Remember Bobby Garwood, and his story of the abandonment of US POWs in Vietnam? He claimed that hundreds of US POWs were abandoned during the Paris Peace talks in 1973 by Kissinger.
A “Top Secret” Russian document was uncovered recently in their archives – a communist report from North Vietnam – which stated that 1,205 U.S. POW’s were being held in Vietnam in 1972. However, only 591 were released during Operation Homecoming in 1973. What happened to the other half in the span of only a year?
Was Robert “Bobby” Garwood a collaborator? I believe the right answer is “No.” He was a survivor caught up in a political game. What’s your take on him?
Here are two other articles supporting Bobby Garwood:
http://3rdmarines.net/garwood_debunks_the_debunkers.htm
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CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website 
Excerpts from “Portraits of POWs” by Chester Simpson, originally appearing in Soldiers Magazine, September 1994. Copyright by Chester Simpson, 1994, All Rights Reserved. Based on Mr. Simpson’s forthcoming book, Portraits of Patriots.
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Is Private First Class Robert Russell Garwood still alive today? If so, is there any contact info or email where I may contact him and interview him for my POW Book project, “Portraits of Patriots – American EX-Prisoners of War.”
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There is a book “Spite House” that tell the entire episode of the Bobby Garwood affair. One of the best books I’ve read in long time.
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Garwood got SCREWED. His brother in law who hired him got screwed too. The gov’t sent the IRS after him because he hired Garwood when nobody else would!
You can’t TRUST the gov’t. I know from personal experience and having had to deal with the Army and the VA. And I DO HAVE a retired Army I.D. I’m a chapter 61 vet.
I met Garwood in the early 90’s at a vets function. He seemed very sincere.
I also know of a woman who was on a vets list and she had close and personal dealings with him.
Bob Garwood did what he HAD TO to survive. That is all.
Judge NOT unless you’ve been in his shoes!
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We had a saying in Vietnam: Death before Dishonor.
Also, there are too many guys who suffered under his betrayal, viciousness, and self-serving ways. What about them?
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It was more than a saying. It was a way of life. There is a man code that is stronger than the USMJ. The Marines were reluctant to change Garwood’s status from POW to deserter because of the “Sweeney Case” ( collaborated due to duress) Information was obtained from Jose Ortiz-Rivera, Jose Augusto Santos, Willie Watkins, James Strickland,Coy Tinsley, Edwin Russell Grissett and Dr. Eisenbraun. Garwood was convicted of physical mistreatment of PFC David Marker and collaboration as an interpreter , a camp mole, interrogator, and guard for the enemy. He took he name Nguyen Chien Dau. Dau engaged in the black market for the benefit of the guards until he thought he would get a bigger-better-deal in the US – on one of his black market runs he contacted Ossi Rehkonen of the World Bank who passed information to the Swedish Diplomats in Hanoi who then brokered a deal with the USG and ICRC to get him back to the US. It did not work out the way he planned. He lost at the court martial and appeal.
He lost the 150K USD in back pay and due to the dishonorable discharge he lost VA healthcare and compensation. As a POW, he would have been rated at 100% and receive 3K a month by current ratings and the best health and dental care on earth. He did not even bring up the POW/MIA thing until years after his return to the US and denied their presence in initial debriefings. The whole POW/MIA thing was a lever to get money as his proviso for providing information was immunity which would have resulted in his getting the back pay and an honorable discharge,etc. The US was very emotional about POW/MIA’s at the time. Garwood took advantage of that.
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I am sorry to hear about your difficulties with the Army and the VA. I agree that neither of them can be trusted. That does not excuse Garwood, P.S. I have earned the right to judge him.
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Ronnie Plummer I do believe and have always believed we left many behind alive. I also believe some of the remains that have been returned over the years were of troopers that were alive when we pulled out..! I am bitter to this day when I think of all the young boys that faithfully left home at a young age to serve their country. They never got to love in a marriage, have children, have grandchildren, or follow their youthful dreams. Their government and public support let them down. The ones who made it home was even lied to about the chemical that were sprayed with AO. The truth was held back for years. Many young men that actually handled the chemical and sprayed the chemical died painful deaths within 10 years of returning, now it’s a slow death for others. No one even knows how it has affected our children or grandchildren…..sorry for the rant….Thanks
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I agree with all of your “rant” It is not easy to forget being left for dead. I have most of the maladies presumptive for agent orange and agent blue ( arsenic based- used to kill rice and bamboo) I made it home but, my life is forever altered. I lost 93% of my stomach due to agent orange and have ischemic heart disease. I have an ongoing bet as to which one I will die from. I am awake due to my ongoing PTSD flashbacks. PS the VA recently reduced my compensation since my cancer is in remission. ( they sent me outside to an Egyptian doctor who practices as a nurse in this country – could not do it themselves )
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I was stationed at MCB Camp Lejeune when Robert Garwood was having his court martial. He was also assigned work at the Base Post Office during the period leading to his trial. From what I heard at the time, no one would speak to him except when absolutely necessary, and no officer would return his salute. At the time I felt great resentment against him, , but since then, I’m not so sure anymore.
