[U S Army EOD]

I am not going to very popular here on FreeRepublic when I say this. I am sure that there may have been some isolated incidents of some POW’s left behind but I don’t think there were that many. I think most of the sightings after the war were American deserters.

I was in Saigon when the cease fire was signed and immediately hundreds of deserters were lined up in the streets of Saigon trying to get on American installations. I saw the front of the line and could not see the back of the line.

The vast majority of Americans left there, were these people. When the communists took over two years later, they got what they deserved.

[kellynla]

“The vast majority of Americans left there, were these people?”

I have neither the time or the inclination to educate you on the hundreds of unaccounted for POW’s & MIA’s in Southeast Asia. The 700 I’m talking about were P O W’s...not deserters! Many of whom were fliers who crashed in North Viet Nam...not Saigon. I’ll just direct your attention to the picture posted on post 2 which was taken in 1988 in Laos. And suggest you read the book reference in this thread.

Finally, as I have repeatedly said, Viet Nam should have been required to account for ALL POW’s before being given normal trade relations with the USA!

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[DuncanWaring]

There were 600 guys who disappeared in Laos and Cambodia; not a single one of them was repatriated. One former POW (Col. Ted Guy?) stated that from the time he was taken into captivity until he finally arrived in Hanoi, it was obvious he was "expected" at every stop along the way, and that there is no way every single one of those 600 could have disappeared without a trace.

Here is a list of 324 who were shot down, for whom there are reasonable indications that they reached the ground alive and in reasonably good condition.

What happened to them?

[LucyJo]

I hope you are right about those who were left behind.