POWMIA’S Their stories and families stories

North Carolina Vietnam Veterans, Inc.Lessons of Vietnam POW/MIA’S Their stories and families stories... North Carolina Vietnam Veterans, Inc.The POW story facts and mis-facts • When our

North Carolina Vietnam Veterans, Inc.

Lessons of Vietnam

POW/MIA’S Their stories and families stories

North Carolina Vietnam Veterans, Inc.

The POW story facts and mis-facts

• When our imprisoned comrades returned from South East Asia in 1973, it

was evident that not all of our known missing were returned There have been many facts and miss-facts disseminated to the public and to the

POW/MIA families since that time Which are truths and which are lies,

we may never know.

• What we do know is that since World War l, in any conflict involving the

Communist, not all of our missing comrades in arms have been returned

or accounted for After WWll-73,600 +MIAs were unaccounted for; after the Korean War-7,900+ MIAs were unaccounted for 121 of these

unaccounted for are North Carolinians; after the war in Vietnam, there was 1,640+ of our brothers unaccounted for and of this number there are

41 from North Carolina still unaccounted for.

History of the POW/MIA Flag

History of the POW/MIA Flag

In 1970, Mrs Michael Hoff, an MIA wife and member of the

National League of Families, recognized the need for a

symbol of our POW/MIAs Prompted by an article in the

Jacksonville, Florida, Times-Union, Mrs Hoff contacted

Norman Rivkees, Vice President of Annin & Company, which

had made a banner for the newest member of the United

Nations, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as part of

their policy to manufacture flags for all United Nations

member states

Mr Rivkees and Newt Hensley designed a flag to represent

our missing Wanting the widest possible dissemination and

use of the symbol to advocate improved treatment for and

answers on American POW/MIAs, no trade mark or copyright

was sought

POW Bracelets

• The National League of POW/MIA Families

• History of the POW/MIA Bracelets

• Over the years, people have contacted the League looking for information on the history and background of

the POW/MIA bracelets, originated and worn extensively in the 1970s, and continuously since by POW/MIA family members, veterans and other interested Americans The following historical information was written

by Carol Bates Brown, one of the originators: I was the National Chairman of the POW/MIA Bracelet

Campaign for VIVA (Voices In Vital America), the Los Angeles based student organization that produced and distributed the bracelets during the Vietnam War Entertainers Bob Hope and Martha Raye served with me

as honorary co-chairmen The idea for the bracelets was started by a fellow college student, Kay Hunter, and me, as a way to remember American prisoners of war suffering in captivity in Southeast Asia In late

1969, television personality Bob Dornan introduced us and several other members of VIVA to three wives of missing pilots They thought our student group could assist them in drawing public attention to the

prisoners and missing in Vietnam The idea of circulating petitions and letters to Hanoi demanding humane treatment for the POWs was appealing, as we were looking for ways college students could become

involved in positive programs to support US soldiers without becoming embroiled in the controversy of the war itself The relatives of the men were beginning to organize locally, but the National League of POW/MIA Families had yet to be formed During that time, Bob Dornan wore a bracelet he had obtained in Vietnam from hill tribesmen, which he said always reminded him of the suffering the war had brought to so many

Operation Homecoming

Newly freed prisoners of war celebrate as their C-141A aircraft lifts off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on Feb 12,

1973, during Operation Homecoming The mission included 54 C-141 flights between Feb 12 and April 4, 1973,

returning 591 POWs to American soil U.S Air Force photo

.

Operation Homecoming for Vietnam POWs By Donna Miles ………American Forces Press Service, A C-141A Starlifter transport jet with a distinctive red cross on its tail lifted off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, and the first flight of 40 U.S prisoners of war began their journey home through Operation Homecoming.

By the day ’s end, three C-141A aircraft would lift off from Hanoi, as well as a C-9A aircraft from Saigon, South Vietnam In a steady

flow of flights through late March 1973 under terms set through the Paris Peace Accords, 591 POWs returned to American soil.

Americans were spellbound as they watched news clips of the POWs being carried in stretchers or walking tentatively toward U.S.

officers at the awaiting aircraft for the first flight from Hanoi ’s Gia Lam Airport The POWs ranged from privates first class to colonels, all wearing new gray uniforms issued by the North Vietnamese just before their releas e.

Operation Homecoming …… part 2

• Air Force Tech Sgt James R Cook, who suffered severe wounds when he bailed out of his

stricken aircraft over North Vietnam in December 1972, saluted the U.S colors from his stretcher

as he was carried aboard the aircraft

• Also on the first flight was Navy Cmdr Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American pilot to be shot down

in North Vietnam and, by the war’s end, the longest-held POW there He spent eight-and-a-half years in captivity.

