While the Hanoi POW return got most of the news in February 1973, there was also a prisoner exchange in South Vietnam on the same day.
On 12 February 1973, 27 Americans were supposed to be the first POWs released. Scheduled to take place at 8:00am on 12 February, it was delayed until almost dark as some North Vietnamese prisoners refused to be returned to North Vietnam.
New York Times: SAIGON, South Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 12—The release of 27 Americans who were scheduled to be the first United States prisoners of war freed under the Vietnam cease‐fire agreement was delayed this morning, apparently because of a dispute over an exchange of Communist prisoners.
United States helicopters flew from Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Air Base to Loc Ninh, a rubber‐plantation town held by the Communists about 75 mile north of Saigon, to pick up the American prisoners — 19 servicemen and eight civilians.
The release had been set for 8:30 A.M. Saigon time (7:30 P.M. Sunday, New York time), but by midmorning it had not yet been made. At 10 A.M. Saigon time, a United States Embassy spokesman said in a statement that “there will be a delay in the arrival of the U.S. P.O.W.’s.” “We were informed,” the embassy statement went on, “that the P.O.W.’s held by the GVN [South Vietnamese Government] who were to be released have not yet departed in the aircraft which were to take them to Loc Ninh.
“Reasons for the failure to depart are unclear and are being investigated although according to the agreement and related protocol there is no connection whatsoever between the release of Vietnamese P.O.W.’s and U.S. POW’s. The other side is presently refusing to allow the Americans at Loc Ninh to board the helicopters which are there to pick them up.”
Hospital Plane at Hand
An American hospital plane stood by at Tan Son Nhut Air Base to fly the prisoners to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, pines, where they will be given medical attention. At the same time, other American planes were flying from Clark to Hanoi to pick up the rest of 142 United States prisoners scheduled for release today.
[A United States C‐130 transport plane carrying an 18‐man support team and two officials landed at Hanoi’s Gia Lam airfield at 9:52 P.M. Hanoi time (9:52 P.M. Sunday, New York time), Reuters reported from Clark Air Base in the Philippines.]
American sources said that the delay was caused by disputes between the South Vietnamese and the Communists over the exchange of 2,000 Communist soldiers for 1,000 Government troops, which had also been scheduled for this morning.
Long‐Awaited Operation
Operation Homecoming, which earlier was known as Egress Recap, was one of the most carefully planned and anxiously awaited operations of the war.
A C‐9 hospital jet took off from Clark, followed by back‐up plane, and both arrived at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Air Base an hour and a half before the scheduled release of the 27 prisoners at Loc Ninh.
The smaller hospital jet to Saigon carries a four‐man flight crew and a medical staff of seven, including two flight surgeons and two nurses. Crews of the bigger jets into Hanoi consist of a nine‐man flight crew, including an interpreter, and a medical staff of seven.
The 270‐bed hospital, where the prisoners will be confined for at least three days, was thoroughly searched yesterday for contraband. Hospital officials were worried about reports that hospital staff members might have smuggled in unauthorized beer or liquor, cigarettes or other gift items.
The prisoner exchange in South Vietnam was to be at the old US Special Forces camp at Loc Ninh, 70 miles due north of Saigon. Loc Ninh had been under control of the North Vietnamese since the East Offensive in April 1972 and was their capital of all “liberated ” territories in South Vietnam.
SSgt Herman J. Kokojan, a Combat News Photographer from 7th Air Force Office of Information caught the prisoner exchange in pictures and describes it in an article of the Airman Magazine, June 1973,
HOMECOMING AT LOC NINH
I had anxiously awaited this day for several months, but I knew the prisoners had waited for six years or even longer. This was to be the first release of American POW’s held by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. We were in the reception party to bring them out. The release site was Loc Ninh, located north of An Loc, 10 miles south of Cambodia.
