News

ACCESSION 
NUMBER:370350

FILE ID:EPF306

DATE:12/07/94

TITLE:U.S. HOSTS U.S.-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION ON POW-MIAS PLENARY (12/07/94)

TEXT:*94120707.EPF

*EPF306   12/07/94

U.S. HOSTS U.S.-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION ON POW-MIAS PLENARY

(Text:  DoD 12/06/94 news release)  (660)

Washington, Dec. 6 -- The United States will host the eleventh United

States-Russia Joint Commission (USRJC) on POW/MIAs plenary in Washington,

D.C. from December 7-9.



Part of the USRJC's work is to determine the fates of American servicemen

from the Korean and Vietnam wars who may still be missing on the territory

of the former Soviet Union or about whom the Russians may have information.



Following is the text of the news release provided by the Public Affairs

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense:



(begin text)

The United States will host the eleventh United States-Russia Joint

Committee on POW/MIAs (USRJC) plenary in Washington, DC from December 7-9,

1994.  The Washington meeting is the second to be held in the United

States.



The USRJC was established in March 1992 by agreement between Presidents Bush

and Yeltsin to determine the fates of American servicemen from World War

Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War, who may still be

missing on the territory of the former Soviet Union or about whom the

Russians may have information.  The Commission also has an objective to

assist the Russians in learning about the fates of Russian servicemen in

Afghanistan.  The U.S. side of the Commission is headed by Ambassador

Malcolm Toon.  Other members include Senators Bob Smith and John Kerry;

Congressmen Sam Johnson and Pete Peterson -- both former POWs in Vietnam;

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA James Wold; President

Joint Military Intelligence College Denis Clift; Principal Deputy Assistant

Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Pete

Tomsen; Department of State Director for Independent States and

Commonwealth Affairs John Herbst; and Acting National Archivist Dr. Trudy

1eterson.  The Russian side, headed by General Volkogonov, includes

parliamentarians, the head of the major archives, and the officials of the

Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, the Interior, and security

services.



To date the Joint Commission has met nine times in Moscow, commencing in

March 1992, and most recently in August/September 1994.  The Commission has

also traveled to the Baltic States, the Ukraine, Armenia, Czech Republic,

Kazakhstan, Belarus, and to eastern Russian in an effort to expand

interview efforts and archival searches.



While here, the USRJC will visit the United States Naval Academy and the

Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland.  The USRJC has been actively involved

in locating the remains of Captain John Dunham, USAF, who graduated from

the Naval Academy in 1950.  The visit is designed to continue to stimulate

initiatives with our Russian counterparts that are expected to produce more

witnesses, documents, and leads to additional information regarding our

POW/MIAs.



The visit to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds is an attempt to show the Russian

delegation some of our equipment holdings and, in turn, to encourage them

to examine their holdings of U.S. material, which may enhance our chances

to resolve POW/MIA issues.  It is hoped that such an activity will

challenge the Russians to look at serial numbers, markings, and other data

that can possibly provide clues to the origin of equipment and its users.

One other objective is to request of the Russian side of the USRJC that

American investigators be granted access to Russian museums, technical

institutes, and test facilities which may hold American equipment taken for

technical exploitation or as trophies from World War Two, the Korean War,

Cold War, or Vietnam.



This plenary is intended to promote the work already undertaken in previous

commission meetings held over the past two and one half years.  Discussions

will involve working group sessions for World War Two, Korean, Vietnam, and

the Cold War, permit Russian delegates to examine our archival holdings,

meet with senior American military and civilian officials, and provide a

forum for family members to directly ask Russian Commission members

questions pertaining to individual cases.



(end text)

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