WWRM MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
MAY 2008
Identifications from WWII made since the April newsletter or that have not been previously reported by WWRM(for a complete list of remains recovered since January 2008 - please refer to our archived newsletters):
All USAAF:
Staff Sgt Albert J. Caruso Tech Sgt. Paul Miecias Tech Sgt. William L. Fraser
2nd LT. Kenneth L. Cassidy Capt. Robert L. Coleman Tech Sgt. Robert C. Morgan
2nd Lt. Irving Schechner Pvt. Joseph Thompson 1st Lt. George E. Wallinder
2nd. Lt. Ronald F. Ward
Upcoming DPMO Family Update Meetings:
May 17, 2008 - Tulsa, OK - Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills7900 South Lewis Avenue
Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, 74136.
July 26 - Chicago, IL- hotel information TBD
Point of Contact for these update meetings will be sent out separately - if you are able to be a point of contact for the families for this meeting please let me know.
If you plan on attending either of these meetings please contact me at lphillips5@fairpoint.net as well as to register through your Service Casualty Office (SCO) or DPMO's website:
SCO Contacts:
- US Army Casualty Office: 1-800-892-2490
- US Marine Corps Casualty Office: 1-800-847-1597
- US Navy Casualty Office: 1-800-443-9298
- USAF Missing Persons Branch: 1-800-531-5501
- East Asia & Pacific Div
Overseas Citizens Services: 1-202-647-5470
"They fought as brothers-in-arms. They died together and now they sleep side by side. To them we owe a solemn obligation". -Adm. Chester W. Nimitz
Resolutions being found, our Case Updates:
India: Last month we reported that JPAC will be traveling to India to investigate some sites. The sites that we are aware that they are investigating are as follows: MACR 14769, MACR 2819, MACR 1149, MACR 2140, MACR 5292, JPAC WWII case # 485-1 and JPAC WWII Case # 90-1. We were also informed that JPAC is seeking help from the People of India on other cases. These investigations include the Hot as Hell crew and the Robert M King crew. We hope that a recovery of all will be forthcoming.
Italy/Yugoslavia: A historian from Italy has contacted WWRM with coordinates on some crash sites. We are working with this historian and will continue our efforts there on cases. WWRM was informed at the update meeting in CT that a few of our cases were being investigated now through DPMO in Italy. Researchers are in the area interviewing eyewitnesses and going through documentation. This historian also put me in contact with a historian that is investigating all cases in Slovakia. Both historians have agreed to work with WWRM and provide information. If you know of losses in these areas please contact us.
Underwater Cases: I have met with my Senator and we are discussing ways to get four underwater cases funded. As more information comes in we will forward the information to all of you.
From the European Team: European efforts continue to focus on several cases. These are one B-17 MIA in Bremen, Germany, nine of ten B-17 crewmen in Oberlungwitz, Germany, a partial B-17 crew in Ouddorp, Netherlands and a known burial of a POW in Lubin, Poland. New efforts are underway for the Commanding Officer of the 38th Fighter Squadron near Oldenburg, Germany. Another European search is underway for an infantry MIA lost during the crossing of the Sauer River in Luxembourg during February 1945.
Brann Case (Europe): Gary Quinlan was able to meet with DPMO's historian at the CT update meeting on this case. WWRM has also connected him with a historian at JPAC and Ken Breaux continues to help Gary with this case. By Gary's meeting with DPMO and the historian at JPAC - Gary was able to narrow down his search - some of the X-files were looked into and eliminated as a possible site. Gary and Ken - keep up the excellent work and we hope to have a resolution for you soon.
UPCOMING MISSIONS: JPAC Upcoming missions for the remainder of FY 08:
April - Japan (Kakeroma Jima) - 1 investigative team
April/May - Papua New Guinea - 1 investigation team and 2 recovery teams
Pagan Island - I phase 2 testing team
May/June- China - 1 Investigative Team
Aug/Sept - Europe - 3 recovery teams
India - 1 phase 2 testing team
Japan - 1 recovery team
Vanuatu - 1 recovery team
JPAC's FY 09 begins in October - here is the "tentative schedule". This is not approved and is subject to change:
Europe - Germany, Poland and Italy
South Pacific - Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the Philippines
Moving Ahead - our progress report:
Education on POW/MIA Issues: We continue to send press releases to SkyControl. We are also starting publishing information on various WWII websites/forums.
H Res 111 (Establishing a Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs): WWRM traveled to DC last month and spoke with representatives from Rep. Rangel and Rep. King's office. We spoke on behalf of the WWII families and the difficulties we face as a group. Speaker Pelosi was invited to the meeting and did not attend or send a representative. We will continue to monitor H Res 111 and also look at alternative ways to seek help from Congress on this issue. If you would like a copy of the speech please contact the President directly.
MtDNA Program: WWRM is working with DPMO, Service Casualty Offices (SCO), AFDIL and JPAC on building an mtDNA database. We have published an URGENT needs list on the website of active cases. We would also request that all members please provide SCO with information so that they can send out a test kit - this is NO COST to the families. WWRM would also like to track who has provided mtDNA - if you have already provided please contact us. If you have not provided, contact us as well so that we can get you a kit. Also we have contacted several websites about this and will start a media campaign throughout the US to help build that database. This is an essential tool in the identification process and we can not stress enough how important this is. Other ways of providing this much needed tool is if you have a letter with an envelope from a missing service member - that can be used as a sample. A strand of hair or a toothbrush of an eligible donor can be sent in as well.
We also have a few members who are willing to do genealogy to help find an eligible donor. MtDNA not only helps identify remains but it also eliminates remains to determine who the remains belong to. For more information on mtDNA please read the website, or you may contact us with any questions and we will get them answered.
