Reply With QuoteYea pretty depressing that these service men served their country, yet the government has made no attempt to return them home. Or let their families know that they are still alive.Originally Posted by Jelle H.
American prisoners left behind in Vietnam
In the spring of 1981, Delta Force started working on a mission that spanned more than two years, yet never took place.
The U.S. government knew that approximately 125 American POW's were still alive and in the hands of the government Vietnam but the Americans were left behind for the sake of political expedience.
In September 1985 two brave service men took the extreme step of going to federal court and suing the U.S. government for the release of evidence showing that the government knew U.S. prisoners were alive in Vietnam and knew where they were located.
The government responded that the material was “highly classified”. The two soldiers were publicly excoriated and their careers ruined.
The message is clear:
The government couldn't be counted on to come and come get us if we were captured on a foreign mission.
Source:
Inside Delta Force, Eric L. Haney
Pretty interesting story, guess those M.I.A. movies from Chuck Norris are more realistic than they seem..
Re: American prisoners left behind in Vietnam
Yea pretty depressing that these service men served their country, yet the government has made no attempt to return them home. Or let their families know that they are still alive.
Re: American prisoners left behind in Vietnam
[quote="Jelle H."] The two soldiers were publicly excoriated and their careers ruined.[quote]
Who were they?
Re: American prisoners left behind in Vietnam
well the the government did make attempts. In the book - he talks about them planning and working up to missions to rescue the prisoners using Delta Force - but according to the author of the book every time they would get every thing worked out and were getting close to executing the mission - some one high up would blow their cover. Its been a while since I have read that book, but I dont think he ever names names. Pretty sad.Yea pretty depressing that these service men served their country, yet the government has made no attempt to return them home. Or let their families know that they are still alive.
So there are probably still american pows in vietnam? that would suck
If I remember correctly, he said that the POW's were executed shortly thereafter
Re: American prisoners left behind in Vietnam
Now thats some FUBAR.well the the government did make attempts. In the book - he talks about them planning and working up to missions to rescue the prisoners using Delta Force - but according to the author of the book every time they would get every thing worked out and were getting close to executing the mission - some one high up would blow their cover. Its been a while since I have read that book, but I dont think he ever names names. Pretty sad.Yea pretty depressing that these service men served their country, yet the government has made no attempt to return them home. Or let their families know that they are still alive.
Sad realities of war
Yea, appearantly acording to his book, when Delta Force was ready to deploy or getting close to being ready someone high up would blow the secrecy, either that or a former Special Forces operator named Bo Gritz, was as he guessed some how forced or bribed into blowing the cover of the operation by holding a press conference saying he was gonna make a commando raid on the facility with selected former operators. Prompting the Vietnamese to move the prisoners, and his only guess that they were killed and remains scattered, but he also said there was more than a good chance that more men were still left over there unkown. He blamed it on the postwar change of presidents, noone wanted to get back into that conflict, so high ups in the presidency deemed it not necessary to dig up more incidents of the war.
On top of that he mentioned another incident of him leading central american soldiers(forgot what country) against a small contigent of enemy guerrillas. After an engagement and protracted running fight, he killed all the enemy forces, and recovered the leader of the guerillas. Leading him to find out it was a guy who had tried out for Delta force same time as he did, with american ID on him too i believe. Just another little glimpse at the shadowy things that go on in backwater areas of american operations.
I am not an expert.
I would like to point out:
1. The professionalism, in general, of the armed forces of the United States of America.
2. The improbability of survival from 1975 to today.
3. The previous efforts made.
And, given all that, the likelihood that the government of Vietnam has killed all of the possible remaining personnel of U.S. origin in Vietnam.
Given all of the above:
My conclusion is that the U.S. government will not find any surviving, identifiable, personnel of U.S. origin in Vietnam. I am not an expert.
They no longer exist. The Vietnamese are not amateurs. That is a painful lesson that is not quickly forgotten.
Given all of the above . . .
If you ask me: Is one man worth going to war over?
The answer is yes, with no question at all.
Re: American prisoners left behind in Vietnam
[quote="XS203598"][quote="Jelle H."] The two soldiers were publicly excoriated and their careers ruined.According to Haney, Major Mark Smith and Master Sergeant Melvin McIntyre, the men who had been instrumental in pinpointing the whereabouts of the prisoners brought suit against the U.S. Government.
Who were they?
"These brave men paid a high price for trying to do the right thing, but the knew it was nothing compared to the price paid by forgotten Americans."
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