000 rud A qual 102,500rcan olr; howvr only om 90,0 wr rariad Th numbr may b

ard

n ular form

oal Pronr + Rpatriatd Toal To Takn A Rpatratd

77,500 25,000 102,500Howvr, h oal numbr of mn who wr rariad in Jun, 1945, wr ony 90,0.

Th n numbr no rariad, hrfor, i a follow:

4 "0000 Ctves Comg WeekEd; Am Sees Eoe Accotd or e New Yrk es,Je1 195ss 5000 ssg S Sodes Ave, ew rk Hera une une 6 4See cht CAPURED OR NERNED UNED SAESARY PERSONNEL, Decme1941 Ocoe1 145 comed he Sttsc Bch Detme of Defese, J 1946.

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Tota To Be Actua Tota NotRepatriated Repatriated Repatriated10500 90000 = 1500

The concusion is that even a rudimentary assessment f the Aes w gres suggests thatsoe 1500 meicans were never repatriated om e my cntlle terrtry

However the 1,500figure is signicantly lower than the 0,00 POWs w t be i Sovietcontro as detaie in the enner memorandum wch was wtten 4 urs befre te WDepartent's announcement that it is nt epected that my f thse wh are stll beg caeas ssin in action wil appear

s th ur o 0000 s stil hd i Rd Ar occuid trrito citd in thHAEFeorandum to Genera Kenner correct? as the rea gure coser to 1500Americansket as save aorers and hotages the Red as indicated th lis own pulic gursanounced Lt. Colone chweiter? r was the correct nuber of American soldiers notreatriated y the Soviets the gure cited Major Genera Deane in his May1 195 letter to theoviets that indicated 15,597 ercan soliers were under the control of Marshal Tobukhin?

n Feruar 5 1946 some eight months ater the Chef f the Strength Accountg Ocein the ar Departent's Chief ofSta Oce transmitted t the Nan! eaquaters f the edCross in Washington .C a cht shwing Missg Acn (cludg capre) US rmyersonnel for the pero 7 ecember 1941, tough 1 ecember 1945

In his letter Balard stated

I will b nod h h is Pisons of W (Cun ) and Missing in AcionCun us) sill lg h son of ous is h s of 3 Dcb 195 hs goiscd ls dni pos ilbl fo sisil copilion nd h siuion o d hs noailly chngd. You will ppci ha fo saisicl pupos hs sulis nno b odo oh cgois unil dild disposiion cods h bn pocssd. ny css naldisposiion us wi lgl dinaion of dah und P which y k up o npb n hough insigion o d ls lil loil doub h gin n spannly los...

h fogoing da was clssid Rsicd bu hs bn ppod fo ls o yo

57See "1OOEx-Cptives Coming ByWeek-End; Army SeesAllinEuropeAcounted For, NwYrks,June

1 1958Ltter,To: Murice Fte, Esq., Director Reliefto Prisoners of Wr, Natonl Hedqurters, Amerin Red CrossWshngon, D.C., From: LL. BallardJr,tCl.,hief,trenth and AccountigdtatistilOce OCS (Oce

of the Chiefof Sta) ," February 26, 194.

ibid.


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The char encosed wih Baards eer reveaed he oowng saemen, as o December31 , 1945, or he German heaers

CapuredReurned o PWMi onro (Curf. Sa)90,937 5,414

her Missing in AcionMA

DecaredDead

11,753

(urrenSas)2,997

" GC UBT TTA GNSY S

Figures or "Prisoners No Reurned o Miiary onro," comied by he SaisicaBranch o DD is 6,595 men in ha caegory as o cober 31, 1945 According o he cabeabove, as o December 31, 1945, 5 ,414 men were si ised as "PW (urren Saus )" Thereore,beween cober 31, 1945 and December 31, 1945 he US Dearmen o Deense gures or"Prisoners No Reued o Miiary onro" decreased om ,595 o he number ised above,5,414

Because he number o S risoners reariaed beween cober 31, 1945, d Deember31 , 1945, oaed ony 435, (sraggers, no doub) he decrease in he number o risoners ised inhe PW (urren Saus) caegory om 6,595 o 5,414 canno be exained merey by he

repatriation of 435 POWs still returning from Red Army occuped territory. This still leaves adecrease o 646 men rom PW (urren Saus) unexained

The remaining decrease n the number of men sll lsed as POWs (646) can, however, be

explained by the War Department issuing Presumed Findings of Death for these individuals In

fact the numbers inthe category of knownPOWs notreted inJune, 1945werelielycloseto

20,000, as the Kenner Memorandum stated.

This number would not include MIA, but oy kown POWs.

