Show Notes

The Radio Man and the Teacher

A Stories of Sacrifice episode

In this episode we return to the story of 1st Lt. Roy E. Welbon — not only as the lost guerrilla of Baroy, but as a husband. Through newly uncovered documents from the MacArthur Memorial Archives and the powerful 1990 oral history of his wife, Helen Haladay Welbon, we step into the quiet life they built together in Butuan and the choices that war forced upon them.

Listeners will hear how a maritime radio operator and a Red Cross teacher created a home on the plaza across from the royal palms, how Helen followed Roy into the jungle, and how, in November 1943, he insisted she leave on the submarine USS Narwhal while he remained behind. We also examine the newly obtained evidence — including Col. Fertig’s casualty report and his radio message to General MacArthur — confirming that after Roy was killed, his comrades recovered his body and buried him with full military honors beneath a small white cross on the plaza in Baroy.

This is a story of ordinary love tested by extraordinary times, and of the unfinished work still required to bring one American home.

Main Topics

• Roy and Helen’s life together in pre-war Butuan
• Helen’s vivid memories of their house, the sawmill, and daily life
• The outbreak of war and the Christmas Eve 1941 evacuation
• Helen’s decision to follow Roy — including the bilge of the launch
• The heartbreaking choice at Cantilan and the USS Narwhal evacuation
• New MacArthur Archives documents: Ken Bayley memoir, Fertig casualty report, and the radio confirming a marked grave with full military honors
• Helen’s long silence and her 1990 oral history
• The continuing search for Roy Welbon and other Mindanao MIAs

Support the Mission
AMAG — the Asymmetric MIA Accounting Group — is preparing a mission to Mindanao this winter to locate the remains of 1st Lt. Roy Welbon and other Americans still missing in the region. If this story has moved you, please help finish what war left unfinished.

Donate here: https://donorbox.org/support-amag-s-worldwide-mia-mission

It’s About Time ⏳

Baron 52: What the U.S. Intelligence Community Knew — and When
Baron 52 (REFNO 1983)
Date: August 2026

Three months after Baron 52 went down, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon’s senior civilian official for POW/MIA affairs still treated the survival of the crew as an open analytical question.

A year later, language about four Americans believed captured in Laos reached the President of the United States.

In this episode we examine the American intelligence record that has long sat alongside the intercept — what U.S. agencies documented in 1973 and 1974, and what later investigative reporting added.

Drawing on the new U.S. Intelligence Community Reporting and Correlations Addendum, we walk through:

• The May 1973 DIA assessment involving Dr. Roger Shields and the Berbrich memorandum
• CIA order-of-battle reporting that independently tracked the 210th AAA Regiment and the formation of the 377th Air Defense Division
• The personnel correlation of Lt. Col. Lương Khánh Văn
• Communications architecture, the Vinh Window, and the firsthand account from a former RC-135 Combat Apple linguist
• Residual-prisoner assessments that reached the presidential level in May and June 1974
• Binh Tram 35/36 order of battle and the Brashear case (REFNO 1437) as documented prisoner handling
• The continuing oral-history gap: no Baron 52-specific interviews have ever been conducted with PAVN veterans of these same units

The episode maintains a careful analytical standard — distinguishing what the documents explicitly state, what can be reasonably correlated, and what remains open.

Key Documents Referenced

• John T. Berbrich, Defense Intelligence Agency, Memorandum for the Record, 23 May 1973
• CIA / Department of Defense Joint Report, 10 October 1973 (Thirty-Third Report on Communist Violations)
• Central Intelligence Bulletin, 18 May 1974
• President’s Daily Brief, 4 June 1974
• IIR 6 024 0024 02 (Stony Beach / JTF-FA) – Binh Tram 35/36 Order of Battle
• S158-130 (DIA / DPMO) – Brashear case (REFNO 1437)
• AMAG U.S. Intelligence Community Reporting and Correlations Addendum, 1 August 2026

Related Episodes & Full Package

• Previous episode: From 44 to 93 — Group 210, Mr. Van, and the Baron 52 Intercept
• Full research package, Intercept Addendum, and U.S. Intelligence Community Addendum:
  https://www.storiesofsacrifice.org/blog/baron52/

On the night of 5 February 1973, just nine days after the Paris Peace Accords were signed, an NSA intercept reported that Group 210 was holding four “pirates” and moving them from kilometer location 44 to kilometer location 93 under the control of “Mr. Van,” while experiencing difficulties along the road.

