Bobby Garwood
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Robert Russell Garwood (born April 1, 1946) is a former
United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
. Often cited as the last verified American
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
(POW) from the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, Garwood was captured on September 28, 1965 by
Việt Cộng The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...
forces near
Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...
, Quang Nam Province. He was taken to
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
in 1969, and although he was reportedly released in 1973 along with the other U.S. POWs as part of the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords (), officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (), was a peace agreement signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. It took effect at 8:00 the follo ...
, he did not return to the United States until March 22, 1979. Upon his return, the
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
(DoD) judged him to have acted as a collaborator with the enemy, for which he was subject to a
court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
, stripped of his rank as Private first class and
dishonorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
. In 1998, the DoD changed Garwood's status from RETURNEE to
AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
/
Deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
/ Collaborator. 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 A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...
Ted Sampley commenting at Garwood's congress hearing that "before he even spoke, he was victim of
character assassination Character assassination (CA) is a deliberate and sustained effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual. The term ''character assassination'' became popular around 1930. This concept, as a subject of scholarly study, was origi ...
".


Early life

Garwood was born in
Greensburg, Indiana Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Indiana, United States. The population was 12,312 at the time of the 2020 census. Etymology Greensburg founder Thomas Hendricks Sr.'s wife named the city in honor of her native tow ...
, into a large, poor family of farmers to Ruth Buchanan and Jack Garwood. At age four, his parents divorced, after which Garwood lived with his father and paternal grandmother. Garwood attended high school in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
and dropped out at age 17 in order to join the U.S. Marine Corps. He began training at
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...
in October 1963 and was deployed to Vietnam in 1964. He was due to be reassigned on October 9, 1965.


Military service and capture

Garwood was assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps base at Da Nang in
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
as a
motor pool A fleet vehicle is a vehicle owned or leased by a business, government agency, or other organization rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples include vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, public utiliti ...
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. 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. On 29 September, the Division
Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French (Modern French ). While a provost marshal is now usually a senior c ...
was notified of Garwood's absence and an all points bulletin was issued for him and his vehicle. This was repeated for three days with no results. Motor pool personnel searched the areas of Da Nang that Garwood was known to frequent, but nothing was found. On 2 October, the division's Provost Marshal notified the Republic of Vietnam's Military Security Services. Their search efforts also produced no information. Garwood's commanding officer reported to the Commandant, USMC, that in view of Garwood's past record of UA, he believed he had gone UA again and had possibly been taken POW. However, he recommended there be no change in Garwood's status and that he remain UA until evidence proved otherwise. Two separate
South Vietnamese South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with i ...
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 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 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, abbreviated as (3/3), was an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps, based out of Kaneohe, Hawaii. Known as either "Trinity" or "America's Battalion", the unit normally fell under the command of the 3r ...
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 A rubber stamp is an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved, or vulcanized onto a sheet of rubber. Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to a rub ...
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".


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, Trà Bồng District,
Quảng Ngãi Province Quảng Ngãi is a northern coastal Provinces of Vietnam, province in the South Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam. It borders Quảng Nam to the north, Bình Định to the south, Kon Tum province, Kon Tum to the ...
. Garwood lived with the camp guards outside the compound and, when not in the camp, was armed with a rifle or pistol. He dressed as the guards did and had freedom of movement both within and outside the camp. He frequently questioned U.S. prisoners and continually urged them to "cross over," as he had. In a surprisingly short period Garwood became fluent in
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
and often acted as an interpreter for the North Vietnamese when they interrogated American prisoners. In early July 1968, Garwood was given officer status in the VC and promoted to a grade equivalent to Second Lieutenant. On 15 July 1968, a Marine Corps reconnaissance team named ''Dublin City'' operating in the vicinity of Troui Mountain near Phu Bai engaged a VC unit. According to contemporaneous debriefing notes, now declassified, four members of ''Dublin City'' reported that one of the VC fighters was a Caucasian, who was shot during the action and yelled to his VC comrades "Help me!!" in English. The "white VC" was described as 20–25 years old, with brown hair, 5' 6" tall, "round eyes", and speaking very distinct English. Because they were outnumbered, ''Dublin City'' broke off contact with the VC but were followed. In a subsequent firefight a few minutes later, PFC C.C. Brown was killed. In September 2011, 43 years later, President Obama awarded one team-member of ''Dublin City'', James Wilkins, a
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
for heroism on that day. 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?" In September or October 1969, Captain Martin Brandtner commanded Company D,
1st Battalion, 5th Marines 1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 800 Marines and sailors. Nicknamed ''Geronimo'', it falls under the ...
in an operation in the "Arizona Territory" southwest of
Hội An Hội An () is a city of approximately 120,000 people in Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Along with the Cù Lao Chàm archipelago, it is part of the Cù Lao Chàm-Hội An Biosphere Reserve ...
. 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. 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."


