TADIOS, LEONARD MASAYON
Name: Leonard Masayon Tadios
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Advisor, Headquarters, MACV
Date of Birth: 09 January 1934
Home City of Record: Lanai HI
Date of Loss: 11 December 1964
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 094435N 1053357E (WE620770)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 0047
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 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 2020.
REMARKS: 660318 DIC/BNR ON PRG LIST
SYNOPSIS: SGT Leonard M. Tadios was a light weapons infantry advisor
attached to Headquarters MACV. On December 11, 1964, he was with an ARVN
unit operating about five miles southwest of Thanh Hoa in Phong Dinh
Province, South Vietnam. [NOTE: Defense Department lists loss coordinates as
Phong Dinh Province, or near the border of Chuong Thien Province, but US
Army accounts state that Tadios was lost in An Xuyen Province, which is some
50 miles southwest.]
The ARVN unit was ambushed by Viet Cong forces, and Tadios was captured and
taken prisoner. For the next 18 months, Tadios was held in several POW camps
throughout South Vietnam.
For Americans captured in South Vietnam, daily life could be expected to be
brutally difficult. Primarily, these men suffered from disease induced by an
unfamiliar and inadequate diet - dysentery, edema, skin fungus and eczema.
The inadequate diet coupled with inadequate medical care led to the deaths
of many. Besides dietary problems, these POWs had other problems as well.
They were moved regularly to avoid being in areas that would be detected by
U.S. troops, and occasionally found themselves in the midst of U.S. bombing
strikes. Supply lines to the camps were frequently cut off, and when they
were, POWs and guards alike suffered. Unless they were able to remain in one
location long enough to grow vegetable crops and tend small animals, their
diet was limited to rice and what they could gather from the jungle.
In addition to the primitive lifestyle imposed on these men, their Viet Cong
guards could be particularly brutal in their treatment. For any minor
infraction, including conversation with other POWs, the Americans were
psychologically and physically tortured. American POWs brought back stories
of having been buried to the neck; held for days in a cage with no
protection from insects and the environment; having had water and food
withheld; being shackled and beaten. The effects of starvation and torture
frequently resulted in hallucinations and extreme disorientation. Men were
reduced to animals, relying on the basic instinct of survival as their
guide.
Tadios was seen by several other Americans in POW camps, and several
reported that he was in very bad shape, and they helped care for him. Tadios
was sick and had stopped eating. One day he was removed from the camp and
never returned. The POWs were told he was taken to a hospital and he died.
At least one returnee stated that Tadios died of starvation. The Vietnamese
informed the U.S. that Tadios died March 18, 1966. They have made no effort
to return his remains.
Since the war ended, and 591 Americans were released from prison camps in
Vietnam, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia
have been received by the U.S. Many officials, having reviewed this largely
classified information have reluctantly concluded that hundreds of them are
still alive in captivity today.
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[kiet.txt 05/11/92]
Senator John F. Kerry
Senator Bob Smith
Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510-6500
May 10, 1992
Dear Senators Kerry and Smith,
We the undersigned former prisoners of war, captured in South Vietnam by
communist forces, are concerned about two particular incidents which
resulted in the 1964-65 "reprisal executions" of three American
prisoners of war by the communist Central Committee for the National
Liberation Front.
On June 24, 1964, the National Liberation Front announced on Radio Hanoi
that Army SGT Harold Bennett, 24, of Perryville, Arkansas was executed
by his communist captors in reprisal after Viet Cong terrorist Tran Van
Dong died before a South Vietnamese firing squad in Saigon.
On Sunday, September 26, 1965, the Viet Cong guards of American
prisoners of war, Lt. Nick Rowe, SFC Dan Pitzer, SFC Edward Johnson, and
SGT Leonard Tadios gathered their four prisoners and insisted that the
Americans listen that day to the National Liberation Front's "Liberation
Radio." It was an English broadcast which announced the ten o'clock in
the morning executions of their fellow prisoners of war Capt. Humbert
Roque Versace, 28, of Norfork, Virginia, and SFC Kenneth M. Roraback,
33, of Baldwin, New York.
