Dornan Plans Hearings on Korean War POW Issue

U. S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) said Friday he plans more hearings into whether the U. S. government covered up evidence that North Korea failed to release hundreds of American prisoners of war.

Speaking to a handful of Korean War veterans on POW/MIA Recognition Day, Dornan said American soldiers may still be captive, and he accused a key U. S. agency of failing to investigate.

“There is a predisposition . . . to discredit, dismiss and then disrespect any senior citizen coming forth after all these years with the truth,” Dornan said at a sparse gathering beside the county’s Veterans Memorial.

This week, previously classified documents and testimony before Dornan’s congressional subcommittee disclosed that, six months after the Korean War ended in 1953, the Eisenhower administration had evidence North Korea failed to release more than 900 prisoners, some of whom may have been subjected to germ warfare experiments.

The disclosures brought national attention to Dornan, long outspoken on POW and MIA matters, and revived the controversy over the fate of Korean War prisoners.

An aide said Dornan planned a meeting with top defense and intelligence officials to press for new information on Americans held prisoner by North Korea. Dornan said Pentagon officials charged with investigating such matters were dragging their feet.

Dornan distributed a memo that he said showed the State Department wanted to avoid releasing the list of missing after the war. The memo, like documents disclosed at the hearing, was obtained from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library.

Korean War veterans welcomed the new attention to prisoners from that conflict. “The ‘forgotten war’ is being remembered now,” said Bob Hammond, an Anaheim paralegal wounded near the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.

Recognition ceremonies continue today with a flagpole dedication at Fountain Valley City Hall. A POW/MIA flag will be given to the son of a Vietnam War MIA. The gathering will include speeches by U. S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and others. It will be at 10200 Slater Ave. at 11 a.m.