New law aids quest for MIA-POW leads
March 10, 1996
Web posted at: 2:35 p.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Carl Rochelle
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Shelby Quest's father, Col. John Robertson, served in Vietnam as an Air Force pilot. In 1966, his plane was shot down, but his body was never found.
For the past 30 years, Quest has kept alive the hope that her father is still alive. But she feels the U.S. government has abandoned its search for missing soldiers.
"We continue to get live sightings," Quest says. But "we continue to get really small, if any, assistance from our own government in trying to resolve the case."
Many Americans feel the same as Quest. Although the Vietnam War has been over for 20 years, 200,000 soldiers are still unaccounted for.
However, a law enacted this year is designed to aid families who are searching for missing relatives. It requires the Pentagon to review the status of missing personnel at the end of one year and again every three years if the person was last known to be alive. Families are allowed to be present at the Pentagon reviews.
Sen. Robert Dornan, R-California, said an office will be set up in the Pentagon to give families a chance to track a missing relative. The law also blocks the government from declaring a missing person dead without proof, which is important to Quest. (85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound)
Pentagon officials don't like the law, whose provisions were part of a defense authorization bill. They fought it.
"It would prolong the anguish of family members of missing persons and would impose excessive financial and administrative burdens on the Defense Department," said agency spokesman Ken Bacon.
Statements like that have infuriated supporters of the law.
"Isn't that just too bloody bad that it burdens them," Dornan said. (128K AIFF sound or 128K WAV sound)
Meanwhile, the United States continues to excavate crash sites in southeast Asia searching for remains. There are also reports of Americans being held hostage in the area, but, privately, few military officials believe them.
Regardless, many POW/MIA families say the government has not done enough, and they hope the new law will help.
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