POWMIA Accounting by Paul M. Cole

Author:Paul M. Cole
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Singapore, Singapore

The Official Reception

Despite the fact that we had nothing to do with the USRJC , we were determined to make the best of our time in Moscow . While in Moscow , Sergei and I took our responsibilities seriously. Despite the fact that the US delegation went out of their way to ignore us, in addition to the disastrous embassy briefing we made efforts to at least inform them about our on-going work in the Soviet archives. Before the “official” delegation departed, we made an effort to introduce them to the Russians who were assisting us. We wanted to make it clear that our research team in Moscow consisted of more than Sergei and me and a poorly drawn org chart.

We tried to arrange to have our research team meet the “official” US delegation, led by Ambassador Toon , at a reception at our hotel. Sergei and I didn’t really care what the US delegation thought of us, but we figured the American delegation would greatly benefit from meeting the Russians who had already organized what the US delegation had come to Moscow to organize. Sergei and I arranged a reception at the Arbat Hotel , formerly known as the Oktyabrskaya. We extended the invitation to the US delegation through General Joersz .

General Joersz ’s aide, Lieutenant Tom Vhay, told me the “official” group could not come to our “unofficial” reception, because they had an “official” invitation to meet the “official” Russian delegation at an “official” reception in the official Oktyabrskaya Hotel . I tried to tell Vhay that there were two hotels by the same name in Moscow , and tried in vain to give him directions to each. He refused to listen. “You don’t understand,” he said, brushing me off. “We are an official government delegation on official government business and have an official American embassy van.”

“Oh, that’s reassuring,” I replied. “By the way, we are your official ‘technical advisors’ and we’re not even invited to your ‘official’ party?” Vhay said nothing.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.”

Around five in the afternoon, Sergei and I were sharing 100 grams of vodka in the lobby of our hotel, killing time as we had done every day for the previous four days as we waited to be called upon to provide our “technical advice.” We were dejected, tired, and disillusioned. In the silence of the lobby, my only remaining source of inspiration was the optimism of Vladimir and Estragon.

We talked about the fact that had it not been for our team working in the archives, our trip to Moscow for the purpose of being “technical advisors” to the US side of the USRJC had been a complete waste of time and money. The only positive result was that we had been able to meet with our archive research team who provided us with copies of some documents they had located in the Podolsk archive where Soviet military intelligence records were stored.

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