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The AFTERMATH 09/15/01

THE RIGHT STUFF - TAKING  RESPONSIBILITY

NETWORK NOTE: The purpose of posting not only the the below email,  but the original stories in their entirety, is EDUCATION.

Most times, when confronted, reporters feel sympathy for the "wannabe". They don't want to "ruin their life" with a public retraction, or condemnation of the lies EVEN WHEN PROOF IS GIVEN of the lies. Each time a phony is left "unexposed", it cheapens the value of every TRUE hero, and cheapens the sacrifice that every veteran makes. The PHONY has ruined his own life with his lies. The phony MUST face the consequence of his actions.

When the AIR FORCE NEWS and the Fairbanks NEWS-MINER received word from several sources that the man in the story was NEVER a Prisoner of War, and the tale he told had several factual/historical errors, they reacted like we could only hope every journalist would who had been "taken in" by a false hero. Sadly, many of their comments/promises about follow-up stories, comments and interviews never came to pass.

Additionally, the staff at the Fairbanks, Alaska News-miner was quick to start an investigation and print the update and her eventual findings in the stories below. We appreciate Ms. Ipsen's work and willingness to get to the truth!

Our thanks also to the Stars and Stripes Managing Editor Ed Offley; The USAF NEWS staff that truly did work to uncover the truth; and Capt Mike McGrath, USN (Ret) and his fellow POWs that kept us all on this story - start to finish. THEY "Returned with Honor" and serve that way still.
[edited]

Subject: (Fwd) Re: Jim Spohn story
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 18:22:35 -0600
From: "Mike McGrath" <mmcgrath@iex.net>
To: info@pownetwork.org

Wow!!!

Mike

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:                   "Jensen, Robert R, GS-14" 
To:                     "'mmcgrath@iex.net'" <mmcgrath@iex.net>
Copies to:         [12 adddresses clipped]
Subject:                Re:  Jim Spohn story
Date sent:              Fri, 22 Sep 2000 10:48:54 -0500

Capt McGrath:

Let me introduce myself.  Bob Jensen, chief of news operations for the Air Force News Service.

Thank you for working with MSgt Dave Nolan on the recent article sent to us from Eielson AFB regarding Mr. Jim Spohn.  When I saw the story originally I thought it was a fairly "heroic" tale and one that might be good to use online for POW/MIA Day.  My Air Force Print News editors followed my recommendations and put it up online last Friday. I've since learned a tremendous lesson.

Coming back from a short two-day TDY to Ft Dix and McGuire AFB, NJ, I picked up a copy of Brill's Content magazine (about the media) in the airport and read an article entitle "Lies and More Lies" by Mark Bowden about phony POWs, false service claims and B.G. Burkett, the Dallas stockbroker who wrote "Stolen Valor" and like you, was working to expose the lies. [emphasis added] You can imagine what instantly came to mind when I read this.

Back at work yesterday I was informed that Dave had brought up his suspicions with CMSgt Gary Emery, our IMA standing in for two weeks as the chief of print news.  Chief Emery had already begun the phone calls to research the situation.

Your email to MSgt Shock at Eielson (and cc'd to MSgt Nolan) has been forwarded to me as well.

Here's what we're doing to correct this situation:

1. I've had the story pulled down off the news page of Air Force Link.

2. I'm having TSgt Mark Kinkade, our Air Force Newspaper Consultant send a message to all of the major command newspaper consultants about the situation and to let every Air Force base newspaper editor know to purge the story from their morgues and story files.

3. I will alert our liaison at the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs, Colonel Linda Leong (chief of the internal information division, SAF/PAI) of the situation.

4. We will include information on verifying claims of POW status and "heroic" wartime deeds online on: PALink, the Air Force Public Affairs resource website; PA Forum, the Air Force Public Affairs 'bulletin board'; and in Internal Talk, our monthly electronic newsletter to Air Force newspaper editors.

5. We will produce a story on phony POWs and false claims for inclusion in Air Force Print News.  I'd like to request your support for this article through a telephone interview.  If that works for you let me
know.  I certainly would appreciate it.

6. I've given a copy of the Content story and information included on the POW Network website on phony to all of my news product chiefs.

