The POW-MIA issue is a huge can of worms. It is so highly charged politically, that one cannot really determine what is real and what is fabricated. Shanberg, like his other journalist friends of the time, gave Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge a pass for most of their murdering regime. When I come across anything written by him or his buddies, I skip right on over it.
As a POW-MIA investigator in Bangkok from 1992-1994, I came across so much fabricated stuff, lies and outright scams that it made me physically ill. The office I worked was so politically motivated that it was unbearable. Things were never as they seemed as too many politicians were trying to make a name for themselves over the issue while self-appointed “POW experts” were running around with all kinds of stories. The Laotians lied to us constantly. The Vietnamese released information only as it fit their agenda. It was a nightmare of intrigue, scam artists and coverups.
I went into Laos twice with DIA teams searching for downed aircraft and interviewing locals for information. That was the only thing good about the assignment. The rest in Bangkok was pure political with we who were assigned to the office playing like puppets on a string to the politicians like McCain and Kerry. Worst assignment I ever had.
After retiring, I moved to Cambodia for three years and met many of the journalists involved in writing about the Khmer Rouge regime. Most of these losers could be found at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club sitting around telling each other how great they were.
IMHO, there were no live Americans left behind in Laos. The jungle is totally unforgiving and the people so poor they can barely live in it themselves. Read Dieter Denglers Escape From Laos to find out just how miserable the living conditions were. I had the privilege of interviewing one of the Thais who had been captured and put in the same camp as Dengler. He was eventually recaptured after the prisoners all escaped and then sent to a camp closer to the Thai border where he was released when it was overrun by Thai Special Forces. Also watch Rescue Dawn which is a movie about Dengler’s capture and escape. It is pretty accurate.
The alleged rescue attempt by Bo Gritz (Velvet Hammer) is questionable at best. Met ole Bo at a gun show in Tulsa about ten years ago. Knew all about him but did not tell him who I was. He was, IMHO, a joke. He was kicked out Thailand for playing games using the POW as a cover. What a mess that whole thing was.
I do not buy any of it. Never found a POW. Never found any reliable information about a POW. Almost all the stuff people quote as “evidence” was nothing more than sightings of the same people over and over and counted as different sightings. Bobby Garwood was spotted many times plus a black army guy who went awol and was eventually killed in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge and dumped down a well was seen by several people.
There have always been true believers but that does not mean what they believe is true.