Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Volume III, Microfiche Supplement, China

251. Telegram 797 from Geneva¹

Geneva, September 28, 1955, 11 p.m.

797. From Johnson.

1. Re paragraph 4 my telegram 793. Following is draft of type of presentation I feel should be made on subject missing military personnel.

2. I desire to discuss with you today the question of what I have termed missing US military personnel. With respect to those missing from the Korean War there have been many discussions of the subject in the MAC. I have no desire or intent to repeat or duplicate those discussions with which I assume you are fully familiar but only to discuss with you those aspects which clearly come within the category of a practical question between the two of us.

3. I simply want to point out the fact the responsible leaders of the forces on your side entered into an armistice agreement which clearly provided that full and complete accounting be provided on all prisoners of war and deceased combatants of which they had knowledge. When the prisoner of war exchange was completed there remained many hundreds of US personnel of the United Nations Command who it was definitely known or there was solid reason to believe were at one time prisoners of your side but who were not returned or otherwise accounted for. The military authorities of my country have by tremendous effort gradually accumulated information with regard to many of these individuals so that the number unaccounted for has been gradually reduced. In some few cases this information was obtained from your side or determined upon the basis of bodies returned by your side. However, there remain about 450 persons on whom it has not been possible to obtain any firm information whatever concerning their fate or present whereabouts. There is no way that the military authorities of my country can definitely inform the families of these men whether they are dead or alive or what their fate may have been.

4. In many of these cases their names were at one time listed as prisoners of war in publications in your country, the names of others have in various connections been broadcast over your radio, some were actually identified as having spoken over the radio, some had at one time written letters from prison camps and others were known and seen in prison camps by prisoners who were subsequently returned.

5. However, even more important from the standpoint of my discussion with you, it is quite possible that some of these persons were taken into your country for it is definitely known from prisoners who were subsequently returned that such movements did take place. Furthermore, there have been cases of Americans, not known to my government to be in your country, and later revealed by your government to be held there.

6. My purpose in reviewing all of these facts is not to engage in controversy with you over them but only to point out that the authorities in my country and the families of these men have a sound basis for believing that at least some of these persons have been in territory under your control outside of Korea.

7. I therefore, am giving you a list of the names of these persons with the request that your government conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether any of them are in your country or whether your government is in the possession of any information whatever concerning any of the persons listed.

8. I am not unmindful of the fact that early in these talks you gave me a list of various categories of Americans in your country, but it is possible that some persons on this list may be considered by your authorities to be in a different category or they may otherwise have information with regard to them.

9. I am also giving you a list of the names of the 11 Naval and Coast Guard personnel lost off Swatow whom we discussed last year in the hope that since that time your authorities may have obtained some information with regard to these men.

10. I do not ask that you give me any reply with regard to this matter today but only that in due course you inform me of the results of your government’s investigation.

Gowen

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.93/9–2855. Secret; Limited Distribution.