Additionally, I've called the Eielson AFB PA office and spoke with Major Valerie Trefts. She is fully aware of the situation and has been working a complete review and reporting action. She has briefed the entire Pacific Air Forces PA community via teleconference, contacted the DPMO Office, and has spoken with Capt Don Lewis, the author of the article. Capt Lewis contacted Mr. Spohn (as you recommended in your email) who claims to have documentation. Mr. Spohn is on annual leave until Monday. They will review the documentation on Monday and if (as we suspect) the documentation is
not valid I've advised them to run a retraction of the story in their base newspaper.

Major Trefts said she will call me Monday with the status of the situation.

That's the situation as it stands now.  Just wanted to touch base with you and let you know what we're doing.  This is actually a good opportunity for us to learn from the situation and help educate the public on the phonies as well.

Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,

Bob
ROBERT R. JENSEN
Chief of News Operations
Air Force News Service

------- End of forwarded message -------
 

Subject: Air Force Print News for Jan. 27, 2001
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 15:48:13 -0600
From: "82. USAFnews" <usafnews@AFNEWS.AF.MIL>
To: USAFONLINENEWS@AFPRODUCTS.EASE.LSOFT.COM

Welcome to today's U.S. Air Force ONLINE NEWS.

Today's stories include:

0113. Prisoner-of-war claims unsubstantiated
        -- http://www.af.mil/news/Jan2001/n20010126_0113.shtml

WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- On Sept. 15, Online News ran an article about Jim Spohn and his experience as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam Conflict.  Spohn is a retired Air Force noncommissioned officer who currently works as a civil servant at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

After the validity of the story was questioned, the story was pulled from the Web site and base newspaper editors were told not to run the story until the story could be validated.  A records review has turned up no evidence to support Spohn's prisoner-of-war status.

Spohn's name does not appear on the list of prisoners of war or those missing in action maintained by the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Washington. Only those individuals on this list are officially recognized by the Department of Defense as having been a POW/MIA. The list is available online at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/.

A review of Spohn's personnel and medical records produced no documentation placing him in Vietnam during the time of his alleged captivity -- December 1965 to February 1966. There is also no entry for him being awarded the Purple Heart, though he was awarded, among other decorations, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Spohn has maintained his story is true and has fully cooperated with the search. He is a career military man whose records indicate honorable service in the U.S. Army and Air Force from 1965 to 1989.

The Following appeared on page 4 of the Jan 26, 2001 Goldpanner

RECORDS REVIEW--NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT POW/MIA STATUS CLAIM

Commentary by Capt. Don Lewis
345th Support Group executive officer

        The Sept 15 edition of the Goldpanner contained a feature I wrote abut Jim Spohn and his experience as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam war.  Shortly after this story appeared, several individuals contacted the 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office and myself to question the validity of Spohn's Claims.

        It was brought to our attention that Spohn's name does not appear on the list of POW/MIAs maintained by the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Washington D.C.  Only those individuals on this list are officially recognized by the Department of Defense as having been a POW/MIA. http//:www.dtic.mil/dpmo/

        Spohn has maintained his story is true and has authorized acces to any of his records that may contain information to substantiate his POW status.

        After requesting, receiving and reviewing both Spohn's personnel and medical records there was no documentation placing him in Vietnam during the time of his alleged captivity, Dec. 1965-Feb. 1966.

        There is also no entry for him being awarded the Purple Heart, though he was awarded---among other decorations -- the Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

        Spohn is a career military man whose records indicate honorable service in the Army from 1964-1968 and Air Force from 1971-1989. 

        Though he has not been able to provide any documentation or evidence to support POW status, he continues to claim his statement is true. 

        However, barring any new evidence that would validate his claims, I can no longer recognize him as a prisoner of war.  

END OF ARTICLE

[pic] Spohn at Work at Eielson Air Force Base

Air Force Says No Records Found to Confirm a Vietnam POW's Claim

Jan 25, 2001
Ed Offley
Editor in Chief

Four months after an Air Force civilian employee was accused of concocting a false tale of suffering as a prisoner of war in South Vietnam in 1965, officials say a careful review of his military service and medical records shows no evidence that he ever served in the war or was taken captive.

Last Sept. 16, officials at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, honored civilian employee Jim Spohn during the state's first annual POW-MIA Recognition Day. Spohn, then serving with the U.S. Army in South Korea, claimed that he was sent on a special assignment to South Vietnam but taken prisoner by the Viet Cong after an ambush that killed several other soldiers. Spohn is employed as superintendent of information management at the 354th Communications Squadron at Eielson.

