[NAPA0313.TXT 03/13/92]

FROM THE NAPA SENTINEL

By Harry V. Martin Copyright, Napa Sentinel, 1992 EXCLUSIVE
REPORT

EDITOR'S NOTE:  On February 28, and March 6, the Napa Sentinel
published articles about the potential release of 10 American
POWs from Vietnam. Their release was to have been secured by a
privately financed organization without sanction of the United
States government.  The group freeing the prisoners reported in a
radio message that the U. S. government has sent over teams to
possibly halt the repatriation.  The following report is an
update to those articles.

As an intricate cat-and-mouse game is being conducted by the
United States government and privately financed expeditionary
forces attempting to bring American POWs out of Vietnam,
intelligence sources within the government indicate that 12
former "POWs" are now being "deprogrammed" at Portsmith, New
Hampshire.  The source, a career officer in the U. S. Defense
Intelligence Agency, spoke to the Sentinel on the promise of
anonymity.  At least two other sources on the East Coast have
verified the report.

The 12 former "POWs" are reported by the military source to
be "deserters," but in truth may well have been left behind
after the Vietnam war as agents of the United States
intelligence community. These "POWs" were "miraculously"
rounded up in Southeast Asia and secretly brought into the
United States after reports were published that a non-government
team had purchased 10 American POWs in Southeast Asia for
$200,000 each.  In fact, after the Sentinel reported the $2
million deal, the United States government offered Hanoi $3
million in humanitarian aide. Some members of the Family POW
Network question whether the U. S. government was attempting the
"up the ante."

Reliable sources in Washington have told international news
agency reporters that the government line on any possible
returned POWs obtained by privately financed groups, would
be officially termed "deserters."  They call this "damage
control" to fit in with official U. S. policy that "no
American POWs remain alive in Southeast Asia."  The
Vietnamese government is apparently willing to cooperate on
the POW issue in exchange for normalization of relationship
between the U. S. government and Hanoi.  The one stumbling
block to such normalization is the fact that President
George Bush has strong ties to mainland China - Vietnam's
only natural enemy in the region.  Bush has agreed to send
offensive missiles to China which disturbs Hanoi.  Hanoi in
turn may wish to retaliate by releasing American POWs to
privately financed "soldiers of fortune" type organizations
in order to embarrass Bush during his re-election bid.

Bush has been accused of orchestrating the "October
Surprise" in 1980 to block release of American captives in
Iran in order to assure the defeat of President Jimmy
Carter.  Hanoi may desire to turn the tables on Bush with an
"April Surprise."

According to an unconfirmed reported (sic) form the Family
POW Network in Los Angles, 10 families of American POWs are
reported to have already been notified that their captured
man in Vietnam will be released soon. Representatives of
British television are attempting to verify the statement.
It has also been confirmed from at least one U. S. Senator's
office, the Sentinel articles of February 28 and March 6
parallel information that they are aware of.  A Select
Committee has been questioning people about POW contact in
Southeast Asia.  One such witness was reported to have been
brought before the Select Committee under armed guard.  The
Committee considers his testimony as critical and authentic.

The Sentinel has obtained an affidavit from a Laotian
detailing the existence of American POWs in Southeast Asia.
The affidavit is from Bouakena Phanavong through Sayfa
Phounsavan as an interpreter. Phanavong is a native of
Wapithong, Laos (sic).  He was a truck driver in Laos (sic)
and also worked for the U. S. Government's AID Program. "I
worked as a mechanic's helper when I first started working,
and I was working as a truck driver when I quit working.
The reason for my quitting work was because the Communists
had taken over the country at the time, and all United
States assistance and programs were terminated," Phanavong
began.  "I was given two pieces of United States
identification.  One piece of identification was to
authorize me to guard houses and buildings that Americans
were occupying.  The other piece of identification was given
to me from the U. S. Aid Program, and identified me as an
employee of the program.  After I quit working for the
United States, I drove a taxi Pakse City to Savannaket ."

Phanavong describes his detention next: "At the end of
December, approximately three days before the end of the
year, I was stopped by the Communists and asked for
identification while in my taxi.  I did not have all of the
travel documents which I was supposed to have had to be
driving the taxi, and at the time, the Communist found my
United States identification card.  Because of the
identification card I was arrested. This arrest took place
in the Town of Thakak in Laos.  I was then transported in
the back of a truck, which was covered with canvas, and I
was unable to see where the truck was going.  At night I
would be brought out of the truck, my hands and feet tied,
and allowed to sleep outside and to eat.

"After twenty days of traveling in the truck, we arrived at
a village called Viengxay.  I was told the village was
Viengxay by my captors, and I also read the name of the
village on signs in the outskirts of the village.  I did not
go into the village, itself, but I could see a number of
houses in the hills and near the road that looked like a
village.  We stayed in Viengxay two days, and then I was
taken by truck to a prison camp.  The road to the prison
camp was not in good condition, and there were some small
hills over which the road crossed. We traveled approximately
25 mph to 30 mph and it took us 3-1/2 hours to reach the
prison camp from Viengxay.  I believe that we traveled in an
easterly direction."

