JPAC’s Efforts Frustrate Families
On June 12, 1966, Marine Corps radioman Cpl. Gregory Harris and a contingent of South Vietnamese
marines were ambushed and overrun in Quang Ngai province. When friendly forces retook the area the
next day and recovered the dead, Harris was nowhere to be found. His family’s nightmare was just
beginning. They watched as Harris was first listed as missing, then declared dead. Months turned into
decades of waiting in vain. They say dealing with the military’s accounting agencies for the missing —
known today as the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office
— has been nearly as painful as the loss itself. They claim the agencies have withheld information and
kept important documents out of Harris’ file. Credible leads weren’t followed, they say, potential
gravesites weren’t excavated and important witnesses weren’t interviewed. The family believes that
Harris was prematurely declared dead and unrecoverable.
