HARGROVE, JOSEPH NELSON

Name: Joseph Nelson Hargrove
Rank/Branch: E3/US Marine Corps
Unit: F BLT/2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division
Date of Birth: 15 May 1951
Home City of Record: Mt. Olive NC
Date of Loss: 15 May 1975
Country of Loss: Cambodia/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 101800N 1030830E (TS960400)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 1998

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2008.

Other Personnel in Incident: Daniel A. Benedett; Lynn Blessing; Walter Boyd;
Gregory S. Copenhaver; Andres Garcia; Bernard Gause Jr., James J. Jacques;
Ronald J. Manning; James R. Maxwell; Richard W. Rivenburgh; Antonio R.
Sandoval; Kelton R. Turner; Richard Van de Geer (all missing on CH53A);
Danny G. Marshall (missing on Koah Tang Island); Elwood E. Rumbaugh (missing
from a CH53A)

REMARKS: 750515 MAYAGUEZ INCIDENT LOSS

SYNOPSIS: When U.S. troops were pulled out of Southeast Asia in early 1975,
Vietnamese communist troops began capturing one city after another, with
Hue, Da Nang and Ban Me Thuot in March, Xuan Loc in April, and finally on
April 30, Saigon. In Cambodia, communist Khmer Rouge had captured the
capital city of Phnom Penh on April 17. The last Americans were evacuated
from Saigon during "Option IV", with U.S. Ambassador Martin departing on
April 29. The war, according to President Ford, "was finished."

2Lt. Richard Van de Geer, assigned to the 21st Special Ops Squadron at NKP,
had participated in the evacuation of Saigon, where helicopter pilots were
required to fly from the decks of the 7th Fleet carriers stationed some 500
miles offshore, fly over armed enemy-held territory, collect American and
allied personnel and return to the carriers via the same hazardous route,
heavily loaded with passengers. Van de Geer wrote to a friend, "We pulled
out close to 2,000 people. We couldn't pull out any more because it was
beyond human endurance to go any more..."

At 11:21 a.m. on May 12, the U.S. merchant ship MAYAGUEZ was seized by the
Khmer Rouge in the Gulf of Siam about 60 miles from the Cambodian coastline
and eight miles from Poulo Wai island. The ship, owned by Sea-Land
Corporation, was en route to Sattahip, Thailand from Hong Kong, carrying a
non-arms cargo for military bases in Thailand.

Capt. Charles T. Miller, a veteran of more than 40 years at sea, was on the
bridge. He had steered the ship within the boundaries of international
waters, but the Cambodians had recently claimed territorial waters 90 miles
from the coast of Cambodia. The thirty-nine seamen aboard were taken
prisoner.

President Ford ordered the aircraft carrier USS CORAL SEA, the guided
missile destroyer USS HENRY B. WILSON and the USS HOLT to the area of
seizure. By night, a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft located the MAYAGUEZ at
anchor off Poulo WaI island. Plans were made to rescue the crew.  A
battalion landing team of 1,100 Marines was ordered flown from bases in
Okinawa and the Philippines to assemblE at Utapao, Thailand in preparation
for the assault.

The first casualties of the effort to free the MAYAGUEZ are recorded on May
13 when a helicopter carrying Air Force security team personnel crashed en
route to Utapao, killing all 23 aboard.
                                                            

Early in the morning of May 13, the Mayaguez was ordered to head for Koh
Tang island. Its crew was loaded aboard a Thai fishing boat and taken first
to Koh Tang, then to the mainland city of Kompong Song, then to Rong San Lem
island. U.S. intelligence had observed a cove with considerable activity on
the island of Koh Tang, a small five-mile long island about 35 miles off the
coast of Cambodia southwest of the city of Sihanoukville (Kampong Saom), and
believed that some of the crew might be held there. They also knew of the
Thai fishing boat, and had observed what appeared to be caucasians aboard
it, but it could not be determined if some or all of the crew was aboard.

The USS HOLT was ordered to seize and secure the MAYAGUEZ, still anchored
off Koh Tang. Marines were to land on the island and rescue any of the crew.
Navy jets from the USS CORAL SEA were to make four strikes on military
installments on the Cambodian mainland.

On May 15, the first wave of 179 Marines headed for the island aboard eight
Air Force "Jolly Green Giant" helicopters. Three Air Force helicopters
unloaded Marines from the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines onto the landing pad of
the USS HOLT and then headed back to Utapao to pick up the second wave of
Marines. Planes dropped tear gas on the MAYAGUEZ, and the USS HOLT pulled up
along side the vessel and the Marines stormed aboard. The MAYAGUEZ was
deserted.

