Robert Russell Garwood (born 1 April 1946 in Greensburg, Indiana) is a former Vietnam War prisoner of war. Garwood was a United States Marine Corps Private First Class[1] when he was captured on September 28, 1965 at DaNang, in Quang Nam province during the Vietnam War. Often cited as the last American POW from the Vietnam War, he was taken to North Vietnam in 1969, and reportedly released in 1973 along with all other American POWs, but did not return to the United States until March 22, 1979.[1] He is listed either as having volunteered or been forced into a work group repairing a generator at Lien Trai I, one of the Yen Bai reeducation camps in Hoang Lien San Province in northern Vietnam.[2] Other reports describe him as working at an unnamed "island fortress" in Thac Ba, North Vietnam,[1] or having been kept behind in mainland labour camps[3] as a driver and vehicle mechanic.[4] Garwood was considered by the Department of Defense to have acted as a collaborator with the enemy.[1] In 1998, the Department of Defense changed his status from RETURNEE to AWOL/Deserter/Collaborator.[5]
Garwood denies the charges of collaboration. He accuses the Department of Defense of trying to rewrite history to make him seem like a liar to downplay his 1984 claims that he had seen other POWs "left behind" after 1973 and that he had been held prisoner for 14 years,[5] though there are inconsistencies in his story.[6] Many former POWs claim to have witnessed Garwood apparently collaborating with the enemy,[4] though most say he should not have been court martialed.[7] Nevertheless, the Marine Corps convicted Garwood of collaboration, reducing him in rank to private and dishonorably discharging him. He forfeited all back pay.
In June 1992, a U.S. task force examined the sites where Garwood claimed to have seen live U.S. prisoners, interviewed nearby residents, and met with Vietnamese officials, but reported "no evidence could be found to suggest that there are, or ever were, any live U.S. POWs" there.[1]
Contents |
Garwood was assigned to the Marine base at DaNang in South Vietnam as a motor-pool driver.
The circumstances surrounding Garwood's disappearance is in dispute; Garwood himself claims that he was ambushed when he got lost while driving alone in a jeep to pickup an officer, that his jeep was torched and he was stripped naked.[8] What is known is that on 28 September 1965, he was found absent at the 2300 bed check. No unauthorized absence (UA) was reported because Garwood was thought to have had a "late run." He was reported UA after he failed to report for muster at 0730 on the 29th.[1]
On 29 September, the Division Provost Marshal was notified of Garwood's absence and an all points bulletin was issued for him and his missing vehicle. This bulletin was repeated for three days with no results. Personnel from the motor pool searched areas of Da Nang that Garwood was known to frequent but no leads were uncovered. On 2 October, the division's provost marshal contacted the Republic of Vietnam's Military Security Services. Their search efforts also produced no information regarding Garwood.
As these investigations proceeded, Garwood's commanding officer reported to the Commandant, USMC, that, in view of Garwood's past record of UA, it was his opinion that Garwood was possibly UA and this UA could have resulted in Garwood being taken POW. Because of the lack of any evidence of Garwood's capture, however, the CO recommended that there be no change in Garwood's status and that he remain UA until evidence to the contrary proved otherwise.
Two separate Vietnamese agents reported that the Viet Cong (VC) claimed that a U.S. serviceman and his jeep had been picked up in the Cam Hai region, approximately 11.5 miles from the DaNang base, after the serviceman had become lost. The American had been captured and the jeep burned. A ground and aerial search for the burned vehicle produced no results, as did four platoon search operations on 1 October. Two additional platoons swept the area in the vicinity of Marble Mountain the next morning but found nothing.
On 12 October, the 704th ITC Det (CI) authorized the offer of a 100,000 $VN reward for information leading to the successful recovery of the missing serviceman and additional 2,500 $VN for the recovery of his vehicle.
On 3 December 1965, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment found a document entitled Fellow Soldier's Appeal with Garwood's name on it, on a gate near DaNan. The document recommended, among other things, that US troops stop fighting in Vietnam and return home. The signature (B. Garwood) may well have been made by a rubber stamp and the English usage in the letter suggests that it was not written entirely by a native English speaker. A second version of this document was found on 18 July 1966 in the DaNang area, but it appeared to be on better quality paper and the signature was at a different angle.
In view of this information, Pvt. Garwood's status was changed from "missing" to "presumed captured" on 17 December 1965.[1][9]
In 1981 Garwood was interviewed by the BBC.[10]
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which called Garwood a "stay-behind,"[1] reported it could not locate any masonry structures where Garwood claims he saw live American POWs after 1973 at a motel-shaped masonry building in North Vietnam. Senator Bob Smith requested the DIA search again. When a second search produced no results, Smith, ABC News, Garwood, and Hendon traveled to Vietnam. Following Garwood's directions, they reported that they found a building just as Garwood had described. The Vietnamese government and a former head of the DIA POW/MIA office[11] angrily disputed the finding, insisting the structure had not existed when Garwood was a POW.
A made-for-TV film starring Ralph Macchio and Martin Sheen was released in 1992. The real Garwood, whose role Macchio portrayed in the production, was a consultant to the film's producers, according to which Garwood had been ordered to survive by one of his superiors, who was also a captive of the North Vietnamese.
Conversations With The Enemy - The Story of PFC Robert Garwood, 1983 by Winston Groom with Duncan Spencer. Groom, a Vietnam veteran, also authored the novel Forrest Gump.
Kiss the Boys Goodbye, 1990 by Monika Jensen-Stevenson, a producer for CBS's "60 Minutes" in 1985. The book begins with a segment she produced on Garwood.
Spite House, 1997 by Monika Jensen-Stevenson, gives a detailed account of one of Lt. Colonel McKenny's commando team's attempt to kill Garwood in a North Vietnamese jungle camp for collaborating with the enemy, and of McKenney's conversion from a would-be assassin into a believer in Garwood's innocence.
Why Didn't You Get Me Out, 1997 by Frank Anton with Tommy Denton, gives a detailed account of Frank's 5 years as a POW. He offers extensive eye-witness accounts of Bobby Garwood and his collaborating with the NVA including actually guarding American POWs with a rifle.