But for the most part, we didnt, and we and the rest of the world were far better for it once World War II was over. From Maryland, Harker went to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania where he went through medical treatment and rehabilitation, and he was reunited with his family. In late spring of 1966, Jerry was severely tortured and was forced to make a public TV interview appearance. [emailprotected]. Explore longer form content written by staff and guest bloggers. Still, the issue of MIAs remains a controversial one, with accusations of government cover-ups continuing to foster distrust among families of the missing, particularly surrounding repatriation efforts in Korea and Vietnam. The following story was written While out, wed move about 1,000 meters a day and get resupplied every fourth day with c-rations if the helicopters could get through.. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. WebThe greatest war film every made. The conditions at the prison were appalling, and prisoners were frequently tortured. Unfortunately, it has. Over 25,000 Vietnamese civilians were killed, and an estimated 1 million were displaced as a result of this conflict. My parents found out that a couple of those who were released were at Fort Jackson, and so they went there and got onto base and met with them and heard from them that I was alive. The embarrassment of the Pentagon Papers led President Nixon to attempt to illegally discredit Ellsberg, efforts which came to light during the Watergate scandal and resulted in Nixon's resignation in 1974. You may also like: 30 iconic posters from World War II. RT @MaxAzadi: A Ukrainian POW freed from Russian captivity being given an apple to eat after months of torture and starvation. Vietnam War veteran Bob Kakuk helped lead the fight to have government buildings fly the flag of prisoners of war and missing in action. But in October 1969, the rules changed. You may also like: A timeline of WWII, one of the most devastating conflicts in world history. You may also like: 50 best American war movies. We all serve our country one way or another. McCain, who died Saturday at age 81, was held 5 years as a prisoner of war. But if they put a blindfold on you and all you can hear is round being chambered thats different too. There can be little doubt that reports of prisoner abuse at the hands of Americans only gives the radical Islamic militants a blank check in their own minds to subject American captives to the most barbaric treatment possibleand so far they have been doing just that. Thus began the First Indochina War, a conflict that would eventually morph and spiral into the Vietnam War. North Vietnam and the NLF suffered massive casualties from the offensive, with an estimated 60,000 dead. Search the Digital Collections representing our digitized holdings across a wide spectrum of materials include artifacts, prints, posters, maps and more. I share this sentiment. Reporters were brought to Vietnam and shown seemingly content prisoners inhabiting well-maintained prisons. A crushing defeat of French forces by the Viet Minh occurred in the lead-up to peace negotiations in Geneva. The battle had long-lasting implications, in that it reinforced tactics for both armieswith the NLF relying upon close-quarter combat to reduce artillery efficacy, and the U.S. pursuing a war of attrition with North Vietnam, aiming to dwindle their numbers. Due to consolidation at the Defense Department, the Air Force had been ordered to use them, too. Thats how horrific our living conditions were. My father-in-law was a squad leader in the German armys Infanterie Lehr Regiment during World War II. On a human level, the war was disastrousan estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed, and over 1 million Vietnamese soldiers lost their lives. I hold the deep conviction that our country should respect the service of all our faithful troops and veterans. By 1939, 80% of the population was illiterate, and 45% of the land was owned by 3% of landowners, while half of Vietnam's population was landless. Known as "Cable 243," the communique from President Kennedy's government to the U.S. ambassador in South Vietnam had an immediate impactDiem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu were assassinated a few months later, leading to 12 successive military coups between 1963 and 1965. I got through those hellish years by the grace and mercy of God, who provided me with a strong POW support system. A locked padlock Where is the line? He is among the finest American soldiers I have ever known. The draft lottery system worked by randomly assigning every potential birthdate in a year a number between 1 and 366, determining the order in which people would be called to serve based on their day of birth. Between September of 1968 and Jan. 4, 1969, we buried six, including the youngest person we had there, a 19-year-old Marine. He was over Hanoi, Vietnam, on Oct. 25, 1967. Bob Greene. As the U.S. embassy and the troops guarding it were being evacuated, two U.S. Marines