Simultaneously, the Marines of the 2/9 were making their landings on two
other areas of the island. The eastern landing zone was on the cove side
where the Cambodian compound was located. The western landing zone was a
narrow spit of beach about 500 feet behind the compound on the other side of
the island. The Marines hoped to surround the compound.

As the first troops began to unload on both beaches, the Cambodians opened
fire. On the western beach, one helicopter was hit and flew off crippled, to
ditch in the ocean about 1 mile away. The pilot had just disembarked his
passengers, and he was rescued at sea.

Meanwhile, the eastern landing zone had become a disaster. The first two
helicopters landing were met by enemy fire. Ground commander, (now) Col.
Randall W. Austin had been told to expect between 20 and 40 Khmer Rouge
soldiers on the island. Instead, between 150 and 200 were encountered.
First, Lt. John Shramm's helicopter tore apart and crashed into the surf
after the rotor system was hit. All aboard made a dash for the tree line on
the beach.

One CH53A helicopter was flown by U.S. Air Force Major Howard Corson and
2Lt. Richard Van de Geer and carrying 23 U.S. Marines and 2 U.S. Navy
corpsmen, all from the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. As the helicopter
approached the island, it was caught in a cross fire and hit by a rocket.
The severely damaged helicopter crashed into the sea just off the coast of
the island and exploded. To avoid enemy fire, survivors were forced to swim
out to sea for rescue. Twelve aboard, including Maj. Corson, were rescued.
Those missing from the helicopter were 2Lt. Richard Van de Geer, PFC Daniel
A. Benedett, PFC Lynn Blessing, PFC Walter Boyd, Lcpl. Gregory S.
Copenhaver, Lcpl. Andres Garcia, PFC James J. Jacques, PFC James R. Maxwell,
PFC Richard W. Rivenburgh, PFC Antonio R. Sandoval, PFC Kelton R. Turner,
all U.S. Marines. Also missing were HM1 Bernard Gause, Jr. and HM Ronald J.
Manning, the two corpsmen.

Other helicopters were more successful in landing their passengers. One
CH53A, however was not. SSgt. Elwood E. Rumbaugh's aircraft was near the
coastline when it was shot down. Rumbaugh is the only missing man from the
aircraft. The passengers were safely extracted. (It is not known whether the
passengers went down with the aircraft or whether they were rescued from the
island.)

By midmorning, when the Cambodians on the mainland began receiving reports
of the assault, they ordered the crew of the MAYAGUEZ on a Thai boat, and
then left. The MAYAGUEZ crew was recovered by the USS WILSON before the
second wave of Marines was deployed, but the second wave was ordered to
attack anyway.

Late in the afternoon, the assault force had consolidated its position on
the western landing zone and the eastern landing zone was evacuated at 6:00
p.m. By the end of the 14-hour operation, most of the Marines were extracted
from the island safely, with 50 wounded. Lcpl. Ashton Loney had been killed
by enemy fire, but his body could not be recovered.

Protecting the perimeter during the final evacuation was the machine gun
squad of PFC Gary L. Hall, Lcpl. Joseph N. Hargrove and Pvt. Danny G.
Marshall. They had run out of ammunition and were ordered to evacuate on the
last helicopter. It was their last contact. Maj. McNemar and Maj. James H.
Davis made a final sweep of the beach before boarding the helicopter and
were unable to locate them. They were declared Missing in Action.

The eighteen men missing from the MAYAGUEZ incident are listed among the
missing from the Vietnam war. Although authorities believe that there are
perhaps hundreds of American prisoners still alive in Southeast Asia from
the war, most are pessimistic about the fates of those captured by the Khmer
Rouge.

In 1988, the communist government of Kampuchea (Cambodia) announced that it
wished to return the remains of several dozen Americans to the United
States. (In fact, the number was higher than the official number of
Americans missing in Cambodia.) Because the U.S. does not officially
recognize the Cambodian government, it has refused to respond directly to
the Cambodians regarding the remains. Cambodia, wishing a direct
acknowledgment from the U.S. Government, still holds the remains.

------------------------
National Alliance of Families
02/26/00 Newsletter

Inadvertently Left Behind -   Within the next several months, the Defense
Department will announce the remains identification of servicemen lost  on
May 15th 1975, at the Kho Tang Island, Cambodia.  Eighteen airman, sailors
and marines were lost during an attempt to free the U.S. merchant vessel 
Mayaguez.  A detailed article by Lisa Hoffman of Scirpps Howard News Service
, published in the Washington Times, on February 23rd 2000 details incident
and the evidence that three men were inadvertently left behind... alive.

"...absent is a final accounting of the fate of three Marines who
inadvertently were left behind on the island when the rest evacuated.  They
are believed to have been captured and executed days later."

