Book: We Left POWs Behind in Vietnam

Unless you are prepared to learn how your government callously abandoned hundreds of your fellow Americans to decades of continued imprisonment at the hands of their brutal captors and jailers in Vietnam and Laos, you may prefer to ignore America's shame and avoid reading this shocking book.

America needs to know about one of the sorriest chapters in our history, and what has to be done to make amends.

"An Enormous Crime — The Definitive Account of American POWS Abandoned in Southeast Asia" is a bone-chilling account of one of those crimes that call to heaven for vengeance. It is an incredibly well-researched documentary that spells out in frightening detail how a nation that prides itself on its compassion for others turned its back on hundreds of its own. [Editor's Note: to get your copy of "An Enormous Crime — The Definitive Account of American POWS Abandoned in Southeast Asia, Click Here Now.]

For the past 25 years, authors Bill Hendon and Elizabeth Stewart doggedly pursued the mystery of what happened to hundreds of American POWs missing in Vietnam and Laos in the wake of the Vietnam war.

Shockingly, their research has revealed that they were simply abandoned by the United States government. Then, the government devoted 30 years to keeping the fate of these men secret, according to Hendon and Stewart.

In a forward to the book, the authors explain that while hundreds of Americans were captured, imprisoned and released at war's end at the so-called " ‘Operation Homecoming,' hundreds more were similarly captured and imprisoned but were held back by the communists at Homecoming to ensure payment of billions of dollars in postwar reconstruction aid promised them by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger.

Watergate intervened, the aid was not paid, and these prisoners have never — never — been released."

While the federal government continued to deny that any POWs have been unaccounted for, Hendon and Stewart provide convincing evidence that hundreds of them have remained captive long after the end of the war. They provide evidence of hundreds of post war sightings and intelligence reports revealing that Americans were being held throughout Vietnam and Laos, yet Washington did nothing about their plight.

There were numerous secret military signals and codes which were sent by the desperate POWs themselves, yet the Pentagon still did not act. As late as 1988 a U.S. spy satellite passing over Sam Neua Province in Laos, spotted the 12-foot-tall letters "U.S.A." and immediately beneath them a huge highly classified Vietnam war-era I SAF/USN "escape and invasion" code in a rice paddy in a narrow mountain Valley.

As the authors say, tragically, the brave men who constructed these codes have yet to come home.

Acting on advice of the Fidel Castro, the North Vietnamese from the very beginning of the war set out to capture American servicemen with the intent of ransoming them for postwar reconstruction aid, just as Castro had ransomed the Bay of Pigs prisoners. According to the authors, classified evidence shows that just as Castro did with the Bay of Pigs prisoners, the Vietnamese by late 1972 held more than 1,200 American Prisoners.

The U.S. pledged in accords and a secret presidential letter at the January 1973 Paris peace negotiations to pay the North Vietnamese a staggering $4.5 billion dollars to rebuild their war-damaged country. In return, the North Vietnamese promised to free all the American POWs they held. It was only after those accords were signed later that month that the North Vietnamese stated they only intended to set 577 Americans free during Operation Homecoming. Say the authors, U.S. officials privately agreed that the enemy had only released about half of all the prisoners they were holding.

One of the most shocking disclosures was that Nixon and Kissinger set out to make the promised multibillion dollar payments and obtain the release of the remaining POWs but in March of 1973 the Watergate scandal broke, rocked the Nixon White House, and the deal to get the remaining prisoners released collapsed, and Richard Nixon swept the whole thing under the rug when he blithely pronounced that the remaining POWs were dead.

For the next 15 years, the question of the fate of the remaining POWs sparked continued debate, fueled, as the authors say, by government intelligence reports about hundreds of U.S. prisoners remaining in captivity. In early 1991, the chief of the Pentagon POW-MIA office charged that the first Bush administration was covering up the whole matter. On the heels of that development, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the former chief's charges. Then in August of 1991, the Senate created a select committee to investigate the matter of the missing POWs.

At the time, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. David Boren, D-Okla., told reporters: "I think we are going to see a lot more prisoners were left in Laos. I simply think that — it has been true in administrations in both parties — when the peace agreements were made I think there were people involved that didn't want all the questions raised at that time . . . once they decided not to disclose that at the time of the agreement the next year they decided it was too embarrassing.