In this episode we examine the full body of evidence now surrounding that intercept. We identify Group 210 as the 210th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, reinforced into the Division 471 sector during the 1972–73 dry season. We identify “Mr. Van” as Lieutenant Colonel Lương Khánh Vân, Political Officer of the 377th Air Defense Division and the officer responsible for POW handling in that sector. We show why kilometer location 44 correlates to the Tang Cat area under Binh Tram 35 control — the same sector where Baron 52 crashed — and why new testimony from a Binh Tram 35 truck driver who recalled operating from kilometer location 94 strengthens the intercept’s terminal point.

We also examine the consistent PAVN use of the terms “pirates,” “pirate pilots,” and “pilots” as standard slang for U.S. aircrew in the southern Laos corridor, and we explain the Vinh Window communications architecture that caused southern Laos traffic to appear in NSA collection with Vinh-area indicators. The 1971 Jack Butcher case is referenced as historical proof that the same collection system successfully tracked an American airman moving through the southern Laos Binh Tram network.

Taken together, the evidence supports a high-probability reading that the four back-end crew members of Baron 52 — Sgt. Dale Brandenburg, Sgt. Peter R. Cressman, Sgt. Joseph A. Matejov, and SSgt. Todd M. Melton — survived the crash, were captured, and were moved alive through the Binh Tram 35 / Division 471 logistics network.

Key Topics Covered:

• The core language of the REFNO 1983 intercept
• PAVN terminology: “pirates,” “pirate pilots,” and “pilots”
• Identification of Group 210 (210th AAA Regiment)
• Identification of “Mr. Van” (Lt. Col. Lương Khánh Vân)
• Geographic correlation of Km 44 to Tang Cat / Binh Tram 35
• New evidence linking Km 93 to a known Binh Tram 35 kilometer location (Km 94)
• The Vinh Window relay architecture and the Jack Butcher precedent
• How the six elements form one coherent operational picture

Primary Sources Referenced:

• National Security Agency, Unidentified NVN Element Reports on Movement of Prisoners, Follow-up Number One and Final (2/R0/186-73, 050630Z Feb 73), DOCID 4132644
• National Security Agency, Unidentified Multichannel Conversation Reveals Captivity of Four Pilots (2/R0/182-73)
• NSA POW/MIA Correlation Studies (multiple REFNOs documenting “pirate pilots” terminology, 1970–1972)
• Hoàng Sĩ Khiêm, Sư đoàn 471 Trường Sơn trong mùa khô năm 1972 (Signal Battalion 446 memoir)
• Nguyễn Đức Năm, Facebook post, “HỘI TRƯỜNG SƠN SƯ ĐOÀN 471 ANH HÙNG,” July 2026 (C1/D59, Binh Tram 35)
• Nguyễn Văn Trung, “Quên mình cứu đoàn xe chở xăng,” Quân Đội Nhân Dân, 2017
• Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, Investigation Report on Case 1437 (Corrected Report), 22 May 2002
• Flynn, William G., and Sharon Maneki, “The Jack Butcher Case: A Story of Courage, Commitment, and Concern,” Cryptologia 37, no. 3 (2013)

Full Documents:
The complete Intercept Addendum and the full Baron 52 research package are available at:
https://www.storiesofsacrifice.org/blog/baron52/

#Baron52 #POWMIA #GoldStarFamily #FullestPossibleAccounting

In this episode, we tell the story of First Lieutenant Roy E. Welbon — a Canadian-American mariner turned guerrilla communications officer — who was killed defending a radio station in Baroy, Lanao del Norte, in January 1944. We explore how contemporary evidence, declassified documents, and modern forensic methods are giving new hope to a case long considered closed.

