4031.E

TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, AND TO THE CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE OF THE LEGISLATURES OF EACH STATE OF THE UNION:

We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

WHEREAS, There is continuing controversy concerning the presence of American servicemen, who were listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action, being held against their will in the Southeast Asian nations of Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea, formerly known as Cambodia; and

WHEREAS, The United States government has stated that all of our Prisoners of War have been returned from Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, A recent top secret Vietnamese report, dating from 1972, by General Tran Von Kwong, Deputy Chief of Staff for the North Vietnamese Army, reported that in September 1972 Hanoi held one thousand two hundred five American prisoners; and

WHEREAS, Only five hundred ninety-one American Prisoners of War have been released under the 1973 Peace Settlement, which means that according to the North Vietnamese General's report, there are still six hundred fourteen American "Prisoners of War" unaccounted for by Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, Vietnamese nationals who have moved to the United States have reported the appearance of American Prisoners of War still being held against their will in Southeast Asia; and

WHEREAS, The President of Russia let it be known that the Soviet Union took American servicemen during the Vietnam War into the Soviet Union and that there is no adequate explanation concerning the whereabouts of these servicemen; and

WHEREAS, There are still hundreds of documents in the United States Defense Department that have not been released to the public concerning the fate of American servicemen classified as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action, even though a Senate Select Committee, chaired by Senator John Kerry, spent over a year investigating our government's desertion of our American Prisoners of War from Vietnam, Korea, and World War II, has requested all documents pertaining to the issue of Prisoners of War and servicemen missing in action. President William Clinton had also promised that all documents pertaining to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action would be declassified and released by November 11, 1993, by all United States government agencies; and

WHEREAS, The United States government's intelligence agencies have taken the position of trying to discredit any information concerning the existence of American Prisoners of War, instead of demanding a full accounting from Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea based upon the information that has been received; and

WHEREAS, There are fifty-five missing and unaccounted-for servicemen in Southeast Asia from Washington State that must never be forgotten and we the citizens of the State of Washington demand a full accounting beyond a reasonable doubt of their whereabouts or fate; and

WHEREAS, The United States government has never entered into negotiations with the government of Laos or Kampuchea concerning the release of American Prisoners of War who were taken prisoner by the communists in Laos during the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS, The reason for secrecy at this time is to cover up the shame of politicians, bureaucrats, and negotiators who abandoned American Prisoners of War after the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS, The executive branch of the federal government has not put forth adequate efforts to negotiate the release of Americans that may still be held in Southeast Asia, and appear to be obstructing the discovery of any remaining servicemen; and

WHEREAS, The legislative branch of the federal government has failed to thoroughly investigate and honestly report on this tragedy, and, indeed, has even ordered the destruction of staff documents containing staff intelligence reports on this sensitive issue; and

WHEREAS, The courts of the federal judiciary have not granted relief to the American soldiers listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action which deprives those soldiers of their constitutional rights and protection under the Geneva Convention as well as violating international law governing humanitarian issues; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court is the last bastion that an American citizen has for the redress of grievances and the protection of Constitutional liberties against an oppressive federal executive and a duplicitous federal legislature; and

WHEREAS, The United States Constitution, in Article III, section 2, states "In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a Party, the Supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction"; and

WHEREAS, Any Americans who are still being held against their will in Southeast Asia as a result of the Vietnam War are having their right to liberty, that inherent and inalienable right by which they are endowed by our Creator, as guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, violated;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Attorney General of the State of Washington, on behalf of the people of the State of Washington, file in the United States Supreme Court a cause of action against the government of the United States, and also against the ambassadors or other public ministers and consuls of the governments of Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, North Korea, Russia, and The People's Republic of China, alleging violation of civil rights of the people of Washington, especially alleging the violation of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of the following named citizens of the State of Washington. This cause of action must insist of a full accounting of all of our Washington Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from World War II, the Korean conflict, and Southeast Asia and not relinquish our government's obligation to continue to search for pertinent documentation proving beyond reasonable doubt our Washington Prisoners of War and Missing in Action whereabouts or fate:

Name Military Service Home City of Record

Alfred Jr., Gerald Oak USAF Seattle

Alm, Richard Andrew USMC Puyallup

Ayers, Darrell Eugene USMC Alderwood Manor

Balcom, Ralph Carol USAF Seattle

Barber, Robert Franklin USN Seattle

Benedett, Daniel Andrew USMC Auburn

Berg, Bruce Allen USA Olympia

Booth, Gary Preston USA Olympia

Bossio, Galilco Fred USAF Deer Park

Brown II, Wayne Gordon USAF Tacoma

Charvet, Paul Claude USN Grand View

Clark, Richard Champ USN Tacoma

Colombo, Gary Lewis USMC Yakima

Crandall, Gregory Stephen USA Tacoma

Crosby, Richard Alexander USA Spokane

Ferguson, Douglas David USAF Tacoma

Fors, Gary Henry USMC Puyallup

Francisco, Dewayne San USAF Burbank

Graffe, Paul Leroy USA Shelton

Crewell, Larry Irwin USAF Tacoma

Hall, Harley Hubert USN Vancouver

Hanley, Larry James USAF Walla Walla

Hill, Gordon Clark USAF Seattle

Holland, Melvin Arnold USAF Woodland

Jacobs Jr., Edward James USN Mount Vernon

Jensen, George William USAF Seattle

Koenig, Edwin Lee USN Spokane

Lester, Roderick Barnum USN Morton

Livingston, Richard Allen USN Tenino

Logan, Jacob Drummond USN Seattle

Lono, Luther Albert USMC Tacoma

Lopex, Robert USA Seattle

Masterson, Michael John USAF Ephrata

McDonald, Emmett USAF Bellevue

McDonald, Kurt Casey USAF Bellevue

McQuade, James Russel USA Hoquiam

Meldahl, Charles Howard USA Monroe

Nyman, Lawrence Frederick USN Aberdeen

Okerlund, Thomas Richard USA Seattle

Osborne, Rodney Dee USA Kent

Owens, Joy Leonard USAF Seattle

Paschall, Ronald Page USA Alderwood Manor

Pick, Donald William USAF Richland

Prentic, Kenneth Morton USN Tacoma

Price, David Stanley USAF Centralia

Ramos, Rainier Sylvester USA Bellingham

Richardson, Stephen Gould USN Seattle

Riordan, John Michael USN Seattle

Robertson, John Leighton USAF Seattle

Spinelli, Domenick A. USN Oak Harbor

Strait, Douglas Frank USA Moses Lake

Stubbs, William W.W. USA Newport

Trembley, J. Forrest George USN Spokane

Williamson, James D. USA Tumwater

Worthington Jr., Richard C. USA Bothell

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Attorney General of the State of Washington, in filing this suit, shall demand that the Department of Defense, the intelligence agencies, the governments of Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, North Korea, Russia, and The People's Republic of China turn over all documents concerning Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Laos, Kampuchea, North Korea, Russia, The People's Republic of China, and Vietnam. This lawsuit is not intended to authorize the United States Supreme Court to rule or enter a decision declaring the Prisoner of War and Missing in Action issue to be dead. All evidence of law must be used to prove beyond reasonable doubt, on an individual basis, the fate or whereabouts of our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the other forty-nine states of the United States of America be urged to join this action on behalf of their state and the citizens of their state who are being held in captivity in North Korea, Russia, The People's Republic of China, and Southeast Asia; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the Attorney General of the State of Washington, the Chief Clerk of the House and Senate of the Legislatures of each State of the Union, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.