POW/MIAs

On 9/25/06, Powsister69@aol.com <Powsister69@aol.com> wrote:

I would like to say thank you for not forgetting our POW/MIA's. My brother is Donald L. Sparks and he has been MIA since June 17, 1969.

God Bless You
powsiste1969@aol.com

National Alliance Of Families
For the Return of America's Missing Servicemen
+ World War II + Korean War + Cold War +
Vietnam + Gulf War I + Gulf War II

Captured April 9, 2004

Click here to learn why our government refuses to list this soldier
as a Prisoner of War

GULF WAR II -- PRISONERS OF WAR
Official Status Missing/Captured under DOD Directive 1300.18

Returned To Military Control

	Army Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, captured after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriyah March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of Alamogordo, N.M., 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, captured after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriyah March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, captured after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriyah March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	Army Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, of Park City, Kan., 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, captured after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriyah March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	Army Sgt. James Riley, 31, of Pennsauken; N.J., 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, captured after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriyah March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	Army Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla. - Pilot of Apache helicopter downed during a misson on March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	Army Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Lithia Springs, Ga. - Pilot of Apache helicopter downed during a misson on March 23 RESCUED 4/13/03
	In honor of our British Allies POW -- Official records show 2 British POWs RESCUED, date unknown.

GULF WAR II -- MISSING IN ACTION

(Official Status Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) Under DOD Instruction 1300.18)

Returned To Military Control

Army Pfc. Jessica D. Lynch, 19, of Palestine, W.Va., 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

RESCUED
4/1/03

GULF WAR II -- MISSING IN ACTION

(Official Status Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) Under DOD Instruction 1300.18)

Remains Recovered and Identified

Photo provided by John Helton

Remains recovered and identified Army Sgt. Edward J. Anguiano, 24. Listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) after his convoy was ambushed March 23 in Iraq. Assigned to the 3rd Combat Support Battalion out of Fort Stewart, Ga. Anguiano was from Brownsville, Texas.

April 28, Pentagon announces recovery and identification of remains.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered March 28th.
Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, 24, of Oklahoma, missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group-28, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Cherry Point, N.C.

REMAINS RECOVERED MARCH 28TH

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Sgt. George Edward Buggs, 31, of Barnwell, S.C. Listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) after his convoy was ambushed March 23 in Iraq. Assigned to the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered Marine Pfc. Tamario D. Burkett, 21, of Erie, N.Y, missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

April 13 -- The Department of Defense announced a change of status from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action

No photo available
at this time

Identified April 16 Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, 22, of Waterford, Conn, missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

April 16 -- The Department of Defense announced a change of status from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action. Remains recovered and identified.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline, Jr., 21, of Washoe, Nev, missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

April 13 -- The Department of Defense announced a change of status from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action

No Photo Available
at this time.

Air Force Capt. Eric Das was the pilot of an F-15E lost on April 7, no other information available. The crew is based out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC

April 18 -- The Department of Defense announced that Capt. Eric B. Das, 30, of Amarillo, Texas, was killed in action April 7 while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland, Ohio, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered March 28th.
Marine Pfc. Francisco A. Martinez Flores, 21, of Los Angeles, Calif. Assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. Last seen while conducting convoy operations in the vicinity of the Euphrates River on March 25. A search and rescue effort is continuing.

REMAINS RECOVERED MARCH 28.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered Marine Pvt. Jonathan L. Gifford, 20, of Macon, Ill, missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

April 14 -- The Department of Defense announced a change of status from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered Marine Pvt. Nolen R. Hutchings, 19, of Boiling Springs, S.C., missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

April 13 -- The Department of Defense announced a change of status from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered March 24th.
Marine Cpl. Evan T. James, 20, of Hancock, Ill., among a group of Marines in the vicinity of the Saddam Canal in Iraq on March 24.

