Call to Action

Call to Action

The Last Firebase Veterans Archives Project
P.O. Box 246, Kinston, N.C. 28502
919-527-0442

DID YOU KNOW THAT VIETNAMESE WAR CRIMINALS WHO TORTURED AND MURDERED U.S. POWs CAN COME TO AMERICA AND LIVE WITHOUT BEING PROSECUTED OR DEPORTED?

IT'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Call or write your congressmen and senators and demand that the U.S. government make public the identities of the known war criminals responsible for the torture and murder of American servicemen who they were holding as prisoners during the Vietnam War. Demand that President Bill Clinton instruct U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson to do what is necessary to identify Vietnamese war criminals who are officials of the Vietnamese government, and that once identified, they be banned from ever entering the United States.

To call: Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-312

To write, use the appropriate address:
To a Senator:
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

To a Representative:
The Honorable (full name)
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510

The shameful tolerance by our nation's leaders of communist Vietnam's brutalization and murder of U.S. prisoners of war is illustrated by Washington's unwillingness to condemn or reveal the identities of the Vietnamese war criminals who committed the atrocities. It is a double standard and a blatant example of Washington's indifference and disrespect for not only the sacrifices of U.S. servicemen, but for all who stood for freedom against the Marxist/Leninist/Ho Chi Minh war machine.

SEN. TRENT LOTT CARES ABOUT VICTIMS OF NAZI ATROCITIES, BUT DOES HE CARE ABOUT VICTIMS OF COMMUNIST VIETNAMESE ATROCITIES?

On August 2, 1996, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) introduced the War Crimes Disclosure Act (S.2048), which provides for public disclosure of information relating to individuals who committed Nazi war crimes. Sen. Lott told the Senate when he introduced the bill that "accurate information about the Nazi regime, and those who ruthlessly carried out its barbaric policies, can only serve to deepen our understanding of history's darkest chapter, and strengthen our resolve that it never be repeated."

CONGRESSMAN WALTER B. JONES (R-NC) CARES ABOUT THE VICTIMS OF WAR CRIMINALS. HE CAUSED A LAW TO BE PASSED IN 1996 THAT WILL PUNISH FUTURE WAR CRIMINALS, BUT THE LAW IS NOT RETROACTIVE TO THE VIETNAM WAR.

There is absolutely no reason why communist Vietnamese war criminals, who tortured and murdered American and South Vietnamese prisoners of war and terrorized the population of South Vietnam, should be treated any different than the Nazis who were responsible for the horrors of the Holocaust.

But the Vietnamese are treated different. Today, it is possible to find known Vietnamese war criminals visiting in our country, unconcerned with being punished for their crimes. The torturers can even move to the United States without worry because U.S. government officials are protecting them.

The United States has a legal obligation under the 1949 Geneva Convention, which was ratified by the United States in 1955, to protect victims of war crimes by seeking out and prosecuting perpetrators. There is no question that U.S. governemnt officials know who many of the war criminals are. There is also no question that the government of Vietnam caused unlawful mistreatment of their prisoners which resulted in the loss of life and long-lasting physical and/or psychological problems to survivors.

An example is Pete Peterson, the new U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. He is a former Air Force fighter pilot who was held prisoner of war by the communist Vietnamese for 6 1/2 years in North Vietnam. He said that throughout the entire period the Vietnamese held him, he was brutally tortured on a "daily basis."

After his release in 1973, Peterson reported to his superiors the "murder" of a number of U.S. POWs including Air Force Maj. Edwin Atterberry and Navy Lt. James Connell. Peterson was the last American to see Atterberry alive when, on May 10, 1969, he witnessed Atterberry, with his arms tied behind him and a rope around his neck, being thrown out of a jeep and dragged by his neck into a torture chamber after an escape attempt.

Peterson, who could see part of the prison camp from his cramped cell, later saw the limp and beaten body of Atterberry loaded into a truck and hauled away. The Vietnamese have steadfastly refused to admit murdering Atterberry or provide details of his death.