By the end of October, theWar Department was lkely able to make legal Presumed

Findings of Death in the majoriof these cases, leaving the number f"Prisoners Not Retued toMilitary Control" not 12,500, but 6,595

6Char "MISSING IN ACION US. AMPERSONNEL," German and Japanese Teaters, December 7 1941 -

December 31 1945 Sour: "Batle Casualties of he Amy" January 1 1946 om the Strength Accouning and

Staisi Ofce Febuary 25946. ee cha "CAPTURED INTENED UNITED STTESAMPESNNEL," daed Dember7 1941 -Octobe 311945 compiled by theSatstca Branch Deparmen of Deense, January 7 1946

oghy only 10PWs were repatraed the las hal o 1945.

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The fgure f11753Declared Dead under the categ her ssng nActn, n the chaf uat fgures fr December 31 145 actuall represent Presued Fndngs f Death PFD),a tre b S w These PFDs were made m bth the IA Cuent Status) lst and the

PO W (urret Stt lst, decreasng the numbers n thse categes and ncreng the numbern te Declared Dead categr

rest, Lt l Ballard felt bgted t expan t he Dectr f the elef t Psnersf War f the ed rs tht fr "tattcal prpes" the numbers n the Psner f War uentStt te ssng n Atn (rrent Statu were "stll large" Bllard explaned t he edr tht "tee ltes cannt be mved t ther ateges" untl eah ma cn be fund,e t be de eth r Bllr pt t er "vetgatt te eve tte gcal dbt tt gve m permentl 10t"6

e mt trng pet tee met the reveltn that the Wr eprtment'hef f the Strength Auntng and Stattc Oe n the e f the hef f St f the War ertment mn functn was t reslve eah utstandng case b deteg--a sn asenugh tme elped t mae t egal pssblethat eah man "pemanentl lst," and therefre,ed

Te trt f the War Depatment's ert were t n the den ha mt mecansw expect ther gvement t prceed; that s, t mae a thrugh et t detemne the faef e mn Gven the bvus nd berved plc b the Svet gveent t hld ctzens andler m Wete cntes, wn t senr S cals, Lt Cl Balards ets shuldhave been cncentrated n detemnng where the Svets were hdng hese men, and nt merel

t "awt a ega determnatn f eth under PL40whch m tae up t next September"

T te brertc precedent reate Wrl War I n the se f "preumed ed"mg tee mg rm te er et re were e g we f S ere w were nwn t be POW e b te Germ Wrl Wr II but weret reptrte e the terrtr the were beng held n was ccpe b ed Arm n wereleg etermned t be de

O OON [SAAl OF GE E

Where were these thunds f means an hundreds f huands f Eurpens?er a mnth aer the Esenhwer cable clame that "n mal nubers f S psners fwa tl reman n ussn hands" and hat these "n dubt ae scattered sngl and n sma gups rmt vbe f an lrge nmber n spec cmps," Esenhwer sent a SEETPIOIY be t General Dene n w whh read

63Ltr, o ur t q, Dror Rl o Pror o Wr Ntol Hdurtr Amr R CssWhgo D c rom Blrd r L Col., Ch, Strgth d Aoug d Stttl O, (Oo h Ch o S," brury 26 19-3- 24


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W O R L D W A R I I

Possblty tat seveal nded men piones of wa lbeated om talag L 1 Bet aeow coned by te Rsan Amy te Rostock area pendng dentton as Amens sepoted by an Amen wo ecently eted om sc conement

/gt ntoy eg was one of a fo oces and noncommssoned oces wo leStalag Lf 1 mmedately por to assmpton of ntol Bat by te Red my oder to obtarmored ar trasport om Wsmar Te gop of ten wc Sgt eg tavelled was aested byRssan soldes ad eld n jals n Bad Dorberan ten Rostock Te oter Amerns were soouder smlar crcmstanes n Rostock

Rssan autortes demanded dentton papes wc no psoer possessed ad resed toconsde dog tags proof of te ens' stats Te Amer were well fed ad well treated butSeg complans tee was no dsposton to speed dentton ad evacaton Ae 25 days heesped om jal and made way to Brts Fores

From hs ow obseatos and convesatons wt ote fomer psones e beleves several

hndred Ames may be eld lke ccmsances te WsmarBad DoberaRostock rea

"GER OIS R BE RAD"

In act, there contnued to be many reports o Amercans ben held by the Soviets. Foreape, the cataloue of the Natonal Archves lsts a memorandum om the State DeartentSeca Projects Dvison, date February 6, 1946, reardn a conversaton between Cooneavanauh, om War Department and Captan Geore, and M Baly, reardn Doolitte iersnterned by the Sovet Unon. These ers were never repatrated.