"The longer it went, the more embarrassing it got to be . . . piecemeal decisions came over a 10-year period of time. They always thought ‘well I [will] hand this on to the next guy to admit we really made a big mess.' Those who knew the truth kept handing it on. There are people, obviously in the military and otherwise, in the foreign policy establishment who are going to be embarrassed if this comes out and so they keep it secret. It has to come out, and it will."

Tragically, the truth did not come out, thanks, the authors charge, to two of the Committee's most powerful members, Chairman John Kerry and ex-POW Sen. John McCain. Both, the authors explain, were intent on "ending the war" and normalizing relations with Vietnam. They chose to perpetuate the cover-up rather than expose it.

Say the authors "in the end they crafted a final committee report that declared (1) the postwar intelligence on live POWs was meaningless and that (2) no POWs remained alive and (3) that there had been no government cover-up. In a lengthy chapter entitled "The Fragging" the authors examine some of that intelligence and explain in detail extraordinary measures taken by Kerry and McCain to discredit it.

Former President Clinton gets his lumps at book's end when, ignoring what the authors call "the most compelling evidence ever received by the U.S. government that hundred of POWs were never released, he went ahead and normalized relations with their jailers in North Vietnam.

None of this is pleasant reading, but no history of the war in Vietnam is complete without including what the authors have revealed about this sorry chapter in America's history.

That war, the authors write, will never end until all the remaining POWs are returned safely to their homeland, or all possible avenues for their release have been explored — forthrightly, honestly, and thoroughly — by what would be by any measure, the most powerful and knowledgeable U.S. negotiating team ever assembled.

That, they say is when the Vietnam War will end for many Americans and not a minute sooner.

President George W. Bush alone can make it happen they conclude. But he must act now before, God forbid, the tapping from deep inside the wreckage of Indochina finally stops.

DONAHUE, MORGAN JEFFERSON
Name: Morgan Jefferson Donahue
Rank/Branch: Major/US Air Force

Unit: 606th Special Operations Squadron,
56th Special Operations Wing
Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
Date of Birth: 02 May 1944
Home of Record: Alexandria, VA
Date of Loss: 13 December 1968
Country of Loss: Laos

Loss Coordinates: 170100N 1055900E (XD055824) Click coordinates to view (4) maps

Status in 1973: Missing In Action

Category: 2

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: C123K “Provider”

Other Personnel in Incident: Thomas M. Turner (rescued); Douglas V. Dailey; John S. Albright; Joseph P. Fanning; Samuel F. Walker, Jr.; and Fred L. Clarke (all missing);

RKS: MID AIR COL-1 PARA OBS

SYNOPSIS: Though it had been declared obsolete in 1956, the Fairchild C123 Provider, which was a converted WWII glider, became one of the mainstays of tactical airlift in the Vietnam War. In 1962 the Provider was fitted with special equipment to spray defoliants. Later, it was modified with a pair of J-85 jet engines which increased its payload carrying capability by nearly one third. The first of these modified C123s arrived at Tan Son Nhut on 25 April 1967, and this venerable old aircraft proved to be among the hardest working aircraft throughout Southeast Asia. The C123K differed from other C123 models in that it had the addition of auxiliary turbojet engines mounted in underwing pods. While this addition did little to increase the speed of the “Provider”, it added greater power for quicker climbing on takeoff, and power for maintaining altitude.

On 13 December 1968, 1st Lt. Thomas M. Turner, pilot; 1st Lt. Joseph P. Fanning, co-pilot; 1st Lt. John S. Albright, II, navigator; then 1st Lt. Morgan J. Donahue, navigator; SSgt. Douglas V. Dailey, flight engineer; TSgt. Fred L. Clarke, loadmaster and SSgt. Samuel F. Walker, Jr., loadmaster; comprised the crew of a C123K aircraft, call sign “Candlestick 44.” Their night Forward Air Control (FAC) mission was to guide several B57B bombers onto a convoy of enemy trucks traveling along Routes 911 and 912. These routes were cut through the rugged jungle covered mountains approximately 2 miles north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), 14 miles northwest of Ban Namm, 18 miles southwest of Ban Loboy, 35 miles northwest of Muang Xepon and 26 miles southwest of the Lao/North Vietnamese border, Savannakhet Province, Laos. Additional data places the loss approximately 47 kilometers northwest of Xepon, 3 kilometers east of Ban Kok Nak and Route 411, and 1 kilometer southeast of Ban Pa Dong.