"The tragic story of the Kho Tang battle began with the seizure of the
Mayaguez off the southern coast of Cambodia, 12 days after the  fall of
South Vietnam's capital, Saigon. President Ford ordered U.S. forces to
rescue the 39 crew members."

"By the time the Marines launched their assault, the Cambodians had released
the Mayaguez sailors on the Cambodian mainland. An  intelligence failure
left the Marines unaware that their services no longer were needed."

"More than 230 Marines stormed ashore on Kho Tang, expecting an easy job of
overcoming a small enemy encampment numbering no more  than 20. Instead,
they were met by a well-armed force of 150. A furious battle lasted three
hours. Among the losses was the CH-53A  helicopter, on which 13 GIs died. In
all, 18 U.S. troops were killed.

"The Marines drew back and waited 15 hours to be evacuated from the island,
in what became one of the most dramatic rescues of the war. A  three-man
machine gun team, which included Covington, Ky., native Gary Hall, was
dispatched to protect the troops' flank during the  withdrawal. But in the
fog of battle, the team was mistakenly overlooked. It wasn't until the next
day that their absence was  realized. By then, it was too late to go back."

"Although their fate is not entirely certain, it is believed the trio
survived for several days before being captured and killed. One  reportedly
was shot to death after being caught stealing food from the Khmer Rouge camp
. The other two apparently were bludgeoned to  death."

"It wasn't until 1992 that military investigators with the Pentagon's Joint
Task Force-Full Accounting operation, which is in  charge of accounting for
U.S. MIAs, were able to explore either the island or the helicopter wreckage
just offshore."

"By 1995, the team - which faced obstacles ranging from unexploded ordnance,
poisonous snakes, fierce storms and tropical diseases - had come up with an
elaborate method of essentially salvaging the CH-53A chopper so it could be
searched for remains. They built a dam around the helicopter and pumped out
the water and sand.

"Despite a quarter century of squalls, tides and scavengers, the
investigators managed to recover 161 human bone fragments and a few 
personal effects - all that was left of the GIs, according to Tom Holland,
scientific director for the Army's identification lab.

"Later, scientists determined that the bones came from 13 different men. It
took another three years to "harvest" enough DNA from the bones and then
match it with DNA samples taken from maternal relatives to definitively
identify nine of them."

"That left four men unidentified. The remains of three of them were too
small to obtain a DNA sample."

#############

Three Marines were left behind on Koh Tang.  They are Joseph Hargrove, Gary
Hall and Danny Marshall.  In the almost 25 years, since that battle, we
wonder if anyone has ever explained to the Hargrove, Hall and Marshall
families how these men were "inadvertently left behind."  Or, why it was "to
late" to go back for them.    Imagine what these men thought as they waited
for rescue and their thoughts when they finally realized no one was coming
for them. 

###############

One Families Thoughts - The following was sent to us, by Sandy Hargrove. 
She is the sister-in-law of Joseph Hargrove, "inadvertently left behind" on
Kho Tang Island.

"Joseph Hargrove was lost on May 15th 1975 his 24th birthday. I know the
whole Hargrove family just knows that Joseph was sacrificed. We were never
told the truth."

"Joseph's older brother Lane was killed on April 21,1968. When Lane was
going over he was asked if he wanted to go to Canada by one of his older
brothers who had already done his time in the Army. Lane said no he wanted
to  go to Nam."

"In those days we honestly believed that the government cared about  us as
people. They wouldn't send someone to a foreign country and have him  risk
his life for no reason... or would they. What we know now and what we  knew
then.  With all that we have gone through I think we would have all gone  to
Canada with him."

"So Lane was blown up stepping on a land mine and his  little brother Joseph
just got left behind. So will someone tell me how this  country is a better
place because it is missing Joseph and Lane Hargrove.  Joseph is a human
being not a number. How dare anyone to think they can just  forget about
them. If it wasn't for Ralph writing that article in Popular  Science over a
 year ago I would still get the standard reply I usually get  when I mention
the Mayaguez. "The What?"

"Well Joseph never came home because  of that What. How easily people forget
. But now there is a movement out there  to hold the government accountable.
I love my country don't get me wrong but  the people who run it haven't done
a very good job as far as Viet Nam. If  anything I hope the guys deaths will
prevent this from happening again."