The two American prisoners had earlier been ordered taken from their
bamboo cages by their prison camp commandant, Nguyen Chi Cong, paraded
through villages, forced to kneel and apologize publicly for their
"crimes" before being shot in the back of their heads. "Liberation
Radio" reported the executions were by "order of the High Command of the
Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam"
Tadios, who at that time was sick and had stopped eating, was later
removed from the camp. He has never been seen or heard from again.
Pitzer, a signer of this letter, and Johnson were released and Rowe
escaped.
The officially ordered "reprisal executions" of Versace, Roraback, and
Bennett, which were declared by the Johnson State Department an "act of
wanton murder" in violation of the Geneva convention and reported in the
attached October 11, 1965 issue of Newsweek, involved present senior
members of the Vietnamese government. These members are:
Vo Van Kiet, the current prime minister of Vietnam and former deputy
chairman of the Central Committee of the National Liberation Front;
Col. Gen. Tran Van Tra, currently the vice chairman of the Vietnam's
Veterans Association and the former chairman of the Central Committee of
the National Liberation Front;
Nguyen Huu Tho, currently the chairman of Vietnam's Fatherland Front and
former member of the Central Committee for the National Liberation
Front;
Ma Chi Tho, currently a senior member of the Vietnam government and
former member of the Central Committee of the National Liberation Front.
These ranking officials ordered the "reprisal executions" and they know
exactly where the remains of Versace, Roraback, and Bennett are buried.
They also know exactly where Tadios and ALL other Americans who died in
captivity are buried. Despite pledges of cooperation from both the U.S.
government and Vietnam, the remains of these prisoners have not been
returned by Hanoi.
Various U.S. officials have met with Kiet who has pledged Vietnam's full
cooperation in solving the POW/MIA issue in exchange for President Bush
lifting the trade embargo against Vietnam. Kiet has not ordered that the
remains of the U.S. prisoners the Central Committee ordered executed be
turned over and we fear that unless demands are made prior to lifting
the trade embargo, the remains of Versace, Roraback, Bennett, and Tadios
may never be returned home to their families.
We are asking the Senate Select Committee to ask prime minister Kiet to
turn over to the Select Committee the records of the executions and the
remains of these three prisoners of war.
Will you urge President Bush to suspend the current plans for lifting
the trade embargo and normalization of relations between the United
States and Vietnam until the remains Versace, Roraback, Bennett, and all
American prisoners of war who died in captivity are recovered?
Sincerely,
Larry Stark 301-229-6515
Dan Pitzer 919-423-1394
Jose J. Anzaldua 919-346-9631
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[310410Z.OH 05/22/96]
ORIGIN CJTF2 INFO DCM POL SA DAO PY/MIA EXA DALO INHB (9)
VZCZC
RR RUHOHQE RUMTFS RUEHPF RUEKJCS RUEKJCS RUHQHQB
RUEKJCS RUESJCS RUEAIIA RUHVAAA RUEADWW RUEHC
DF RUEHBK #2797/01 090 **
ZNR UUUUU CLASS: UNCLASSIFIED
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TO RUHQHQE / CDR JTF-FA HONOLULU HI DRFTD: CJTF:GEB
INFO RUMTFS / AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE//CJTF-FA DET THREE// :NONE
BUENPP / USMISSION PHNOM PENH//CJTEFA DET FOUR// DISTR: CJTF
RUEKJCS / JOINT STAFF WASHDC//OCJCS-PW-MIA/J5// ORGIN: OCR
RUEKJCS / SECDEF WASHDC//OASD-ISA/PW-MIA//
RUHQHQB / USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI//J3//
RUEKJCS / USCINCPAC LO WASHDC//
RUEKJCS / DIA WASHDC//POW-MIA//
RUEAIIA / CIA WASHDC//DEA/SEA/IB/DDO/lCOG//
RUHVAAA / CDRUSACILHI HICKAM AFB HI//
RUEADWW / NSC WASHDC
RUEHC / SECSTATE WASHDC//CA/OCS/CCS/EAP//
BT
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BANGKOK TR 12797
UNCLASSIFIED 0130 MAR 93
DIA PASS TO DOD POW-MIA CENTRAL DOCUMENTATION OFFICE
SUBJ: SRV ORAL HISTORY SR CPT NGUYEN CHI CONG
REF: DET 1, JTF-FA MSG 230355Z MAR 93
1. REF WAS THE SUMMARY REPORT OF ACTIVITIES
CONDUCTED IN VIETNAM BY JTFFA SPECIAL ASSISTANT, MR
G.E. BELL, DURING THE PERIOD 3 TO 19 MARCH 1993. PARA
2.A OF REF PERTAINS T0 SR CPT NGUYEN CHI CONG. THE
FOLLOWING REPORT PROVIDES THE DETAILS OF THE
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED WITH SR CPT CONG.