"When we arrived at the camp, the camp was surrounded by
bamboo trees. There was one cave at the mountain that looked like
the cave was a natural cave and not man-made.  The cave was
being used to hold prisoners.  There was a small stream
coming down from the mountain on the left side of the cave which
was used for drinking water and also to take showers.  There were
two guard huts made of bamboo, approximately ten yards from the
front of the cave.  I was held in a bamboo tent come distance
from these guard huts.  The prison camp looked like it was large
enough to accommodate approximately 100 prisoners.

"I saw five Caucasian prisoners being held in the cave.  I
was told by my guard that these prisoners were American
pilots.  All five of the prisoners were quite tall -
approximately six feet in height.  One of the prisoners was
slightly shorter than the others.  This prisoner had mixed
white and dark hair.  Three of the prisoners had light brown
hair and the last prisoner also had whitish, dark hair.  I
notice a gold ring on one of the prisoner's hands.  This was
one of the prisoners that had light brown hair,  I stayed at
this prison camp for approximately one month (sic).  During
this time my hands were tied and I was kept a short distance away
from the cave.  When I was interrogated, I was brought down to
the cave, approximately ten yards from the entrance, and
interrogated in bamboo huts that were located about ten yards
from the cave.  During the interrogation, the guards would point
to the American prisoners while they were questioning me and I
could see the American prisoners shaking their heads when they
pointed to me.  I could not hear any of the questions being asked
of the American prisoners and I don't think that the American
prisoners could hear the questions being asked of me.

"The Americans wore a light green uniform that appeared to
be a Soviet uniform.  They wore pieces of car tires tied onto
their feet for shoes. I also saw a pink towel which the Americans
used to wash themselves when they were taken to the stream to
wash.  All five of the American prisoners were quite skinny;
however, they all appeared to be uninjured.  There were twelve
guards at the camp, and there were always two guards guarding the
Americans at the cave.  All the guards had guns - apparently,
there were A-K guns.  I did notice that when the American
prisoners were sitting down that I could see red rash on the
lower part of their ankles.

"The guards prevented myself or the three other Laotians who
were prisoners with me from communicating with the Americans
or allowing the Americans to communicate with us."

"Approximately thirty days after I had arrived at this
prison Camp, I was transferred to Engkahn Re-education Camp
in a truck which took approximately ten days and was in the
south of Laos."

Phanavong later escaped to Thailand and then to the United
States, which provided him with priority immigration status.
This deposition was taken in 1980 - four years after the
fall of Saigon.

Retired Captain Alan Goetsch, who served in Project Elephant, and
work with covert groups in the mid - 1980s in an effort to secure
the release of American POWs told the Sentinel that Americans are
still in Southeast Asia.  He indicates that several groups are
working to free them and that there are also several bogus groups
that are working in their own interests.  "People are involved
with different agendas," he said.  He indicates the varied groups
work for either Democrats, Republicans or some of the right-wing
candidates, all attempting to "cash-in" on the return of American
POWs.  Captain Goetsch also indicated that several people
involved in POW projects, such as himself, have been discredited
by the U. S. government and that at least 184 of them have been
jailed for various reasons - many low echelon people linked to
the Iran-contra scandal - though no major players have ever been
convicted.

Goetsch still has intimate contact with native elements in
Southeast Asia, believed mainly in Cambodia.  He said that
his Cambodian contacts have direct access to three to five
American POWs.  In one instance, a DNA sample was tested on
one known American POW in Laos and the test proved positive
identifying the individual.  Goetsch last direct mission
was in 1985 - but his contacts remain.  He indicated that
his team had brought out nine 35mm photos taken at 200 meters
in northern Laos of three American POWs.  Goetsch reports
that as late as last year he can certify the fact that
several American POWs were being held in Southeast Asia.
Goetsch stated that at least 12 American POWs are accessible
and can be released for a payment - a payment far less than
the $2 million reported paid to the 10 POWs recently.

The Sentinel did receive a call from an individual
associated with an independently financed group.  His
credentials have been verified by other sources.  The
individual said that no one was supposed to know about the
mission to release 10 American POWs and indicated that only
three people were supposed to know a ham radio broadcast
indicating the securing of 10 American POWs and their
guards.  He indicated that no CIA effort was being made to
curtail the operation - yet said the operation was
endangered by any publicity.  Other members of the team,
however, disagreed, and indicated the publicity was
necessary to protect the American POWs until they could be
brought home safely.  The individual claimed that the POWs
should be out of Southeast Asia within two to four weeks.

The group is apparently debating how to release information
on the return of 10 POWs and where to hold an international
news briefing.  The group seems to lack any complete
knowledge of public and press relations.

Some American POWs are believed to have been shipped to
North Korea. This information parallels the timing of the
United States in halting and searching a North Korean ship
in the Middle East.

From various reports, there appears to being (sic) several
missions involved.  One mission indicates that they have
access to 51 POWs another 74, and yet another 10.  French
television has reported one of the missions which was picked
up in the Boston Globe.  The Tom Donahue show from Jacksonville,
Fla. also carried a detailed report on one of the missions.

James Nichols (sic) Rhode (sic) summed it up best in a book.
He reported the words spoken to him by a dying American POW
- the man was dying in his arms - "We kept the faith, don't
break the faith with us."

[Distributed through the P.O.W. Network]

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