But after an internal news account of Spohn's tale was posted on the Air Force news website last September, a number of veterans and POW/MIA groups challenged the provenance of Spohn's story. In particular, the Missouri-based POW Network informed Air Force officials that Spohn's name is not found on the official Pentagon "Personnel Missing in Southeast Asia" (PMSEA) roster, which both the government and POW activists agree is the comprehensive list of all personnel who were taken prisoner during the war.

"In the 30 years that the Pentagon has held its [PMSEA] roster, there never has been an occasion where anyone not listed by the Pentagon had evidence that he had been a POW," activist Mary Shantag said in an interview last October.

Insists Story Is True

Spohn, in an interview with The Stars and Stripes last Oct. 16, repeated what he had told local Air Force officials and news reporters: that his capture and the subsequent mistake had not been entered into his service jacket because of the confusion over his "temporary" tour in Vietnam. He later told reporters he had been told that his military records had been destroyed in a 1975 fire at the National Military Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

Capt. Don Lewis, a spokesman at Eielson who originally interviewed Spohn for the base newspaper and Air Force News Service, said Jan. 25 that he had been given full access to both Spohn's military records and his VA medical file after Spohn granted him permission to access the privileged files.

"I can conclude there is no evidence I have found to support his claim of his service in Vietnam or capture in the timeframe he alleges--or at any other time frame for that matter," Lewis said. "There is no evidence of any trauma, disease or anything that would indicate that he suffered in a prisoner of war camp."

Spohn could not be reached for comment, but in a Jan. 21 interview with The News-Miner newspaper in Fairbanks, he continued to claim that he had been a POW despite the absence of documentary proof.

"We'll get this straightened out," Spohn told the News-Miner. "It's such a nightmare. I wish I had never told anyone until I had this straight."

Lewis said that Spohn's records received in November from the National Personnel Records Center indicate that Spohn was serving in the Army from February 1965 to August 1966, and later in the Air Force from November 1971 to his retirement in August 1989. The records center stated that a search of unit "morning reports" from the 833rd Ordnance Company during December 1965-January 1966 held no mention of him during the period Spohn said he was a Viet Cong prisoner.

Lewis also said, however, that there was no citation in Spohn's records to indicate he was an explosive ordnance disposal specialist, as he had claimed as the reason for his transfer from Korea to Vietnam. Lewis said the records show that Spohn served as a clerk, personnel specialist and personnel management specialist.

No Criminal Violation

Lewis, who said he felt personally betrayed by Spohn's story, said there is no evidence that Spohn broke military law or Air Force regulations in posing as a POW.

"There has to be some evidence of a crime before there can be a criminal investigation," Lewis said. "To date there has been no allegation of a crime."

However, the Eielson base newspaper, The Goldpanner, has prepared a news article for publication tomorrow, Lewis said.

"It will verify that neither Eielson, nor the Air Force nor the Department of Defense recognize Mr. Spohn as a prisoner of war," he said.

Associated Press Newswires
Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Critics question record of man who claims to be Vietnam POW

   FAIRBANKS (AP) - A veteran honored as a prisoner of war in Vietnam at a ceremony in September continues to claim he was a captive despite an Air Force records search that has failed to support him.  

Eielson Air Force Base spokeswoman Maj. Valerie Trefts said neither medical nor military records show that veteran Jim Spohn suffered injuries that indicated he had been held captive. She also said there's no indication he received a Purple Heart, as he claims.

   Spohn is superintendent of information management at the 354th Communications Squadron, a civilian job. He was honored Sept. 15 at a ceremony honoring POWs and servicemen missing in action because of his harrowing account as a POW near Cam Ranh. Spohn claims he was one of 26 U.S. servicemen to escape from the Viet Cong in 1966.

  No one checked his claims prior to the ceremony. But when accounts appeared in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Eielson's newspaper, veterans began questioning his story because Spohn is not included in a Department of Defense list of Vietnam POWs. The list has not been successfully challenged since its inception 30 years ago.

  "I had no reason to believe he wasn't telling the truth," said Capt. Don Lewis, executive officer of the 354th Support Squadron, who wrote the story of Spohn's account for Eielson's newspaper.

  Spohn, told of the inquiry, said he is searching for a missing medical record and other indications that he spent three months in captivity and received a Purple Heart for the injuries caused by the torture from his captors.

  "We'll get this straightened out," Spohn said. "It's such a nightmare. I wish I had never told anyone until I had this straight."