It was dark when our choppers lifted off from Tan Son Nhut AB, at seven o’clock, on February 12, 1973. Our flight time to Loc Ninh was about 45 minutes, and shortly before we reached our destination, the sun began to peek over the horizon. A relief . . . plenty of light for photography. The choppers touched down on an area covered with perforated steel. We then walked to the open area where shelters had been set up for the release. To our right, along the edge of the hard surface, were several temporary huts, one which served as a first aid station. The middle row of 12 huts, spaced about 150 feet apart, were simply four poles stuck in the ground and covered with tin which served as protection from the sweltering heat. Under each hut was a small table surrounded by chairs. To the left were three open air tents covered with camouflaged parachutes. These served as shelters for the International Control Commission and Four Power Joint Military Commission negotiators.
There was also one tent in the right row in which the Viet Cong had set up a Swiss-made movie camera on a tripod. It was a good vantage point from which they could document the events of the day. Loc Ninh was a Green Beret Camp which was overrun by the Viet Cong. Evidence of the battle
was everywhere. Large craters pockmarked the area, and the ground was covered with shrapnel, empty and loaded M-16 and AK-47 rifle shells. FAC rockets were plentiful along the edge of the hard surfaced area, and the large tail section of a wrecked C- 130 loomed above the tall grass. On the far end of the strip, a tank lay motionless among the bomb craters.
When we arrived on the scene, the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) personnel were already in conference discussing the release of the POW’s. Now and throughout the day, everything that moved was photographed—especially after a “snag” in the release became apparent. I felt that every meeting and every confrontation could possibly develop into an important historical event.
I photographed the ICCS in conference with the Americans; the Viet Cong negotiating with the Americans and ICCS … the Viet Cong meeting with the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and so on. The prisoner release was originally scheduled to take place about 0830 hours. We had been briefed that we would have only 30 minutes in which to cover this historic event. That meant some fast shooting and changing of film. At 0900 hours it became evident that we would have a long wait and the first of many long meetings commenced.
Off in the distance, at the edge of the hard surface, we could see the POW’s patiently waiting. I got as close as possible and used the 135mm lens taking the first shots of the American prisoners.
Meanwhile (left) U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Stan L. McClellan, the head of the American party, was constantly on the field radio to Saigon, trying to resolve the delay. Apparently the PRG (Viet Cong) were refusing to release the American prisoners until
a Viet Cong Army of Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Prisoner of War exchange was made.
General McClellan also announced that, “We aren’t leaving here until those Prisoners of War are aboard the choppers. I don’t care how long we have to wait.” We were prepared to spend the night or until doomsday unless ordered otherwise.
About mid-morning we were surprised when two Viet Cong came out of the Prisoner of War area carrying a parachute litter. Inside the litter was the first American Prisoner of War to be seen at such close range. He just kept waving and saying over and over, “I knew you guys would come . . . Fantastic!” Following this emotional experience, I looked at my fellow Americans and noted that there wasn’t a dry eye in the bunch. The Prisoner of War (below) was identified as Capt. David E. Baker, a USAF 0-2 pilot from Tan Son Nhut who had been shot down eight months ago. I followed the litter, shooting all the way to the station.
There, as the Viet Cong doctors examined his swollen leg, I kept taking pictures until the large crowd of Viet Cong had dispersed and a Viet Cong guard put up his hand to signify no more pictures.
David Baker retired as a Brigadier General from the United States Air Force in October 1997. He was the only Vietnam POW returnee to see combat in Desert Storm where he flew 20 missions in Iraq in a F15E. He and his wife Carol resided in Maryland until his death Jan 29, 2009.
