Webmasters note: I would like to thank Debra Morris for sharing these photos with us. This page is decated to the Men of the 1st Combat Evaluation Group and the First Mobile Communications Group that lost their lives, defending their Country, on Lima Site 85, Laos. There are still men from that site that are listed as Missing In Action. Their familys are unable to get answers from the Government and are told not to talk about it. After more than 30 years it seems that something should be done about this. If you have any information please send an Email to the Webmaster and list Debra Morris in the subject. I will make sure she gets the message.
Thirty-plus years ago a select group of men were given the opportunity to help end a very unpopular war. (or so they thought)
The politicians were playing their hands,it seems, without regard for the lives and safety of those men.
The men accepted the challenge because they had been told they would be safe. Who would think to climb a sheer face of a mountain? We had friends that would help us and watch our backs. Even some of our own were there to insure the locals would be watching out for us. What happened up there? Who really knows?
Why can’t the families know? What is there to hide? What was so special about this site that 30 plus years later, the mystery is alive and well? These are just some of the questions that have yet to be answered.
Our family story reads just like the others. James was devoted to the Air Force. He loved his job and he was good at it. When I discovered the CEVG site,I met some of you through emails and you had wonderful things to say. Still I noticed that there was grief for those of your own. We still want to know. So many of you have told me that you were also called to be there. You felt guilty because you weren’t. There is still a great amount of healing left to be done.
The agencies that I have dealt with have not always been forthcoming with information.
I am tired of hearing we just don’t know. I am tired of hearing that is not so. The conspiracy theorists are out there and just waiting for a chance to tell another story. You can’t imagine (I guess some of you dealing with the VA can) dealing with the DPMO. I have been slapped on the wrist several times for not following the correct pecking order when asking a question. I get a thrill whenever I receive some kind of information from another agency and I forward on to DPMO and then they have to CTA (cover their ---) because they still DON’T share information.
There is nothing worse than attending a Family Updates Meeting in DC and watching the different agencies, DPMO, JPAC, etc. air each other’s dirty laundry. I know the treatment of the families has gotten better but I think it is because the people presently doing those jobs have been told “a story” and they know no differently. If I’m wrong, please prove it! I know for a fact a gentleman from DPMO was sent on purpose to a Family Update Meeting in San Antonio to meet specifically with my sister and me to keep us from causing trouble. What are they worried about? What kind of trouble could two sisters from Texas cause anyway?
The current cadre of Casualty people have no idea how the families were treated and seem to be a more compassionate lot. However, there is not a lot they share because they have to get answers from someone else. It is amazing to me when they share with us that they were unaware of a certain aspect to the story. Where did you learn that, they ask. I am now corresponding with a Congressman from our area. I have repeated this story so many times to so many people. I am hoping that he will be able to help me with the PNOK law so that those who have the truth will be able to share with the families. I am being very honest when I say we really want closure at this point.
Some have gone on with their lives and established new relationships. As I said before I am looking for closure to this story. I am not wishing to place blame or ridicule those involved. I do wish that we could achieve some kind of closure on this case. I don’t want anyone else to risk a life looking for something that isn’t there. I have tried very hard not to be bitter. I was not privy to the early treatment the families received, but my mom, her sisters, and my grandmother were subject to the abusive language and innuendoes. That is pretty tough when you have lost a relative, you aren’t sure if they are alive or dead, you can’t mourn, you can’t have a funeral, and if you talk about it they said they could throw you in jail. Now is the time for this to come to an end. Let us know what really happened. Tell us the truth. Let us close this chapter.
Thank you so much for letting me share. You guys are great!
Debra
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