Because shortly afterward, and by an amazing coincidence, I was put into a very sensitive billet doing intelligence-related work. And having been “behind the curtain” myself, I have since NEVER believed anything the Government says until its officially denied.
And that goes double for the media.
Something else.
The only President that ever publicly spoke on the MIA issue was John F. Kennedy, who called for an accounting of Korean War MIAs in the fall of 1961.
Makes one wonder.
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After “Operation Homecoming” two naval officers and eight enlisted were to be charged for various acts of collaboration, etc. All of the charges were dropped. There have been a lot of military personnel that did the same as Garwood but, were not charged. Who said that life was fair? There are very few people that you can really trust, in or out of the government.
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In 1975, a book entitled “Survivors”, written by Zalin Grant, documented the plight of several Americans captured in South Vietnam and their treatment while imprisoned in the jungle camps there. This book was written years before Bobby Garwood made headlines as he suddenly emerged from “captivity” in North Vietnam. In the book, he is portrayed by others as a willing dupe of their captors (see Word attachment after article). When I saw his name upon his return to America, I remembered the book, and wondered if any of the other prisoners ever testified against him, and if not, why not?
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Grant’s book points out that Garwood “commanded the Viet Cong guard detail that brought two more prisoners into the VC POW camp he was in. “We weren’t shocked to see the rifle-toting turncoat although he was, probably no doubt about it, the first American since the Revolutionary War to take up arms against his country,” said Anton (one of the POWs). Garwood was a liar and had a lot of different stories about how he was captured by the VC.
Other prisoners of this VC camp in Happy Valley said similar things.
Garwood snitched on two Americans who tried twice to escape, one later died. Garwood would periodically call prisoners to his hooch for interrogation, looking for someone to snitch on other prisoners. He came and went without escort and took orders from the camp’s commander.
Is there really any doubt about Garwood?
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None at all. Liar and Coward!
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Bob there is a book “Spite House” that tells about the Bobby Garwood affair. I am lucky to be close friends of Col. Tom Mckinney the man in the intelligence section and had the authority to order Bobby Garwood’s assassination and he tried to personally but never found him where he was supposed to be. That was his ambition to kill Garwood. There is a heart touching letter from Col. Mckinney to Bobby Garwood asking for his forgiveness in the book and pictures where they met. It is a very good book. The author is a lady from Canada and I personally think she did a wonderful job. Thanks
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One question only: why would the US Government lie about POWs? What is to be gained by leaving POWs behind?
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There was an agreement between our diplomats and theirs. All of the US POWs seemed to have been returned. If they were not, then someone did not do their job. Those POWs that were broken or otherwise collaborated with the enemy would be difficult to explain. Also, some of us may have been taken prisoner in Cambodia or Laos after the withdrawal of troops. Again, difficult to explain. Many of us had no ID of any kind due to the nature of our work. If captured you were not treated as well as a POW. Many other reasons, too long to list!
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@Richard Nelson – “Closure”. America needed to finalise the Vietnam-debacle. Nixon went for ‘peace with honor’ (as clearly nothing else was feasible). Return of ‘all’ POW’s was part of the Paris-deal.
Problem was, nobody knew exactly how many there were to begin with – particularly on the US-side (crashed pilots, captured/killed GI’s etc. – it is always sketchy) – so they had to go by with what Hanoi was prepared to offer (about 600).
You can’t have closure of that damn-war if POW’s keep being sighted.
If there were any, Hanoi could have returned them after the reparation-moneys were received (“Sorry, we found a few more in Laos”), but Washington could not acknowledge they were fooled in Paris, resulting in more outcries – so, ‘no abandoned POW’s’. ….
Case closed, ‘we did a good job, you can trust and rely on your government (again)’….
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Larry Berman’s book NO PEACE, NO HONOR explains the politics of why Nixon and Kissinger denied leaving about 2,500 alive behind. Rod Colvin’s book FIRST HEROES lists all of the men.
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They didn’t want to admit that some were left. Deals were probably and we got out with what we had.
