The Story of Marine Robert Garwood

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
1

He was captured by the vietnamese in 1965 and wasn’t released after the end of the Vietnam war.

When he managed to alert the world and be freed at last in 1979, the gouvernament tried to condemn him for desertion and collaboration with the ennemy, as to silence his claims of remaining POWS abandonned by the administration.

"He was hoping for a chance to slip a note to a foreigner near the hotels.

During Tet in 1979, he got his chance.

Ossi Rahkonen, a Finnish diplomat took his note to London.

The BBC broadcast it to a stunned world.

The U.S. State Department diddled around for a month arranging his release.

His captors were furious.

They subjected him to 20 days of intense electric shock treatments in a desperate attempt to fry his memory.

They threatened to execute all of the other POWs if he dared speak of them after his release.

On the jetliner out of Hanoi, Garwood was toasted with champagne by a weeping French flight crew. Garwood wept with them. He couldn’t believe he was finally free.

Upon landing in Bangkok, the first Marine he saw, a Gunnery Sergeant Langlois, read Garwood his rights and arrested him as a suspected deserter.

The charge had to be dropped 2 years later when the Marine Corps failed to produce any evidence that he had deserted.

On February 5, 1981, Garwood was found guilty of collaborating with the enemy.

His appeal is still pending.

Recently declassified files prove that the Pentagon knew Garwood was alive after 1973.

He was abandoned by his own government!

They told his father he was dead.

On his own, he escaped and returned to the United States.

He was charged with Desertion. If convicted, he could have been executed.

Were the other American POWs he saw executed by Hanoi? Nobody’s talking!"

http://www.3rdmarines.net/Garwood_Summary.htm

2

http://www.3rdmarines.net/garwood_debunks_the_debunkers.htm

"Basically U.S. officials have tried to debunk nearly all of Garwood’s information and one of the loudest voices of all comes from the ranks of the former POW, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) who recently ranted to fellow senators about the Garwood made-for-television movie which aired June 28.
In a wordy tirade, McCain accused Garwood of being a traitor and a liar and continuing the anguish of the POW/MIA families by “lying” about having seen live Americans. “These efforts and other constitute an enduring betrayal of his country. And anyone who may be manipulating Garwood for their own ends is a co-conspirator in this betrayal.”

The same Mc Cain whose father helped covering up the crime of the USS Liberty !

3

Monday, Feb. 16, 1981
Garwood Guilty

“A white Vietnamese”

Robert Garwood dropped out of high school in Indianapolis at the age of 17, joined the Marines and went to Viet Nam as a driver. In 1965, just eleven days before he was due to be reassigned, Private First Class Robert Garwood disappeared near Danang. For almost 14 years he remained in Viet Nam�??a prisoner, he claimed. He escaped after slipping a note to a Finnish economist in a Hanoi bar, and in March 1979 Garwood returned to the U.S. Home free, he thought. Other P.O.W.s, however, soon accused Garwood of being a deserter and a traitor, and he was charged with collaborating with the enemy.

Nearly 13 weeks after his trial began, Garwood, now 34, was found guilty last week by a jury of five Viet Nam veterans at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was convicted of collaboration and of assaulting an American prisoner. Gustav Mehrer, one of the nine former P.O.W.s called by the prosecution, testified that Garwood kept a stack of propaganda leaflets, wore an enemy uniform and held a rifle. Said Mehrer: “His actions were Vietnamese. He would hum and giggle like them. He would squat. He was a white Vietnamese to me.”

Defense Attorney John Lowe claimed that Garwood was driven insane by Vietnamese torture and eventually came to identify with his captors. Countered the chief prosecutor, Major Werner Hellmer: “We are not dealing here with insanity, but with a smokescreen.”

Garwood faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and forfeiture of $147,000 in back pay, but plans to appeal. He once told a reporter that he was prepared for the worst: “An American prison is better than a Vietnamese prison.”

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954655,00.html

4

Bobby Garwood is a piece of shit. Start at the first link if you are interested and follow through.

