THE STATUS OF U.S. PRISONERS IN LAOS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005359914
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: June 23, 2015
• Document Release Date: August 17, 2010
• Case Number: F-2009-00396
• Publication Date: March 24, 1973

C01352212
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WJE11
'(b)(1)
(b)(3)
APPROVED FOR RELEASED
DATE: 02-Apr-2009
SUBJECT: The Status of U. S. Prisoners in Laos
24, March 1973
1. On 27 January 1973 the DRV and the PRG announced their
lists of POWs to be released, containing 460 and 125 namesirespectively.
On 1 February the Pathet Lao announced their list of ten POWs to be
returned - - one U. S. Navy, six U. S. Air Force, two U. S. civilians,
and one Foreign National (a Canadian missionary captured in Savannakhet).
This latter list purported to be a complete list of all U. S. PQWs held by
the Pathet Lao.
2. This Pathet Lao list was immediately suspect. It'; immediately
generated speculation that there is -- i. e. must be -- a supplementary
Pathet Lao list, for the following reasons:
(a) All ten persons named on the 1 February
Pathet Lao list are known to be held in North Vietnam:;
Although not kept in the same cells, they have been
held as a group, and were last reported, by returning
U. S. POWs, to be in the Ha Lo Prison ("the Hanoi
Hilton") in downtown Hanoi.
(b) There have been numerous intelligence reports;
over the past five years from Pathet Lao and NVA
ralliers and POWs of sightings of American POWs held,
in Laos in the caves in the Sam Neua area. Most of
these reports have been obtained by CIA.
SEGO
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(c) There is no communications intelligence
referring directly to POW camps in Laos. Nonetheless,
over the years, COMINT (chiefly intercepted NVA
messages) has indicated that there are U. S. POWs
in Laos.
(d) Overflights and photography have showed
active caves in the suspect areas, though none have
ever been positively identified as holding prisoners.
(e) There are at least two cases where we have
photographs, released by the Communists, of
identifiable and identified Americans who are. depicted
as POWs captured in Laos. (One photo clearly shows
the officer's name stitched over his fatigue pocket.)
Neither is on any of the lists.
(f) The DRV and PRG lists both show those who
have died in captivity, the Pathet Lao did not, and
there are presumed deaths in the environment of Laos.
3. DIA has analyzed the number we thought should be prisoners"
in North Vietnam against the number the DRV has listed and found that
45% of our possibles turned up on the final list. A similar comparison
in South Vietnam yields the figure of 21%. Since we carry 352 as possible
in Laos, nine Americans on the Pathet Lao list gives a ridiculously low
figure of 2. 5%. DIA further feels that the environment of Laos is in
some ways similar to North Vietnam (i. e., predominant air losses) and
in some ways similar to South Vietnam (i.e., predominant ground losses).
DIA therefore splits the difference and feels that a 30-35% return rate
should be expected. DIA recognizes, of course, that this is at best an
educated guess. Areas where U. S. planes went down in North Vietnam
were, by and large, densely populated, hence pilots and aircrew who
survived the crash would normally have been picked up. Much of Laos
is sparsely populated and pilots or crew downed in sparsely populated
areas (particularly heavily forested areas) might have died of various
causes (e.g., untreated injuries or starvation) before they were spotted
or captured.
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4. DIA has reason to believe that the Communists in Laos should
have some information on at least 215 Americans downed in Laos. This
is based on such known evidence (from time of downing) as a good chute,
beeper on the ground, or voice communication which often ended with
the man on the ground announcing that he was being captured. Many of .
these men could have been killed on the spot or died later, . but the
Communists should have information on what happened to them.