A Call For Transparency

History needs transparency. This book examines how history can be lost, distorted, changed, or erased to suit the needs of the person or people writing it. Unaccounted for Prisoners-of-War from the Korean War are being used as an example of how the facts of a conflict from more than 50 years ago are still being manipulated to this day, and the fates of these POWs are still being witheld. This book also demonstrates the need for government transparency in order to accurately document and understand the motives and actions of people in history whose decisions affected millions and altered the course of events. This book has been written from the compilation of many sources such as the voluminous historical materials from the US Government National Archives, historical books on the subject, and witness testimony to the US Congress. Also included are statements from a phone interview with officials at the Defense Prisoner of War-Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) conducted in September of 2008. An annotated bibliography is included. What happened to these men? Why are their fates still being witheld decades after the war's end? What do the Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans have to hide after all this time? One possible answer has the potential to shatter the ceasefire and explode into a new conflict: Some of these POWs might still be alive.

Daniel Cecchini has a bachelors and masters degree in history and is a writer of historical nonfiction, novels, and English language textbooks. He lives with his wife in Pusan, South Korea.