Main Topics:

• Roy Welbon’s maritime career as a radio operator and his transition to guerrilla communications in the 10th Military District
• The establishment of “Welbon Station” and its critical role in Fertig’s network
• Helen Welbon’s evacuation on the USS Narwhal and Roy’s decision to stay behind
• The February 1944 Tenth Military District report confirming recovery of his body from a marked grave in the Baroy plaza
• The Tarkington manuscript account of the small white cross placed on the plaza in front of Father Thibault’s church
• Post-war loss of the remains and the challenges of MIA recovery in the Philippines
• Current efforts by AMAG to investigate the Baroy plaza area using ground-penetrating radar and local coordination
• The power of combining archival research with forensic science to bring closure to families

Key Evidence Highlighted:

• Knudsen eyewitness report (26 Jan 1944)
• Fertig-signed 10th Military District Casualty Report (25 Feb 1944)
• Tarkington manuscript (There Were Others) via Father Haggerty
• 1945 newspaper interview with Helen Welbon

Connect & Support AMAG’s Mission:
If this story moved you, please consider supporting AMAG’s efforts to locate and recover American MIAs from World War II in the Philippines. Your donations directly fund field investigations, ground-penetrating radar surveys, DNA analysis, and coordination with local communities in places like Baroy. Every contribution helps bring heroes like Roy Welbon home.

Visit https://amagonline.org to learn more or make a donation today. Together, we can ensure that no one is left behind - Its About Time

In this special episode, we present a formal appeal to Under Secretary of War Anthony J. Tata, whose responsibilities include oversight of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and related POW/MIA policy matters.

We examine significant new evidence that has emerged since the 2016 DPAA review of the Baron 52 incident (REFNO 1983). This includes previously unavailable Vietnamese primary sources from the PAVN 471st Division and detailed analysis of declassified U.S. SIGINT. This evidence indicates that reported activity involving four U.S. personnel occurred within the Binh Tram 35 sector along Route 128 — the location of the Baron 52 crash site — a context that was not fully examined in prior assessments.

We also address the limitations of the 2016 review, questions surrounding the 1992–1993 excavation, and DPAA’s current position that it will not revisit resolved cases. This episode is intended to provide Under Secretary Tata and his staff with a clear, documented basis for directing a formal technical review of the Baron 52 case.

Key Topics Covered:

• New Vietnamese primary sources from the PAVN 471st Division and Binh Tram 35
• SIGINT correlation and geographic analysis directly tied to the Baron 52 crash site
• Limitations of the 2016 DPAA review and the 1992–1993 excavation
• DPAA’s February 2026 statement that it will not reevaluate resolved cases
• A formal request for a technical and policy review

Full Reassessment Package:
All documents referenced in this episode — including the Executive Summary, Congressional Briefing Document, complete research report, family letters to Under Secretary Tata, and the AMAG memorandum — are available at:

https://www.storiesofsacrifice.org/blog/baron52/

How to Take Action:
We respectfully request that Under Secretary Tata direct a formal technical review of the Baron 52 case based on the new evidence now available. We also encourage congressional offices, veterans organizations, and advocacy groups to support this request.

Contact:
John BearChief of Investigative ResearchAsymmetric MIA Accounting Group (AMAG) Inc. [email protected]
#SecrataryOfWar #GoldStarFamilyRequest #POWMIA #Baron52

In this gripping episode, Asymmetric MIA Accounting Group Chief of Investigative Research John Bear reveals one of the most haunting “full circle” stories in American history.