• Celebration broke out aboard the first aircraft nicknamed the “Hanoi Taxi” as it lifted skyward and the POWs experienced their first taste of freedom.

Operation Homecoming …… Part 3

• Historian Andrew H Lipps captured the magnitude of the moment in his account, “Operation Homecoming: The Return of American POWs from Vietnam.”

• “Imagine you’re imprisoned in a cage; imagine the cage surrounded by the smell of feces; imagine the

rotted food you eat is so infested with insects that to eat only a few is a blessing; imagine knowing your life could be taken by one of your captors on a whim at any moment; imagine you are subjected to mental and physical torture designed to break not bones but instead spirit on a daily basis That was being a

prisoner of North Vietnam,” Lipps wrote

• “Then imagine one day, after seemingly endless disappointment, you are given a change of clothes and

lined up to watch an American plane land to return you home That was Operation Homecoming.”

• Aeromedical teams assigned to each aircraft tended to the former POWs during the two-and-a-half hour flight to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, the first stop on their trip home Meanwhile, many of the POWs joked and smoked American cigarettes as they caught up on all they’d missed while in captivity: fashion

trends and the women’s liberation movement, among them

• “Everything seemed like heaven,” recalled Air Force Capt Larry Chesley, who, after being shot down over North Vietnam, spent seven years in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” and other POW prisons “When the doors

of that C-141 closed, there were tears in the eyes of every man aboard,” he said

Operation Homecoming …… part 4

• After receiving medical exams and feasting on steak, ice cream and other American food, the former POWs received new uniforms for their follow-on flights home Their aircraft made stops in Hawaii and California The first group of 20 former POWs arrived at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.,

commander-in-chief,” he said.

• Of the 591 POWs liberated during Operation Homecoming, 325 served in the Air Force, 138 in the Navy; 77 in the Army and 26 in the Marine Corps Twenty-five of the POWs were civilian

employees of U.S government agencies.

• In addition, 69 POWs the Viet Cong had held in South Vietnam left aboard flights from Loc Ninh

The infamous Andersonville now a Memorial and museum

to all American POWs

Andersonville…… National Historic Site Georgia

The Camp Sumter military prison at Andersonville was one of the largest Confederate

military prisons during the Civil War During the 14 months the prison existed, more than

45,000 Union soldiers were confined here Of these, almost 13,000 died here Today,

Andersonville National Historic Site is a memorial to all American prisoners of war

throughout the nation's history

POW Success After Stories

• When the prisoners of war were repatriated to the United States from North Vietnam in 1973 during Operation Homecoming, there was great public interest about how their years in captivity may have affected them The following numbers speak for themselves:

• * Seven POWs were awarded the Medal of Honor:

Vice Adm Jim Stockdale , U.S Navy;

Col Bud Day , U.S Air Force;

Col Don Cook (posthumously), U.S Marine Corps;

and Capt Lance Sijan (posthumously), U.S Air Force - all for action above and beyond the call of duty as POWs

Col Leo Thorsness , U.S Air Force;

Sgt Maj Jon Cavaiani , U.S Army;

and Sgt William Port , U.S Army - all for heroism prior to being captured.

• * 137 Vietnam-era POWs are graduates of one of the four military academies.

• * 80 percent of the POWs who were repatriated remained in the military and retired with a

minimum of 20 years service.

• * 24 Vietnam-era POWs were promoted to flag rank.

POW Success Stories After… Part 2

• * 16 POWs have held other public offices with distinction, including:

Everett Alvarez , former deputy director of the Peace Corps and former deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration.

Lawrence Chesley , former Arizona state senator.

Thomas Collins , former undersecretary of labor.

Jeremiah Denton , former U.S.senator.

John Downey , Connecticut Superior Court judge.

Mark Gartley , former Maine secretary of state.

Samuel Johnson , U.S representative.

Joseph Kernan , governor of Indiana.

John McCain , U.S senator, former U.S representative, currently a candidate for the GOP

nomination for president.

Douglas Peterson , ambassador to Vietnam and former U.S representative.

John Pritchford , former mayor of Natchez, Miss.

Ben Purcell , former Georgia state representative.

Orson Swindle , federal trade commissioner and former assistant secretary of commerce.

Leo Thorsness , former Washington state senator.

James Warner , former senior White House domestic-policy adviser.