REMAINS RECOVERED

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Spc. James M. Kiehl, 22, of Des Moines, Iowa, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered
Marine Sgt. Bradley S. Korthaus, 28, of Scott, Iowa, among a group of Marines in the vicinity of the Saddam Canal in Iraq on March 24.

Remains Recovered

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, of El Paso, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered March 28th.
Marine Staff Sgt. Donald C. May, Jr., 31, of Richmond, Va. Assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. Last seen while conducting convoy operations in the vicinity of the Euphrates River on March 25. A search and rescue effort is continuing.

REMAINS RECOVERED MARCH 28.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered March 30th.
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick R. Nixon, 21, St. Louis, Mo., missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

REMAINS RECOVERED March 30.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered March 28th.
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick T. O'Day, 20, of Sonoma, Calif. Assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. Last seen while conducting convoy operations in the vicinity of the Euphrates River on March 25. A search and rescue effort is continuing.

REMAINS RECOVERED March 28.

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, 23, of Tuba City, Ariz., 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

No photo available,
at this time

Remains Identified April 10th.
Marine Sgt. Fernando Padilla-Ramirez, 26, of Yuma, Ariz. Assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron-371, Marine Wing Support Group-37, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz. Last seen conducting convoy operations in the vicinity of Al Nasiriyah on 28 March.

April 11th - The Department of Defense announced today it has changed the status of Marine Sgt. Fernando Padilla-Ramirez from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action. His remains were identified on April 10.

No photo available,
at this time

Remains recovered Marine Sgt. Brendon Reiss, 23, of Casper, Wyo. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionalry Brigade, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.. His unit was engaged in operation on the outskirts of An Nasiriyah on 23 March.

April 11 - Status changed from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to killed in action. Remains identified April 11th.

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Pvt. Brandon Ulysses Sloan, 19, of Bedford, Ohio, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Army Sgt. Donald Ralph Walters, 33, of Salem, Ore., 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23.

April 5, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action. Remains recovered April 1, 2003 during the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.

Air Force Major William Watkins aboard an F-15E lost on April 6, no other information available. The crew is basedout of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC

April 23 - The Department of Defense announced today that Maj. William R. Watkins III, 37, of Danville, Va., was killed in action April 7 while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

No Photo Available
at this time.

Remains recovered
ID announced April 13th. Navy. Lt. Nathan D. White pilot of an F18 lost on April 2nd.

April 13, 2003 -- Dept. of Defense announced the status change from Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) to Killed In Action.

No photo available
at this time

Remains recovered April 1,
ID announced April 5th. Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams, 31, Arizona (city not available), missing after being engaged in operations on March 23 in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

REMAINS RECOVERED MARCH 28TH

And don't forget our Gulf War I
Prisoner of War.....

Navy Capt. Scott Speicher, shot down January 16, 1991. Originally declared Killed In Action/Body Not Recovered. Status changed to Missing In Action Jan. 2001. Status again changed to Missing/Captured (MIA-C) October 2002. Believed to be alive and held in Iraq.

Initials M S S found on wall of Iraqi Prison.