On November 27, 1745, during King George’s War, a French and Native force raided Old Saratoga, New York. Young Jacob Fort watched his father Abraham “Abram” Fort and uncle Capt. Johannes Fort taken prisoner, marched north through brutal winter conditions, and ultimately die in a Quebec military prison. Their bodies were never returned—left in unmarked graves near the Hôpital-Général cemetery.

Two hundred and eighty-one years later, in 1942, Brigadier General Guy O. Fort—direct descendant of that same paternal line—faced an eerily parallel fate on the opposite side of the world. A career soldier who grew up near Saratoga County and almost certainly knew the ancestral stories of capture and loss, General Fort commanded the 81st Philippine Infantry Division on Mindanao. After surrendering under protest, he was interned at Camp Keithley. When ordered to betray the Moro people he had served for four decades, he refused and was executed by firing squad. His remains were buried in an isolated grave, never recovered.

Through forensic genetic genealogy, exhaustive paper trails, and General Fort’s own diaries, the unbreakable connection between the 1745 Saratoga captives and the WWII general is now confirmed. History repeated itself in the most profound way within a single family.

As AMAG prepares its June 2026 humanitarian recovery mission at historic Camp Keithley, this episode explores resilience, sacrifice, and the long arc of remembrance.

Support the Mission
AMAG’s June 2026 recovery effort at Camp Keithley is entirely self-funded. Your donation directly helps locate and bring General Guy O. Fort home after 84 years. Every contribution advances the promise that no one is left behind. Donate securely today at:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/support-amags-mission-mindanao-forgotten-graves-false-closures-and-new-hope
(100% of your donation goes to the mission; fully tax-deductible.)

On this solemn Memorial Day, we remember the thousands of American heroes who still lie unknown — some beneath the white crosses of our national cemeteries, others still lost on the battlefields of the past, like Brigadier General Guy O. Fort.

In 1935, General Fort stood at Camp Keithley cemetery in Marawi and delivered a heartfelt Memorial Day address, pleading for the identification of fallen soldiers whose records were lost and whose names had been forgotten. Just seven years later, he and three fellow officers — Lt. Col. Robert H. Vesey, Capt. Albert H. Price, and 1st Sgt. John L. Chandler — were executed by Japanese forces at that very same place. All four remain Missing in Action, buried in shallow, unmarked graves.

Today, the Asymmetric MIA Accounting Group (AMAG) is leading an independent, self-funded mission in Mindanao to locate General Fort and the Keithley Three so they can finally receive their names and the honorable burial they earned.

This powerful episode explores Fort’s own words — “He was a soldier” — the heartbreaking irony of his fate, and the revolutionary promise of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG). We highlight how private labs, like Bode Technology, are already identifying WWII remains — such as those of Arthur H. Kelder from the Cabanatuan POW camp — in just months, even from old formaldehyde-treated bones.

As Fort himself once pleaded for the unknown, his voice still calls us home. It’s time for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and AFDIL to fully embrace DNA-first, FIGG-led methods so no more families wait generations to know their loved one’s final resting place.

He was a soldier.
And no American soldier — or family — should have to wait any longer.

⏳ It's About Time 🇺🇸

If you’re a listener moved by our podcast stories, please support our AMAG’s recovery mission in Mindanao with a donation here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/support-amags-mission-mindanao-forgotten-graves-false-closures-and-new-hope

In The Baron 52 Enigma Part 3, we uncover the most powerful evidence yet in the decades-long search for the four missing back-end crew members of Baron 52.

Building on Parts 1 and 2 — where we examined the survivable crash and the NSA intercepts that reported four “pirates” captured by Group 210 — this episode introduces two explosive primary Vietnamese sources:

Two independent memoirs written by veterans of Division 471 Trường Sơn, the exact PAVN command responsible for the Baron 52 crash corridor in southern Laos during the 1972–73 dry season.