I have included some interesting excerpts showing that his stories about other POW’s he claims to have seen are lies.
[i]
http://www.miafacts.org/grwd_1.htm

http://www.miafacts.org/grwd_3.htm

In statements given by Garwood at both of these debriefings, as well as in statements to defense attorney Composto, Garwood said that he “had heard from the populace” that there were other US POWs but that he had not seen any himself. (Garwood maintained, to both the media and other organizations, that he had not seen any other US POWs or even Americans after his departure from South Vietnam in 1969. He changed his story in a 4 December 1984 interview with the Wall Street Journal when he indicated that he had seen a number of US POWs at several locations in Vietnam. None of these live sightings has ever been corroborated.)

http://www.miafacts.org/grwdlive.htm

Here is an important element of the Garwood story that I have never stated publicly before. One of the debriefers, the one who spent the most time with Garwood told me that he interviewed “two Garwoods.”

When Garwood was talking about the early days of his captivity, the time when he was held with Eisenbraun and Grissett, Garwood was truthful and emotional.
When the scene shifted and Garwood started talking about his experiences after 1967 – the time when it was clear that he had started his collaboration – he became evasive and nervous and could not sustain a story, switching from story to story, confusing details, even forgetting important points of a story.
[/i]

I am not surprised a loon like jeffdirect would dig up this old shit in an attempt to smear others.

5

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Gustav Mehrer, one of the nine former P.O.W.s called by the prosecution, testified that Garwood kept a stack of propaganda leaflets, wore an enemy uniform and held a rifle. Said Mehrer: “His actions were Vietnamese. He would hum and giggle like them. He would squat. He was a white Vietnamese to me.”
[/quote]

Gustav Mehrer ?

“Mehrer’s claims fall short in the credibility scale in light of the fact that U.S. Veteran Dispatch has CIA declassified documents which clearly show Mehrer was believed to be the same SP4 Gustav Mehrer (also known as Gus Maddox) who was an American prisoner of war working for the Viet Cong near Quang Nam Province. According to the document, Mehrer was reported AWOL from his unit on Dec. 25, 1968. The report also says Mehrer went AWOL to avoid being court-martialed for repeated use of marijuana. The document also says Mehrer had tried to pass himself off as an officer because he had a brother who was a major and Mehrer, when captured, was thought by the Viet Cong to have been an officer.”

Troll harder !!

6

“US Marine Lt. Colonel Tom McKenney later claimed that he had been tasked to lead an assassination mission, for the American government, to kill Garwood as a traitor, though he later believed that he had been sent to kill the POWs to hide evidence that the US Government had “left behind” captured soldiers in Vietnam.”

wiki quote

7

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:

In statements given by Garwood at both of these debriefings, as well as in statements to defense attorney Composto, Garwood said that he “had heard from the populace” that there were other US POWs but that he had not seen any himself. (Garwood maintained, to both the media and other organizations, that he had not seen any other US POWs or even Americans after his departure from South Vietnam in 1969. He changed his story in a 4 December 1984 interview with the Wall Street Journal when he indicated that he had seen a number of US POWs at several locations in Vietnam. None of these live sightings has ever been corroborated.)

[/quote]

"One of the most important pieces of information which Garwood disclosed but the government labeled as completely false was Garwood spotting 20 American prisoners on an island in Lake Thac Ba in 1977. Until this year, the Defense Intelligence Agency has said Garwood made the story up because there was no Lake Thac Ba, no island, no prison camp. But a senate investigative team lead by Senator Smith, Hendon, and other investigators not only found the lake, but the island and the camp as well.

Their findings and their call for action, lead by Sen. Smith, has hit a nerve with U.S. senate conspirators who can only propagandize against Garwood rather than use his important information. Everything single bit of information regarding prison camp locations, debunked repeatedly by DIA, was proven true in this recent visit to Vietnam by Garwood and Smith.
"

UH-OH ?

8

[quote]jeffdirect wrote:
“US Marine Lt. Colonel Tom McKenney later claimed that he had been tasked to lead an assassination mission, for the American government, to kill Garwood as a traitor, though he later believed that he had been sent to kill the POWs to hide evidence that the US Government had “left behind” captured soldiers in Vietnam.”

wiki quote[/quote]

McKenny is a kook. It is laughable that the American government would send him on a behind the lines mission to kill anyone, much less an irrelevant figure like Garwood.