Connell was last seen alive by Peterson December 9, 1969 at the prison camp in Hanoi called the Zoo. A U.S. government intelligence report said, "Peterson feels that Connell was killed by the North Vietnamese, since he resisted everything in the North Vietnamese prison system and was in solo [solitary confinement] during his entire internment."

After being tortured, initially in an unsuccessful attempt to extract a war crimes confession from him, Connell suffered severe nerve damage to his wrists and hands. Because his captors thought he was faking the paralysis, for 120 successive days they sadistically applied electrical shock on his injuries and poked needles into his fingers and under his nails to see if he would respond. Despite the excruciating pain, Connell betrayed no reaction. "If your hands are useless," his interrogators threatened, "we will cut them off."

When the communists led Connell away for the last time, he told another prisoner, Donald Spoon, "they want my hands . . . they are going to cut them off." Spoon said he took Connell's last statement to mean the interrogators planned to break him even if it meant cutting off his hands. Connell was never seen again.

According to U.S. government reports, the following U.S. prisoners of war are just a few among hundreds who were tortured by the Vietnamese, many of whom were purposely exposed to the elements and starved to death for refusing to embrace communism.

Sgt. Harold G. Bennett, U.S. Military Assistance Command (MACV), Vietnam, from Perryville, Arkansas, was held prisoner for six months, before, according to a National Liberation Front radio broadcast, being publicly murdered June, 24, 1965. He was shot in the back of the head, execution style.

Capt. Humberto "Rocky" Versace, U.S. Army Special Forces, of Norfolk, Va., was held prisoner for two years before, according to a National Liberation Front radio broadcast, he was publicly murdered in September 1965.

Fellow prisoner Lt. Nick Rowe said Versace, who the Viet Cong had labeled a "reactionary," was being tortured by guards in an indoctrination hut a few feet from Rowe's cage when Versace defiantly told a Viet Cong guard, "I'm an officer in the United States Army. You can force me to come here, you can make me sit and listen, but I don't believe a damn word of what you say!" Rowe said those were the last words any American ever heard from Versace.

Soon after, according to a U.S. government report, Versace was marched to Central Committee headquarters and forced to kneel and apologize for his "crimes" before he was shot in the back of the head.

Sgt. Kenneth Mills Roraback, U.S. Army Special Forces, from Baldwin, N.Y., was held prisoner for two years before, according to a National Liberation Front radio broadcast, being executed. A U.S. government report says a Viet Cong guard, acting on Central Committee orders, walked up behind Roraback's bamboo cage and shot him in the head while Roraback was eating his daily bowl of rice.

Capt. Orien Judson Walker, Jr., MACV, was held prisoner for nearly a year before, according to the Vietnamese, he became sick from starvation. He was intentionally denied medical treatment and was separated from other American prisoners so they could not care from him. According to the Vietnamese, Walker, of Boston, Mass., died Feb. 4, 1966.

Sgt. Leonard M. Tadios, MACV, was held prisoner for nearly two years. He was starved and intentionally denied medical treatment. Tadios, from Lanai, Hawaii, died March 18, 1966 after being isolated from other prisoners and left to die alone.

Sgt. 1st Class Joe Parks, MACV, from Cedar Lane, Texas, was held for two years as a prisoner of the Viet Cong. He became ill as a result of starvation and the Viet Cong denied him medical treatment. Parks died as a result.

Capt. Donald Cook, U.S. Marine Corps, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for jeopardizing his own health by sharing his meager supply of food and scarce medicines with other U.S. prisoners who were more sick. Cook, from Essex Junction, Vermont, became legendary for his refusal to betray the military Code of Conduct. On one occasion, Kiet's cadre put a pistol to Cook's head, demanding that he denounce the United States. Cook resisted and calmly recited the nomenclature of the parts of the pistol. The Viet Cong were so infuriated at Cook's continued resistance that they isolated him from other American prisoners and refused him food and medicine.

Hanoi claims Cook died as a result of malaria and, like all the others listed above, the Vietnamese communists claim they do not know where his remains are buried.

