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8 Aug 05
Visit with Embassy of Bangladesh
Lisa Phillips and Gene Gambale visited with the Press Minister, Mr. Arshad, of the Embassy of Bangladesh. Mr. Arshad
said that the government is more than willing to to take on the task of opening investigation ito the loss of our C-47 once
written approval from the U.S. government is conveyed. According to Mr. Arshad, the best time to visit and for any search
is October-May.
8 Jul 05
Cautionary Note
There are people out there who, without lawful authority and without archeological or anthropological
forensics training (all of which JPAC brings to us), find wrecks and scour them for artifacts,
including bones and fragments. One of those mentioned
was caught at the border in Burma with a box of bones, which were removed from his custody by the Burmese.
Lisa and other members have worked many long and hard hours to achieve JPAC's involvement
in the recovery of the remains of our loved ones.
JPAC is the only lawfully authorized authority that can do so and give recognition to
and identify the remains found, if any. At a recovery
site, they carefully stake out a search pattern, complete the search, and photograph and recovery remains in situ, which is crucial for lawful identification
and verification. An e-mail was sent out intending
to forewarn our group that there are a
number of people out there, unrelated to JPAC, without lawful
authority, who are willing to conduct haphazard and untrustworthy attempts at recovery. If that is done, it raises a serious question of the reliability,
verifiability, and identification of anything recovered. Walter Dutton took part in a few crash investigations in the jungle in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. Even then, and his group was entirely
military, they worked with graves registration
people (the same offices with whom Captain Madrid works)
to ensure recovery was done carefully under the circumstances so that identification of remains could be authenticated. They had to sign sworn statements, draft maps, etc.
JPAC and lawful authorities are the people we want conducting our search
and recovery. Thus we are being careful to keep our
information regarding the crash site as closely held as possible so that wreck hunters don't ruin
our chances of a successful recovery and return of
any remains found.
22 Jun 05
Contact with JPAC
Family members have contacted Johnie Webb of JPAC who is also making contact with Lt.Col. Hedrick to begin pursuing the
search and recovery.
12 Jun 05
Diplomatic Relations with Bangladesh
Some family members have successfully contacted Lt.Col. Brian K. Hedrick, Defense &
Army Attache to the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, United States Embassy, Dhaka. Lt.Col. Hedrick is seeking assistance
from the Bangladesh Government to initiate investigation into the crash area outlined in the May 20th meeting in Washington
D.C. This is another important step in the recovery process.
22 May 05
Recommendation for Diplomatic Contact and JPAC File Opening
On May 20th, 2005, Lisa Phillips, Andy Highfill, and Bruce Fenstermaker met with the US Army Human Resources
Command RFAD office, including Captain Paul Madrid, Chief of the World War II section. At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr.
Mark Russell from DPMO made recommendations contact be made with JPAC (Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command) to open communications
regarding the search for the missing aircraft and personnel. Captain Madrid and Dr. Russell will forward information to begin
the JPAC search process. It was also recommended that diplomatic contacts be opened to further the effort. This is a
tremedous first step in a long effort to find and bring home our loved ones.
19 May 05
Stories and Information needed
We need information and stories, as well as pictures, of the remaining men lost in the aircraft crash. The more participation
and interest we can generate, the more possible recovery efforts become. Please send materials and information to Walter Dutton
at wlundstein@cox.net.
13 Mar 05
Bulletin Board posting is available here.
This bulletin board is for the limited purpose of exchanging information and making contact with family and friends of
men who were lost in the crash of C-47B 43-8308.
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2005.08.01 |
2005.07.01 |
2005.06.01 |
2005.05.01 |
2005.03.01
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Member Information
For purposes of privacy, membership information will not be generally disclosed. Contact information by way of permitted
e-mail or telephone information is available as allowed.
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This picture is one of a similar C-47B. The crash site of our aircraft has apparently been located in India. DPMO
and JPAC have been notified and requested to begin an investigation and recovery as soon as pssoble. This is the aircraft
with the largest number of possible remains to be recovered so they have a special interest in it.
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Recent Events
At the DPMO conference in San Diego, attending families included Dutton, Gambale, Goodrich, Phillips, Taylor, and Wilgus.
It was a day of intense feelings, interesting stories, and information gathering. We were able to further our cause in our
one-on-one meeting with the DPMO representatives about our specific case. California Senators Feinstein and Boxer had representatives
there.
February 20, 2006
I met with Sen. Collins and Greg Riels, Military assistant to Sen. Dole. We had a great meeting about
our case and the WWII MIA issue. Both Senators have agreed to look into the matters further and to provide what
assistance they can in the whole WWII MIA issue. They as well feel that our WWII men deserve to come home.
Attendees were myself, my sister Gina Roberts, Sen. Collins, Mackenzie from Sen. Collins office, and I also met with Greg
Riels the following day. Sen. Collins will be speaking with the State Department, DPMO and JPAC and Greg
Riels will also be backing the effort with Sen. Dole and Sen. Collins.
Lisa Phillips
SEARCHES UNDERWAY
We have heard from Lt.Col. Hedrick, who wrote:
I just spoke to my contact in the military here
who is assisting me. He said that they are making some low-level flights over some of the probable locations to see if anything
can be seen from the air. Also working with the Bangladesh Rifles, who patrol parts of the sundarbans to see if thay have
encountered anything lately. Nothing to report, but things are happening.
Small steps, but in the right direction.
LTC Brian K. Hedrick
Defense and Army Attaché
to the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
U.S. Embassy, Dhaka
At this point, you can link to the bulletin board and read and write posts.
Bulletin Board for BURMAMIAC47
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