For more information on Capt. Scott Speicher click here

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Remains of pilot missing 18 years in Iraq found
By PAULINE JELINEK
The Associated Press
Sunday, August 2, 2009; 9:27 AM
WASHINGTON -- The remains of the first American lost in the Persian Gulf War have been found in Iraq, the military said Sunday, after struggling for nearly two decades with the question of whether he was dead or alive.
The Pentagon said the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology on Saturday had positively identified the remains of Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher, whose disappearance has bedeviled investigators since his fighter jet was shot down over the Iraq desert on the first night of the 1991 war.
The top Navy officer said the discovery illustrates the military's commitment to bring its troops home. "Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be," said Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations.
The Pentagon initially declared Speicher killed, but uncertainty - and the lack of remains - led officials over the years to change his status a number of times to "missing in action" and later "missing-captured." The family Speicher left behind, from outside Jacksonville, Fla. - continued to press for the military to do more to resolve the case. Family spokeswoman Cindy Laquidara said relatives learned on Saturday that Speicher's remains had been found.
"The family's proud of the way the Defense Department continued on with our request" to not abandon the search, she said. "We will be bringing him home." Laquidara said the family would have another statement after being briefed by the defense officials, but she didn't know when that would be.
More than a decade after he was shot down in a combat mission, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq finally gave investigators the chance to search inside Iraq. That led to a number of new leads, including the discovery of what some believed were the initials "MSS" scratched into the wall of an Iraqi prison.
The search also led investigators to excavate a potential grave site in Baghdad in 2005, track down Iraqis said to have information about Speicher and make numerous other inquiries in what officials say was an exhaustive search.
Officials said Sunday that they got new information last month from an Iraqi citizen, prompting Marines stationed in the western province of Anbar to visit a location in the desert which was believed to be the crash site of Speicher's FA-18 Hornet.
The Iraqi said he knew of two other Iraqis who recalled an American jet crashing and the remains of the pilot being buried in the desert, the Pentagon said. "One of these Iraqi citizens stated that they were present when Captain Speicher was found dead at the crash site by Bedouins and his remains buried," the Defense Department said in a statement.
The military recovered bones and multiple skeletal fragments and Speicher was positively identified by matching a jawbone and dental records, said Rear Adm. Frank Thorp. He said the Iraqis told investigators that the Bedouins had buried Speicher. It was unclear whether the military had information on how soon Speicher died after the crash. Some had said they believed Speicher ejected from the plane and was captured by Iraqi forces, and the initials were seen as a potential clue he might have survived. There also were reports of sightings. Laquidara was among those who said she believed he survived the crash.
"It's really easy to put out a yellow ribbon but not so easy to allocate resources to find a missing serviceman or woman," she said earlier this year. "If Scott's not alive now, he was for a very long time, and that could happen to somebody else."
While dental records have confirmed the remains to be those of Speicher, the pathology institute in Rockville, Md., is running DNA tests on the remains recovered and comparing them to DNA reference samples previously provided by family members.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Speicher's family for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in the Pentagon statement. "I am also extremely grateful to all those who have worked so tirelessly over the last 18 years to bring Captain Speicher home." Speicher was shot down over west-central Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991.
Hours after his plane went down, the Pentagon publicly declared him killed - then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney went on television and announced the U.S. had suffered its first casualty of the war. But 10 years later, the Navy changed his status to missing in action, citing an absence of evidence that Speicher had died. In October 2002, the Navy switched his status to "missing/captured," although it has never said what evidence it had that he ever was in captivity.
Another review was done in 2005 with information gleaned after Baghdad fell. The review board recommended then that the Pentagon work with the State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the Iraqi government to "increase the level of attention and effort inside Iraq" to resolve the question of Speicher's fate.
Last year, then Navy Secretary Donald Winter ordered yet another review of the case after receiving a report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which tracks prisoners of war and service members missing in action. Many in the military believed for years that Speicher had not survived the crash or for long after; intelligence had never found evidence he was alive, and some officials felt last year that all leads had been exhausted and Speicher would finally be declared killed.
But after the latest review, Winter said Speicher would remain classified as missing, despite his strong reservations about the pilot's status and cited "compelling" evidence that he was dead. Announcing his decision, Winter criticized the board's recommendation to leave Speicher's status unchanged, saying the review board based its conclusions on the belief that Speicher was alive after ejecting from his plane. The board "chose to ignore" the lack of any parachute sighting, emergency beacon signal or radio communication, Winter said. Speicher's family - including two college-age children who were toddlers when Speicher disappeared - believed more evidence would surface as Iraq becomes more stable.
"There are people that know," Buddy Harris, a former Navy commander and a close friend of Speicher's who has since married Speicher's ex-wife, said at that time. "It's just a matter of getting to them."