Your Address
Date
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Director, |
OR |
Charles W. Henley, Legislative and General Affairs, Defense POW/Missing
Personnel Office, |
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OR |
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Enter the address of
any other influential person who may be able to help us in this operation. |
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Dear
Sir,
ACCOUNTING FOR THOSE AUSTRALIAN SERVICE PERSONNEL
KILLED OR MISSING IN ACTION, PRESUMED DEAD, AND WHOSE BODIES WERE NOT RECOVERED
DURING THE VIETNAM WAR 1962 TO 1972, OR SUBSEQUENTLY.
Your Introduction
You will no doubt recall that from 1962 to 1972 Australians and
Americans fought together against the communist forces in Vietnam. After the
Vietnam War the remains of six Australian servicemen were not recovered. They
were:
a. Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson.
b. Private Fisher.
c. Flying Officer Herbert and Pilot Officer Carver.
d. Lance Corporal Gillespie.
I fully appreciate that accounting for United States military personnel is our government's highest
priority and I am aware that the United States makes every effort to recover
the remains of foreign nationals
who were lost fighting alongside Americans. As you are aware, Australia does
not have the same organisations and systems for body recovery operations as
does the United States, and nor do they have the requirement for these
operations on such a scale. Their investigative resources are very limited,
particularly their real-time, in-country intelligence gathering capability.
I am writing you to seek your support in recovering four of these
Australians who fit into a "special" category, something other than
simply "foreign nationals."
In
the case of Lance Corporal Parker and
Private Gillson, although they were Australian citizens they were
members of 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) which
formed the third battalion of your
173rd Airborne Brigade. In addition, when they were killed
during "Operation Hump" on 8 November 1965 only two battalions of the
Brigade were deployed, 1 RAR and 1/503rd while 2/503rd
remained at Bein Hoa. For the purpose of recovery of missing men as a result of
this operation, I see Parker and Gillson as US servicemen, more or less.
A
similar situation exists in the case of Flying
Officer Herbert and Pilot Officer Carver. They were Australians, part
of No.2 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force which was part of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, under control of
the USAF 7th Air Force.
Further detail regarding the
six Australians whose bodies have not been recovered can be found at http://austmia.com.
Hence, we see that Parker,
Gillson, Herbert and Carver were killed while operating within Australian units
that were tasked directly by American formations. In
the case of the other two, Fisher and Gillespie, their respective units were
subordinate to an Australian formation, 1st Australian Task Force,
which in turn reported to HQ Australian Forces Vietnam.
Considering the status of
these four men at the time of their deaths (Parker, Gillson, Herbert and Carver), would it be reasonable to accord them a
slightly higher priority than that of "other foreign nationals?" Furthermore
would it be possible to offer to the government of Australia, subject to
availability, the necessary resources to assist in accounting for these four
missing men.
Vietnam was not the first or the last time that Australia has
demonstrated its kinship with us in the field of military endeavor and we know
that the two countries will continue to cooperate to achieve our common goals.
Considering this relationship, and the special status of these four men, can
our government see it's way clear to assist the Australians achieve a favorable
and honorable outcome regarding this issue, to help us recover the remains of
our comrades who were lost while operating with the forces of the United States
in Vietnam?
Yours
sincerely,
Your Signature and Name