2. SR CPT NGUYEN CHI CONG WAS INTERVIEWED IN RACH GIA
CITY, KIEN GIANG PROVINCE ON 5 MARCH 1993. THE
INTERVIEW WAS MONITORED BY ASSIGNED COUNTERPART AND
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE (MND) REP, LTC PHAM TEO,
AND MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR (MOI) REP, MR NGUYEN THE
CONG. REPRESENTING THE KIEN GIANG PROVINCE
PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE WERE VICE-CHAIRMAN MR TRAN LAM
CHIEF OF STAFF, MR THAI DANG THANG, AND MIA
SPECIALISTS, MR BUR QUANG LEN AND MR THAN MINH CHIEN.
5. SOURCE, A 70 TEAR OLD NATIVE OF PHONG DINH,
JOINED THE COMMUNIST REVOLUTION TO FIGHT AGAINST
THE FRENCH WHEN JAPANESE FORCES WITHDREW FROM
VIETNAM AFTER WORLD WAR 11. ACCORDING TO SOURCE,
AFTER THE GENEVA AGREEMENTS WERE SIGNED IN 1954, HE
REMAINED AT HOME IN PHONG DINH AND EARNED HIS
LIVING AS A FARMER. SOMETIME DURING 1963, SOURCE WAS
CONTACTED BY MEMBERS OF THE REGION COMMITTEE FOR
MILITARY REGION NINE AND TASKED TO CONSTRUCT AND
MANAGE A PRISON CAMP FOR FOREIGN POW'S. AT THAT
TIME SOURCE WAS INFORMED THAT HIS POSITION WOULD BE
THAT OF
1/4 UNCLASSIFIED CJTF-FADETONEBA 012797/01
CAMP COMMANDER.
4. SOURCE CONSTRUCTED THE CAMP IN A MANGROVE FOREST
LOCATED IN THE U MINH HA (I.E. LOWER U MINH) IN THE
AREA OF BIEN BACH VILLAGE (NOTE: WARTIME US MAPS DO
NOT DEPICT BIEN BACH VILLAGE, BUT DO SHOW A TAN BANK
VILLAGE AT THE SAME LOCATION REFERRED TO BY SOURCE
VIC VR 997539), KIEN AN DISTRICT, KIEN GIANG
PROVINCE. (NOTE: AFTER REUNIFICATION IN 1976 THE
ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARY FOR THIS AREA WAS CHANGED
AND THE PRESENT DESIGNATION FOR THE FORMER CAMP
LOCATION IS U MINH DISTRICT, MINH HAI PROVINCE
SOURCE RECALLED THAT THE INITIAL CAMP LOCATION WAS
NEAR THE JUNCTION OF CANAL NUMBER 21 AND TRI SONG
CAI LON RIVER (VR 999534). SOURCE SAID THE CAMP WAS
DESIGNATED TG36 (I.E. TRAI GIAM 36), AND WAS
SUBORDINATE TO THE ENEMY PROSELYTING SECTION,
POLITICAL DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY REGION NINE (CUC
CHINH TRI QUAN KHU CHIN). SOURCE HEARD THAT ANOTHER
CAMP LOCATED IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA WAS DESIGNATED
TG35 AND SUBORDINATE TO THE MILITARY PROSELYTING SECTION,
POLITICAL DEPARTMENT, MR9. SOURCE HEARD CAMP TG35
HELD ONLY ARVN/GVN POW'S.
5. SOURCE RECALLED THAT THE FIRST TWO AMERICAN POW'S
WERE MOVED INTO THE CAMP SOMETIME DURING 1964. HE
RECALLED THEIR NAMES AS ROWE AND PITZER (REFNOS
0022-0-01 AND 0022-0-01). ROWE AND PITZER WERE BOTH
CAUCASIANS WHO WERE CAPTURED IN THE AREA OF CA MAU.