  Spohn said he was an explosives expert on a deployment from the Company E, 14th Infantry in Korea to the 1st Calvary in the Demilitarized Zone in June 1965. He said he was setting up a minefield when he and 12 others were attacked by about 50 Viet Cong.

  Spohn said he escaped after three months by killing his captor and fleeing into the jungle. He says he lost 30 to 40 pounds, but only spent one week recovering in the hospital at Camp Zama, Japan, before being sent back Korea, where he was assigned to the military police orderly room because the ordeal.

  Spohn explains the lack of supporting records of his time in Vietnam by saying the military police company he was assigned to at Fort Ames, Korea, kept listing him on their morning count of personnel because his assignment to Vietnam was only temporary.

  Records from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis indicate Spohn was in the Army from February 1965 to August 1966 and in the Air Force from November 1971 until his retirement in August 1989.

  But no records indicate he was a captive, that he was trained as an explosives specialist or that he was assigned to Vietnam.

  The search of medical records did find a three-month gap, from October 1965 to January 1966, that could back Spohn's story because his whereabouts are unknown for that period, Lewis said.

Fairbanks New Miner
January 21, 2001

Vet's POW claims can't be confirmed

By BETH IPSEN
Staff Writer

A veteran honored at a September POW/MIA ceremony at Eielson Air Force Base continues to claim he was a captive during the Vietnam War despite an Air Force records search that has failed to support him.

Eielson spokeswoman Maj. Valerie Trefts said neither medical nor military records show that veteran Jim Spohn "suffered any trauma or any physical injury that indicated that he had been held captive" conducive to his claims of mistreatment while a prisoner of war or receiving a Purple Heart.

Spohn, superintendent of information management at the 354th Communications Squadron, was honored Sept. 15 at the first Alaska POW/MIA ceremony. He was introduced as a special guest because of his harrowing account as a POW near Cam Ranh and claims he was one of 26 U.S. servicemen to escape from the Viet Cong in 1966. No one checked his claims prior to the ceremony. 

But when accounts of Spohn's alleged captivity appeared in both the Daily News-Miner and The Goldpanner, Eielson's newspaper, veterans began refuting his story because Spohn is not included in a Department of Defense list of Vietnam POWs. That list that hasn't been successfully challenged since its inception 30 years ago.

"I had no reason to believe he wasn't telling the truth," said Capt. Don Lewis, executive officer of the 354th Support Squadron. He wrote the story of Spohn's account for The Goldpanner.

Spohn, when told of the results of the Eielson inquiry last week, said he is still searching for a missing medical record and any other indication that he spent three months in captivity and received a Purple Heart for the injuries caused by the torture from his captors.

"We'll get this straightened out," Spohn said Saturday. "It's such a nightmare. I wish I had never told anyone until I had this straight." 

Spohn's account begins with him on a deployment from the Company E, 14th Infantry in Korea to the 1st Calvary in the Demilitarized Zone in June 1965 as an explosives expert. He was setting up a minefield in South Vietnam when he and 12 others were attacked by about 50 Viet Cong. Spohn says he was captured and tortured but that he escaped after three months by killing his captor and fleeing into the jungle. He says he lost 30 to 40 pounds because of his ordeal, but only spent one week recovering in the hospital at Camp Zama, Japan, before being sent back Korea.

He said he was then assigned to work in the military police's orderly room because of what he had gone through. 

Spohn explains the lack of supporting records of his time in Vietnam by saying the military police company he was assigned to at Fort Ames, Korea, kept listing him on their morning count of personnel because his assignment to Vietnam was only temporary.

Many veterans, however, don't believe him and have picked apart his story with their own personal accounts as POWs.

Those claims prompted Lewis to request Spohn's military records Sept. 28.

Records received in November from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis show that Spohn was in the Army from February 1965 to August 1966 and in the Air Force from November 1971 to his retirement in August 1989.

A letter from the center states that a search of morning reports from the 833rd Ordinance Company from December 1965 to January 1966 found no mention of him. Spohn claims to have been captive during that period.

A similar search was made of December 1965 records of Company E, 14th Infantry Regiment--Spohn's first unit in Korea before he was transferred to the military police. Officials also searched the military police morning reports for January through July 1966. Neither search found anything to indicate Spohn was a POW, according to the letter.

Lewis said Spohn has served in the military as a clerk, personnel specialist and a personnel management specialist. Lewis said there are no records to back Spohn's claim that he has records that he was trained as an explosives ordinance specialist. 

