Russian military archives reveal information about 51 U.S. pilots captured in Vietnam
MOSCOW - A U.S.-Russian panel on prisoners of war has found information in
Russia's military archives that could help account for 51 American
pilots missing from Vietnam, a lawmaker said Monday.
The information has already helped identify seven of the pilots, said
lawmaker Nikolai Bezborodov, deputy chief of the parliamentary defense
affairs committee and co-chair of the POW panel. "The fate of 19 more
servicemen can be determined by the Americans on the basis of the
lists presented to them," Bezborodov was quoted as telling the
Interfax-Military News Agency.
The information documents 38 incidents involving the capture of 51
Americans. In all, 1,889 Americans are still missing in Vietnam and
nearby countries, 30 years after the war ended.
Last week, Bezborodov complained about Russian military archives
remaining largely classified. He voiced hope that the POW search would
become easier, because the archives from the Vietnam era are to be
declassified this year.
The commission also studied reports and notes on Soviet military aid
to Vietnam and combat reports about Vietnamese air defense and air
force operations, Bezborodov said.
The panel has found information about five cases of Soviet
intelligence offices questioning American POWs in Vietnam, but no
evidence has been found that any Americans were transferred to the
Soviet Union.
The U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on POWs and soldiers missing in
action was set up in 1992. The main focus has been on the Korean War,
but the commission also is looking at the Vietnam War and
investigating the fate of Soviet troops missing in Afghanistan.
The Associated Press - February 17, 2003.
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