THIS IS AN OPERATION JUST CAUSE NEW YEARS MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE BEING BLIND 
COPIED ON TO PROTECT YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESSES.

We have made some headway into the accounting process this past year, but 
we still have a long way to go. Some of the highlights of 2000:

Jan 2000
2,031 Americans remain unaccounted for from SE Asia.

Mission Area Analysis ("MAA") was initiated by DPMO (Defense POW Missing 
Personnel Office) to examine the worldwide mission of POW/MIA personnel 
recovery. According to the MAA, funding for the JTF-FA (Joint Task 
Force-Full Accounting) will not be alotted after 2004.

Feb 2000
Two alleged Americans were interviewed by VVA National POW/MIA Chairman, 
Bob Necci, while he was on official VVA/Veteran's Initiative business in 
SEA. Necci refuses to provide adequate details.

Mar 2000
After 47 years, a South Korean escapes from Communist North Korea.

Secretary of Defesne Cohen is the first American Defense Secretary to visit 
communist Vietnam in 32 years. He visits the excavation of the crash site 
correlated to that of Capt. Richard Rich, USN, shot down 19 May 1967. 
Remains are recovered and sent to CIL-HI (Central Identification 
Laboratory-Hawaii) for identification.

Apr 2000
Six sets of remains alleged to be those of US Servicemen are repatriated to 
US control at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport.

May 2000
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sydney Schanberg beings writing on the 
POW/MIA issue again. His piece, "The War Record A Senator Doesn't Want You 
To See," kicks off his series. Can we guess which Senator he is talking 
about? Does the Initials John McCain mean anything to you?

S. 484, Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999 passes in the Senate unanimously 
and is sent to the House for consideration.

Jun 2000
Bob Necci, VVA National POW/MIA Chair, refuses to answers legitimate 
questions regarding his interviewing 2 alleged Americans while in Laos 
earlier in the year.

Jul 2000
Remains alleged to be those of 12 American servicemen are repatriated to US 
control at Pyongyang, North Korea.

Aug 2000
Remains alleged to be those of 14 American servicemen are repatriated to US 
control at Pyongyang, North Korea.

Sep 2000
E-mail exchanges between VVA National POW/MIA Chairman, Bob Necci and 
Californian Randy Armann are made public. Armann is published claiming that 
our MIAs are really in drug induced stupor in Thailand until their deaths 
whereby their remains are taken to Vietnam for eventual repatriation to the 
US. It is evident that Necci admittedly e-mailed Armann several times from 
SE Asia regarding the Feb/Mar 2000 Veterans Initiative trip.

VVA National Vice President and Veteran's Initiative Team Leader, Tom 
Corey, writes that he is in "no way contradicting Mr. Necci," proceeds to 
contradict Mr. Necci. Necci claims that the VI team were trapped in Hanoi 
for 3 days; Corey says they missed on flight. Necci claims they were "in 
the field in Laos for 3 days;" Corey claims they were on the ground in Laos 
for less than 24 hours. Necci claims that "we talked with 2 individuals at 
separate locations for a long time." Corey says that no one from the 
Veteran's Intiative did any such thing. Corey's time line cannot be 
reconciled to Necci's claims.

Necci subsequently resigns from the VVA Board of Directors and relinquishes 
his POW/MIA Chair and ends communication. Demands are made upon the VVA to 
either force Necci to answer or to expel him from VVA.

Oct 2000
The remains of Capt. Richard Rich, USN, are identified and accepted by the 
family several days after the marriage of Rich's son and PNOK, Christopher 
Rich and daughter of POW/MIA Thomas Moore, Diane Moore.

VVA Vice President Tom Corey requests time to answer the correspondence 
sent to him regarding the incident surrounding the Necci resignation. Corey 
explains that he is about to embark on another VI trip to SE Asia and he 
would respond upon his return 21 October.

On 29 October Corey responds that the concerns of those writing to him 
regarding the incident surrounding Necci's resignation would have to wait 
until after the Novemeber 2000 Board of VVA Director's meeting.

