Bringing heat on public officials is not going to be effective if they dont' see our numbers growing beyond the current list. We have an incredibly large membership but keep in mind the membership of one of the largest lobbies in DC is even larger than ours and they are making no ground at all. In fact, they have lost ground since 1992 due to some foolish blunders and a total lack of support from the majority of the population who believe the erosion of certain constitutional rights won't affect them.

We residents and citizens have certain rights guaranteed to us in this country. We keep those rights only as long as we demand that the guarantees be honored by our elected officials. When we desist in those demands, the rights disappear and at that point, the guarantees expire. When we finally miss those rights and recognize their value again, it is too late to get them back. If we are going to retain our rights, we can't take a nap while special interests pervert them and misinterpret them without challenge. And we will not be successful if only our 1.5 million supporters are involved in the fight. We need every single member of Operation Just Cause to take part.

Continue to petition your elected officials, of course, but that is only the beginning. You must devote more time an effort to informing your friends, families, co-workers, neighbors and the world - one person at a time - of what our goals and objectives are.

Present our mission statement to the nation and the world:

1. The timely, honest and thorough investigation of all live-sighting reports;

2. The repatriation of any surviving POWMIAs (or, in the event they do not wish to return, an opportunity for the families to hear it for themselves from their loved one);

3. Recovery of ALL recoverable remains and a strong statement from our government regarding the warehousing of remains by the Vietnamese.

We are NOT asking anyone to raise the dead. We accept that many or most of those listed as missing may have died in action or in captivity.

We are NOT asking anyone to recover unrecoverable remains. The remains of a pilot shot down in flames in 1968 over the South China Sea, whose wingman watched the plane sink below the surface or explode in a fireball, can reasonably be deemed unrecoverable.

We DO NOT blindly accept everything that comes out of DPMO, DOD or anywhere else inside the beltway. Neither do we blindly accept every live sighting account. At the same time, we do not reject or dismiss any accounts from DOD or DPMO without researching them.

We DO insist that all legitimate questions of family members be answered honestly and as fully as possible. To date, no candidate has taken a stand that will help us achieve these objectives.

Make the American people aware that the problem exists and that it is real. Push the Yellow Ribbon Campaign. Bring new members on board and let's get to work harder than ever before.

If this effort dies on November third, the hopes of the families of our missing will die with it. Don't let that happen. Don't let what happened to Colonel Rich Higgins and his family ever happen again. Don't let what has been happening to Diane Moore, Kimmie Thomas, Chris Rich, Karen Kirkpatrick, Amanda Kidd, the Milliners, the Lundys, and all the other POWMIA family members continue.

We need a committment and we need action in Washington now! This has nothing to do with partisan politics, the Vietnamese, the Chinese, the Russians or anyone else except the American people and our government. Time is running out.

On another note, Jay Veith as most of you should know is one of the most knowledgable and efficient researchers alive on this subject. He is searching for transcripts of several hearings and those transcripts appear to be in short supply. I have called in favors all over the country and no one seems to have copies.

If any of you have copies of the following, please let me know:

Live Sighting Investigations
Senate Select Committee
Aug 4, 5, 1992

Hearings on Cold War, Korea, WWII POW
Senate Select Committee
Nov 10, 11, 1992

POW/MIAs: Missing pieces of the Puzzle
House Foreign Affairs
July 14, 22, 1993

US Policy Toward Vietnam
Senate Foreign Relations
July 21, 1993

POW/MIA's in Indochina and Korea
House committee on Foreign Affairs
June 28, 1990

Examination of Operations at DIA's Special Office for POW/MIA's
House Foreign Affairs
May 30, 1991

Prospects for Normalization of US/Vietnam relations
East Asia committee of Senate Foreign Affairs
April 11, 1991

US Economic Embargo on Vietnam
House Foreign Affairs
June 25, 1991

Resolving the POW/MIA issue
House Foreign Affairs
July 17, 1991

American POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia
House Foreign Affairs

July 31, Aug 2, 1991 American POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia
House Foreign Affairs
Nov 6, 1991

Toon Mission to Russia
House Foreign Affairs
July 1, 1992

I would consider it a personal favor if anyone can help Jay out with this.