Robert R. Garwood
Robert Russell Garwood | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Bobby |
Born | United States of America | April 1, 1946
Service/ | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1964–1981 |
Rank | Private (demoted from Private first class) |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Robert Russell Garwood (born April 1, 1946) is a former
Upon his return, the
Garwood has repeatedly denied all charges of collaboration. He also accuses the DoD of trying to rewrite history by framing him as a liar to discredit his 1984 claims about American POWs left behind in Vietnam, with activist and fellow Vietnam War veteran Ted Sampley commenting at Garwood's congress hearing that "before he even spoke, he was victim of character assassination".[3]
Military service and capture
Garwood was assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps base at Da Nang in South Vietnam as a motor pool driver. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are in dispute. Garwood claims he was ambushed when he got lost when driving alone in a jeep to pick up an officer. He says his jeep was torched and he was stripped naked.[4] Marine Corps records show on 28 September 1965, Garwood was absent at the 23:00 bed check. No unauthorized absence (UA) was reported, since he was thought to have had a "late run." He was reported UA when he failed to appear at formation the next morning.[1][5]: 223
On 29 September, the Division
Two separate South Vietnamese agents eventually reported that the Việt Cộng (VC) claimed a U.S. serviceman and his jeep had been picked up in the Cam Hai region, about 11.5 miles (18.5 km) from the Da Nang Marine Corps base, when the serviceman had become lost. The American had been captured and the jeep burned. However, a ground and aerial search for the burned vehicle produced no results, nor did search operations on 1 October by four platoons. Two additional infantry platoons swept the area near Marble Mountain the next morning but also found nothing. On 12 October, the 704th ITC Det (CI) authorized a 100,000 VND reward for information leading to the recovery of the missing serviceman and additional 2,500 VND for the recovery of the vehicle.
On 3 December 1965, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines found a document titled Fellow Soldier's Appeal with Garwood's name on it, on a gate near Da Nang. The document recommended that U.S. 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 suggests it was not written by a native English speaker. A second version of this document was found on 18 July 1966 in the Da Nang area, but it appeared to be on better quality paper and the signature was at a different angle. Based on these, on 17 December 1965 Garwood's status was changed from "missing" to "presumed captured".[1][6][5]: 224
1967–1972
Garwood was held as a prisoner of war at Camp Khu northwest of Da Nang along with two United States Army prisoners. In May 1967, after repeated indoctrination sessions, Garwood was offered his release. He was given, and for the remainder of his time in Vietnam carried, an undated "Order of Release." It was written in English, apparently so Garwood would recognize its importance, and it bore the seal and authorizing signature of the "Central Trung Bo National Liberation Front Committee," apparently so any Vietnamese would similarly appreciate its significance. Unlike those who had been offered release before him, Garwood declined and instead asked to join the VC. He adopted the Vietnamese name Nguyen Chien Dau and joined the VC. As a member of the Military Proselytizing Section of Military Region 5, he taped and wrote propaganda messages, made loudspeaker broadcasts near Marine Corps positions and assisted in guarding and indoctrinating U.S. prisoners in the MR-5 POW camp located in the village of Tra Khe,
In September 2011, 43 years later, President Obama awarded one team-member of Dublin City, James Wilkins, a Silver Star for heroism on that day.[8] Following receipt of the Silver Star, he recalled the white VC incident and stated "Myself and three other Marines looked at about 200 photos of guys who were missing in action. All of us were positive it was Bob Garwood, who apparently had defected and was helping the VC."