This area of eastern Laos was considered a major artery of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. When North Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before. This border road was used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle covered mountains. US forces used all assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies from moving south into the war zone.

Flying at an altitude of no more than 2000-3000 feet, the Provider crew’s mission was to spot enemy truck convoys traveling along the trail, then to drop flares to illuminate the area for the accompanying bombers to attack. As the navigator responsible for monitoring the infrared detection device, Morgan Donahue laid on his stomach in the underbelly of the Provider to observe the situation through an open hatch. Weather conditions at the time were clear with a half moon, ground fog, no wind and no cloud ceiling. At 0300 hours, as the crew of the C123K guided a B57B, call sign “Yellowbird 72,” onto an enemy convoy, the FAC was jolted by a blow to the top of their aircraft in the aft section by the overhead bomber as it approached the target. Major Thomas W. Dugan, pilot; and Major Francis J. McGouldrick, co-pilot; comprised the crew of Yellowbird 72. 1st Lt. Turner, stunned by a blow to the head and lost consciousness as his aircraft lost power. Because of its glider configuration, the C123K did not fall straight to the ground, but drifted lazily in a slow flat spin that lasted several minutes.

During his post-rescue debriefing, Thomas Turner reported: “Yellowbird 72 made either one or two passes over the target and received no ground fire while Candlestick 44 maintained position in our quadrant at altitude. While the bomber conducted its strikes, I began a run to our left in order to stay in our own quadrant, yet be able to scope to clear the previous strike (to observe the bomber’s attack pass and its pull off of the target). Just as we rolled out straight and level, I looked out the window and saw the strike area. The next moment there was an explosion and the aircraft was out of control. I was knocked unconscious for several moments. When I came to, I turned in my seat and could see the co-pilot’s seat was empty and fire was coming into the cockpit from the fuselage area. I turned to the left and opened the window, then unbuckled by seatbelt. I looked out at the wing tip and could see the wing tip and that the left engine was still running. The next minute I was out and clear of the aircraft. I pulled the “D” ring when clear to deploy my parachute. On my descent I saw another parachute below me and 2 or 3 fires on the ground. At that time I was unaware of the other aircraft’s fall, and didn’t know if it was one of the fires on the ground or not.” 1st Lt. Turner went on to say: “I landed safely in a treetop where I remained until search and rescue (SAR) personnel rescued me at dawn. I did not hear any of the other crewmen come up on the radio, and I understand that the only beeper the SAR aircraft heard was mine.”

Members of other aircrews provided additional information about this loss incident. One witness stated he saw a steady stream of enemy anti-aircraft artillery fire aimed in the direction of the aircraft just before the large explosion caused by the collision. Several other witnesses reported there was a large explosion that broke the aircraft into three parts shortly after the initial explosion.

After plucking Thomas Turner out of the tree, aerial SAR personnel continued to search for the other crewman in the rugged jungle covered mountains. Because this area was under total enemy control, no ground search was possible. At 0900 hours on 15 December, the formal SAR effort was terminated when no trace of the remaining crew could be found. At that time John Albright, Morgan Donahue, Douglas Dailey, Joseph Fanning Fred Clarke and Samuel Walker were listed Missing in Action. Likewise, no trace of the B57B crew was found and they were also declared Missing in Action at the same time.

Over the years numerous reports filtered through the intelligence community regarding the crew of the Provider including National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted enemy radio communications correlated to at least 3 of the missing men. In 1974 a Laotian refugee who escaped reported having observed an American prisoner thought to have been a member of this aircrew who had been moved to the caves near Tchepone where he was held during the 1968 to 1970 timeframe. This American was later transferred to another location unknown to the refugee. Another intelligence report received shortly after the loss incident indicated that Morgan Donahue suffered a broken leg in the mishap and was believed to have been taken to a communist holding area near Tchepone after capture. Several reports referring to “Moe-gan” or “Mr. Moe-gan” have been received by military intelligence since the end of the war. Frequently this prisoner is referred to as “the animal doctor” because he is being used as a veterinarian to treat sick and injured animals. These reports have come directly from refugees to the Donahue family as well as through US government agencies.

