IN HONOR                                                      IN MEMORY                                             OF OUR FATHERS           CHARLES S. ROWLEY                             ROBERT E. TRANBARGER                             CAPTURED IN LAOS                                                       KOREAN WAR VETERAN DIED                               APRIL 22, 1970                                                                            APRIL 22, 1992

In search of Charles Stoddard Rowley; A Daughter's Story.
by Patti Rowley-Sayles and Terry Tranbarger
 
 
 

     During it's fourth strike, the gun ship was hit by anti-aircraft fire and began burning. Brooks raised "I've been hit, babe". Fisher, a navigtor, reportd that his position was ok. Fields and Hensley, battling the blaze in the rear of the aircraft, lost each other in the smoke. Fields inched his way to Adachi's position and found Adachi gone and the left scanner window open. Fields used as auxiliary parachute to abandon the aircraft.

     Killer 1 reported seeing no parachutes although Killer 2 reported the crew was bailing out. Just before Killer 1 departed the area for refuelling, it received one emergency beeper signal from the ground. Killer 2 established voice contact with a member of the crew identifying himself as Ad Lib 12 (Fisher), who reported that he had burns on his face and hands. Killer 2 also left for refuelling, while other aircraft monitored the downed craft and waited for morning to attempt rescue of the survivors.

     The following morning, Ad Lib 11 (Fields) was rescued but due to hostile ground forces, no ground search or photographs were made at the time. The Air Force assumed, that Fields had incorrectly identified himself.

     The rest of the story is confusing. The family of one of the crew  was told that a ground crew had been inserted and that partial remains of the one crew member had been removed. Another family was advised that photographs of the crash site existed. A photograph of a captive airman having burn bandages on his hands was identified as being Fisher, by his family. Rowley family was informed of a secret intelligence report indicating that 6 crew members were killed and there were 4 missing.

     A returned POW, Larry Stark, reported seeing Rowley in a propaganda film. Another returned POW stated that Fisher had been a POW. Although the Air Force would not allow family members to contact the only survivor, Fields, Fisher's son located him after 18 years, Fisher denied ever being in contact with any of the Killer jet escorts. It was not he who identified himself by radio to rescue forces.

     The Black Hole: Nearly 600 were lost in Laos and not a single man was released, although the pathetic Lao stated that they held prisoners.

Patti's Story

April 22, 1970: Half way around the world, 12 year old Patti Rowley was sitting in class,
                              when she saw her preacher enter the school. Her instincts told her that he
                              came to see her. She told a classmate "He's here for me. I'll see you later."
                              As her mother and brother waited, he gently told her that her father was
                              missing. Patti never believed that he died that day. And she waited for God
                              to guild her.

February 17, 1973:  Pathet Lao stated that they would not release American prisoners of war
                             until there was a cease fire in Laos.   (READ ARTICAL)PATHET LAO SAYS NO TRUCE, NO AMERICAN POWS, Wahington Post, 2-17-73 No POWs were ever released from Laos.

1973: As a teenager, Patti learned to survive, with all the disadvantages of not having a father. Her Dad did not come home with the other POWs. Her family dealt with the status of LtCol. Rowley by ignoring the topic of Vietnam. Yet, Patti continued to believe that someday she would see her father again.

June 13, 1978:"A statues review hearing was held to determine if the status of my father should changed from the status of Missing In Action to Killed In Action. There had not been any evidence to my family's knowledge to change the status other than the passage of time."
     As a matter of fact the United States Air Force had not found evidence to change the status for eight annual reviews. One right as an American is the right to a fair trial. Unfortunately, such a Constitutional right  was denied the very men who fought for this American dream, if my father's hearing is an example of such a change in status hearings"
     "My older brother and I travelled from the east coast to Texas to attend the hearing on my father's behalf. Although we were given the rights to an attorney, we did not truly believe that we would need this type of representation. We were brought up believing in our government representation, as my father had been a 'lifer' in the military. He graduated from the Navel Academy and entered the Air Force in 1954. It was not questioned that the Armed Forces were on the side of the soldiers. The day prior to the hearing, we came to a great realization. The government does not support their heroic men and women and especially the families of those left behind. As young children, we were basically trusting and too young to question. At the age of 21, I learned better."
     "The evening of June 12, 1978, we rolled into town and went to the designated area to check in and get directions as to the proceedings. We received two files each. No directions were given as to the content, nor how to interpret these files. So off we went to fumble through. Chuck and I had agreed to look at the files and mark any pages we questioned. We then went back through to find our each others questions and then if one of us could possibly find the answer for each other. To no great surprise, there were more questions than answers. The greatest question arose on a page that contanded two sentences: A civilian returnee had identified my father in Feb. 1973 from either a propaganda picture or group of Laos POW's viewing film shown at Hanoi Hilton. This was two years after his shoot down and this was the first we knew of it. Remember this is five years after the fact! To say the least, this was a primary question for the hearing in Dad's favour."
     "The Board convened at 8:00 the next morning. Two extremely tired and now scared 'primary of kin' went to the table; the choking block. After everyone introduced themselves and the ground rules were explained, my brother and I still had no idea how insignificant we really were. The Legal Advisor was the only really important person there. The voting board consisted of three Vietnam/Laos veterans who were still on active military duty. There was a court reporter and representative of Military Personnel. The Military Personnel Representatives became an ally when my brother and I began questioning the Legal Advisor about the 'sighting'."
      "With all the due respect that we had been taught to show not only our elders but especially men of high military ranking, my brother and I began a process that I have not completed: Ffinding the true answer to where my father is and returning him to the United States. We were given the opportunity to bring any evidence we had before the board prior to voting. If only I had known that it was up to the families to prove that he was alive! My brother made it clear that he did not believe that Col. Rowley had escaped death's way that night, but sill had questions as to the relevance of material that was classified, and the possibility of unclassified information that was not provided to the voting board nor to us. There was heated discussion as to whether there was or was not any further evidence. One voting member asked, 'In these proceedings, you are supposed to make us aware of information even if it is classified, right?' The board was answered by the  Legal advisor, 'No, not if it's classified because the general rule is that if the next of kin cannot see the information, the board cannot either??????.' After discussing the policy's need for revision, we requested viewing the photo mentioned in the file, and silence ensued. It is now my word against the 'record', but at that point we were politely told not to continue this line if questioning. The 'record' does not reflect that we did continue this line of questioning, and were sent to the hall in contempt of court."
     "Needless to say, that day my father was 'Killed in Action'. The policy has not changed for viewing classified information prior to status changes by high ranking officers, never mind the families. This policy is only one of the many examples of unfair hearings and hidden agenda. To this day, we have not been able to receive these photos and the civilian was told he could not either, for it was classified information. What is it that our government wants to hide - my father? WHY? This question needs to be answered completely and your help is needed."
 
