Changes

==Senator Jesse Helms and the POW and KAL 007 Connection==

==Senator Jesse Helms and the POW and KAL 007 Connection==

On December 5, 1991, Senator Helms wrote to Boris Yeltsin concerning U.S. servicemen who were POWs or MIAs, ''"The status of thousands and thousands of American servicemen who are held by Soviet and other Communist forces, and who were never repatriated after every major war this century, is of grave concern to the American people."'' Yeltsin would ultimately respond with a statement made on June 15, 1992, while being interviewed aboard his presidential jet on his way to the United States, ''"Our archives have shown that it is true — some of them were transferred to the territory of the U.S.S.R. and were kept in labor camps... We can only surmise that some of them may still be alive."'' On December 10, just five days after Senator Helms had written Yeltsin concerning American servicemen, he again wrote to Yeltsin, this time concerning KAL 007, ''"One of the greatest tragedies of the Cold War was the shoot-down of the Korean Airlines flight KAL-007 by the Armed Forces of what was then the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. . . The KAL-007 tragedy was one of the most tense incidences of the entire Cold War. However, now that relations between our two nations have improved substantially, I believe that it is time to resolve the mysteries surrounding this event. Clearing the air on this issue could help further to improve relations."'' (See here [http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm] for complete Helms letter to Boris Yeltsin)

On December 5, 1991, Senator Helms wrote to Boris Yeltsin concerning U.S. servicemen who were POWs or MIAs, ''"The status of thousands and thousands of American servicemen who are held by Soviet and other Communist forces, and who were never repatriated after every major war this century, is of grave concern to the American people."'' Yeltsin would ultimately respond with a statement made on June 15, 1992, while being interviewed aboard his presidential jet on his way to the United States, ''"Our archives have shown that it is true — some of them were transferred to the territory of the U.S.S.R. and were kept in labor camps... We can only surmise that some of them may still be alive."''  

 

On December 10, just five days after Senator Helms had written Yeltsin concerning American servicemen, he again wrote to Yeltsin, this time concerning KAL 007, ''"One of the greatest tragedies of the Cold War was the shoot-down of the Korean Airlines flight KAL-007 by the Armed Forces of what was then the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. . . The KAL-007 tragedy was one of the most tense incidences of the entire Cold War. However, now that relations between our two nations have improved substantially, I believe that it is time to resolve the mysteries surrounding this event. Clearing the air on this issue could help further to improve relations."'' (See here [http://www.rescue007.org/helms_letter.htm] for complete Helms letter to Boris Yeltsin)

===The Russian Black Box Acknowledgement===

===The Russian Black Box Acknowledgement===

The tapes themselves would be  handed to ICAO on January 8, 1993. They would be deciphered and transcribed by the "Bureau d'Enquete et d'Analyses" (BEA) in Paris in the presence of representatives from Japan, The Russian Federation, South Korea,and the United States. And so the long years of Soviet denial had come to an end with the handing over of the tapes (but not all!) of KAL 007's Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder (See - [http://www.rescue007.org/docs/Is%20This%20the%20Final%20Word.pdf])

The tapes themselves would be  handed to ICAO on January 8, 1993. They would be deciphered and transcribed by the "Bureau d'Enquete et d'Analyses" (BEA) in Paris in the presence of representatives from Japan, The Russian Federation, South Korea,and the United States. And so the long years of Soviet denial had come to an end with the handing over of the tapes (but not all!) of KAL 007's Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder (See - [http://www.rescue007.org/docs/Is%20This%20the%20Final%20Word.pdf])

Concerning Stacy (3years) and Noelle (5 years) Grenfell [http://www.rescue007.org/grenfells.htm], passengers on KAL 007, Senator Helms, who was on sister flight KAL 015, also making its way to Seoul Korea, would write:

===Senator Jesse Helms,KAL 015, and the Grenfell children===

[[Image:Senator Jesse helms.jpg|Jesse Helms|right|thumb|300px]]

 

Senator Helms, along with Senator Steven Symms of Idaho and Congressman Carroll Hubbard Jr. of Kentucky, had traveled on KAL 015 fifteen minutes behind KAL 007, and had stopped at Anchorage airport, as did Larry McDonald on KAL 007, and had gotten off KAL 015. McDonald did not get off. Reports indicate that Helms had contemplated changing to KAL 007 to be with him but decided againt it. That near miss must have stayed with him as the outcome of the flight became apparent as KAL 015 arrived at Seoul Airport and KAL 007 did not. As he attended the 30th Year celebration of the U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty - and Larry Mcdonald did not. As the reports from Israel of survivors would come to his office 8 years later. As he would write to Yeltsin. As Yeltsin would comply with all the requests that Helms had made of him - excepting the fate of the passengers and crew, and especially, the sought after information about Larry McDonald.

 

But one thing Helms could not forget and would speak of often, and mention in his letter to Boris Yeltsin, was a meeting at Anchorage airport while both KAL 007 and KAL 015 were taking on fuel for the next leg of the trip, a meeting that he had with two child passengers, Noel Anne Grenfell, aged 5, and her sister Stacy Marie, aged 3 [http://www.rescue007.org/grenfells.htm]

''"I’ll never forget that night when that plane was just beside ours at Anchorage airport with two little girls and their parents.

''"I’ll never forget that night when that plane was just beside ours at Anchorage airport with two little girls and their parents.

I’ll never forget that, and I know you won’t."''

I’ll never forget that, and I know you won’t."''

[[Image:Grenfell3.jpg|Stacy Marie|right|thumb|200px]]

[[Image:Grenfell3.jpg|Stacy Marie|right|thumb|200px]][[Image:Grenfell2.jpg|Noelle Anne|left|thumb|200px]]

[[Image:Grenfell2.jpg|Noelle Anne|left|thumb|200px]]

==Who ordered the shoot-down==

==Who ordered the shoot-down==