died from a rocket attack, the final U.S. casualties of the war. The key point is that every human being has a breaking point, whether he is the chief operational planner for Al Qaida, a U.S. Navy fighter pilot, a future candidate for president of the United States or just some poor foot soldier who was unlucky enough to get captured. As a POW in the Hanoi Hilton, I could recall nothing from military survival training that explained the use of a meat hook suspended from the ceiling. He believes to this day that had he not been captured, he would have died there in Italy, as his own army did not have the medical resources necessary to save his life. As of May 2020, 1,587 American service members were still missing in Southeast Asia. If you are a Veteran in crisis The mission was simple: neutralize an enemy anti-aircraft gun and then eliminate a truck park they used for supply delivery with two loads of napalm. An official website of theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Looking for U.S. government information and services? John Doc Hofer B 5/46, 198th Bde, Americal. In Korea, advancing American forces buried their dead in temporary cemeteries, assuming they could go back and claim the bodies once the war was won, as they had in World War II. https://www.historynet.com/torture-lesson-vietnam/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, Why? The next morning theyd put a ball of rice on a banana leaf and wed carry that with us for lunch as we moved. The trip to Vietnam brought Harker through Hawaii, and Guam, before landing in Vietnam Nov. 15, 1967. My POW years shaped my perspective on faith and service unlike any other experience in my life. Substantial antiwar protests began in the U.S. as early as 1963but a turning point definitively arrived after the self-immolation of Norman Morrison. Enemy shots caught our right engine on fire, and as the plane was going down, we ejected just before the aircraft crashed. By March 29, 1973, 591 soldiers would be returned and President Richard Nixon announced, For the first time in 12 years, no American military forces are in When you have a rifle and youre in front of the enemy, its different. During a routine torture session with the hook, the Vietnamese tied a prisoners hands and feet, then bound his hands to his anklessometimes behind the back, sometimes in front. On Feb. 1, 1971 there were a dozen men still alive in the mountains and they were taken in groups of six to begin their march north up the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Under the agreement, Vietnam remained divided into North and South at the 17th parallelthough North Vietnam swiftly resumed planning the takeover of South Vietnam. Of the many precipitating events that followed, few were as pivotal as the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in setting the stage for the outbreak of the Vietnam War. Read More: Lost Tuskegee Airmans Body May Have Been Found. Jointly receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, Le refused the award, and Kissinger later offered to return it after South Vietnam fell in 1975. The defeat escalated negative public opinion of France's presence in Vietnam, led to the partition of the country, and the eventual complete withdrawal of French presenceto be replaced eventually by American intervention. That meant our plane was defenseless. The torture technique known as waterboarding isnt new either. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. A classic!! Or they thought it was, because before you know it, the doors are all slammed shut again.. Internationally educated, Ho introduced communism to the nation as a clear political antithesis to the capitalistic, colonial rule of France. We operated out of a fire base, with one company pulling security while the other three were out doing search and destroy missions. David Harker stands next to the 1973 Corvette he received. Torture brought each man to his breaking point, and many prisoners were forced to write confessions or sign statements under atrocious coercion. I reserve that title for my wife, Shirley, who held our family together while I was rotting in a cell in the Hanoi Hilton for nearly seven years during the Vietnam War. Harkers first prison was in Quang Nam Province, a difficult, mountainous country that made food scarce and meant deplorable living conditions for the POWs. A lock ( The North Vietnamese frequently spoke of the quality and kindness that they showed to American prisoners. They are heroes. This message was tapped like wildfire across the Hanoi Hilton as the North Vietnamese played the anti-war singers songs over the loudspeakers to break the While the North Vietnamese maintained several prisoner camps, the most famous was the Ha L Prison, which American servicemen named the Hanoi Hilton. Myself (a Brookville High School graduate) along with thousands of people and the Brookville High School Band were there to cheer David on his return home. SHARE. The court-martial board acquitted Glenn, but the Judge Advocate General