 
 

November 1987:One autumn day, Patti, now with a son of her own, happened to pick up a LIFE Magazine,with the cover stating: MIA,  ARE ANY STILL ALIVE? 25 COMPELLING CASES FROM VIETNAM.She saw faces of men she had never heard of, but knowing how the families of those men felt. Then, shockingly, she saw her father in a photograph, standing next to her mother. Above this photo was  "MYSTERIOUS 'MR. ROLY'. This, according to Patti, was the sign from God she had been waiting for all these years.

May 27, 1988:  Washington, D.C.

Patti began getting in touch with other POW/MIA family members. After meeting Patty O'Grady Parcells, whose father Col. .John O'Grady was reported missing 4/10/67, Patti was further shocked of how little she was told about her own father's case. Patti decided to go public with her fathers story, and spoke at Rolling Thunder , a motorcycle parade in honor of American POW/MIA's left behind. There, in Washington D.C., she had a chance meeting with Terry Tranbarger-Wood. Because of the events of that weekend, meeting Patti, veterans, and other activists, Terry became involved with the POW/MIA issue,  founded Freedom Now of Virginia, Inc., and held the position of  Director through it's entire existence. Patti and Terry parted company, but both knew that the war was not over. Patti's father and his comrades were not home. The U.S. Government continues to spoon feed the American public into believing that they were doing "all that could be done". Patti and Terry knew differently.
 
 

August 5, 1989                     Newport News, Virginia

 June 1, 1991:
Patti went back to North Carolina, knowing that people did care. And Patti's life moved forward. She married and relocated in Saluda, VA, becoming actively involved with Freedom Now of Virginia, Inc.
 

July 24/26, 1991:Patti, sponsored by FNV, went to the National League of Families Annual Convention and spoke with Warren Gray, which started a new and questionable relationship with the Defence Department.

January 27, 1993: As a result of that brief meeting with Warren Gray, Patti received fromCharles Trowbridge, Jr. Deputy Chief, Special Office for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action, two photographs. One was the famous "Mr. Roly" photo, but the second Patti had never seen before. What was it doing in her fathers file? The Pentagon stated, on further inquiry, that the second photo had never been alleged to be her father, but "because some elements of the nature of the means in which this photo was passed to us were similar to those of suspected original sources of the "Roly" photograph, we had both photos analysed together." No other  explanation has come forth through the Pentagon. The Pentagon went on to say that family members could not be present at another photo analysis.
 

Why???

 
 

February 18, 1993: Patti received a copy of a report issued by the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting . (This agency was investigated for destroying thousands of document in Bangkok)  This report states that an investigation and survey was conducted on January 18/19, 1993 of Col. Rowley's crash site.
 
 
 
 

John "Top" Holland, Patty Hopper,               Jacob Edwards, Charles Rowley's grandson, and  Patti Rowely-Sayles

 

April 7, 1993:  Patti accompanied by Terry Tranbarger-Wood, FNV's Director and Special Forces Association Randy O'Neal, met with Mr. Kent Wiedemann, President Clinton's Special Assistant and Sr. Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council. In light of Senator John Kerry's statement (Chairman of the Senate Select Committee for POW/MIA Affairs) that family members were welcome to go to Southeast Asia for answers on the fate of their loved ones, we asked that the U.S. Government assist Patti to Laos to observe the excavation of her fathers crash site. This was to take place in August.To be continued..........
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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