"There  are other little Hargroves growing up now Thank you God. Maybe they
all will  have a chance to grow up and have families not just some of them.
The  families that Lane or Joseph never had,  leave a big empty spot at the
family  reunions."      Sandy Hargrove

=======================================

National Alliance of Families
For The Return of America's Missing Servicemen
World War II - Korea - Cold War - Vietnam

Dolores Alfond - 425-881-1499
Lynn O'Shea --- 718-846-4350
Web Site ------- http://www.nationalalliance.org
E-mail ---------- lynnpowmia@prodigy.net

Bits 'N' Pieces		May 20, 2000			

##############

MIA Marines Identified From Mayaguez Incident - From the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense - News Release  May 18, 2000 - "Six
Marines missing in action from the Vietnam War have been accounted for
and their remains are being returned to their families for burial in the
United States ."

"They are identified as Lance Cpl. Gregory S. Copenhaver, Port Deposit,
Md.; Lance Cpl. Andres Garcia, Carlsbad, N.M.; Pfc. Walter Boyd,
Norfolk, Va.; and Pfc. Kelton R. Turner, Los Angeles, Calif.  The names
of two Marines are being withheld at the request of their families."

"...Between 1991-99, U.S. and Cambodian investigators conducted seven
joint investigations, led by the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting.
Additionally, on three occasions Cambodian authorities unilaterally
turned over remains believed to be those of American servicemen.  In
October and November 1995, U.S. and Cambodian specialists conducted an
underwater recovery of the helicopter crash site where they located
numerous remains, personal effects and aircraft debris associated with
the loss.  The USS Brunswick, a Navy salvage  vessel, enabled the
specialists to conduct their excavation off shore. In addition to the
support provided by the Cambodian government, the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam also interviewed two Vietnamese informants in Ho Chi Minh City
who turned over remains that were later positively identified...."

"...Analysis of the remains and other evidence was made by the U.S. Army
Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii, which also conducted all the
remains recovery operations.  The CILHI made extensive use of
mitochondrial DNA as one of the forensic identification tools to
establish the identity of these men...."

#################

Mayaguez Documentary - We hope you all saw the excellent documentary on
the Mayaguez incident aired by the Discovery Channel.  Titled "Seized at
Sea" this documentary provided detailed information on the actual battle
as well as the behind the scenes political decision making that led to
the ill-fated rescue.

An interview with one of the Cambodian soldiers provided information on
three Marines left behind alive.  According to the Cambodia the three
emerged from the jungle three days after the battle, seeking food and
water.

The fate of the three, Joseph Hargrove, Danny Marshall and Gary Hall
remain unknown.

#################

Another Question - viewers of "Seized at Sea" were left with is -- Just what
does the "I" in "CIA" stand for.  Based on the information provided by the
CIA for this operation the "I" sure didn't stand for "Intelligence."

#################

Mayaguez Correction - In the last edition of "Bits" we referred to the
Mayaguez as USS Mayaguez.  The correct designation is S.S. Mayaguez. The
difference, USS denotes a United States Naval Ship.  The S.S. denotes a
commercial freighter.  The Mayaguez was a civilian ship. Thanks to Dewey
Martin, U.S. Merchant Marines (Ret) for bringing this to our attention.

===============================================================
Part-1:

CBS News Online
http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,266790-412,00.shtml

part-2

CBS News Online
http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,267060-412,00.shtml

A Military Mission Gone Wrong
A New Look At The Mayaguez Incident

ARLINGTON, Virginia, January 24, 2001
(CBS) In a two-part series, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports on
new information that casts doubt on the declared success of a 25-year-old
military mission.

At the motel where she works, the graveyard shift can be lonely. But Gail
Hargrove has had 25 years of practice being alone.

On the day of her wedding, she was 18, and her bridegroom was 23.

Just 33 days later, she said goodbye to her new husband, Cpl. Joseph
Hargrove, as he shipped out for the Far East.

Two months later, in April 1975, the war in Vietnam ended. As Americans fled
Saigon, Joseph Hargrove was thousands of miles away on a Marine base in
Japan, writing love letters to Gail: "I love thinking of you. There's
nothing I'd rather do. And when this year is up, my love, I'm coming back to
you."

But he never came back.

Just two weeks after the humiliating defeat in Vietnam, Cambodia seized an
American merchant ship, the S.S. Mayaguez. U.S. intelligence said the crew
was taken to the island of Koh Tang.

Cpl. Hargrove was part of a rescue mission ordered by President Ford. It was
hailed as a success.

At the time, President Gerald Ford announced, "The vessel has been recovered
intact, and the entire crew has been rescued."

But, according to military documents and films obtained by CBS News and also
according to interviews with veterans of the Mayaguez incident, the
operation was an intelligence disaster that needlessly cost American lives.

A last love letter.