Nov 2000
The remains of Capt. Richard Rich, USN, are laid to rest at a hero's 
ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on election day.

VVA Board of National Directors move to adopt a resolution from the POW/MIA 
committee to ignore further correspondence regarding the Necci resignation 
and "move on." VVA National has mislead the rank and file and have treated 
the families and the POW/MIA community with the same disdain shown by the 
USG. A clear message is to be sent that this will not be tolerated of an 
organization claiming to be doing everything possible to garner the fullest 
possible accounting. A suit is being explored and pursued.

Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999 is now law thanks to a large part of the 
efforts of Larry Vigil of Sen. Cambell's office, Rick Wilson of Con. 
Burton's office and Lindsey of Con. Talents office. Way to go!!!

Dec 2000
Officially, there are still 1,991 Americans unaccounted for from SE Asia. 
While we celebrate this holiday season with our friends and families, let 
us take a moment to remember our POW/MIAs abandoned by our government while 
fighting for freedom around the world for all people.


2001 Department of Defense Personnel Recovery Conference. The Defense 
Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel office will be hosting the DoD Personnel 
Recovery Conference, January 22-24, 2001 at the Crystal City Hyatt Hotel in 
Arlington, Virginia. This year's conference comes in the wake of two 
important DPMO-sponsored studies.: a Mission Area Analysis (MAA) and
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Assessment for Personnel Accounting 
and Recovery, and an assessment of Personnel Recovery in Coalition 
Environments. Many of the issues that will be discussed will be direct 
results of findings
from the two studies. Senior leaders from the Office of the Secretary of 
Defense, Joint Staff, Unified Commands, Services and government agencies 
will be attending and participating in the conference. Many of the major 
problems facing Personnel Recovery to include organization, force 
structure, training, policy, planning, acquisition, etc. will be discussed and
recommendations made to OSD, the Joint Staff, Services, and Unified Commands.
Additional details are provided on the NDIA web site at
http://register.ndia.org/interview/register.ndia?~Brochure~1040~1040 or by
calling (703) 602-2202 ext. 213

What we can do as the new year kicks in: Keep pressure on our government to 
let them know that we are not going to go away. Write your representatives 
in the House and Senate inquiring as to what they are doing to bring home 
your adopted POW/MIA. Ask if they intend to continue funding the JTF-FA 
beyond 2004. When President Elect Bush and Vice President Elect Cheney are 
sworn in to their respective offices, write them asking what they intend on 
doing. In addition, request they appoint former Navy Commander Chip Beck 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in charge of Defense POW Missing 
Personnel Office.

Help Roger Hall fund his suit against rhe CIA. Remember, they are still 
holding thousands upon thousands of documents that they refuse to turn over 
to the Archives as directed by law. This is what Hall's suit is about; but 
they are trying to outspend him. A $1, $5, $10, $50, etc. donation several 
times through the year to the charity that Hall has set-up to fund the FOIA 
Litigation suit will go a long way to being the first successful suit ever 
litigated against the CIA. We strongly urge you to do what you feel is 
right. For further information, contact Roger directly at 301/585-3361 or 
e-mail him at RHall8715@aol.com

In the interim be kind to your selves and keep the focus. Thank you for 
your effort this past year and we look forward to making more progress in 
the coming year. We have a ways to go yet.

On behalf of Gunny Fallon, Dennis Johson and the rest of the Operation Just 
Cause management team, we wish you a very happy, healthy and safe New Year.

Best Regards,

Steve Golding,
Executive Director,
Operation Just Cause
 >----------------------------<

Steve Golding
Webmaster, PoW/MIA Forum
http://www.ojc.org/powforum

       They belong Walking On or Planted In
           AMERICAN SOIL--nothing less!!

               Join Operation: Just Cause
                  http://www.ojc.org


        Though we are not now that strength
               Which in the old days
              Moved Earth and Heaven
           That which we are, we are...

        One equal temper of heroic hearts
          Made weak by time and fate...
               But, strong in will,
           To Strive, To Seek, To Find.

                And not to yield!
                               --Tennyson