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
Yen Bai The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...
reeducation camps near
Phan Xi Păng Fansipan (Vietnamese: ''Phan Xi Păng'', ) is a mountain in Vietnam. Its height was in 1909, and it presently stands at . It is the highest mountain on the Indochinese peninsula (comprising Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), hence its nickname, "th ...
in the Hoàng Liên Sơn mountain range in northern Vietnam. Other reports describe him as working at an unnamed "island fortress" in Thác Bà Lake, North Vietnam, or having been kept behind in mainland labor camps as a driver and vehicle mechanic. In early 1979, in
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
, Garwood passed a note to a Finnish businessman associated with the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
: "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 Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
and was met by a contingent of diplomatic, press and military officials, including the Marine Corps defense counsel assigned to represent him.


Court-martial

Over a period of eleven months, Garwood faced a general
court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
at
Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( ...
, North Carolina. He was found not guilty of desertion, solicitation of U.S. troops in the field to refuse to fight and to defect and of maltreatment. However, he was convicted on 5 February 1981, of communicating with the enemy and of the assault on a U.S. prisoner of war interned in a POW camp, in violation of Articles 104 and 128,
Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...
. The court-martial sentenced Garwood to reduction to private, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge. He was not sentenced to confinement. His conviction was upheld on appeal. ''United States v. Robert R. Garwood'', 16 M.J. 863 (N.C.M.R. 1983), aff'd, 20 M.J. 148 (C.M.A. 1985). As a result, Garwood forfeited all back pay and veterans' benefits. Garwood later appealed his conviction to the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, but the appeal was rejected. Garwood's record of trial covered 16 volumes and 3,833 pages of trial record and was to that time the longest court-martial case in Marine Corps history.


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. Garwood says he saw other U.S. prisoners of war after 1973 during his own 13-year "captivity", though there are "wide inconsistencies" in his story. 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. The
Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...
(DIA) investigated Garwood's claim that he saw live U.S. POWs in September 1977 at a "motel-shaped masonry building" in North Vietnam. The DIA reported it could not locate any masonry structures at the indicated location. Senator Bob Smith requested that the DIA search again. After a second search produced no results, Smith initiated a personal search with
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
, Garwood, and
Bill Hendon William Martin Hendon (November 9, 1944 – June 20, 2018) was an American author, POW/MIA activist, and two-term Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 11th District. Political career In 1980, Hendon ousted two-term incumbent Demo ...
. The group traveled to Vietnam in 1993. Following Garwood's directions, they reported they had found a building exactly as Garwood had described it. The Vietnamese government and a former head of the DIA POW/MIA office disputed the finding, stating the structure had not existed when Garwood was a POW (satellite imagery from 1977 revealed "no buildings anywhere near the site"), and was "along the shoreline" rather than part of an island fortress, as Garwood had previously claimed. Some independent investigators claim that Garwood represented an embarrassment to the U.S. government at the highest level for leaving live POW's behind and therefore did everything possible to discredit him. It was also claimed that he could hardly speak English when he returned and his lack of polish was used against him. Since 1999, Robert R. Garwood has privately resided in
Gautier, Mississippi Gautier ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico west of Pascagoula. It is part of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,572 at the 2010 census, up from 11,681 at the ...
. His first wife Kathy died shortly before their move. Garwood subsequently married the former Marilou M. Charest. His employment following his discharge, if any, is unknown.


Media


Film

The made-for-TV film '' The Last P.O.W.? The Bobby Garwood Story,'' starring
Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( , ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in the ''Karate Kid'' films (1984–1989, 2025), a role he reprised in the martial arts series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–2025). F ...
and
Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
, was released in 1992. Garwood, played by Macchio, was a consultant on the film. The film's
producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...
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
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
senior thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
project. The project involved a
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
component and Garwood participated in more than eight hours of videotaped interviews. The film included interviews with Garwood's
court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
attorney, Vaughan Taylor, and fellow former POW David Harker. The interviews with Garwood were the first in more than a decade and they represented his most complete account to date of the events surrounding his capture and eventual return to the United States.


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 ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...
'' and its follow-up novel, '' Gump & Co.'' *''Kiss the Boys Goodbye,'' published 1990, written by Monika Jensen-Stevenson, a producer for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
's ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' 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.


External links


Robert Garwood discussing his experiences with the indigenous Montagnards in a 2018 video
at
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garwood, Robert R. 1946 births Living people American people convicted of assault American people convicted of war crimes United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War American prisoners of war in the Vietnam War People from Greensburg, Indiana United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel who were court-martialed Vietnam War POW/MIA issues