A few minutes later the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) delegation came over and started to question the captain. “What is your name? . . . How long have you been in captivity? . . . What aircraft did you fly? . . . Oh, it was not a fighter aircraft. It was a FAC? . . . When did you first learn of your release?” The captain replied that he had been told two days before. All the while I kept clicking my shutter until the International Commission of Control and Supervision people and the crowd departed. I came back later and quietly asked Captain Baker if we could continue our photo “session.” “By all means,” he said with a happy smile which indicated he should like some American company. However, the Viet Cong again put up his hand. “Sorry,” Baker said, “I want you to go ahead, but I guess they don’t.” Captain Baker remained under the tent all day and each time I walked past the aid station I’d return his smile hoping that this would convey to him that all was OK. The senior U.S. medical officer and his assistant also moved toward the aid station and said in a loud voice: “Too bad about the slight hitch at Bien Hoa, but we’ll still have these guys outta here this afternoon.”
At about 1 1:30 hours we could see the POW’s being loaded onto a truck which was then driven out of our sight. The senior Viet Cong officer informed us that they had been taken to a shady spot. I later read that a Chief WO James H. Hestand, one of the men on that truck, said his most despondent time in captivity was “when the truck that brought us down to be released— Monday— turned around, and we went back to camp. I almost jumped out.” At 1200 hours we were notified that lunch would be served. The duck and French bread were good and the pepper was outstanding. Eight months earlier at Fairchild Survival School I would have thought they were crazy had they said the Viet Cong would some day graciously serve me Peking duck with green soda pop to wash it down. Thai cigarettes were also passed around. The negotiations resumed after dinner and continued throughout the afternoon. Helicopters came and went as additional negotiators arrived in an attempt to break the deadlock. Throughout the afternoon the Viet Cong served us a piping hot tea which tasted like alfalfa. Although we could see the heat waves rising from the ramp and the temperature approached 90 degrees, the “wet”
scalding tea was welcome.
As the afternoon wore on, an Army chopper pilot told me about a wrecked C-130 half way down the runway. I asked Sgt. Frank Zullo, a motion picture cameraman, to investigate with me and to get some shots. But when we reached the C- 130 tail section and started to check the area around the craters, a Viet Cong guard firmly put up his arm. We did not argue with him and returned to the chopper area
At approximately 1650 hours the first USAF C-130 from Bien Hoa AB landed at Loc Ninh with its load of ARVN-held Viet Cong prisoners. The unloading, the issuing of clothing, and transfer of the prisoners to waiting trucks was photographed in detail. There was a long wait between negotiations, and when not exploring, 1 sat at the table with the Viet Cong and NVA. Their ‘Sit down, please,” sounded more like an order than an invitation. One officer spoke English and served as interpreter for the rest of the group. The conversation sounded like an interrogation sequence from a grade “B” movie. “What is your unit?” “How many are in your unit?” “When are you leaving Vietnam?” “Was this my first time at Loc Ninh?” “What part of America did I come from?” I showed them my Detachment 2 cap which had my home state sewed on the side, and they had problems with the K in Oklahoma.
Several VC and NVA cameramen were always present with their Swiss- made movie cameras and Japanese still cameras. Chalk up one point for the competitive capitalistic system. These guys know quality in cameras. They kept smiling and I smiled, but we both sensed that there was no love between us.
After the South Vietnamese released the Viet Cong prisoners, several truck loads of South Vietnam prisoners were brought out and loaded onto the still waiting C-l 30’s which then roared aloft.
The C130s returned the 140 South Vietnamese prisoners of war to Bien Hoa AB shortly after sundown. Many of the men skipped as their feet hit the runway and they were swept toward waiting trucks by cheering military policemen and army social workers. They were tired, dirty and looked somewhat undernourished, but their spirits could not have been higher. Broad smiles lit their faces, they called out greetings and vigorously pumped the extended hands of well‐wishers.
Communist P.O.W.’s Quiet
The exuberant return of the Government soldiers contrasted dramatically with the earlier departure of 250 North Vietnamese and Vietcong who had been held captive by Saigon authorities. The Communists soldiers shuffled silently through the release procedure, their faces shifting from stares to grimaces.
