American POWs and MIAs

     The guns of distant battles fell silent long ago, but
unanswered questions concerning United States servicemen missing
in action and unrepatriated prisoners of war continue to concern
the nation.  Recently, the missing and prisoners of war from the
Vietnam War have been the focus of attention.
     But Soviet archival documents -- from an earlier era after
World War II -- reveal that Americans were detained, and even
perished, in the vast Soviet GULAG.  To find out additional
information about Americans liberated from German prison camps by
the Red Army and then interned in Soviet camps, the U.S./Russian
Joint Commission on POW/MIAs was formed early in 1992.  Library
of Congress officials, among others, have been authorized to
research Russian archival materials on the subject in Moscow. 
     Through such efforts and additional cooperation, the fate of
those missing in the Cold War may become known as well.  Russian
news reports tell of a United States B-29 aircraft shot down by
Soviet interceptors over the Baltic Sea in April 1950.  One of
the Soviet pilots who downed the B-29 reported that the aircraft
was recovered from the sea, but the fate of the crew is unknown. 
     The history of warfare cruelly suggests that some questions
concerning the missing in action and prisoners of war will never
be answered.  Nevertheless, candor, goodwill, and a spirit of
cooperation on all sides can minimize such questions.  The
opening of archives is a step forward in getting at the truth
which can clear up the confusion and suspicion created in the