SOURCE RECALLED THAT ROWE WAS AN ENGINEER, BUT COULD
NOT RECALL THE BRANCH OFOF SERVICE FOR PITZER.
SHORTLY! AFTER ROWE AND PITZER ARRIVED IN THE CAMP,
ANOTHER CAUCASIAN AMERICAN POW CALLED VERSACE (REFNO
0021-0-01) WAS MOVED THERE. OTHER AMERICANS WHO
ARRIVED LATER INCLUDED JOHNSON (REFNO 0033), TADIOS
(REFNO 0047), PARKS (REFNO 0042), WALKER (REFNO 0086),
JACKSON (REFNO 0384), AND A BLACK AMERICAN POW CALLED
"ROBAT" (SOURCE'S PRONUNCIATION WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
ROBERT AND ROBART). SOURCE WAS NOT ABLE TO RECALL
ANY DETAILS CONCERNING THE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF
THE MAN CALLED "ROBAT", BUT DID VAGUELY RECALL
THAT HE WAS INITIALLY TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN TRI VINH
AND LATER MOVED TO THE MR9 CAMP.
6. THE FIRST AMERICAN TO BECOME SERIOUSLY ILL WAS CPT
VERSACE. SOURCE RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE MILITARY
REGION COMMITTEE (KHU UY) TO TRANSFER CPT VERSACE TO
THEIR CUSTODY. SOURCE LAST SAW CPT VERSACE WHEN HE WAS
TAKEN FROM THE CAMP BT MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY PROSELYTING
1/4 UNCLASSIFIED CJTF-FADETONEBA 012797/01
UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 BANGKOK 12797
SECTION. ALTHOUGH SOURCE DID NOT SEE CPT VERSACE
AGAIN, HE LATER HEARD THAT HE DIED DUE TO ILLNESS.
SOURCE DID NOT HEAR ABOUT THE BURIAL LOCATION.
SOURCE SPECULATED THAT CPT VERSACE WAS BURIED IN THE
AREA OF BIEN BACH VILLAGE, BECAUSE IT CONTAINED THE
ONLY SOLID GROUND IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA. THE NEXT
TWO AMERICANS TO DIE DUE TO ILLNESS WERE CPT WALKER
AND THE BLACK MAN CALLED "ROBAT". BOTH MEN WERE
BURRED IN AN EARTHEN FISH TRAP, WHICH WAS CONSTRUCTED
BY FORMING A CIRCULAR EARTHEN DAM WITH A LOW SPOT IN
THE CENTER FOR TRAPPING, FISH AT LOW TIDE. SOURCE
RECALLED THAT CPT WALKER WAS BURIED IN THE DAM AT
THE FRONT OF THE FISH TRAP, AND "ROBAT" WAS BURIED IN
THE DAM AT THE REAR OF THE TRAP. SOURCE SAID HE
PERSONNALY BURIED BOTH BODIES. SOURCE RECALLED THAT
THE GRAVES DUG AT THE TIME WERE APPROXIMATELY ONE
AND ONE-HALF METERS DEEP. SOURCE DID NOT RECALL ANY
MARKERS PLACED ON THE GRAVES. SOURCE DID NOT RECALL
ANT PERSONAL EFFECTS OR METAL OBJECTS (I.E. ANYTHING
METAL TO BE DETECTED BY GROUND PROBE OR METAL
DETECTOR). SOURCE WAS ASSISTED BY A STAFF MEMBER
NAMED THAI VAN QUAN (QUAAN), WHO LATER DIED.
7. WE TO ENEMY ACTIVITY IN THE AREA OF TG36 CAMP, THE
CAMP WAS MOVED FROM CANAL 21 TO CANAL 26 (VR 957567) .
AFTER ARRIVAL IN THE NEW CAMP, ANOTHER BLACK AMERICAN
POW (NOTE: POSSIBLY SGT PARKS, REFNO 0048) ALSO DIED.
SOURCE COULD NOT RECALL ANY DETAILS CONCERNING THE BURIAL.