Initially, the Communists, who were being held in the prisoner of war camp some 20 miles northeast of Saigon, had balked at Government attempts to return them. They finally agreed to accept their release nearly six hours after the time originally set by the members of the Four‐Party Joint Military Commission, made up of South Vietnam, North Vietnam, the United States and the Provisional Revolutionary Government. But the entire schedule of prisoner exchanges was upset.
As a result, only a small group of the prisoners that the Saigon Government and the Communists had intended to exchange was actually set free and for several hours it was feared that the 27 Americans who eventually were released would have to spend another day in captivity.
Not long ago, members of the International Committee of the Red Cross interviewed several hundred Communist prisoners and found that only a handful wished to be repatriated. American and South Vietnamese officers say that the Communists have been told that to become a prisoner is disgrace and that former prisoners would not be welcomed. Under the provisions of the Paris peace agreement, prisoners have no choice but to be returned to their former units.
But when the first Communist soldiers were supposed to leave the camp here at 6 A.M. they insisted on seeing representatives of the military commission. Maj. To Cong Bien, a Government spokesman, said the prisoners had indicated that they feared they were somehow being deceived. “Maybe they are worried that we want to take them out and kill them,” the major said. Shortly after 10 P.M., a commission delegation arrived from Saigon and conferred with six North Vietnamese and six Vietcong prisoners. Newsmen were kept more than 50 yards away.
About 11:30 P.M. the Communist prisoners agreed to cooperate. The key release point was at Loc Ninh, a Communist‐held district capital 77 miles north of Saigon, where the Communists had said they would free the Americans and the only place where they said they intended to release South Vietnamese Government soldiers.
South Vietnamese military police led the Communist prisoners from their cell blocks in groups of 25 and as the prisoners approached the trucks that would take them to the air base, reporters and photographers pressed around them. The prisoners tried to hide their faces with hats and towels.
Vietnamese newsmen several times tried to question the prisoners, but the only response was a cold stare. According to the Paris agreement, the least physically fit prisoners were to be among the first released. Many of the North Vietnamese and Vietcong freed today were either amputees or appeared to be in poor health. Many hobbled on crutches and artificial limbs and two double amputees were carried piggyback by fellow prisoners. One prisoner was carried on a stretcher.
Finally about 1815 hours the cheering and laughing American POW’s were driven up in a truck. After disembarking, they were assembled in a group and General McClellan briefed them on why the photos were being taken, explained that they would be tagged with the medical slips, receive a short physical and be flown to Tan Son Nhut to board a USAF C-9 for Clark AB in the Philippines.
Another gusty cheer. The briefing, tagging and physicals were photographed in depth. While this was being accomplished. General McClellan was completing the final signing for the prisoners. Meanwhile each of the POW’s met his escort officer and an instant jovial bull session commenced. “They still have cable cars in San Francisco? How many?” Another POW ravenously paged through a copy of Stars and Stripes. “God, it’s good to finally get the straight word.” It was getting dark now so I took a deep breath, clicked the shutter at 1.30th using Tri-X rated at 400 ASA. I would have re-rated the film at 1200 ASA/ACUFINE but I had already exposed about 15 “normal!” shots on this roll. I had previously decided that the use of flash during any part of the operation would be inappropriate. “How can we get prints?” asked several prisoners, and I gave the escort officers the address of Hq Aerospace Audio Visual Service at Norton. I knew AAVS would be happy to honor such a request. It was dark when we finally walked toward the choppers. As we made our way over the ditches and rocks, 1 tried to help one of the POW’s. “Let’s not break a leg now, let me give ya a hand” … the POW laughed, “No sweat.” He confidently replied “I’ve been walking this terrain for over three years … I know it like my own backyard.” Note; From Patrick Aguilar; This is the Airman’s Magazine story of the 27 American POW’s released in exchange for Viet Cong and NVA prisoners at Loc Ninh where Jim Blakesley and I worked the air perations/control zone /LZ for the mission on 12 February 1973.
