European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 28, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 3 sailors1 families upset by notification process by the Cov news service Washington a number of rela Tives of sailors aboard the Stark have complained to the Navy that they were improperly notified of their loved ones status following last week s attack on the warship Fiat left 37 dead and 21 wounded. One out of every five of the cases that involved death or injury generated a complaint about the notification process said a Navy official who asked not to be named. In 11 of the 37 deaths the Navy went through three stages  first idl ing relatives Hie Serviceman was missing Hen that his status had been changed to Milting and presumed  finally notification officers old families the Serviceman had died in the attack. What confused a lol of families War the change in the status reporting system said the official. We fell the Navy was obligated to inform the families As the status of the service member  confusion Over who was the primary next of Kin in some cases and the failure of Sau or to update their own personnel records also were to blame according to Pentagon officials. Similar notification problems arose after the death of 271 marines in a suicide bombing in Beirut Lebanon in 1983 and the death of 248 soldiers in a Newfoundland plane crash in 1985. Complicating the procedure in the persian Gulf attack was the initial Lack of firm casualty information the Navy offi Cial said. For hours after the sunday eve Ning attack by an iraqi fighter the Crew of the Stark was battling to save the ship. It was Tate the next Day before a com pile Muster of the ship s 200-Man Crew could be taken. Initial reports put the number at one dead. Later thai was amended to 2s, an finally 37. Many family members calling a emergency hot line for information were first told the name they inquired about was not on any list and were told to callback the official said. When amended lists later came from the stricken warship some of those rela Tives were shocked to Leam that their loved ones had been killed or wounded. Ella Mae Moller Mother of Petty offi cer 3rd class Charles t. Moller 27, of Columbus ga., heard from another fam ily member last monday afternoon that her son was not on any of the dead or wounded lists. Monday evening thai changed when iwo Navy officers showed up at her Home with the news thai Moller had die Din the attack. Another family heard directly from the source. Seaman Steve Hunter called his parents in Mattoon Iii., from Bahrain to report he had been evacuated for treatment of Burns to his arms during the attack. The Hunter family had called the Navy 10 times earlier and on each Call had been assured he was alive Well and  we were definitely glad to hear from him but we Felt we were misled  later told the associated press. Maybe the government did t know Tia happened and maybe they Felt twas better we did t know. But we would rather have had the truth than to have to hear it from our  a Jonesboro ark., wife reportedly was told to Wail a moment when she called the Navy hot line. Linda Hensley wife of communications specialist Jimmy Hensley who had not been injured then heard a voice in the background refer to the widow according to one report. The Navy said the report was unfounded. Navy personnel spoke with Hensley on three occasions the official said. They never used the word widow in speaking with her. She was told each Lime her husband was of it is possible that the word widow May have been mentioned in the background. We Don know that the official said. Many notification problems arose be cause of splits within families the offi Cial said. One father complained he never received word his son had been seriously wounded when in fact the sail or had not listed his father on any notification forms following a divorce within the family. In the Case of the Hunter family whose son suffered minor bums in the attack the Navy official said Hunter was not listed on any casualty reports from the Middle East forces command the reports that came from the com Mand listed Only those who were seriously injured or dead the Navy official said. Most notifications were completed either Laie monday or the tuesday following the attack the Navy said. Twenty four Navy and civilian personnel manned live hot lines at the Navy military personnel canid Center in Washington to answer question about the Stark Vicli rns. Families with members who died in the attack were not notified of the death Over the Telephone. Instead the person taking the Call would Only verify the family s address and Telephone number and say the Navy would be in touch with them shortly. Notification officers in the hometowns were then notified to visit the family personally. Only if family members pressed would they be told of the death Over the phone the Navy official said. To my knowledge we did not make any notifications of death Over the phone following the Stark incident the Navy official said these constant contacts and then re contacts by the Navy i m sure confused Many families the official said. There will be a lessons Learned study made As a result of this he  a More formal review will he decided  wrench dropped in construction finally removed from discovery Cape canaveral Fla. A a Nasa Engi Neer with Long slender arms reached through a Small Crevice in the space shuttle discovery to retrieve a wrench that had rattled inside the vessel on six flights officials say. The 4 a Inch Standard combination wrench was Dis covered during preflight Metal stress testing with x rays Jim Ball a spokesman for the National aeronautics and space administration said tuesday. It was wedged in a cavity Between the Crew module and the outer Hull of the ship Ball said. Nothing special about it. It s a typical kind of wrench you would pull from your car s  Nasa engineers used a fiber optic instrument to pinpoint exactly where the one ounce tool was lodged they had a Lime trying to get at the thing Ball said. Finally they found a female Engineer on the sit who had Long and slender arms she was Able to reach into the cavity and grab it he said. She May even get to keep it As a  plans to use the fiber poll instrument to retrieve the wrench were scrapped Afier the unidentified woman grabbed the look thursday Ball said. Rockwell International the shuttle contractor Noti fied Nasa in 1983 that the wrench was dropped into the discovery by a technician during construction in palmate calif., he said. Rockwell conducted an extensive search at the time but could t find it Ball said adding that the wrench moved around significantly inside the shuttle Over the years because it was retrieved in an area away from where Rockwell reported losing it. Nasa officials have ruled out the possibility of any sabotage attempt or mischief Nasa spokesman Dic Kyoung said. Because the Ilem was so Small so tight they decided there was no concern and Nasa also concluded there was no concern said another space Agency spokesman Charles Redmond Iii. In Washington. And of course the orbiter did Fly several times without any problem being caused by the wrench. The shuttle made six flights with the lost wrench from August 19s4 to August 1985, Young said. There were no other reports of lost tools in Nas spacecraft Ball said. The discovery is currently undergoing tests in preparation for another flight which Nasa said last week could come in june 1988. Chicago bus Driver accused of closing door on woman s Arm Chicago a a woman who asked a bus Driver for route information said he closed the doors on her Arm and drove away forcing her to run beside the vehicle for a half Block screaming for him to Stop. It was either run along with the bus or lose my Arm said Mary Ann Golden a 31-year-old nurse. The Chicago transit authority said tuesday it was investigating the incident and identified the Driver As Marvin Jefferson a a year Veteran at this Point i Don t know anything about it cat spokesman Bill Baxa said. They will Call in the Driver and get his Side of the Story. Depending on what he says disciplinary action could be  Jefferson has an unlisted Telephone number and could not be reached for comment tuesday. Baxa declined to put the Driver in Contact with a reporter and said he did not know when Jefferson was to report again for work. Golden said her Arm is sore and bruised after the incident which occurred thursday As she and her elderly Uncle were wailing Al a downtown Stop. She said she stepped aboard a bus and asked the Driver for help but lie closed the door and pulled away without answering. I stepped on the bus with one foot just kind of leaned in to talk to him again and that s when he closed the door Golden said. "1 got most of my body out but the Arm got caught he kept closing the doors and kept driving the bus. After a half Block the Driver opened the door and allowed her to Board. Golden said. The bus travelled another a blocks before Golden got offal a Stop she said. I just remember being very frightened. Being a nurse i knew i was in Shock. I was on Auto Pilot she said. The Driver appeared to know the woman was stuck in the door according to one passenger. He just stared straight ahead like she was t there said Steve Zwick 24. R he looked at her like he hated her like she was a Mosquito on his  i a Banner error Appio Tennis tournament officials were red nagged tuesday after they mistakenly raised the East German Flag for a Tennis match Between win Germany s Boris Becker and Uruguay s Diego Peru at Paris Roland Garros stadium. Set re lated Story cd Page 21,