SOURCE ALSO RECALLED THAT DURING THE TIME THE CAMP WAS
LOCATED ON CANAL 26, SEVERAL PRISONERS INCLUDING LLT ROWE
AND AN ARVN POW NAMED "RAO", MANAGED TO ESCAPE FROM THE CAMP.
AIRCRAFT CAME TO THA AREA AND A JOINT US/ARVN FORCE LED BY
MAJ SMITH AND MAJ RUNG ATTACKED ON THE GROUND,
SEARCHING FOR THE POW CAMP. DUE TO ENEMY ACTIVITY THE
CAMP WAS MOVED TO CANAL NUMBER 11 IN THE AREA BETWEEN
BIEN BACH VILLAGE AND AN BIEN VILLAGE (VR 0077) IN AN
MINH DISTRICT. (NOTE: CANAL NUMBER 11 IS NOT DEPICTED
ON AVAILABLE SHEET 5928 SERIES L607, BUT BASED ON THE
LOCATIONS OF CANALS 9 AND 10, A POSSIBLE LOCATION
FOR THE AREA REFERRED TO BY SOURCE IS VR 9275). SOURCE
RECALLED THAT SOMETIME DURING 1970 OR 1971, A US NAVY
SHIP FIRED INTO THE CAMP KILLING SEVERAL GUARDS.
ALSO DURING, THIS SAME TIME FRAME, SGT TADIOS (REFNO
0047) ALSO DIED AND WAS BURIED NEAR THE CAMP. SOURCE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE BURIAL OF SGT TADIOS, AND
THEREFORE, WAS NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION
CONCERNING THE GRAVE. SOURCE RECALLED THAT A CADRE,
AND SOURCE'S OWN SON, WHO SERVED AS THE LEADER OF THE
PLATOON SIZED GUARD FORCE, CONDUCTED THE ACTUAL
BURIAL. SOURCE'S SON, HAI (2) THANH, WAS SUPERVISED BY
MUOI (10 ) THANH, THE DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER. SOURCE
ONLY HEARD FROM HIS SON THAT SGT TADIOS WAS BURIED
ON SOLID GROUND, ALONG SIDE A TRAIL NEAR THE CAMP.
SOURCE RECALLED THAT SGT TADIOS ALMOST MANAGED TO REACH
SAFETY ON ONE OCCASION WHEN HE ESCAPED FROM THE CAMP,
BUT HE WAS RECAPTURED BY GUARDS ONLY A FEW HOURS
AFTER HIS ESCAPE.
E. CONCERNING US PERSONNEL WHO WERE RELEASED FROM THE
CAMP, SOURCE COULD ONLY RECALL THAT SFC JOHNSON
(0033) WAS MOVED FROM THE CAMP TO CAMBODIA. SOURCE
LATER HEARD HE WAS RELEASED TO THE US. SOURCE VAGUELY
RECALLED THAT SSG
2/4 UNCLASSIFIED CJTF-FA FADETONEBA 012797/02
JACKSON (REFNO 0384) WAS ALSO MOVED TO CAMBODIA
WHERE HE TOO WAS RELEASED. SOURCE ALSO RECALLED
THAT MSG PITZER (REFNO 0022) WAS RELEASED BUT COULD
NOT RECALL ANY DETAILS.