Captain Smith and Captain Wanat’s capture and imprisonment: In April 1972, the Easter Offensive commenced when a VC infantry division supported by NVA tanks, artillery, and rockets came across the Cambodian border with Loc Ninh as its target in the offensive. This resulted in three days and two nights of constant combat. George K. Wanat Jr was in command of the northern portion of Loc Ninh and the district compound.
(USAF photo, SSGT Herman Kokojan)
On the southern end of town and the airstrip, Army Captain Mark A. Smith (on his fifth tour in RVN with radio call sign “Zippo”) was in command. On the third day of the battle, Loc Ninh fell. CPT Mike Brown was near by in his Blue Max Cobra the afternoon of April 7th, and recalls the last radio transmissions from the defenders. Hauntingly, there was a baby crying in the background as the NVA captured the command bunker. It was assumed that Zippo was killed after his heroic stand. F/9th Scout Richard Dey had tried to pick up Zippo earlier that day, but the man we would learn years later was CPT Mark Smith refused to leave his post. It was years before most of us learned that Zippo had survived his 27 or more wounds and his captivity, and he recently gave an excellent insight into what that battle actually cost the Communists, and what American advisors and American airpower actually faced in that battle. .
When their position became untenable on the third day, Captain Wanat, his counterpart the district chief, and 30 Vietnamese sought to escape to the south overland in hopes of linking with friendly forces or making it to An Loc to the south. The area was swarming with patrols of two more Viet Cong and NVA divisions that were massing for an attack on An Loc, a subsequent battle that would last for three months. On the second day of their escape and evasion, the Vietnamese left George as they went into a hamlet to see if the residents were friendly. They did not return, and Captain Wanat was left on his own without a weapon, radio, or provisions of any kind.
He was scantily clad due to shrapnel wounds; one large wound in particular on his right leg. On the third day his sandals fell apart, and for the next 28 days he was in an escape and evasion mode barefoot, walking over tree roots as sharp as knives and constantly being assaulted by fire ants and other indigenous irritations. Enemy patrols were a constant hazard, and he successfully evaded. Food and water came from the land or from Buddhist monks, villagers, and Montagnards that he found to be sympathetic, although not all were.
On the 31st day he was sitting under a bush eating a green banana when his eyes locked simultaneously with those of an NVA patrol member. He was captured after an amazingly successful 31-day escape and evasion. George was taken to a small POW camp in the jungle near Kratie, Cambodia, where he joined six other captives.
Captain Mark Smith and others from Loc Ninh were among the prisoners, and on arrival Zippo’s only comment was “what took you so long.” George was chained in a 4ˇx4ˇx6ˇ bamboo cage, not large enough to stand up in. George suffered from seriously infected shrapnel wounds, malaria, and beriberi. His uninvited guests in the cage included poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions, and fire ants. Meals were three bowls of rice per day with a couple of scraps of pork fat, hardly enough protein to sustain life.
On February 10, 1973, Captain Wanat and his fellow prisoners were dressed in new clothes and trucked to Loc Ninh, where they were joined by 20 other prisoners from small camps in Cambodia. On the night they were awaiting release, the other prisoners were allowed to mingle freely. Only Captain Wanat and Captain Smith were chained to a tree. The NVA obviously feared these warriors.
Army POWs held by the Viet Cong were driven by truck to the South Vietnamese town of Loc Ninh, near the Cambodian border, where they were released and are now being briefed by a U.S. Army officer. A helicopter took them to Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Air Base. A C-9 Nightingale medical transport plane flew them to Clark Air Base. (U.S. Air Force)
After their release, they boarded helicopters and flew to Saigon where they boarded a C-9 Nightingale aircraft and flew to Clark AB , Philippines where they were taken to the base hospital.
Once cleared by the hospital, they returned to the United States.
POW Release.pdf (sgtmacsbar.com)