Notes from the Webmaster:
This summarizes our latest upload for the WWRM website
- We have added to the Links page links to websites of organizations advocating for MIAs of other conflicts.
- We have updated information found on the Current Cases page on the USS Oklahoma missing, specifically, home state information and indication that they belonged to the USS Oklahoma crew. With this information added, about 50% of the USS Oklahoma missing listed in the Current Cases have been updated.
- In the "How You Can Help" section, we have added a link to photos of unidentified Americans held as POWs in WWII German prisoner or war camps.
- We have updated the "In the Media" section with links to recent World War II MIA articles in the news.
- If you would like to add anything or have suggestions for the website please contact our webmaster (Gina Zaetz) or myself at wwiimissing@gmail.com
Notes from the President:
April was a very busy month for me. In the beginning of the month I traveled to DC to speak on behalf of H Res 111 and to voice the concerns and difficulties that the WWII Families face. During my trip to DC I also met with Katie from BentProp who is going to help us with getting documents from the Archives. I am planning a tentative trip to the Archives in June. If you have documents that you need please let me know and we will try to get those documents.
I also traveled to CT to attend the DPMO sponsored Family Update Meeting. Amb. Ray was at the update meeting and we had a very productive one-on-one meeting. Amb. Ray voiced some of his concerns with me in regards to WWII. I in turn voiced some of our concerns as having a family member missing from WWII. Some of the suggestions that were voiced were that families should send all requests to DPMO and JPAC directly through their Service Casualty Office. Another concern was that Amb Ray wanted to make sure that the WWII Families knew that he was trying very hard to reorganize and asked us to be patient, that change is coming and his office is working the WWII issue. He has a lot of good suggestions and plans he is working on. He was very open to our concerns and suggestions as well. I felt that this meeting was very productive and positive.
A few others I met with at the CT update meeting are Dr. Mark Russell (Historian at DPMO), Mr. Johnie Webb and Dr. Tom Holland from JPAC, and Mr. James Canik (AFDIL) - all of these meetings were very productive and positive. Please refer to the upcoming missions section to view upcoming missions for JPAC.
During the month of April I also had a telephone meeting with LTC Smith from the Service Casualty Office. There are some changes going on there as well. Ms. Carolyn Floyd is now the Head of the WWII Section, Ms. Tracy Brown and Mr. Lincoln Berry are the Service Casualty Officers for WWII. We have been requested to send all correspondence to the following email address to ensure a response in a timely manner: tapcper@conus.army.mil. It is important to make sure you are registered with the appropriate casualty office to make sure that they have family contact information for you.
MEMBERS CORNER
(IN THEIR MEMORY)
It is in the memory of the missing service member for which WWRM was formed and the reason that we need to bring these men home to their final resting place. This month we are featuring an article from Howard Enoch who was told of his father's recovery mission and identification at the CT Family Update Meeting.
A FATHER'S RETURN
On March 19, 1945, the fighter my father was flying crashed in Germany. My mother was 17 years old. She turned 18 less than a month after he was declared missing and presumed dead. I was born three months later. By the time I was old enough to understand he was gone, my mother had remarried and my father was not talked about. When I was eight years old, my father was declared "unrecoverable". I do not know if my mother knew this, but if she did, she never mentioned it to me. When I became an adult, I had no knowledge of my father and no hope of ever finding information about him. When I was contacted by the Army and asked to come to the Family Update, I was skeptical; after all these years, why would anyone have any new information? I had literally spent my life wishing and wanting to know more about my father, but I did not realize that anyone else cared or was still looking for him. I went to the Family Update with high hopes and low expectations; it just didn't seem possible that anyone could tell me anything because my family had not even mentioned my father. My search for my father was a personal search to find some kind of inner peace with the belief that he was gone and I would never understand what happened and why.
The Family Update I attended was the first I had ever gone to. Before I was contacted by the Army I had no knowledge that the Family Updates were conducted. I was totally unaware of the heroic efforts that are being made to recover and identify the men missing in the wars. I was emotionally stretched as I listened to the stories and descriptions of the work that is being done. More than once I was brought to tears as I learned, for the first time, to how much my country cares about the men who have still not been given a final resting place in a place of honor in this country. I listened and learned and resolved to do whatever I could to find my father. For the first time in my life, I had hope of closure. That, had it been all, would have been a wonderful gift To see the dedicated men and women who work tirelessly to find and identify the missing, and to feel the energy of the relatives who live for a glimmer of hope of finding a close relative still missing in the wars, filled me with new energy and resolve.
I could have left the update energized and ready to go to work, but all that changed when I learned my father had been positively identified. I went into shock, and I am not certain I have recovered yet. I have a very vague memory of the time after I received the information, but I do remember being very grateful for the efforts that had been made to find my father. It is not possible to describe the joy and sorrow that fills your heart when a dream comes true; to know for certain and to weep for the lost years. I picture a young pilot sitting in a peaceful field in Germany waiting for someone to come pick him up and take him home. He is coming home now, and I am so happy to be able to have a place to go to honor him and to know he is resting with his buddies. Now, I am equally resolved to take action, but now I feel I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the men and women who have never given up looking for my father. I also want to add my support to the relatives who still wait. I received a great gift at the update. I truly wish I could share it with every family who is still waiting. I truly believe that some day every man and women who is still missing will be brought home. And I truly believe we can and must do what we can to give those who are searching and waiting our unconditional support.
Welcome Home 2nd Lt. Howard C. Enoch Jr.!
Photo submitted by Howard Enoch, son of 2nd Lt. Howard C. Enoch.