There is no question Garwood was a collaborator.

Read the links I posted for the true story. I know jeffdirect won’t but anyone that is interested can find out the facts.

9

[quote]jeffdirect wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:

In statements given by Garwood at both of these debriefings, as well as in statements to defense attorney Composto, Garwood said that he “had heard from the populace” that there were other US POWs but that he had not seen any himself. (Garwood maintained, to both the media and other organizations, that he had not seen any other US POWs or even Americans after his departure from South Vietnam in 1969. He changed his story in a 4 December 1984 interview with the Wall Street Journal when he indicated that he had seen a number of US POWs at several locations in Vietnam. None of these live sightings has ever been corroborated.)

"One of the most important pieces of information which Garwood disclosed but the government labeled as completely false was Garwood spotting 20 American prisoners on an island in Lake Thac Ba in 1977. Until this year, the Defense Intelligence Agency has said Garwood made the story up because there was no Lake Thac Ba, no island, no prison camp. But a senate investigative team lead by Senator Smith, Hendon, and other investigators not only found the lake, but the island and the camp as well.

Their findings and their call for action, lead by Sen. Smith, has hit a nerve with U.S. senate conspirators who can only propagandize against Garwood rather than use his important information. Everything single bit of information regarding prison camp locations, debunked repeatedly by DIA, was proven true in this recent visit to Vietnam by Garwood and Smith.
"

UH-OH ?

[/quote]

What is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?

10

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
What is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?[/quote]

Zap, tell me, what is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?

11

[quote]jeffdirect wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
What is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?

Zap, tell me, what is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?
[/quote]

I think you are just a low life scum bag. You probably have not accomplished a god-damned thing with your life so it makes you feel better to spread lies and hatred.

You and your ilk have ruined this once fine forum.

Piss off.

12

It’s when trolls like you start calling people names that we know we’re getting to the truth.

Troll on, honey.

13

[quote]jeffdirect wrote:
…

Troll harder !!

[/quote]

You have just over 100 posts, and of the ones I have had the misfortune to read there is nothing other than trollish conspiracy garbage - yet you accuse zap, with his many years of posting (his number of posts on T-Nation is over 13,000)? Irony isn’t quite strong enough of a descriptor… perhaps self satire?

14

Did you read about:

The Story of Moron Jeff Direct; Some many questions. What’s the weather like in make-believe land? What’s your unicorns name? How many tickets does it take to ride on the Loch Ness monster?

15

Your posts might actually have some meaning if you actually gave a shit about the military. You use us like faceless tools the same way you accuse the president of doing it. We’re all war criminals and baby killers to you until you can use us to push your agenda.

mike

16

[quote]dk44 wrote:
Did you read about:

How many tickets does it take to ride on the Loch Ness monster?[/quote]

I hereby nominate dk44 for the true Master of One-Liners!

LOL!!

17

[quote]Mikeyali wrote:
Your posts might actually have some meaning if you actually gave a shit about the military. You use us like faceless tools the same way you accuse the president of doing it. We’re all war criminals and baby killers to you until you can use us to push your agenda.

mike[/quote]

Spot on Mike.

18

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
jeffdirect wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
What is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?

Zap, tell me, what is your motivation to continually post lies and ignore the truth? Are you insane or are you a horrible person?

I think you are just a low life scum bag. You probably have not accomplished a god-damned thing with your life so it makes you feel better to spread lies and hatred.

You and your ilk have ruined this once fine forum.

Piss off.

[/quote]

Well said Zap, with you 100%.

19

[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
jeffdirect wrote:
…

Troll harder !!

You have just over 100 posts, and of the ones I have had the misfortune to read there is nothing other than trollish conspiracy garbage - yet you accuse zap, with his many years of posting (his number of posts on T-Nation is over 13,000)? Irony isn’t quite strong enough of a descriptor… perhaps self satire?[/quote]

Agreed, BB, and seconded, Zap!

Scum is scum, and there is no shame in pointing them out. Like this particular syphilitic, jeffdirect, there is no need to discredit him; he does an good job all on his own.