Just for you. Joseph Hargrove was seen alive. It was also his birthday. His
last love letter to Gail, which she received a few days after he
disappeared, was postmarked May 15, 1975. It included the following poem.
I'd walk 1,000 miles.  I'd swim across the ocean.  I'd work all day and all
night, too.  These are just a few of the things I'd do just for you.  I'll
make you as happy as anybody could be.  I'll make you a queen because a
queen you are to me.  I'll do anything you ask.  I would steal.  I would
lie.  I'd be blue.  I'd do anything you ask, darling.  I would even
die...just for you.   Your loving husband,  Joseph
Jim Davis and other Marine officers planned the assault, even though no maps
of the island were available. They didn't even have proper aerial photos.
Davis actually went up in a Navy plane and took his own photos, using a
camera and film bought at a base PX. But the plane was too high and the
fuzzy images were not much help.

The Marine officers were told to expect 14 to 40 lightly armed pirates on
Koh Tang Island. Instead, hundreds of heavily armed Cambodians were waiting.

Incredibly, intelligence reports prepared two days before the assault
accurately estimated as many as 300 heavily armed Cambodian soldiers on the
island. But the Marines never saw those reports.

Just before the assault began, as he was boarding his helicopter, Davis was
finally handed spy-plane photos of the island. They showed fortifications
and a Cambodian force that was dug in and ready for battle.

Most of his Marines had never been in combat. Davis, as one of the few
combat veterans, knew they were in trouble. He recalls, "Having been in
Vietnam, I'll be honest with you, what went through my head was, 'Oh, Lord!
Here we go again.'"

Planes circling the island in the days before the attack took anti-aircraft
fire and saw 30 to 50 campfires in the jungle below. Again, the information
was not passed on.

And the Mayaguez crew wasn't even on Koh Tang Island. The men had been
released at a different location before the Marines had even landed.

As the U.S. Air Force helicopters carrying the Marines prepared to land on
Koh Tang, the Cambodians opened fire.

Most of the rescue mission's helicopters were severely damaged. Three of
them were blown out of the sky.

The final toll: 15 dead, 50 wounded, and three missing, including Joseph
Hargrove.

"A few good men can't do their job if you don't give them a few good facts,"
says Gail Hargrove.

"It still wears very heavy on your mind, those that did not make it out,
especially the missing. That part was a disaster," says Davis.

"It was a bad day," concludes Gail Hargrove. "A real bad day."

The widow and the officer recently met at the funeral of another casualty of
the Mayaguez incident. And they discovered they are bound together not only
by sorrow but by a fear -- fear that the three missing Marines were left
behind.

Alive.

"I worry about the worst scenario, the fact that they could have survived
for days," says Davis. "They could have been captured."

Dead Or Alive?

Fate Of 3 Marines Lost On Koh Tang Island Still Unknown Marines Might Have
Been Alive After Last Chopper Left Military Reports Reveal Sightings On The
Beach

(CBS) In the second report in a two-part series, CBS News Correspondent
Vince Gonzales reports on newly declassified documents that suggests three
Marines might have been left behind, alive, after a military mission off
Cambodia.

They are the last names on the Vietnam War Memorial; 15 men who died in a
battle waged weeks after the war had ended, killed on the beaches of Koh
Tang during an attempt to rescue the crew of a captured American merchant
ship, the S.S. Mayaguez.

Remains are still being recovered on this Cambodian island and returned home
for a proper burial. But nothing can put to rest the fear that three Marines
who didn't make it out alive -- may have been alive when the last U.S.
helicopter took off from Koh Tang Island.

"That's the worst possible scenario I could think of," recalls Lt. Col. Jim
Davis (Ret.), U.S. Marine Corps.

Davis was the last officer on the island. In battlefield radio tapes
obtained by CBS News, Davis can be heard as U.S. forces pulled out under
heavy fire:

Davis: "They're all around us. What can you do for us? Over?"

Pilot: "We're coming! We're coming! How many people you gonna have left?"

Davis: "I just don't know. It's dark out here and I don't know who's going
and who's here. I'm just going to have to do the best I can."

A short time later Davis got all his men out and he'd been assured other
units were off the island.

Pilot: "Captain Davis advises that all Marines are off the island."

Pilot #2: "Outstanding. That's exactly what we're looking for."

But he wasn't told three Marines from another unit were missing: Gary Hall,
Danny Marshall and Joseph Hargrove. Davis volunteered to go back. Request
denied.

"If there would have been any inkling that they were alive, we would have
returned. There would have been no doubt," says Davis.

Even though the Pentagon concluded the Marines were killed in action, CBS
News has learned that right after the battle, military investigators talked
to four Marines who saw one of the men alive, "on the beach," just "ten
minutes" before "the last helicopter" took off.

