sad but true the anguish of the families of the missing continuesI knew Major Mark Smith. Mark, perhaps as a result of his many wounds and time in captivity, was a few rounds short of a basic load. What Mark said on one day was not necessarily what he said several days later and he did not consider the discrepancies to matter.
I believe that his agents gave him the information that he paid for - it was what he wanted to hear and he believed it. I doubt that much, if any, of it was true, but it generated a cottage industry that drained the life savings of many MIA/POW families who were desperate to learn the fate of their loved ones. I don’t think that any of them survived the release of POWs in 1975 and most were dead within 24 hours of when they went missing.
The story told to my Father was that three parachutes were spotted. That was the only information he ever received (to my best knowledge), before Dad died. I know it tormented him greatly. Knowing that they both look down upon us, from above, brings a measure of comfort. Thank you.
sad but true the anguish of the families of the missing continues