The letter suggests that Lewis seek Spohn's medical records from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Anchorage. Eielson officials said they obtained those and found no mention of treatment for any type of injuries that Spohn might have sustained from being a prisoner.

Military records do show he received three Vietnam citations but do not show he received a Purple Heart, Lewis said.

The records list three Vietnam Service Medals, a Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, and a Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Lewis is checking into these three citations since some of them can be awarded without actually having served in Vietnam. 

The search of medical records did find a three-month gap, from October 1965 to January 1966, that could back Spohn's story because his whereabouts are unknown for that period, Lewis said. 

"Which is very close to the time frame that he says he was being held captive," Lewis said. "But I cannot put him on the ground, in the water or in the air in Vietnam. Based on his records, I can only put him in Korea." 

Mike McGrath, president of a national Vietnam POW organization, is adamant that Spohn is lying. The retired Naval and United Airlines pilot maintains a list of about 500 phony prisoners of war. "This is kind of like a national epidemic," McGrath said. 

"What really makes my blood boil is that Mr. Spohn has the audacity to claim to have been one of us. He wasn't one of us, the 660 survivors, and he isn't one of the dead," he said. "His false claims insult all of us and especially the families of the 2,645 who died in the line of duty for their country." 

At a Vietnam POW reunion in Florida a couple of months ago, McGrath mentioned Spohn's claim to Texas Rep. Sam Johnson, a seven-year Vietnam POW, who has been watching the progress of Spohn's case, his office in Washington D.C. said.

McGrath said he will take Spohn's name off the Web site if he apologizes to the people he has lied to.

Spohn claims to have contacted POW organizations and the Fairbanks office of Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, for aid in finding his alleged missing documents. Young's Fairbanks spokesman Royce Chapman, a 20-year Air Force veteran, said he has not spoken to Spohn.

Lewis said he hasn't seen anything that suggests Spohn is receiving special benefits or treatment because of his POW claims. "I don't see an evidence that he's committed a crime, even if he concocted this story." 

     © 2000 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Fairbanks Publishing Company, Inc.
After Public Salute, Air Force Employee's POW Tale Questioned
Oct 16, 2000
 Ed Offley
 Stars and Stripes Washington Bureau Chief
Four weeks ago, the Air Force publicly saluted civilian employee Jim Spohn for his suffering as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and for his heroism as one of just 26 servicemen to escape captivity. News media coverage of the POW-MIA Day ceremony created worldwide publicity for the veteran's tale.
  
But embarrassed Air Force officials, challenged by a POW-MIA advocacy group that has questioned the accuracy of Spohn's account, have yanked a glowing news article profiling the 55-year-old employee at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and are searching for documentation in the federal archives to verify Spohn's military service.

The controversy over Jim Spohn goes far beyond one veteran's assertion about his wartime experience, says Mary Shantag, co-founder of the non-profit POW Network, based in Skidmore, Mo. Even though the Vietnam War ended 25 years ago, she said, an endless procession of "frauds and phonies" continues to plague the Vietnam veterans community and families of POWs.

"Bar stories are not illegal," Shantag said. "But if you don the uniform, wear the medals or alter the records that is a crime."

Shantag said it is premature to pass judgment on Spohn pending the search for his military records, but she and her husband, a former Marine rifleman, alerted the Air Force and a Fairbanks newspaper when they failed to find his name in the Pentagon's official database of Vietnam-era POWs.

No Records

In an interview with The Stars and Stripes on Oct. 10, Spohn insisted that his story was true: In December 1965, he says, he and another American soldier were captured by Viet Cong guerrillas. While the second American died of injuries the next day, Spohn held out against starvation and torture and managed to escape three months later, when he was rescued by an Australian Army patrol.

The problem, Spohn and Air Force officials agree, is that he has no records verifying his service in Vietnam, his capture, his escape or the Purple Heart medal he says he was awarded while recuperating from his injuries in a field hospital.

"I want my credibility not to be damaged by this," Spohn said. "I know what I went through."

It all started when Eielson AFB officials decided to honor Spohn at the formal ceremony commemorating POW-MIA Day. While this annual event has been observed for many years in other communities, this was the first time the air base had held such an observance.

In an account published by the Air Force News, Spohn told interviewer Capt. Don Lewis that he was serving in South Korea with the 833rd Ordnance Company at a base near the city of Taejon when, in December 1965, he was sent north to the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea.