And from the crew of that helicopter, more evidence men were left behind
alive.

Pilot #1: "Some of the Marines on board say there are still Marines on the
island at this time."

Pilot #2: "OK there is still Marines on the island, in the LZ? Is that
affirmative?"

Pilot #1: "That's affirmative. That's what was passed on to us by the
Marines on the chopper at this time."

Pilot #2: "OK, find out if they were in the LZ or whether they were
maintaining a perimeter defense position?"

And then later:

Pilot #1: "Sir, we are told by the people in here that there are more
Marines on the beach."

And since the 1980s, the military has collected numerous reports from
Cambodians describing Marines who "survived for days or weeks" before being
"captured, executed and buried." Some describe "three Americans...killed in
a firefight"

"They were not in my rifle company. What I regret and what makes me feel bad
about the situation is I was the last commander on the island. So,
regardless of who those Marines belonged to, I still share the guilt of
those missing Marines. I think about it every night," admits Davis.

So does Gail Hargrove, who lost her husband, Joseph. "For years you know you
think hopefully he's alive, then I decided the best thing to do was pray him
to heaven."

She'd only been married to him for 33 days before he was sent into battle;
she's been grieving for 25 years. "Everything you want is right there. And
all of a sudden you open your eyes and boom. Just like the snap of a finger
and everything you got is taken away," explains Gail.

Recently, the widow and the officer met for the first time as the remains of
an Air Force pilot, another casualty of the Mayaguez Incident, were buried.

After the ceremony, Gail Hargrove had comforting words for Jim Davis. "If
you're losing any sleep over my husband-- don't. Cause he's in heaven."

They have a special bond, the agony felt by those who carry the memory of
men whose fate is unknown.

========================================

http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2007/04/12/fighting_to_get_joseph_back_home/index.shtml
By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on April 12, 2007 01:51 PM

Fighting to get Joseph back home

Few members of the Hargrove family talk about it -- not because they want to
forget, but because going back to the day they learned that their son,
Joseph, was gone, remembering how it took 20 years to find out what had
happened and knowing they still haven't brought him home, is simply too
painful.

It's an anguish you can hear, just below the surface, in the voice of
sister-in-law Sandy Hargrove -- easily the family's most outspoken member.

"It's a subject that's always on my mind and next to my heart," she said of
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Hargrove's death on the small Cambodian island
of Koh Tang in 1975.

It was the last official action of the Vietnam War, but there was never an
official explanation for why he and two other Marines were left behind in
what was hailed as a major U.S. victory against the Khmer Rouge.

Today, she said, most of the people she talks to about Joseph are men who
served with him and others interested in finding his remains and helping her
family find some measure of peace.

But within the family, she added, the subject is largely avoided.

Joseph, who turned 24 years old the day he and nearly 200 other Marines
stormed the island of Koh Tang, was the son of family matriarch Charlotte
Hargrove, who had already lost one son, U.S. Army Pfc. Lane Hargrove, to the
Vietnam War in 1968.

But she got to bury him.

Today, it's still Duplin County Commissioner Cary Turner's hope that she
will get to bury Joseph, as well.

Joseph was his mother's cousin.

"Aunt Charlotte will be 85 this year and her health is failing fast," he
said. "She still smiles, but she has lived a life of sadness and torment."

Turner's hope is pinned on two things -- the information inside Ralph
Wetterhahn's book, "The Last Battle" and the fact that 12 Joint POW/MIA
Accounting Command (JPAC) teams are currently working in Laos and Vietnam.
Teams deploy to the region about 10 times a year for stints of anywhere from
35 to 60 days.

In the 340-page book, Wetterhahn, a retired Air Force fighter pilot,
recounts how he spent six years tracking down what happened on Koh Tang.

Beginning in 1995, his was a mission that culminated in 2001 with Em Son,
the local commander of the Khmer Rouge forces in 1975, telling him the fate
of the three men left behind -- Hargrove, Pfc. Gary L. Hall and Pfc. Danny
G. Marshall.

But first, to begin understanding the complicated 32-year-old story, there
are some basic facts.

-- On May 12, 1975, after the end of hostilities in the Vietnam War, a
United States merchant ship, the S.S. Mayaguez was seized by the Khmer Rouge
as it sailed in international waters that Cambodia then called its own.

-- On May 14, President Gerald Ford ordered an assault on the island of Koh
Tang to free the 40 prisoners thought to be held there.

-- Early on the morning of May 15, nearly 200 Marines stormed the island,
which was held by a similar number of heavily-armed Khmer Rouge forces. They
received Air Force and Naval support.

-- That same day, shortly after military action began, the hostages were
released from a different location. They had never been on Koh Tang.

