European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes thursday february 2,1989 . Denounces free Lance Mia missions Washington up the state department tuesday condemned free Lance missions into Laos saying such forays arc counterproductive to efforts to account fully for americans missing in action. The . Statement was a response to a protest from the laotian government about a Cross Border raid from Thailand apparently involving one or two Ameri cans. . Officials could not identify the americans and said they did not know if they had been arrested. Last fall two americans were held by laotian authorities after crossing the Border and circulating notices of a $2.4 million Reward for delivery of an american prisoner from the Vietnam War. State department spokesman Charles Redman said such missions Are counterproductive and serve neither the inter ests of our country nor those of the families of  we believe that government to government channels offer the Best Hope for achieving a pattern of sustained cooperation to obtain the fullest possible accounting for missing americans red Man said tuesday. The laotian government has begun cooperating after years of silence with american efforts to locate the remains of americans still listed As missing in the Southeast asian War. The Pentagon lists 549 americans a missing in action in Laos. Despite recur ring reports and rumours of hidden prison Camps the . Government says it has found no evidence any american servicemen Are still being held against their will anywhere in Southeast Asia. The National steering committee for american War veterans one of the groups challenging the . Government assessment asked the Pentagon to open its records to Supply evidence to Back upits assertions. One member of the group Ted Samp Ley told a news conference last week that members of the committee including himself have gone into Laos frequently looking for traces of american prisoners. Sampley in an interview tuesday with United press International said we have some people in Thailand right now but i Don t know if they re in  but he said Well do whatever is necessary to disrupt the laotian  he said his group has offered $5,000bounties to any laotian groups who take out some laotian  Sampley said we re doing for the laotian Freedom fighters what the Rea Gan administration did for the Nicara Guan  his group is one of those offering the$2.4 million Bounty to any Southeast asian who brings an american prisoner of War to Thailand. Two americans James Copp and Donna Long were arrested last october in Laos when they were passing out notices about the Reward. Copp said he had been held for 41days by laotian police in a squalid ver min Ridden cell on charges of illegal entry into the country. The two were re leased after a . Consular official paid the laotians $1,500 to compensate them for food and lodging for the two americans. The veterans group later repaid the state department the $ 1,500. Bush to name Veteran Diplomat . Envoy to Japan officials say stateside Michael Armacost Washington up the Bush administration has decided to name a Veteran professional Diplomat Michael Armacost As . Ambassador to Japan stat department and congressional officials said tuesday. The White House had no immediate comment. The closely held decision was to be announced i conjunction with this week s visit to Washington by Japan s foreign minister Noboru Takeshita. Officials said the decision was made this week by president Bush and Secretary of state James bake Rafter some intensive jockeying for the Job. The administration debate revolved around whether the Job should go to a professional Diplomat or a businessman who was a Bush Campaign supporter. The Choice of Armacost a professional foreign service officer with wide experience reflected a Deci Sion that the coming few years in .-japanese relations require an experienced Diplomat with a knowl Edge of foreign assistance issues and defense polices. Armacost in addition to serving in the state department also has worked As a senior official at the Pentagon and has lived and taught in Japan. He had been scheduled to be named to the Tokyo Job last year by the Reagan administration but a Dis Pute within the government about some important political and diplomatic appointments put the Nomi nation on hold. Armacost 51, would succeed Mike Mansfield who served 10 years in the Job and retired last year after becoming an honoured figure in Japan for his Diplo Matic skills. At the state department Armacost has earned reputation for quiet competence and total discretion. He was the Lead . Negotiator in working out Amend to the soviet occupation in Afghanistan. Armacost also has served As . Ambassador to the Philippines and from 1972 to 1974 was special assist ant in the . Embassy in Tokyo. Juk Airport leads the Way with runway traffic lights new York a John f. Kennedy inter