Several days later, he was placed in a group of soldiers and rushed to South Vietnam as part of an advance guard of the 1st Cavalry Division. The assignment was supposed to last only two weeks, he recalled.

Spoke German

According to Spohn's recollection, he was in Vietnam only three days when he and a dozen other American soldiers were ambushed. Ten of the 12 men were killed in the firefight and Spohn and another soldier were taken prisoner, he said. The other American died of his injuries the next day.

"I thought I was going to die, that they were going to try to get whatever they wanted to know from me, and then kill me," he told the Eielson base paper, The Goldpanner. Spohn added that to confuse his captors he only spoke German to them.

Spohn claimed that in his three months of captivity he lost 62 pounds, but one night was able to free himself from the ropes used to bind his arms and legs and overpower a guard. He said he fled into the jungle and wandered around for two weeks until he was rescued by a patrol of Australian soldiers.

Recovering in a hospital, Spohn says he was visited by an officer one day who handed him a Purple Heart medal. "That one [medal] really means something to me," Spohn said in the Air Force interview. "It means I spilled my blood on the ground for our country."

Spohn said he does not have any records of his movement from Korea to Vietnam, or of his subsequent rescue.

Shantag and other veterans who have studied Spohn's story cite several points that call Spohn's story into question:
  • Spohn does not appear on the Pentagon "Personnel Missing in Southeast Asia" (PMSEA) roster, the authoritative list of all known POWs.
  • Spohn said he earlier tried to get copies of his service records but was told they had been destroyed in a 1974 fire at the National Military Records Center in St. Louis, Mo. In fact, the blaze did not destroy Vietnam-era records but damaged part of the WWII archive.
  • In the Air Force News interview, Spohn said he was carrying an M-1 Garand rifle when his squad was ambushed. Soldiers in Vietnam carried either the M-14 or M-16, but not the M-1, veterans say.
  • Spohn claimed to have been rescued by an Australian army patrol, but veterans who have reviewed historical records say that in 1965 there was only a small contingent of Australian troops stationed near the Bien Hoa air base.
  • Spohn could not recall the names of any fellow soldiers in Korea or Vietnam who could verify part or all of his story.

Spohn told The Stars and Stripes that his transfer from Korea to Vietnam was conducted as a last-minute affair and admitted that his unit's morning reports--which include personnel rosters--will show he never left Korea. "They show me in Korea the whole time so I never got credit for it," he said of his alleged Vietnam tour.

"I was thankful to be alive when I was out of there," Spohn said of Vietnam. "I could care less about paperwork."

Spohn said he returned to his unit in Korea after being released from the hospital in Vietnam and transferred to Germany, receiving his discharge in 1968. He said he enlisted in the Air Force in 1971 and served until his retirement in 1989 as a senior master sergeant.

"When I was in the Air Force I never said anything about it," Spohn said of his POW experience. After his retirement, Spohn said, he visited several VA counselors who advised him not to suppress his memories.

'Wait and See'

Shantag said the absence of Spohn's name from the PMSEA roster is the most significant item challenging the credibility of his story.

"In the 30 years that the Pentagon has held its roster there never has been an occasion where anyone not listed by the Pentagon had evidence that he had been held [as a POW]," Shantag said.

Eielson spokeswoman Maj. Valerie Trefts said the Air Force is taking a "wait and see" approach toward the incident. She noted that Spohn had agreed to a joint request with Air Force officials for his service records.

Trefts declined to speculate whether Spohn's account--if untrue--would violate any Air Force regulations or federal laws.

"There won't be an investigation into him unless his story is proven to be not factual," Trefts said.

Shantag said one positive aspect of the incident has been the alacrity with which both the Air Force and civilian newspapers that reported the original POW story have revised and corrected the record when approached by the POW Network and another group, NAM-POWS.

In many previous incidents, Shantag said, news organizations have been unwilling to correct the record when articles about veterans claiming such experiences have been challenged.

(In its October issue, the journalism review Brill's Content has published an in-depth article by investigative reporter Mark Bowden examining the issue of editors and reporters who are conned by fake veterans http://www.brillscontent.com/October2000/lies.html.)

 

FAIRBANKS,  ALASKA NEWS-MINER  newsminer.com

Article last updated:
 Wednesday, September 27, 2000   8:23 AM MST

Eielson officials question man's POW claim

By BETH IPSEN
Staff Writer

Eielson Air Force Base officials are skeptical about a man's story he was a Vietnam prisoner of war, a claim he continues to defend.