-- Orders to evacuate the island came late that evening. There were 41
Marine, Naval and Air Force casualties -- 18 on the island and 23 in a
helicopter crash in Thailand.

-- A three-man machine gun crew was sent to the perimeter to hold the
evacuating force's right flank. The captain who had given the order,
however, was wounded in the fighting and was evacuated from the island
before he could notify anybody of the crew's position and his intent to let
them know when they could fall back. Because of that communication
breakdown, when the last helicopter full of Marines left the island, it was
believed that every man alive had been pulled off.

-- When it was discovered that Hargrove, Hall and Marshall were left on the
island, any thought of going back was dismissed as there was an expectation
of another heavy fight if Marines returned and no indication of their
survival.

-- 14 months later, with no bodies and no word given to the families why
they were left behind, the Marine Corps declared the three men dead and
awarded them the Purple Heart.

As it turned out, the Corps was right, even though it had no proof.

"They got away with murder," Sandy said from her Blue Bell, Pa., home. "They
got away with Joseph's murder.

"They say Marines don't leave any man behind. I've revised that. The Marines
don't like to leave more than three men behind at a time."

In his book, Wetterhahn recounts how Em Son told him about the capture and
execution of one of the Marines, a light-haired man believed to be Hargrove,
the day after the battle.

Later, Em Son changed his story, describing the man as one of the others and
saying he died from wounds suffered during the fighting. Wetterhahn,
however, writes that based on other information, he is more inclined to
believe the first version that places Hargrove's grave under a mango tree on
the west beach.

Em Son also told Wetterhahn about the other two Marines who were later
captured and executed in a different part of the island.

Gravesites and remains believed to be those of Hall and Marshall were found
by a Joint Task Force for Full Accounting (now JPAC) team in 1999.

In 2001, the gravesite believed to be Hargrove's was identified and GPS
coordinates were taken. That JTF-FA team, however, was unable to excavate
the site before they were called back to the U.S.

"The Hargrove family still waits," Turner said. "Six years have passed since
his grave was located and his family still waits for his remains to be
brought home."

For Sandy, her husband, Douglas, and the rest of the family in the
Beulaville area, it's been a long six years.

"I don't understand why they can't just go. Just go bring him home," she
said. "Mrs. Hargrove just wants her son laying right there beside her other
son and her husband. He should be under the Carolina sky, not under some
Cambodian tree.

"I'll take my sticker off my car. I'll take my POW bracelet off and I'll
stop being so bitter. He was an American and he just needs to be on American
soil."

But after 32 years of waiting, Turner knows it's going to take a lot of work
to get Hargrove home now.

"I'm going to try to start at the basic level and work my way up and gain
strength as I go and I don't rule out the White House," he said.

He began his journey April 2 on the local level, asking the Duplin Board of
Commissioners for its support. He's also been lobbying state Rep. Russell
Tucker, D-Duplin, and state Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, for their
support.

"I think maybe now I'm in a position to help," Turner said. "My first basic
step was to get support from the board of commissioners, but state Rep.
Russell Tucker has been excellent."

Already, Tucker has sent letters to President George W. Bush, U.S. Sens.
Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, and U.S. Reps. Walter
Jones, R-North Carolina, and Mike McIntyre, D-North Carolina. Turner also
said Tucker is hoping that he might be able to draw up resolution for the
state General Assembly to pass in support as well.

"If I can get the support of the entire state legislature and get some
Congressmen in on it, we might stand a chance," Turner said. "It's hard to
ignore an entire state."

But he's also setting a deadline.

By October, he said, if a team has not returned to the site, he's going to
start raising money for a January trip. He estimates he will need at least
$20,000.

"It's a simple thing to ask. Either they go or I'm going," Turner said. "And
I would a whole lot prefer if the government does it, they allow me to go
with them. I don't trust the government and the family has had their chain
yanked so many times that it would be good if an eyewitness from the family
went to make sure they go to that specific gravesite."

And while he's not particularly excited about a possible trip to Cambodia,
he said he would go in a heartbeat if it would help bring Joseph home.

"That's the only site left. If we go and there's nothing there, then we can
put it to rest, but if there is, then we can bring him home.

"I live to be able to make that phone call. Even if I don't bring home but a
tooth, it'd be worth it to say just those simple words -- 'Tell Aunt
Charlotte we're bringing Joseph home.'"

==========================================================
Goldsboro News Argus - Goldsboro,NC,USA

Officials say no to plea to travel to gravesite

Early last week, Cary Turner got the news he had been waiting for, but it
wasn't what he wanted to hear.

A month after learning that the U.S. Army was planning a trip to the
Cambodian island his cousin, Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Hargrove, was left
behind on in 1975, Turner found out that his request to accompany the
recovery team had been denied.