From 1981 to 1984, the Special Forces Detachment, Korea (SFDK) was charged by President Reagan with the responsibility of collecting live POW information throughout Southeast Asia. SFDK was commanded by Major Mark Smith, himself a returned POW from the Vietnam War. Through his efforts, and those of team Intelligence Sergeant Mel McIntire, an agent net of 50 agents was established, specifically in Laos. This intelligence net resulted in Major Smith compiling a list of some 26 American POWs by name and captivity location with Morgan Donahue being one of them. In April 1984, Major Smith received a message from one of his agents specifying that on 11 May three US Prisoners of War would be brought to a given location on the Lao/Thai border. The only prerequisite was that an American be on the Thailand side of the border to receive the men. When this information was reported up his chain of command, Major Smith’s team was ordered not to leave Korea, to destroy all documents pertaining to LIVE POWs and they were sent back to the United States 6 months early. According to Major Smith and SFC McIntire, they believe Morgan Donahue was one of those three Prisoners who could have been returned on 11 May 1984. This documented information was provided to the United States Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in sworn testimony on 28 January 1986.

In June 1987 and again in August of that year, the Donahue family was given intelligence reports tracking their youngest son’s movements from a POW camp in Kham Kuet, Khammouane Province, Laos in the spring of 1987, then to another camp in the Boualapha District of the same province that August. These reports were only a few weeks old at the time the USG obtained them, yet intelligence personnel marked them “routine” and made no effort to act upon the information. One of these reports stated that the POW had been a crewman aboard a C123K aircraft and gave its serial number. When government analysts finally evaluated the report, they discovered that the aircraft number was actually the missing navigator’s father’s home zip code instead of the aircraft’s number. The Donahue family believes this is clearly a message from Morgan Donahue.

The crew of the C123K are among the nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos. Like this aircrew, many of these men were known to be alive on the ground. The Laotians admitted holding “tens of tens” of American Prisoners of War, but these men were never negotiated for either by direct negotiations between our countries or through the Paris Peace Accords which ended the Vietnam War since the Laotians were not a party to that agreement.

Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American POWs remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.

Aircrew’s in Vietnam and Laos were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
Morgan J. Donahue graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1967.

Gone, but NOT FORGOTTEN!!!

WHO is agianst locating and repatriating POW-MIA’s?
1. Read “Kiss the Boiys Goodbye”
http://www.namebase.org/sources/UX.html

Jensen-Stevenson, Monika and Stevenson, William. Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POWs in Vietnam.

2. If he is still going,

http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/m/m101.htm

Eugene “Red” McDaniel - President

On 19 May 1967, while on his 81st combat mission over North Vietnam, Eugene “Red” McDaniel was shot down while flying his A-6 Intruder aircraft. He was listed as “missing in action” until 1970, when the Hanoi government acknowledged that he was being held prisoner. A POW for more that six years, McDaniel was released 4 March 1973, after the Vietnam cease-fire.

Red McDaniel was one of the most brutally tortured prisoners of the Vietnam War. This torture resulted from his active role in camp communications during an organized escape attempt by his fellow prisoners. He is the author of Scars and Stripes, a book telling about his six years in a communist prison.

When Red McDaniel returned home from Vietnam, he was awarded the Navy’s highest award for bravery, the Navy Cross. Among his other military decorations are two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit with Combat “V”, the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars with Combat “V”, and two Purple Hearts for wounds received at the hands of the North Vietnamese torturers.

Captain McDaniel resumed active duty and served as Commanding Officer of USS Niagara Falls and Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington. Under his command, Lexington experienced no serious accidents while accomplishing more than 20,000 carrier landings.

Red McDaniel served as Director of Navy/Marine Corps Liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1981. In this capacity, Captain McDaniel worked daily with Congress on national defense planning and provided legislators with information vital to the strategic development of Navy forces throughout the world. He retired from the Navy in 1982.

Today, Captain “Red” McDaniel is President of the American Defense Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. He founded ADI to increase public awareness of the need for a strong national defense.

To contact Captain McDaniel, write to him at his email address: ebm1@americandefinst.org .

Send mail to rdt2@americandefinst.org with questions or comments.
1055 N. Fairfax St., Suite 200

Alexandria, VA 22314 · (703) 519-7000 · Fax (703) 519-8627

http://www.ojc.org/adi/captain.htm

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