Jim Spohn, a civilian employee at the 354th Communications Squadron, was honored at the first annual Alaska Prisoner of War, Missing in Action Day at the base Sept. 15. Stories about his harrowing experience as a Vietnam prisoner of war appeared in both the New-Miner and Eielson's publication, The Goldpanner.

Since then, many veterans have inundated both the News-Miner and Eielson with e-mails refuting his story because his name doesn't appear on the Department of Defense's list of POWs from the Vietnam War.

"At this point, we can't confirm his story," base spokesperson Maj. Valerie Trefts said. "When we found out he wasn't on the official DOD list we talked with Mr. Spohn and he said his story is true and his records will indicate that his story is true."

With Spohn's signature and Social Security number, a request for his personal records has been sent to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Trefts said. It could take up to 90 days to receive the records.

Meanwhile, Spohn continues to stick to his story that he escaped after three months of captivity in Vietnam in 1965.

"We'll get it resolved," Spohn said. "We're working on it right now."

He believes he was overlooked because he was originally stationed with the 14th Infantry, 833rd Ordnance Company near Heydoc, Korea, and was deployed to the 1st Calvary in Vietnam in June 1965.

"They thought I was in Korea," he said.

He said he was only in Vietnam a total of just over three months and after his captivity and escape returned to Korea to finish out his tour.

Spohn also said previous attempts to get records were unsuccessful because he was told they were destroyed in a fire.

According to Larry Greer, a spokesperson for the Defense's list of POWs, the database that includes all POWs doesn't include Jim Spohn's name.

"It includes the names of all military personnel who were held as prisoner of war during the war as well as a large number of civilians who were captured or were missing," Greer said.

The database contains civilian employees, CIA individuals and people who worked for secret units on secret missions, as well as people who were captive for only a few days.

"It's very, very extensive," Greer said.

And the list has never been proven wrong.

"This list has been put to the test for some 30 years," Greer said.

One person who has been sending e-mails is Mary Schantag of the 11-year-old not-for-profit organization POW Network.

As she explained, this network is an "educational organization dedicated to maintaining the history of the POW issue."

She and her husband Chuck, a Marine wounded in Vietnam, have personally invested 15 years in exposing phony POW claims.

"This is a nationwide epidemic and it's not getting better," Schantag said from her home in Skidmore, Mo.

Schantag said hundreds of men claiming to be veterans and POWs, from World War II to the Gulf War, have been exposed.

"It's popular to be a veteran. Our vets have become respectable. It's something that people want to be known for," she said. "They're stealing the honor and integrity of every veteran out there, but they're not stealing the pain and suffering."

The organization is comprised of databases and an extensive network of veterans that make it possible to find out details such as what training class a helicopter pilot was in within 15 hours, Schantag said. And it's done primarily through e-mail and the Internet and is cross-referenced on several levels, she said.

"You can't fake this stuff anymore, there's too much public information out there," she said. "We get hundreds of e-mail each day from people looking for somebody that was inscribed on a bracelet or family members."

As she explained, many times they might not be able to pin down the person, but can get in touch with someone who can.

"It's an overall team effort," she said. "We can reach just about every returnee from Vietnam."

And in the 15 years she has been researching POWs claims, not one has been able to prove the records wrong.

       © 2000 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Fairbanks Publishing Company, Inc.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
NEWSMINER, Fairbanks, AK

 Article last updated:
 Wednesday, September 27, 2000   8:23 AM MST

Valor uncovered Sept. 18, 2000 To the editor:

Being a Vietnam era veteran with service there, I was particularly interested in Beth Ibsen's coverage of the POW/MIA ceremony at Eielson Air Force Base. However, I am perplexed in that I was unable to find the "former POW," Mr. J.S.'s,
name listed in any of the POW/MIA/escapee rolls. I looked in the Library of Congress, Department of Defense and NAM-POWs Inc. lists and in no place was his name evident. While they all recognized 750 some POW's and 35 some escapees, Mr. J.S.'s name was nowhere to be found--curious.

I do not wish to cast aspersions on the individual's credibility nor disparage his heroic story. Nevertheless, in the spirit of Beth's closing comment, his "story awaits closure." I submit that your good services should be used to accord Mr. J.S. the recognition that he deserves.

Thank you,

B. David Spell
CPO-USN ('62-'72)
Fairbanks

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