NATIONAL LEAGUE OF FAMILIES OF AMERICAN PRISONERS & MISSING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

As of , the number of Americans Missing and Unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War is 1,567.

2025 VIETNAM WAR IDENTIFICATIONS

The following are Vietnam War Servicemen and Civilians who have been formally identified by DPAA

U.S. Army Master Sgt.
Donald Peter Gervais

Date of Identification: 5/16/2025

U.S. Navy Captain
Thomas Edwin Scheurich

Date of Identification:
4/23/2025

U.S.A.F. Colonel
Walter Renelt

Date of Identification:
6/23/2025

U.S.A.F. Staff Sgt.
Henry Gish

Date of Identification:
6/23/2025

U.S.A.F. Tech Sgt.
Donald Springsteadah

Date of Identification:
6/23/2025

U.S.A.F. Tech Sgt.
Willis Hall

Date of Identification:
6/23/2025

CLARIFICATION FROM CHAIRMAN EMERITUS/ACTING CEO ANN MILLS-GRIFFITHS
JULY 6, 2025
IN RESPONSE TO A GROWING NUMBER OF INQUIRIES, OUR 501(c)(3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION (NGO) DOES NOT RECEIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
WITH ALL THE LEAGUE HAS FOUGHT FOR AND ACHIEVED OVER 50+ YEARS, IT DIDN’T OCCUR THAT ANYONE WOULD THINK SUCH. WE WERE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT IN TODAY’S ENVIRONMENT OF WORLDWIDE NGO ACTIVITY, MUCH OF IT FUNDED BY USAID AND USIP, SOME DID.
TO CLARIFY, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POW/MIA FAMILIES IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN FUNDED BY U.S. TAXPAYERS, VIA OUR GOVERNMENT, AS I PERSONALLY CAN CONFIRM SINCE 1978!!!!
June 25, 2025

Today DPAA has released the identities of the four servicemen originally declared accounted-for on June 23, 2025. They are Tech. Sgt. Donald Springsteadah, Tech. Sgt. Willis Hall, Staff Sgt. Henry Gish, and Col. Walter Renelt. All of these brave airmen served their nation dutifully, and are thankful for their return to our great nation.

Spingsteadah, Hall, and Gish were all assigned to Lima Site 85 on the mountain peak of Phou Pha Thi in Laos. On March 11, 1968 the site came under attack by Vietnamese commandos, and while eight airmen were later evacuated by helicopter, eleven others were unaccounted for and declared killed-in-action/body-not-recovered. This was considered the largest Air Force ground loss of the entire war, and investigations along the steep rocky cliffsides have proved challenging. Col. Renelt was declared MIA after his plane crashed on November 20 1969, and he and his co-pilot were nowhere to be found.

We applaud DPAA’s efforts and commend their talented field teams, DNA analysts, and everyone in between. The scope of this release is the kind of robust Vietnam War Accounting results that we look forward to receiving in the future!
June 23, 2025

Today, the League is releasing two documents: one covers the current Status of the League; the other document is a report, written by League Intelligence Advisor Dr. Jay Veith, called Vietnam’s Knowledgeability Cooperation: A Follow-up Report on the League Assessment on “Achieving the Fullest Possible Accounting.” Both can be found on the League website, and by clicking the hyperlinks within this post. We encourage all to read and share these documents and to advocate for continued and increased Vietnam War Accounting efforts.

RECENT NEWS

THE LEAGUE’S SOCIAL MEDIA

The League is always seeking photos of POW/MIA flags, monuments, Missing Man Honors Tables, and POW/MIA empty chairs from your community to feature on our social media pages and website.

Sharing with us is easy, just send your photos via direct message to the League’s Facebook page or email us at national.league@pow-miafamiles.org with a brief description of when & where the photo was taken. All proper credits will be given.