It has been a year since Shannon Howard and I assumed responsibility for the Military Response to Jonestown (MRTJ) project, established in 2019 by Dr. Preston Jones at John Brown University.
The purpose of MRTJ is to document the efforts of the U.S. military and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to recover the bodies from Jonestown in November 1978. Visitors to the site will find a collection of interviews with military personnel, primary source documents, photographs, media clippings, and relevant research.
The highlights of the materials that have been added to the website in th past year are listed below.
Interviews
From the Guyana Defence Force, Shannon Howard and I have interviewed Verianne Mentris Baker and Mark Archer, the latter of whom recently published High Priest, a book about the GDF’s experiences in Jonestown. From the U.S. military, we have interviewed Howard Clegg (U.S. Army) and Richard T. Helmling (U.S. Army Intelligence).
These interviews have yet to be posted to the website, but they will soon be available in both audio and transcribed formats. In the meantime, researchers can access dozens of other interview transcripts, videos, and statements here.
Primary Source Documents
One of MRTJ’s unique features is its collections of documents originating from the State Department and the Department of Defense (DOD). With the assistance of Dr. Nick Miller, we have collected, organized, and transcribed additional documents. These include a collection of DOD cables detailing the U.S. military’s logistics and a collection of State Department documents obtained from the department’s FOIA Reading Room. The latter outlines arrangements for the identification and burial of the dead following their arrival at Dover Air Force Base.
Photographs
I have compiled relevant photographic collections documenting the mission and included links to copyrighted image libraries, such as Alamy, the Associated Press (AP), and Getty Images, which contain substantial collections of photographs related to Jonestown.
Bibliography
I have created a bibliography of academic articles, studies, and books relevant to the U.S. military’s and the GDF’s involvement in Jonestown. Many of these resources are freely available to researchers through the links provided.
However, there is one particular resource I am still searching for:
Mootoo, Leslie. “Forensic Aspects of the Investigation of the Deaths at Jonestown, Guyana.” Oral presentation at the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Atlanta, GA, February 12–17, 1979.
Anyone with access to materials related to Dr. Leslie Mootoo, Guyana’s chief pathologist in 1978, is encouraged to contact the website.
Future Outlook
In addition to transcribing and posting interviews, I plan to expand the website’s research materials by creating timelines of events, compiling relevant FBI cables, submitting FOIA requests to the military units involved, and more.
Any former or current Guyana Defence Force, U.S. military, or government personnel connected to the Jonestown tragedy are strongly encouraged to contact us at militaryresponsetojonestown@gmail.com.
(Aliah Mohmand is the Research Associate for this website and the co-director of the Military Response to Jonestown website. Her research has resulted in multiple projects regarding the aftermath of the Jonestown tragedy. Aliah attends Kalamazoo College, pursuing studies in History and Finance. Her full collection of articles for this site may be found here. She may be reached at aliahmohmand@gmail.com.)