THE DIA CENTER FOR POW/MIA INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84M00127R000200050017-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 2, 2008
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: November 2, 1982
• Content Type: MEMO

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Attachment 1
2 November 1982
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: The DIA Center for POW/MIA Information
1. The following information results from an interview at
the DIA Center for POW/MIA ntagon on 2
November with director, and other
officers.
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2. The POW/MIA problem receives very high attention in
DIA. Th responsible to the DIA Acting Chief
of Staff and DIA Director LTG James 25X1
Williams. a en er prepares a report every day on what it has
accomplished for the DIA Director. ~ 25X1
3. The Center receives excellent cooperation on POW/MIA
matters from all of the HUMINT collectors--DDO, FBIS, State, DIA--
and Center officers believe there is not much more the HUMINT
collectors could do, given their current access. The Center's
greatest problem is that refugees are virtually the only sources
of information on POW/MIAs.
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4. Cooperation in the field among the HUMINT collectors and
with the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) is also good.
have been most helpful in tracking down
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resettled refugees and arranging interviews. Although DCID 1/2
priorities on the POW/MIA problem are probably lower than
warranted, the National Security Agency and the National
Photographic Interpretation Center have given the DIA Center full
and prompt support on particular problems. Outside of searching
their re ere is not much more the technical collectors
can do. 25X1
5. Center personnel are reasonably confident that refugees
are being adequately screened for POW/MIA information. JCRC
officers in Hawaii and Bangkok screen refugees throughout
Southeast Asia; DIA interviews in the US if necessary. Refugees
are asked questions about POW/MIAs in forms used during their
processing, and JCRC follows up on these. The National League of
Families regularly places advertisements in Southeast Asian
newspapers seeking information.
A letter was sent to all
Attaches in 1981 reminding them of the importance of the
resolution of the POW/MIA problem, and another circular letter is
DIA review completed.
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currently being prepared. The Navy screens all refugees picked
up at sea and some in the Philippines.
6. Center officers estimate that out of some 900,000
refugees in the free world, about 1,600 have said they have some
knowledge of POW/MIA matters. Of these, about 450 are firsthand
reports of Americans in captivity, and the remainder pertain to
hearsay sightings and to crashsite and gravesite information. Of
the 450 firsthand reports, just over half have been resolved by
correlation with now accounted-for individuals, a few (two
percent) are considered fabrications, and the remaining 200 are
under continuing investigation by the Center. There is a large
unscreened group of refugees in China, but political
considerations, have precluded US contact with them. The Center
has found Vietnamese exile groups in the [IS to be unornductive
sources for POW/MIA information.
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7. The Center's information needs include any sightings of
Americans, information on crashsites and gravesites, Indochinese
governments' knowledge and pollcyi7-t-entions and any information
on storage of remains and records. 25X1
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