QUALIFIED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT UNDER PROTEST FOR OBJECTIVITY AND TRUTH TO: Department of Defense
FROM: Mary Louse Hall (Mrs. Harley Hall) DATE: September 13, 1993 RE: ALLEGED "ACCOUNTING" FOR
"REMAINS" OF POW HARLEY H. HALL, USN (3 FRONT TEETH) Dear Sirs: In response to the recent recovery of three
of Captain Harley Hall's front teeth from the site of his downing and capture on 1/27/74 in Quang Tri Province, I
would like the following to go on record: While I acknowledge these to be three of my husband's correctly
identified teeth (confirmed by a dental expert, I object most strenuously to the inference that they constitute
evidence of death, and I by no means acknowledge or accept them as an accounting of the person of Harley H.
Hall. As such, they represent not only insufficient evidence for case closure, but more importantly, BLATANTLY
CONTRADICT ALL UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ASSERTIONS AND INTELLIGENCE ON THE HARLEY HALL CASE.
Specifically, various U.S. agencies have consistently maintained that the could NOT POSSIBLY have died AT THAT
SITE, i.e. Quang Tri, an inference drawn from multiple references of captivity elsewhere. Apart from the obvious
fact that adults frequently lose teeth, which was notorious among POW's, the condition of the teeth, the fact that
they are front teeth, and especially the LOCATION of discovery all point to a more obvious or plausible
explanation. Namely, Capt. Harley Hall was either punched, received a blow to the mouth by his captors, these
teeth were extracted, or fell out due to malnutrition and poor care. As to the location of his alleged "death":
NAVAL INTELLIGENCE: Naval Intelligence informed me two weeks after his downing that Harley had been
captured - an absolute certainty based on first hand sensitive intelligence. It was the U.S. Government itself that
had the information to change his status to Category I: Capture Confirmed (early documents sent to me under
the Freedom of Information Act indicated all four crewmen in Quang Tri incidents that day were captured. Capt.
Hall remained in Category 1-POW status-for a full seven years (1973-1980) until all such cases except Charles
Shelton, USAF, were altered to "PFOD" (Presumptive Finding of Death). DR. ROGER SHEILDS: It soon became
evident that Harley was not only captured, but had arrived at a prison site of some sort. I was personally told by
POW/MIA expert Dr. Roger Shields that Harley's was "one of the compelling, if not THE most compelling case of
capture he had ever reviewed." "They are holding your husband, Mrs. Hall, one way or another." (the inference
clearly being "dead or alive") "and they can answer for him and never settle for anything LESS." THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY: NSA files have subsequently revealed that Capt. Hall was tracked from battalion to battalion
to a particular PRISON CAMP ON THE VIETNAMESE/LAO BORDER, hence NOT in Quang Tri Province. DEFENSE
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT: On 13 July 1988, the DIA issued an analysis of Vietnamese reports to General
Vessey about an "unrecoverable body" in the Quang Tri area which had fallen "into a trench." DIA analysis
countered that this "answer" was totally unacceptable, and that the SRV report was a concoction "implausible
and in conflict with their known policies and practices" regarding Americans. The area was heavily patrolled by
North Vietnamese troops who would not have to resort to local villagers to account for an American downed
under their noses (see attached). Next, local "witnesses" began to tell of an American body, allegedly Harley's
"buried there," but digging teams repeatedly found nothing. But now the sudden turnover of three teeth from
Quang Tri is viewed as a "resolution," while in fact they in no way mitigate the U.S. Government's previous
objection to this story and insistence that Capt. Hall could not have died there, let alone be buried in an
unrecorded spot. CLASSIFIED U.S. FILES: This summer (1993) I returned to Washington, D.C. to review all
pertinent files, including classified material accessible to families. This reinforced my previous conclusion and
added the STUNNING NEW REVELATION that Harley Hall had been INTERROGATED BY THE SOVIETS (which, I
hasten to point out, could not have happened had he "died" in the area where his teeth were allegedly lost and
recovered twenty years later!) This is a startling contradiction to the U.S. Government's present bland
acceptance of his "death" in the Quang Tri area shortly after being shot down. REFUGEE STATEMENTS: I realize
less credence is given to "hearsay" from Vietnamese, but it is no secret that about the time of my husband's
downing and capture, there was frequent recounting of and bragging about "the parading of a big Blue Angel" in
Vietnam, possibly through Hanoi. Cases of misidentification and case closing on insufficient evidence are not new
or unique to my husband's case, but all of the above shows me that the United States Government's "highest
national priority" in this area is to shorten if not eliminate the missing list and close the book on as many
discrepancy cases as possible, even if it means a completely false burial of hundreds of Americans -- all to
expunge the past, achieve a hasty and slipshod "accounting" and facilitate lucrative and politically expedient
relations with Hanoi. As for the incredible statement that 'we have no information which would indicate Capt. Hall
survived to become a captive of the Vietnamese, one need only consider every other agency cited here, and
Harley's official POW status, to perceive a gross discrepancy and untruth. Some cases are genuinely resolved. My
close friend, Carleen Blackburn, received almost full skeletal remains of her husband (notably with FOUR FRONT
TEETH MISSING). Other cases are not, and perhaps never can or will be resolved. But the most unfortunate and
painful of all are the FALSELY RESOLVED CASES. Thus, after twenty years of almost unbearable limbo and
uncertainty, I may now face the worst possible case scenario: an eternal limbo, still not knowing. The three teeth
only reinforce the intelligence on capture, while the U.S. Government prepare to call the case "resolved" and
cease even trying to account. Such a FALSE ANSWER IS WORSE THAN NONE, leaving me with less peace than
before, not more! I do not reject receiving the three teeth, nor will I take legal action against their identification,
because they are indeed Harley's teeth and constitute all I have of my husband at the present moment. Had
they been presented in the spirit of further clues or evidence in Harley's case, and not as an unwarranted
"accounting" and resolution of "death," I would even welcome them as one small clue to the mystery of what
happened to him in captivity. Be assured that my protest does NOT stem from "wishful thinking, hoping against
hope" or reluctance or refusal to accept death as an inevitable/probably outcome. For years, I have imagined,
longed for and even dreamed of the day when I could hold a proper memorial service for Harley when his earthly
remains could rest in U.S. soil. Then his children and I could experience the peace of knowing, and begin to close
the long chapter of grief. But to grant burial with full military honors and a full size coffin to three front teeth
would not only be ridiculous, but represent acquiesce in a lie. Considering the above, I protest the closure of
Harley's case in the strongest possible terms, and implore you to leave his name on the honored list of
unaccounted for Americans, specifically the "focus" POW cases where he was listed in the first place. (Otherwise,
his name will wrongfully appear on the "remains returned" list, and many thoughtful Americans will assume that
this notorious case is finally resolved/settled.) To do otherwise on the basis of incomplete and misleading
"remains" of three teeth is a travesty and an affront to the truth, as well as yet another blow to the families who
have fought so valiantly (and had their faith so badly shaken) in this cause. This is the least you owe to the men
who served and those of us who have paid so high a price. (signed) Mary Louse Hall, Wife Capt. Harley H. Hall,
USN +++Capt. Harley Hall is still listed by the United States Government as "remains returned."+++ Back to
Capt. Harley Hall Page
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