National Airport has become the first Airport in the country to install traffic lights on its runways and taxiways to reduce the risk of a ground Colli Sion. Officials said tuesday the experimental sys tem is working Well. The red Light Green Light system initiated Jan.15 is intended to Backstop the air traffic control lers who direct the movement of about 500 air planes a Day on the Airport s 9 Miles of runway Sand 28 Miles of taxiways. Man queried by police sets bomb and explodes Lawton okla. A a Man who literally exploded was hospitalized wednesday after he detonated a homemade bomb when a police officer questioned him about a Domestic argument authorities said. James Sherman Adams 49, was in critical condition at Comanche memorial Hospital a Hospital official said. Police officer David Schucker 24, was treated and released after suffering minor cuts from the explosion monday night Hospital spokeswoman Kelly Brack said. Schucker responded to a reported Domestic disturbance and stopped a vehicle reportedly involved police maj. Robert Martin said. After stopping that vehicle during a routine conversation with the Driver the Driver literally exploded Martin said. Authorities said Adams was apparently was upset because his estranged wife had obtained a protective order against him. Sex commander blames Navy for Pueblo s seizure Dai tix Vic / a r \ it a. In i i i. Baltimore a North Korea s capture of the intelligence ship Pueblo and its 83-Man Crew who were held Pris Oner for 11 months in 1968, would not have occurred if the Navy had acted properly the ship s former commander said. The Story of the Pueblo in a nutshell is one of a naval officer his Crew and his ship set to do a Job things went bad and the Navy abandoned them retired cmdr. Lloyd m. Bucher said in a letter published this week in two naval magazines. In an interview tuesday Bucher said he was speaking out two decades later because i was still an emotional Ner Vous wreck and i could not concentration doing a Job of presenting a Good solid Case at an investigation after the Inci Dent. I would say this article is a More Frank account than i have Given before he said. Not because i did t try to Given accurate account before but because i have a much clearer understanding of the event than i had at the time of the inquiry in 1968-69." Bucher 61, who retired from the Navy in 1973, described the incident in the Book Bucher my Story published in 1970. He is now an artist in Iowa Calif. Bucher s letter appeared in proceed Ings and naval history magazines published by the Annapolis md., . Naval Institute a professional society for sea services personnel. To Mark the 20th anniversary of the Pueblo incident the 1988 fall Issue of naval history published the reflections of five Flag officers who were involved in the incident. Bucher s letter was an unsolicited re sp9nse to that article said Paul Stillwell editor in chief of naval history. I was surprised when i saw the Ini tial article. Ninety percent of what was in that article was never mentioned Dur ing the Pueblo inquiry. It was filled with misinformation Bucher said. The Pueblo lacked the proper equip ment to repel an attack and Navy admirals knew the Mission was risky yet approved it anyway. Pueblo officers also were not kept properly informed of world events affecting the ship Bucher charged in his letter. The Pueblo under the Guise of a technical research ship was commissioned to seek intelligence including pinpointing radar and other defense installations. The North koreans captured the vessel on Jan. 23, 1968, keeping its Crew hostage until dec. 22,1968. One Sailor died in Captivity. Rear adm. Frank l. Johnson then com Mander of . Navy forces in Japan wanted two .50-caliber machine guns stowed below the decks of the Pueblo. When Bucher argued that the guns should be available for use topside Johnson ordered that they be covered by tarpaulins to Dis Guise them. Bucher has been widely criticized for not having fired a shot to protect the ship. Retired adm. John j. Hyland then commander of the Pacific Fleet levied Sharp criticism against Bucher in the initial article. He never manned the guns. He did to to general quarters until he d already been fired upon and sustained some casual ties Bucher got a completely failing Grade he said. Bucher wrote that the Pueblo was sur rounded by four korean torpedo boats and a gunboat and there was no possibility of Manning our machine guns or getting to the ammunition. The tarps were Frozen and the gun positions totally  from the outset Navy officials knew that it was risky to Send an essentially unarmed ship into International Waters off North Korea Bucher said. He also said head been told that there was no probability of an attack but that Navy officials prom ised retaliation just in Case Bucher said. In fact no . Forces came to the Pueblo s Aid despite a Call for help he said