1Lt. Lance P. Sijan, U.S. Air Force pilot, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, crashed on a mission and evaded capture for nearly six weeks. Seriously injured, in shock and starving, Sijan was captured by the North Vietnamese while trying to reach friendly forces. He initially overpowered one of the guards in the holding camp where he was taken and crawled into the jungle, but was recaptured several hours later. He was then transferred to another prison camp where he was kept in solitary confinement and interrogated and severely tortured. He did not give any information to his captors. Sijan lapsed into delirium and was cared for by another POW. He never complained about his physical condition during his intermittent periods of consciousness and kept talking about escaping. Barely alive, Sijan continued to fight. Sijan was finally removed form the care of the POWs and they were told he was being taken to a hospital. He was never seen alive again. Sijan was awarded posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism during his evasion and captivity.

Capt. William "Ike" Eisenbraun, U.S. Army Special Forces, from Los Angeles, California, fought in Korea and received a Purple Heart. He volunteered for duty in Vietnam in 1961 and was one of the earliest to go to Southeast Asia as an advisor to the Royal Lao and South Vietnamese armies. On his fourth tour of duty, Eisenbraun was captured while serving as Senior Advisor, Headquarters, MACV, on jungle outpost Ba Gia near Quang Ngai, when it was overrun in one of the "bloodiest battles" of the war to date. Eisenbraun was later reported to be in good health by two captured Vietnamese who later escaped. It was eventually learned that Eisenbraun died while a POW. A fellow POW said that Eisenbraun had died as a result of torture after an escape attempt in 1967. Ike had provided leadership for the prisoners and was an obstacle to the Viet Cong in interrogating the other prisoners. POW Bobby Garwood said that Eisenbraun had taught him survival skills for the jungle such as which insects to eat. Garwood said that Eisenbraun had been severely beaten following the escape attempt and one night soon after was taken from his cage and not returned. The next morning, Garwood was told that Eisenbraun had fallen from his hammock and died (around September 8, 1967). He was buried at the camp in Quang Nam Province along with other POWs who died of torture and starvation. His remains have never been returned.

LCpl. Edwin R. Grissett, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, from San Juan, Texas, was on a search mission for a missing Marine Corps officer when he became separated from his unit in January, 1966 and was captured by the Viet Cong. Normally weighing about 190 pounds, after two years in captivity he weighed only 125 pounds. He suffered particularly from dysentery and malaria, and in his weakened condition, begged his fellow POWs not to tell him any secrets because he found it difficult to resist the tortures of the Viet Cong. Near starvation in late November, 1969, Grissett caught and killed the camp's kitchen cat. Fellow POWs watched helplessly as guards beat Grissett for the crime. He never recovered. A returned POW reported that Grissett died on December 2, 1969.

Former prisoner of war Ret. U.S. Navy Capt. Eugene B. McDaniel wrote in his book Scars & Stripes about his own mental state after being tortured for several days: "I felt myself sliding then. I was being beaten, whipped, falling to the point of nothingness. Death would be welcome. I wanted the pain to stop . . . I was bleeding, wracked with fever, my mind numbed by the electric shock, in and out of nightmarish hallucinations. Suddenly I was not a Navy flyer at all; I was not a patriot at this point, and being an American meant nothing in the reality of the moment. I was simply a human being sliding further and further toward death, and there was nothing at all to reach out for anymore, within or without."

The Vietnamese officer who ordered that torture session with McDaniel and many other POWs was nicknamed "Rabbit." McDaniel said Rabbit, now identified as Col. Nguyen Minh Y and working in Hanoi for Vietnam's General Political Department, was a master psychologist who often boasted that the Vietnamese would always control the POWs "even if they returned to the United States."

According to reports, Vietnam's Prime Minister, Vo Van Kiet, a former secret committee member of the Viet Cong National Liberation Front Central Committee, ordered executed at least three of the American heroes listed above -- Capt. Rocky Versace, Sgts. Kenneth Roraback and Harold Bennett.

Nearly every high ranking government official who travels to Vietnam meets with and shakes the hand of Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet.

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