9. CONCERNING THE BURIAL LOCATIONS OF US PERSONNEL WHO
DIED IN CAPTIVITY, SOURCE SAID HE BELIEVES HE CAN STILL
LOCATE THE GENERAL AREA OF THE GRAVES OF THE MAN CALLED
"ROBAT" AND CPT WALKER. SOURCE SAID THAT SINCE TRAVEL
WOULD BE PRIMARILY BY BOAT, AND HIS HEALTH PERMITTING HE
CAN GUIDE A US TEAM TO THE SITE. SOURCE SAID HIS SON
HAI THANH IS IN EXCELLENT HEALTH AND WILL BE READY TO
ACCOMPANY THE TEAM. SOURCE SAID BE HAS NOT HAD RECENT
CONTACT WITH THE FORMER DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER MUOI THINH,
BUT PROVINCE COMMITTEE OFFICIALS PRESENT SAID THEY HAVE
MET WITH HIM IN CAN THO, AND THEY BELIEVE HE CAN ALSO BE
LOCATED TO ACCOMPANY JOINT TEAM TO THE SITES. SOURCE
SAID THE PRESENCE OF BOTH HAI THANR AND MUOI THANH WILL BE
CRUCIAL TO LOCATING THE GRAVES OF SGT PARKS AND SSG TADIOS
AT THE FORMER CAMP SITES AT CANALS 26 AND 11. SHORTLY
AFTER VISITING THE BIEN BACH AREA ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO,
2/4 UNCLASSIFIED CJTF-FADETONEBA 012797/02
SOURCE HEARD THAT THE OFFICIALS OF MINN HAI PROVINCE RECOVERED
THE REMAINS OF ONE BLACK US POW, AFTER A SECOND ATTEMPT AT
EXCAVATION. SOURCE DID NOT HEAR ANY SPECIFIC DETAILS
CONCERNING THE CAMP LOCATION OR IDENTITY OF THE US POW WHOSE
REMAINS WERE REPORTEDLY RECOVERED. KIEN GIANG PROVINCE
OFFICIALS SAID THEY ARE WILLING TO SUPPORT AN EFFORT TO
RECOVER THE REMAINS OF THE AMERICANS WHO DIED IN CAPTIVITY,
BUT IF THE US SIDE PREFERS, THEY CAN COORDINATE THE
RECOVERY EFFORT WITH THE MINH HAI PROVINCE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE,
SINCE THE FORMER CAMP SITES ARE CURRENTLY LOCATED WITHIN THEIR
ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARY. SA INFORMED THE LOCAL OFFICIALS THAT HE
WILL REPORT THE INFORMATION TO HIS SUPERIORS TO ENABLE THEM TO
DISCUSS THE SITUATION WITH THE VIETNAMESE OFFICE. FOR SEEKING
MISSING PERSONNEL (VNOSMP) AND DETERMINE THE BEST COURSE OF
FUTURE ACTION CONCERNING THE REMAINS OF CPT VERSACE, SOURCE
SAID HE HAS NOT ABLE TO RECALL THE NAME OF A POTENTIAL WITNESS TO
ASSIST IN LOCATING THE BURIAL SITE. ASSIGNED COUNTERPART, LTC
PHAM TEO, INDICATED HE WILL ATTEMPT TO LOCATE FORMER
MEMBERS OF THE REGION 9 COMMITTEE TO OBTAIN THE IDENTITY AND
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS OF A WITNESS.
10. WHEN ASKED CONCERNING HIS KNOWLEDGE OF ADDITIONAL
INCIDENTS INVOLVING US PERSONNEL, SOURCE SAID HE RECALLED
THAT SOMETIME DURING THE WAR YEARS IN KlEN GIANG PROVINCE,
LOCAL RESIDENTS DISCOVERED THE REMAINS OF AN AMERICAN
SOLDIER. SOURCE SAID HE COULD NOT RECALL ANY DETAILS, BUT
RECALLED RECALLED THAT THE VILLAGERS TURNED THE REMAINS IN
TO US FORCES AND WERE REWARDED WITH AN ELECTRIC POWER
GENERATOR FOR THEIR VILLAGE. SOURCE SAID HE RECALLED ONE
OTHER INCIDENT WHERE LOCAL RESIDENTS DISCOVERED THE
REMAINS OF AN AMERICAN PILOT WHOSE AIRCRAFT CRASHED IN BEN
THE DURING 1967. HE SAID LOCALS FOUND THE REMAINS WHILE
EXCAVATING THE FOUNDATION FOR A NEW HOUSE. SOURCE SAID THE
VILLAGERS WERE CONTACTED BY OFFICIALS FROM THE PROVINCE
WHO CAME TO TAKE CUSTODY OF THE REMAINS. (NOTE: SA
CONFERRED WITH COUNTERPART, LTC TEO, REGARDING THESE
REMAINS AND DETERMINED THAT THE REMAINS REFERRED TO BY
SOURCE HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPATRIATED T0 THE US; REFNO
0545, HYDE, MICHAEL L.). SOURCE IS NOT AWARE OF ANY OTHER
INCIDENTS INVOLVING US PERSONNEL. SOURCE HAS NO KNOWLEDGE
OF ANY US PERSONNEL REMAINING IN VIETNAM.