In 1969 Garwood had a conversation with captive Bernhard Diehl, a German nurse who, along with four other German nurses, had been captured by the North Vietnamese in April 1969. Diehl later related that he asked Garwood how he came to work for the VC and Garwood responded, "I don't think the Americans have suffered any great loss because I chose to fight on the other side. In any case, so many Americans are fighting with the South Vietnamese; why shouldn't there be a few fighting with the North?"[5]: 224–5
In September or October 1969, Captain Martin Brandtner commanded Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in an operation in the "Arizona Territory" southwest of Hội An. During a firefight he saw a Caucasian who appeared to be pointing out targets for the enemy. Even though the Marines fired at him the Caucasian did not appear to be hit. Brandtner was aware of reports that Garwood was suspected to be in that area and believed the man he saw with the enemy was indeed Garwood.[5]: 226
After 1969, Garwood was not seen in the POW camps. A Headquarters Marine Corps POW screening board suggested in 1972 that he had "gone to Moscow for training," and concluded that "PFC Garwood is still alive and probably still aiding the VC/NVA in SVN."[5]: 226
1973–1979
Garwood is listed as having either volunteered or been forced into a work group repairing a generator at Lien Trai I, one of the
In early 1979, in Hanoi, Garwood passed a note to a Finnish businessman associated with the United Nations: "I am American in Viet Nam. Are you interested? Robert Russell Garwood. 2069669 USMC." On 22 March, 13 years and 6 months after he was captured, Garwood flew from Hanoi to Bangkok and was met by a contingent of diplomatic, press and military officials, including the Marine Corps defense counsel assigned to represent him.[5]: 226
Court-martial
Over a period of eleven months, Garwood faced a general
Post-war POW claim investigation
During his court-martial, Garwood sought immunity for any offenses he might be charged with having committed between 1970 and 1980 in return for information he claimed to have regarding American POWs still in Vietnamese hands. Immunity was not granted and no information was offered by Garwood.[5]: 229 Garwood says he saw other U.S. prisoners of war after 1973 during his own 13-year captivity,[2] though there are inconsistencies in his story.[12]
In June 1992, a U.S. task force examined the sites where Garwood claimed to have seen live U.S. prisoners. They interviewed nearby residents and met with Vietnamese officials. However, the task force reported that "no evidence could be found to suggest that there are, or ever were, any live U.S. POWs" in those areas.[1]
The
Media
Film
The made-for-TV film The Last P.O.W.? The Bobby Garwood Story, starring Ralph Macchio and Martin Sheen, was released in 1992. Garwood, played by Macchio, was a consultant on the film. The film's producers claimed that Garwood had received orders to survive from another higher ranking POW. However, there is no substantiation for this claim.
Garwood was also interviewed in 2006 by Sean Clifford for a
Books
- Conversations With The Enemy: The Story of PFC Robert Garwood, published 1983, written by Winston Groom with Duncan Spencer. Groom, himself also a Vietnam veteran, later wrote the novel Forrest Gump and its follow-up novel, Gump & Co.
- Kiss the Boys Goodbye, published 1990, written 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, published 1997 and also written by Monika Jensen-Stevenson, gives a detailed account of an attempt by one of Lt. Colonel McKenny's commando teams to kill Garwood in a North Vietnamese jungle camp for allegedly collaborating with the enemy. It then tells of McKenney's conversion from a would-be assassin into someone who now believes in Garwood's innocence.
- Why Didn't You Get Me Out? published 1997, written by Frank Anton with Tommy Denton, gives a detailed account of Anton's five years as a POW. He offers extensive eye-witness accounts of Garwood and his collaboration with the NVA, claiming he even saw Garwood using a rifle to guard U.S. POWs. However Garwood maintained the rifle was not loaded and was taken from him as soon as there were no U.S. POWs around.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Defense Intelligence Agency (June 1993). "The Case of Pvt. Robert R. Garwood, USMC" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-27. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
- ^ a b "Bio, Garwood, Robert R". pownetwork.org.
- ^ "Court-martialed Marine Pfc. Robert Garwood appeared before Congress today,... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ "The Case of Robert Garwood PFC 1965". 3rdmarines.net. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
- ^ .
- ^ "The Strange Case of PFC Robert Garwood". 3rdmarines.net. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
- ^ Commanding Officer J.V. Sullivan, First Force Recon. "Command Chronology, July1968" (PDF). First Marine Division, FMF. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ Jody Wynnemer. "Courage Under Fire". The Star Eagle. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ Defense Intelligence Agency. "Sighting of Robert Garwood" (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
- ^ Joseph Schlatter. "Smith & Garwood, 1993". Miafacts.org. Archived from the original on 2014-05-10. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ "InterNetwork". Aii Pow-Mia. 1998-03-08. Archived from the original on May 9, 2006. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ "Thach Ba". Miafacts.org. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ Joseph Schlatter. "Smith & Garwood, 1993". Miafacts.org. Archived from the original on 2014-05-10. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
- ^ Jensen-Stevenson, Monika; Stevenson, William (1990). Kiss the Boys Goodbye. London, UK: Penguin Books Ltd.