Ronald Webb , former assistant secretary of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bringing families closure one family at a time

• POW/MIA Updates

• UPDATE: December 16, 2013

•

• AMERICANS ACCOUNTED FOR: There are still 1,643 personnel listed by the Department of

Defense (DoD) as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War DoD recently posted the identification of SSG Lawrence Woods, USA/SF, of TN, listed as KIA/BNR in South Vietnam on

October 24, 1964 His remains were recovered on April 13, 2010 and identified September 4,

2013 Earlier, DoD posted the identification of Colonel Francis J McGouldrick, Jr., USAF, of CT,

listed as MIA in Laos on December 13, 1968 His remains were repatriated May 22, 2012 and identified August 28, 2013 The number of Americans announced by DoD as returned and

identified since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is now 940 Another 63 US personnel,

recovered by the US and ID’d before the end of the war, bring the official total of US personnel

accounted for from the Vietnam War to 1,003 Of the 1,643 unaccounted-for personnel, 90%

were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Cambodia and Laos under Vietnam’s wartime control:

Vietnam-1,275 (VN-469, VS-806); Laos-308; Cambodia-53; PRC territorial waters-7; over-water losses on DoD’s list of No Further Pursuit cases number well over 600.

MIA’s Will we ever know the Truth?

Will the real story ever be known?

MEDORA OFFICIAL TRAILER

Missing, Presumed Dead: The Search For America's POWs

from Bill Dumas NOT YET RATED

MissingPresumedDead.com for more information and to purchase a DVD.

This award-winning documentary screened in the US Congress and unveils the story of American POWs who were abandoned in North Korea after the Korean War and Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War.

This film gives insight to why a Korean War peace treaty has never been achieved.

THIS VIDEO IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE THROUGH BILL DUMAS

The National League of POW/MIA Families

Formed by :POW Families, Great website for truthful and current information

There are a lot of good web sites for whichever you

believe

POW/MIA Issue

Be the one that remembers!

Since 11/11/89, dedicated to information distribution on our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Servicemen

What are Truths and what are Mis-facts we may never know

•MIA Facts Site

•by Joe Schlatte

•Purpose of this site

•This site is published to provide facts about the issue of Americans who remain

"missing in action" (MIA) from the Vietnam War At the conclusion of the

Vietnam War, 2,583 Americans did not return A vast mythology has built up around what really happened to these individuals Misinformation, pseudo-

history, and deliberate fabrication are rampant As a result, myths are regularly proclaimed to be fact This site destroys those myths.

Did Americans return home after the war?

The names of civilians American and other nationalities who were arrested or detained in Vietnam, Laos, of Cambodia For

example, the list contains the names of: Alan Dawson, journalist who remained behind after Saigon fell He left Saigon for Thailand

Americans, Brits, Aussies, and other nationalities who were arrested for various crimes such as smuggling, violating territorial waters, entering the country

illegally, etc Individuals in this category were arrested in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia as recently as the late 1980s Examples are: (1) Sterling Brian Bono, an American who was arrested by the Cambodians for illegally entering Cambodia in May 1987; and (2) Donna Long and James Copp, a couple of MIA "activists" who were duped by Ted Sampley and found themselves on the Lao side of the Mekong River in October 1988; they were arrested and held for several weeks in a local jail.

The names of servicemen lost in 1975 in the Mayaguez rescue attempt

Names of foreigners who were of interest to the U S government, such as Chaichan Harnavee, a Thai, and several South Korean diplomats arrested when Saigon fell

The information above is not necessarily those of NCVVI but printed to allow all parties to voice “Their Facts”

* Did Americans really return alive after the end of the war? Yes Robert Garwood: USMC; returned in 1979, convicted of

collaboration

Douglas Beane: USMC; in the brig in Saigon, went to hospital, escaped; got phony R&R orders, went to Australia, lived there until 1986(?) when he turned himself in to US Embassy, Australia, and came home Charged with desertion, charges dropped Veto Baker: Army; deserted in 1972; lived with his Vietnamese common-law wife, avoiding arrest by US forces In November

1975, Vietnamese picked him up, turned him over to Red Cross, sent him back to US.

Oops! Did we leave someone behind in the last battle of

the war

Fate of Marines left behind in Cambodia in 1975 haunts comrades

By Matthew M Burke

From left, Lance Cpl Joseph Hargrove, Pfc Gary Hall and Pvt Danny Marshall

KOH TANG, Cambodia — Monsoon rains and fearsome waves pound Koh Tang, as they have since the last battle of the Vietnam War nearly 38 years ago The earth gives away on the island’s west beach, revealing a bit of cloth and a zipper They could be leftovers from one of the 10 excavations carried out by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command investigators; holes they have dug sit nearby Or they could be remnants of the American troops who died during one of America’s greatest wartime failures in Southeast Asia Isolated by the rough

waters in the Gulf of Thailand about 60 nautical miles from mainland Cambodia, Koh Tang has kept its secrets well, including what happened to at least three Marines who were likely executed after being left behind in the chaos of fierce battles that killed 38 service members from the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force in less than 24 hours The U.S government has never come completely clean about the missing, either refusing to provide

details of investigations or releasing inaccurate information on military websites about what the White House initially called a victory