• Hoàng Sĩ Khiêm (Signals Battalion 446) and Nguyen Hoang (CCB471) both describe Binh Tram 35 as the main logistics hub on Route 128, the division command post at Phù Trường–Keng Nhang, Commander Nguyễn Lạn, and the massive reinforcement of anti-aircraft units — including the 210th AAA Regiment.

Most remarkably, Hoàng Sĩ Khiêm details the central “Tổng đài Chín ngàn / 9000” switchboard — operated 24/7 by 12 named female soldiers — the exact communications node through which any shootdown report or prisoner transfer order on February 5, 1973 would have passed.

We also examine the official 1999 Vietnamese military schematic that visually confirms the “9000” node right where the memoirs place it.

These firsthand Vietnamese accounts directly answer the geographic and unit-attribution objections long used by the DPAA — even the February 2026 DPAA letter to Senator Barrasso does not address them.

For the first time, we are hearing directly from the other side’s own people, in their own words, confirming the precise location, units, and chain of command involved in the Baron 52 incident.

If you care about the fullest possible accounting for America’s missing from Vietnam, this episode is essential listening.

#Baron52 #POWMIA #VietnamWar #MissingInAction #HoChiMinhTrail #EC47 #SIGINT

On November 19, 1942 — exactly eight days after Brigadier General Guy O. Fort was executed by Japanese forces at Camp Keithley — Seiji Koga sat down and wrote a calm, polite handwritten letter to Moro guerrilla leader Datu Busran Kalaw.

In it, Koga claimed he could not arrange a meeting with the still-living General Fort due to “strict rules and regulations concerning prisoners of war.”

What Koga didn’t say was that Fort had already been killed after refusing to order the very Moro fighters he had personally empowered to keep fighting to surrender.

Through the explosive declassified documents in file NND 883078 — including the full correspondence, battle reports, and casualty records — this episode uncovers the full story: the desperate Japanese propaganda campaign, Datu Busran Kalaw’s fearless defiance, the ferocious Fighting Bolo Battalion victories that made Lanao ungovernable, the Talagian atrocity, the Battle of Tamparan where 178 Japanese soldiers were killed in under two hours, and the chilling deception that continued even after Fort’s death.

A powerful, previously untold chapter of Moro resistance and one of the most damning pieces of evidence in the ongoing search for General Fort’s remains.

Episode Summary
In July 1942 at Camp Keithley in Mindanao, Lt. Col. Robert H. Vesey made an extraordinary choice that would define his legacy. When Brig. Gen. Guy O. Fort was selected for execution, Vesey stepped forward and volunteered to take his place. What followed was two hours of unimaginable suffering under Japanese bayonets—yet Vesey’s sacrifice saved Fort’s life and preserved critical alliances with Moro guerrillas.

In this powerful episode, we dive deep into Vesey’s story: his West Point background, leadership during the desperate defense of Lake Lanao, and the harrowing moment captured forever in 12-year-old POW Ben Hagans’ eyewitness testimony. We also make the clear case for why Vesey’s actions deserve the Medal of Honor.

What You’ll Hear

• Vesey’s gallantry in combat that earned him the Silver Star
• The reprisal executions at Signal Hill following a POW escape
• Ben Hagans’ vivid, emotional account of Vesey volunteering and enduring two hours under the bayonet
• Why this voluntary self-sacrifice meets every standard for the Medal of Honor
• The current AMAG mission with Bangsamoro partners to locate Vesey’s remains near the recently rediscovered Pvt. Keithley monument

Vesey’s two-hour stand remains one of the most profound acts of courage in World War II. His story deserves to be told—and his sacrifice deserves full recognition.

Listen now and discover the forgotten hero whose final act still echoes today.

Support the Mission
Help bring Lt. Col. Vesey, Capt. Price, and 1st Sgt. Chandler home. Visit amagonline.org to learn more about AMAG’s work and donate to the recovery mission.

#POWMIA #MedalOfHonor #WWIIHistory #MindanaoMIA #BringThemHome

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