of the Army, Maj. Gen. George B. Davis, registered a fierce dissenting legal opinion of the verdict. MIA stands for missing in action, a term used to refer to members of the armed forces who have not returned from military service and whose whereabouts are unknown. The planes we were flying, F-4 Phantom IIs, were really Navy aircraft designed for fleet defense. Ho remained North Vietnam's chief of state and continued to exert influence on the state's government until his death in 1969, but operated largely behind the scenes. Over the years, rumors about men left behind and discrepancies in the number of missing vs. the number of returned outraged MIA familiesas did reports of the mishandling and misidentification of American remains. Richard Nixon would go on to win the subsequent presidential election, making promises to end U.S. involvement in the war with "peace and honor.". He was severely wounded and then captured at Anzio. Kush and I talk about that all the time were not professional POWs. I was called on to serve my country and thats what I was going to do.. They served our country faithfully and with all their heart. He led the way and showed us how to nurse and take care of men, and that became our goal to make people in their last hours and days as comfortable as possible it was our mission, and he was a big inspiration to us.. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. The reality of the situation was quite apparent, however. 312-374-9333, Tuesday Saturday Chicago, IL 60603 In part, as a result of the U.S.-backed rise of Catholic nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam, these elections were never held, and with Ho Chi Minh leading North Vietnam as a communist state, the two states moved toward conflict. Diminishing the courage and patriotism it takes to leave your family, face the enemy and evenGod forbidendure wartime torture has no place in a post-Vietnam America. I remember the day when David returned to Preston Glenn Airport in his hometown of Lynchburg, VA. John McCain is greeted by President Richard Nixon, left, in Washington, after McCain's release from a prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam. Gene Smith. The memorandum (NSAM 52) enabled "military, political, economic, psychological" actions to be taken in the regionwhich included helicopters and 400 Green Beret troops. Even after the war ended, the potency of the POW issue was not diminished. American POWs bore this suffering until the end of the war. It was an early success for U.S. military forces in the Vietnam Warwith 614 NLF troops killed, 45 U.S. Marines killed, and 203 wounded. This form of protest would continue for much of 1963, and the impact it had on the Diem government gave it the label "the Buddhist Crisis.". Thats what made it so hard to answer his question. Six weeks later, he was a POW. July 1954: Vietnam is split in two by an international conference in Geneva, 1955: North Vietnam becomes a communist state while South Vietnam is led by a Catholic nationalist with U.S. backing, May 1959: North Vietnam begins building the Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport supplies, July 1959: The first U.S. soldiers are killed in South Vietnam, September 1960: Ho Chi Minh gives up his party position and Le Duan rises to power in North Vietnam, December 1960: The National Liberation Front, later known in the U.S. as the Viet Cong, is formed in South Vietnam with backing from North Vietnam, May 1961: The U.S. sends soldiers and helicopters to South Vietnam to help combat the NLF, January 1962: Operation Ranch Hand employs the widespread use of Agent Orange in South Vietnam, 1963: Ngo Dinh Diem opens fire on a crowd of Buddhist protesters in May and Buddhist monks begin immolating themselves in public spaces in June, November 1963: The U.S. backs a coup that assassinates Diem, beginning the first of 12 different governments to leave South Vietnam during the next two years, August 1964: Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution after the USS Maddox is attacked by North Vietnam torpedo boats, November 1964: North Vietnam receives more support from the USSR and China, February-March 1965: Operation Flaming Dart launches bombing campaign of North Vietnam, August 1965: Operation Starlite marks the first major ground offensive conducted by U.S. troops in Vietnam, November 1965: Norman Morrison sets himself on fire in front of the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War, November 1965: The first large-scale battle of the war, the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, kills roughly 300 Americans and injures hundreds more, 1966: The number of U.S. troops in Vietnam rises to 400,000, April 1967: Massive protests against the war occur in New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco, September 1967: Nguyen Van Thieu becomes president of South Vietnam under a new constitution, March 16, 1968: U.S. troops murder more than 500 civilians at the My Lai Massacre, March 1968: President Johnson halts some bombing of Vietnam