Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POWs in VietnamThe classic account of the abandonment of American POWs in Vietnam by the US government. For many Americans, the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan bring back painful memories of one issue in particular: American policy on the rescue of and negotiation for American prisoners. One current American POW of the Taliban, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, stands as their symbol. Thousands of Vietnam veteran POW activists worry that Bergdahl will suffer the fate of so many of their POW/MIA comrades—abandonment once the US leaves that theater of war. Kiss the Boys Goodbye convincingly shows that a legacy of shame remains from America’s ill-fated involvement in Vietnam. Until US government policy on POW/MIAs changes, it remains one of the most crucial issues for any American soldier who fights for home and country, particularly when we are engaged with an enemy that doesn’t adhere to the international standards for the treatment of prisoners—or any American hostage—as the graphic video of Daniel Pearl’s decapitation on various Jihad websites bears out. In this explosive book, Monika Jensen-Stevenson and William Stevenson provide startling evidence that American troops were left in captivity in Indochina, victims of their government’s abuse of secrecy and power. The book not only delves into the world of official obstruction, missing files, censored testimony, and the pressures brought to bear on witnesses ready to tell the truth, but also reveals the trauma on patriotic families torn apart by a policy that, at first, seemed unbelievable to them. First published in 1990, Kiss the Boys Goodbye has become a classic on the subject. This new edition features an afterword, which fills in the news on the latest verifiable scandal produced by the Senate Select Committee on POWs. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. |
Contents
Taking on the Government | |
The White House Colonel | |
The Government Position | |
Betrayal | |
The Drug Lord | |
Buried Lists | |
The Business of Covert | |
The Sleaze Factor | |
Getting Bo | |
Scott Barnes Tells His Story Chapter 22 The Party Line or Else | |
Perot Makes a Move | |
Garwood Debriefed | |
The Freelance Operative | |
There but for the Grace of | |
Lies in Laos | |
Telling Dirty Secrets | |
Complications and Conspiracies | |
Prisoners and Politics | |
Silencing the Critics | |
The Radical the Billionaire and the Green Beret | |
The Vanishing Cabbie | |
Vietnam Revisited | |
What the Government Always Knew | |
A Matter of Ethics | |
The Secret | |
Postscript | |
Afterword | |
Open Letter from Robert Garwood to the House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs | |
Letter from Ronald Reagan to Mrs Anthony Drexel Duke | |
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60 Minutes action activities Agency alive American American prisoners arms Army asked authors Barnes believed Bill Bo Gritz called Cambodia camp charges chief claimed Colonel Command Committee Communist concerned continued covert Daniels Defense Department director documents drug enemy evidence families files finally Force foreign former Garwood gave give Gritz hands Hanoi hearing held intelligence interview involved issue knew known Laos later letter live looked McDaniel meeting military missing mission Mooney National Security never notes official operations ordered Page Pentagon Perot POW/MIA POWs President prisoners questions record reports rescue returned secret seemed seen Senate showed Smith Southeast Asia Special stop story taken talk tell Thailand things thought Tighe told took turned U.S. government United Vietnam Vietnamese wanted Washington White House