"I'm mighty disappointed," Turner said. "I expected it, but there was that
faint hope that the government might show compassion to Aunt Charlotte and
the Hargrove family.

"Obviously I was wrong."

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is planning the recovery mission
to Koh Tang island in early 2008 to try to recover Hargrove's remains. The
gravesite they will be excavating was identified in 2001.

Hargrove, along with two other men, was left behind during an assault to
rescue the sailors of the U.S. merchant ship, the S.S. Mayaguez, after they
were captured by the Khmer Rouge.

When the force retreated off the island, Hargrove, Marine Pfc. Gary L. Hall
and Marine Pfc. Danny G. Marshall, were left behind because of a
miscommunication on the battlefield as they protected the right flank. No
rescue mission was ever launched, and 14 months later, the three men were
declared dead.

The graves of Hall and Marshall were identified in 1999, but few remains
were found. Hargrove's site is the only one left.

Turner, a Duplin County commissioner, made his request to join the JPAC team
through U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-North Carolina. Hargrove also is a Duplin
County native.

"While we admire Mr. Turner's devotion to his family and his desire to be
present during fieldwork associated with Cpl. Hargrove, participation in a
(Department of Defense)-sponsored field activity, to include investigation
and excavations, is limited to DoD personnel," wrote Charles Ray, deputy
assistant secretary of defense, POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, in a letter
to Jones.

In that letter, Ray explained that such missions often involve extreme heat,
dangerous terrain, unsanitary conditions, adverse weather and possibly
unexploded ordinance.

"Visitors at on-going excavations or investigations may place themselves at
physical risk and/or jeopardize operations, the scientific integrity of the
work and the resolution of the case," he wrote. "JPAC field teams conducting
operations are not structured to support visitors administratively,
medically or logistically. Additionally, non-official personnel cannot be
allowed within the work spaces or excavation area."

However, the letter continued, JPAC commanders can authorize individuals,
such as veterans or eyewitnesses, to accompany the teams if they can "offer
a specific and necessary contribution to the field team and the mission."

Unfortunately, Ray also noted that Turner does not meet those criteria.

"I can certainly understand the family's viewpoint and there have been
family members who have visited ongoing excavation sites, but those were
simply observing for a short period of time and then leaving," said Larry
Greer, spokesman for the Office of POW/Missing Personnel. "A visit to Koh
Tang is different.

"There are no tour groups that through Koh Tang. The team itself would have
to support and assist a civilian visitor, and the liabilities for that sort
of thing are real."

Besides, he added, the Marine Corps has an office dedicated to providing the
families up-to-date information in such cases.

But, Greer stressed, "it is our every intention to go back in early 2008,
unless something interferes, and I hope it doesn't. This has been a very
difficult and complicated effort, but we're still at it."

In Jones' letter to Turner, though, the congressman offered to help him
pursue the matter further.

"I can understand the reasons for the strict regulations, so I'm not
optimistic. But if Cary wants me to pursue it, I will," Jones said. "The
important thing, though, is that when I called, they told me they already
had plans to go back to Cambodia in January or February and to me, that's
very, very encouraging."

Turner said he plans on taking advantage of Jones' offer.

"We're working against a time factor here. Aunt Charlotte (Joseph's mother)
-- her health is not that good. She's given two sons for this country and
this is the one thing that we're asking in return," Turner said. "Don't you
think the government could allow this one thing for the Hargrove family so
they can have peace of mind? I don't think it's too much to ask.

"I'm not discouraged that easily. I'll just attack another direction. It's
not going to go away. After 32 years, I'm joining the fight, and I've got a
whole lot of energy.

"Medically, I'm fit. I have voluntarily said I'd sign a waiver releasing the
government from any liability. I don't ask them to pamper me in any way. I
don't ask for special treatment. I can rough whatever conditions. I'm just
going there for the family and for Joseph."

He fears, though, that there might be more to his being denied permission to
help excavate Hargrove's grave than just concerns about his safety.

"I think they're worried about the attention it might attract if they do
find anything," he said. "After all these years, you suddenly find the
remains of a soldier from a mission that went bad, a mistake that was made
... do you think the government wants that kind of publicity nationwide?

"For every person, I can show you that knows about this, I can probably show
you a thousand who don't, and it's those thousands they're probably worried
about.

"But if the government will allow this, this issue can be over. As long as
I'm there, as a witness for the family, regardless of the outcome, it's
over. This is the last possible site. There's closure either way."

By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on July 16, 2007 01:45 PM

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http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2008/02/11/marines_final_resting_place_still_a_mystery/