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The USG paid a ton of money to the SRV in addition to everything that we left behind. The SRV kept some POW/MIA for collateral until “Operation Homecoming” My heart goes out to those families that still do not have closure.
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Why did Clinton let the ones die in Bengazzie. Only one answer Demorats. Remember vote Democratic kill a VET. We should learn from this.
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I think they did not want the real number to be known. It sounds like if you don’t tell we won’t. Sorry to comment so much but this is what I believe Democrats do.
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Tough to watch and listen to what happened. No judgement here as I was not a POW. I survived and home. We may never know what happened to those who were left behind but my feelings are heart felt and they are never to be forgotten. What Bobby Garwood has disclosed most likely the best we may ever know about those who never made it home. With Bobby surviving may be the best accounting we may ever will have. As these POWs are lost to the ages. I can have no judgement as to what Bobby knew and saw. All i can say is he made it home and he witnessed to the American people and the world what he did witness. Jack Brugger RVN USMC 9th Marines
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Bobby was a lot more trusting than I. Probably because he was a REMF and practically an FNG, at the time. You can never really come home after that. I have been trying for 50 years. You will never understand. I have not met anyone that does. I am sorry that he was thrown to the wolves , along with the montagnards. Good people. I have fond memories of shooting FU lizards out of the trees for them. Easier with an XM-21 than a cross bow
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I liked the video. He should have gone to France. Not quite the welcome home party he wanted. Maybe he will get his wish to die here. Of course, we were and are still expendable.
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Hey mate,Could you change my email for me please as I don’t seem to have any luck doing it. My new email as of now will be paxnme7@bigpond.comMany thanks,LeeAustralian Vietnam Veteran
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Where do I find the film about Robert Garwood?
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Try Ebay or Amazon
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Youtube has a video interview
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This just proves how a corrupt government took care of the Vietnam Veterans and POWs,they didn’t give a damn,they wanted to forget the Whole Vietnam fiasco,including all the men and women they sent over there,no wonder most of us have ptsd and other mental health issues,don’t get me wrong, I love this country and our Flag, but politicians are not there to help anyone but themselves. Joe Crocker 173rd Airborne Brigade,Cha Rang Valley,69 to early 71.
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I do Believe that Americans were left is pawns so the north Viet could asked for war money we were fighting a cruel and mean enemy. This is my take 67 to 68 Tet Hue city Cpl Bob Meadows 2/5 H company Marines.
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Don’t know if the ARVN could have held off the NVA or not. I do know that a Democrat Congress denied funds for promised support of South Vietnam after the war. Could this have been related to US POW’s left behind? I don’t remember much about Garwood. I don’t know if he’s telling the truth or not. I do know that I have very little confidence in Government – even when “my guys” are in charge. Bottom line, the story wouldn’t surprise me. C/236th Med. Bn, 101st Ann, Camp Evans, 1970.
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Thank God it was not Trump. If they read this they will try
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C ‘mon, CherriesWriter. Whack conspiracy theories do not serve veterans well.
>
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Kissinger at the request of Walter Cronkite, spokesman for journalists, requesting help to locate and rescue reporters who were taken prisoner. Nov 1973 MR. LE DUC TO received this letter:
“- – – A group of American journalists, representing many members of their profession from all political persuasions, have come to me to inquire if anything further could be done to determine the fate of some of their colleagues who have been missing in Cambodia. Investigations and searches that they have conducted independently have led to them to believe that their colleagues might be alive. They asked me whether the DRV was in a position to assist in this matter. I told them that we had no basis for believing that these journalists were alive, or that the DRV was in a position to assist. Nevertheless, I told them I would make one further inquiry.
I do this, as I say, in a wholly unofficial capacity. These missing journalists are civilians and private civilians, not employees of the United States Government. The United States Government will make no public representations on the matter and will not treat this matter in propagandist fashion.- – -”
Kissinger response was to tell the Vietnam government that he did not care what happened to any non military personal. His promise to Mr. Cronkite to help was a lie. In effect Kissinger condemned to death any one who might have still been alive.
http://www.pythiapress.com/wartales/Prisoners-of-War.htm
The entire letter Kissinger wrote the N Vietnam government
Why would Kissinger write such a comment if he truly believed there were no living POWs left behind? His response would have been entirely different. This is the response knowing about 2,500 alive POWs were left behind.
Rod Colvin’s book FIRST HEROES list all of the men left behind alive.
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I told myself that would have no further comments. I guess that I lied. In that case, maybe I have the credentials to become a diplomat. No. They washed their hands of all of it. They did not care if you were a civilian or military. Close the books and walk away!
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