Aan, a etter to the leader o France's Natonal Consttuent Asseby dated Auust 17,1946 fro the Deuty o the Bas-Rhn stated:

I have bougt to te atteto ofte Mnister for ex-Psoners of War te testmony of Mr JosephBogescutz 55 Gand Re at Mlose (Hat Rn) wo was epatated o last uly omRssa om Camp 99-6 at Iskaya whch 0 klometers om visbrsk[ ] ogeschutz satsthat e wrote at lest tee ads a mont troug te Red Coss (Red Cescent sne September9 and tat oe of tese rds eve arrved Bogenstz addton tereto alleges tat therestll rema Amern Btis Belga Pls Rmanan Lxemburg etc. atonals the Camp

ble To: DEANE MOSCOW HQ 2st GROP cte HGAP sed CRF (Esenowe FromSHAEF No 6590" ne 2 195 Lste n te ataog of te atoal Aceves as Memo No 4011 PW However te actal documet smssng Te Doolttle yes wee cew membes of te darng spse "Doolttle ad" on Too a one-way bombgmsso n prl 192 by 16 B2 bombes om te acra re S Hoet Copy of translaton of a letter wrtten o Repblc of Frances Natonal Costtent Assembly statoa Paris dteAugust 96 sgned Henr Meck Depy of the BsRn

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W R L D W A R

nothr xampl s a rport om th Hadquartrs f nd Sts siAusra,to th Dirctor fInellignce Genel S fe S my de Je15, 1946w se:

SUBJE: USS - Amerin ry Pesonnel n onneen

SUMMRY OF OMION

Te follwig information was obtained o a fore foced laboe ho claied to have beenned i an unregistered lager with Sbject personnel Infoant claied to have been eleasedthrough a error committed by the coandant of the Moscow hospital where she was trasferredbecause of inantile paalysis

Appromately60 k om Mosw, i the direction of Kaline, theei an uneistered labo pTe ees 150 me ad 50 wome, work in coal nes n the vcinity of the p Among thosened are 3 Amerian Air orce soldiers who were ptured y the Geran Wehacht,Czehoslovaka, durig, April 1945 Tse me are

Charlie, 21 years, 170 cm, blond, blue eyes, has paralyzed right shoulde.

oe. 165 m, dark blond, dark eys, has stomah woud ad i oed n lager ary

bert, 27 years, 170 cm, blak hair, brown eyes has sti lef hip and bu s o lef side of face,iom Texas

Te lager connees will never be repatriated and ae not pertted to wite letters67

Th rasons that th Sovits kep US. POWs nd Wse Epen ens andPOWs ar dicult for th ctizns f fe cunres fm. Hwv, n may spculat n a

ast five xplanatins

First, for cnmc cncssins, r s Maj Vrsenk se f 'cds'

Scnd saist Svietviw-s descibed byMlv i 'ws dangers" meely

to sar aarsar(or th cas of thU., a al who mab autur adrsa) bu t was

aso cssary to "mak thm wrk"

Thrd, as a sourc of slav labor to rbuild thr industral base.

ourth, as th Brtshcabl statd, to sats th Sot nclnaton to blackmai us nto

daln with Warsaw authoritis and forothr poitical concssns.

Fifth, ense ht te Alies fblyeped Rssn n e ese Epen

citizns who dd not wsh t rtu to thir cunrsunde Svt nl

67 Memorandum, CONFIDENTAL, "To Directorof Inteligence, Geneal Sta, U.S. y, Washington DC From:

C. P. Bkel, Cloel GSC, DiretorofInteligee for the Headquaters, Unted States Foces inAusta," July 13, 1948.

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W O R L D W R

T daug o on u S y o--ao W Tompon--wa n od a n955 a Gman POW paiad om So onnaon amp ym pod o Unid Sa gon a wil wa pio m f T Gman paiaod mian oial a Tompon old a ad b impiod Budny pon

na oow and lo i Tay labo mp a Wold W II No only wa Tompodaug olmd wn found ou aly 1991 a infomion d bu wondd ow amily ould av bn old by Und Sa gon 1944 aoTompon ad bn lld ion body no ovd

S Men Who Never Retued," Eitorial, T WahigonTs March 13, 191.

3- 27-


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THE KOE WAR

Unlike the result in World War II Allied forces did ot acheve a mltary victory n oreae Korean War ended at the egotiag table betee mmuist Norh ore rereseativesand United Nations reresentatives

With regard to POW reatraton the North Koreans intially demanded an "all-or-all"prisoner exchange he Unted tates was reluctant to aee to t ola based on s World WarII experience with the Yalta aeement and mandatory repariaon kowig that housads othose forced to retu to the Sovet Union were either

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An Examination of US Policy Towards POW-MIAs 1991

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