in the face of public backlash, September 1969: Ho Chi Minh dies of a heart attack, The Sydney Morning Herald // Getty Images, December 1969: The U.S. begins the first draft lottery since World War II, Consolidated News Pictures // Getty Images, 1969-1972: U.S. troops are gradually pulled out of Vietnam, February 1970: Henry Kissinger meets with Le Duc Tho for secret peace negotiations, March 1969-May 1970: The U.S. conducts Operation Menu, a series of secret bombings in Cambodia, May 4, 1970: National Guardsmen open fire on antiwar protesters at the Kent State shooting, June 1970: Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, January-March 1971: Operation Lam Son attempts to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail and fails, June 1971: The New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers, March-October 1972: North Vietnam launches the Easter Offensive against South Vietnam, December 1972: President Nixon launches Operation Linebacker, dropping about 20,000 bombs on densely populated regions in Vietnam, January 1973: The U.S. ends the draft lottery and President Nixon signs the Paris Peace Accords, February-April 1973: Operation Homecoming sees the return of 591 American prisoners of war from Vietnam, January 1975: President Ford says the U.S. will have no further involvement in Vietnam, April 1975: The U.S. transports more than 1,000 American troops and 7,000 South Vietnamese refugees out of Saigon as South Vietnam surrenders to Communist forces, July 1975: Both North and South Vietnam are officially united under the Communist rule of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Civil rights history from the year you were born, Famous propaganda posters from the last 100 years, A history of Puerto Rico's relationship with the US, Weird, wild UFO sightings from throughout history, Leading theories about D.B. By that time there are a bunch of rifles pointing at me. The news deeply dismayed the South Vietnamese government, which struggled to maintain a grip on its territory. Control of North Vietnam had long been ceded to his successors by this point, but Ho had remained involved in North Vietnamese affairs and was a deeply symbolic figure for many Vietnamese. Several American prisoners maintained their spirits and composure as best they could. In late June, as an act of defiance against the Diem government's oppressive policies, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, self-immolatedthe photos from which led President Kennedy to remark that "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." The Paris Peace Accords marking the end of the Vietnam War were signed on January 27, 1973. Some had been held for as long as five years, and the longest-held U.S. POW for ninewith North Vietnam acknowledging that 55 American servicemen had died during their captivity. They wanted to get us away from the battlefield but a few days later they did it again. Bringing citizens and soldiers together to explore military history, military affairs and national security. A newspaper clipping from the time shows support from his hometown. A brand new Mustang was awaiting his arrival. Gene Smith lit a cigarette on the way down. Email. No digital enhancement and a cast that was selectively chosen for talent and filling their roles perfectly. When victory in Korea did not materialize, access to these burial sites didnt, either. Ten years later, we try againand lo and behold, its there, and they tell us, At the time we couldnt tell you., Phisayavong says he understands how conditions change over time. The POWs returned after the Paris Peace Accords arrived from captivity under North Vietnam, the NLF, and other militant groups. For the families of MIAs, the flag and these memorials serve as places to remember. With the help of God, I did my best to defy my captors, stand up for freedom and return with honor. Forty-two of those months were spent in solitary confinement with 10 other fine American patriots because the Vietcong labeled us diehard resistors. Beginning in 1969 and taking place over four years, the U.S. bombing of Cambodia is estimated to have resulted in the deaths of between 150,000-500,000 civilians. The recollection of arrival is still fresh even 53 years later. Many Americans were being tortured in horrendous ways, and a significant number did not survive their imprisonment. After recovering at a hospital prison in North Africa, my father-in-law was shipped to the United States, where he spent the rest of the war picking cotton in Mississippi. After an extended period of ill health, Ho Chi Minh died of heart failure at his home in Hanoi. But it isnt quite that simple. I was led to a blue 1973 Corvette and handed the keys. I thought it was odd he was in front of me and I had been taught that you always try to escape. The ensuing conflict lasted 60 days and ended in failureresulting in 9,000 South Vietnamese casualties, the destruction of a vast quantity of South Vietnam's armored vehicles, and hundreds of U.S. helicopters and planes. And sometimes we have to make that choice many times throughout the day. Some had been held for as long as five years, and the longest-held U.S. POW for ninewith North Vietnam acknowledging that 55 American servicemen had died during their captivity. Over 3 million people perished in the conflict, and hundreds of American and Vietnamese citizens were held in prison camps as unofficial POWs. So, they open the door and it was such a rude awakening when the door opened. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AMERICA I KNEW AS A POW?. Though there had been uprisings predating him, the emergence of Ho Chi Minh into Vietnam's political arena in the 1930s marked the beginning of a new period of resistance for Vietnam. I tried to bury my M-16 in the creek bed but I think they got it.. Once one of the worlds poorest and most isolated countries, Vietnam is now a middle-income 10am - 4pm CT. Search our catalog and scope out our consortial partner, the Consortia of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) and other libraries worldwide. I remember that night vividly. The first American POW was captured in 1964, but most airmen were captured as part of OperationRolling Thunderfrom 1965 to 1968, with around 800 airmen being captured at this time. Between February and March 1973, 591 American servicemen were released by the North Vietnamese. In the wake of the Vietnam War, families of American MIAs began organizing to demand an accounting. restrictions, which you can review below. I didnt think about the possibility of being killed. It was not invented in response to 9/11. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) In October 1967, John McCain was a 31-year-old Navy lieutenant commander on his 23rd bombing round over North Vietnam when he was shot out of the sky and taken prisoner. But he was capturedin a manner of speakingby two American GIs who were also badly hit, but less severely wounded than he was. The North Vietnamese maintained that the United States was committing an illegal war, one that disqualified them from receiving the rights guaranteed by the Geneva Convention. At the age of 20, when I was called to serve my country and defend freedom, I hadnt blinked an eye. We had a communication system where wed put a note on the lid of the waste bucket, or use the tap code, and we had to do that because we were only allowed out of our cell for about an hour a day, and never more than one cell was let out at a time. The court-martial board acquitted Glenn, but the Judge Advocate General of the Army, Maj. Gen. George B. Davis, registered a fierce dissenting legal opinion of the verdict. I love the Veterans, too, and appreciate their service, and institutions like the VA are a great service to our country.. It kept our spirits up and saved our sanity. As a number of U.S. advisors watched a movie in the mess hall of the South Vietnamese Army's compound at Bien Hoa, six guerrillas infiltrated the facility and opened fire with automatic weapons. A newspaper clipping shows when David Harker returned home. Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam's leader, faced pressure from his Soviet and Chinese allies to accept the terms of the settlement, as their political aim at that moment was to minimize conflict with Western nations. Author Robert F. ONeill reconsiders three overlooked 1863 cavalry clashes. We couldnt call him doc, but he was a big source of information and help to us. Im surprised they didnt just shoot me, but they took some commo wire and duck-winged me that night.. Museum After the ambush, he was the ranking person and he held us together.. In a memo to the secretary of war, Davis wrote, No modern state, which is a party to international law, can sanction, either expressly or by a silence which imports consent, a resort to torture with a view to obtain confessions, as an incident to its military operations.. The whole theory was that we needthe Vietnam veterans needa place they would be recognized, says Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Torture is counterproductive on all fronts. HANOI, Vietnam American prisoners of war locked up for years in North Vietnam knew the drill. In the wake of the Vietnam War, families of military members who never returned from service banded together to demand an accounting. David and Linda also enjoy their grandchildren: 13-year old Emily, 11-year old Ethan, and 6-year old Eli, children of Megan; and Adams 23-month old daughter Ava. From 1991 to 1993, the U.S. Senate investigated these claims before ultimately ruling that there was no strong evidence to prove that any American military personnel remained imprisoned. That brings us to the current U.S. presidential elections, where the treatment of prisoners in the so-called Global War on Terror is one of the issues, and that debate has been profoundly shaped by the experiences in Vietnam of the Republican Party candidate. Wed hear doors open and activity and they came and said, youre going, and youre going, and youre going dividing us up into groups that would be repatriated.
