His eyes still on at Lu Chan, “How secure are these rooms; by that I mean, will our interrogations be monitored?” His eyes searched the room, floor to ceiling and came to rest on Lu Chan looking squarely into his eyes.
Lu Chan responded quickly, “There are two other rooms set aside for monitoring conversations, General. This room is secure; you may feel free to ask what you wish and the responses will be heard in this room only.”
“That’s good; now tell me Major, how is it that you know of the weather in Moscow in September of 1967?”
Lu Chan smiled slightly saying, “I have a contact in an international weather reporting agency.”
“I see; then you will provide me with weather updates as necessary to my journey. Am I correct?” Pyotr asked thoughtfully.
“Yes, General, as I am given instructions to pass on,” Lu Chan answered.
“Now to the task before us, General, do you have some prisoners specifically in mind that you wish to interview?” Lu Chan inquired simply.
Chernakov took a file holding several sheets of paper from his briefcase. “Yes I do” he answered. “I am specifically interested in the Americans that were captured in Laos; I am now working with an incomplete list. I would like names, rank and service branch and the dates of capture. Perhaps you can provide additional information regarding some of them; information that I do not have that could be important,” Chernakov directed.
“You and I both have worked with prisoners of war, Major Lu Chan, but you in a different capacity. Since you have worked with the POWs for such a long period of time, have you tabulated the exact numbers of the number of prisoners the North Vietnamese have captured?” Chernakov asked.
“You mean the total in all camps,” Lu Chan asked.
“Yes,” Pyotr replied.
“I will give you what information I have,” Lu Chan said seriously. According to our recent count reports there are over one thousand, possibly more…” Lu Chan answered.
“Do you have a record of where they were captured, and are they broken down by rank, Major?”
Lu Chan opened a file and quickly paged through the papers it contained, saying, “I have some of what you ask here. Shall I read it, Comrade?”
“No,” Chernakov answered, “just give me an overview and I will take a report with me.”
Lu Chan began, “There were more than five hundred American aviators captured in North Vietnam; they were comprised of senior officers of the U.S. Air Force and the U. S. Navy. The aviators include three astronauts trained for space flight and ten of the aviators have more than 4000 flight hours each. There were thirty other POWs captured in North Vietnam who were diversionists and what they called Advisors.”
“That’s an impressive number. Do we know how many survived?” Chernakov queried.
“It changes from day to day, General,” Lu Chan went on, “in South Vietnam we are told the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army have captured over one hundred US air crew members, mainly helicopter aviators and some jet aviators as well as eighty five servicemen of other categories. There were sixty five captured in Cambodia and forty three in Laos.” Lu Chan handed the papers to Chernakov. “I have another copy, General.”
Chernakov took it from his hand saying, “Thank you, Major. It has been reported to me that the American government has no knowledge of the exact number of POWs in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam because the North Vietnamese Army Command retains those numbers in strict secrecy. According to the report, the Americans’ official list published by the NVA contains the names of only three hundred sixty eight prisoners.”
“I believe that is correct, General,” Lu Chan replied.
“Hmmm, an interesting discrepancy,” Chernakov murmured studying, “How accurate is this list, Comrade?” he said tapping the papers in his hand.
“I am not absolutely certain, General,” Lu Chan answered “you must think we are careless record keepers, but these prisoners are moved and evaluated often, based on their usefulness. I am only one of those who order them to be moved.”
“No, I do not believe you are careless at all, I understand the problem very well.
“Major, how long will China continue holding the American POWs of North Vietnam?”
Lu Chan responded, “I do not know, General, but I do know that there is an agreement that Hanoi made with Bejing to keep some of the American prisoners.”
Shaking his head in disapproval, Chernakov commented, “A chess game with prisoners as pawns.”
“Forgive me, General, but your government has also made the same agreements considering some of the prisoners have been moved to the USSR, am I not correct?”
Chernakov nodded his head. He said slowly, “Touché, Major, and there will be others as a result of my visit today.”
Lu Chan nodded understanding and continued, “China will not release any of them back to the American government without approval from the North Vietnamese; the North Vietnamese believe that the United States will eventually tire of a war it can’t win, much the same as the French, and when that happens, Hanoi will have the prisoners as a bargaining tool for reparations.
“They know the U.S. will not risk global war by sending their troops into China nor would they risk sending aerial reconnaissance to locate and rescue any prisoners. They believe the American government will pay to get their prisoners back.
“It is different with your government, General; the prisoners who are sent to the Soviet Bloc will not be traded or bargained for; they will be used for information purposes, and then disappear. Is this not so?”
Chernakov nodded gravely, “It is a shameful and a dangerous game we play with the Americans, my friend; I believe they will risk much to regain their prisoners.
“I will need access to all the information you have on the American prisoners, Major.” Chernakov went on, “Now to the business at hand; I am here to specifically interview three prisoners from Laos who may be technicians captured at a Tactical Air Navigation site, on Phou Pha Thi Mountain. Do you know what I am referring to?”
“Yes, General, these are our three most recent prisoners captured in Laos. They came to Hanoi two months ago and I arranged for their transfer here. They had no military identification or any papers; we have no doubt they work for the CIA. We do not believe the names they have given are genuine.”
“We will see. Please, Major, let’s begin with the one in the same cell block as the American Chaplain.”
“Very well, I will have the guards bring in the prisoner.
The man that entered the room moved slowly, he stumbled slightly as a guard pushed him to move more quickly. He stopped; surprise flickered across his face as he saw the Soviet General seated at the desk. The look of surprise was immediately replaced by a look of hostility.
“Come in and be seated, there,” Chernakov gestured toward the chair facing him in front of the desk.
Pyotr appraised the American; he was thin, but this man appeared to be in better condition than others he had seen. There was a look of determination in his blue eyes. He had seen it in other prisoners. This fellow would resist his questions he knew.
“I am Lieutenant General Pyotr Chernakov. I am an Air Force officer of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. You know Major Lu Chan?” Chernakov asked, speaking English.
The prisoner nodded.
“Good! We all know each other, except, I don’t know your name. What is your name?” Pyotr asked respectfully.
“John Smith,” the answer was strong and obstinate.
“Really?” Chernakov smiled, “That’s a very American name. There are so many of you… are you sure that is your name?” he asked politely.
“The American looked at him directly, “My name is John Smith,” he asserted stubbornly, “and I am a civilian.”