I. COMMENTS:
A. SOURCE WAS COOPERATIVE AND GENERALLY PROVIDED HIS
INFORMATION IN A STRAIGHT FORWARD MANNER. SOURCE DID
HOWEVER, POLITELY DEFLECT QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE
IDENTITIES OF CADRE PREVIOUSLY ASSIGNED TO THE REGION 3
COMMITTEE AND THE GENERAL COMPOSITION OF MILITARY REGION
9, SA GAINED THE IMPRESSION THAT SOURCE HAD BEEN GIVEN THE
AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ONLY THE IDENTITIES OF THE CADRE
REPORTED ABOVE. SA WAS CAUTIONED BY THE PROVINCE VICE-
CHAIRMAN IN ADVANCE THAT SOURCE WAS IN POOR HEALTH AND
COULD NOT UNDERGO LONG INTERVIEW SESSIONS. SOURCE ADVISED
THAT HE SUFFERS PROM HYPERTENSION AND SOURCE CONSUMED A
VARIETY OF MEDICATIONS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. DURING A MID-
DAY BREAK SA INVITED EVERYONE PRESENT TO LUNCH, BUT THE
3/4 UNCLASSIFIED CJTF-FADETONERA 012797/03
4 UNCLASSIFIED CJTF-FADETONEBA 012797/03
VICE-CHAIRMAN ADVISED SOURCE BE SHOULD NOT ATTEND DUE TO HIS
HEALTH CONDITION.
B. OFFICIALS OF THE PROVINCE COMMITTEE WERE VERY
COOPERATIVE AND INDICATED THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE A RAPID
RESOLUTION OF THE MIA ISSUE. THE VICE-CFAIRMAN SAID THAT
IN HIS OPINION, THE US SIDE SHOULD CONSIDER THE MATTER
RESOLVED IN THE CONTEXT OF REMAINING BILATERAL ISSUES
CURRENTLY BLOCKING A NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN
THE TWO COUNTRIES. THE VICE-CHAIRMAN SAID THE TWO SIDES
CAN CONTINUE T0 RESOLVE THE CASES OF AMERICANS STILL NOT
ACCOUNTED FOR ON A ROUTINE BASIS. LTC TEO ADDED HIS
OBSERVATION MADE DURING A SIGHT-SEEING TRIP TO PEARL
HARBOR THAT OVER 2000 US PERSONNEL ARE STILL UNACCOUNTED
FOR IN PEARL HARBOR, WHICH IS LOCATED ONLY A FEW
KILOMETERS FROM THE HQ OF THE JTF-FA. THE VICE-CHAIRMAN
ASKED SA TO PASS ON THE APPRECIATION OF THE PEOPLE OF
KIEN GIANG TO THE USG FOR A USG SPONSORED HEALTH PROJECT
RECENTLY INITIATED IN THEIR PROVINCE. HE SAID SUCH
PROJECTS WILL PLAY A LARGE PART IN HEALING THE WOUNDS
OF WAR. LOCAL OFFICIALS INDICATED THEY WERE PLEASED TO
HAVE
UNCLAS SECTION 04 OF 04 BANGKOK TH 12797
A US OFFICIAL VISIT THEIR PROVINCE AND OFFERED
THEIR ASSISTANCE FOB ANY FUTURE EFFORTS IN
THEIR PROVINCE.
BT
#2797
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02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001UQ9EAM
Sergeant Leonard Masayon Tadios entered the U.S. Army from Hawaii and was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On December 11, 1964, he was serving as the light weapons infantry advisor to the 3rd Battalion, 31st Regiment, Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) when the unit was ambushed by the Viet Cong in Kien Giang Province, in the vicinity of (GC) WR 620 770. SGT Tadios was wounded and then captured by the enemy during the incident. Returned prisoners of war reported providing medical care to SGT Tadios while at "Camp Seven" in the vicinity of (GC) VR 970 497. In March 1966, SGT Tadios was reportedly moved to a hospital where he died on March 20, 1966, and his remains were not returned to the U.S. military at the time, but his name appeared on the 1973 Provisional Revolutionary Government's Died-in-Captivity List. After the incident, the Army posthumously promoted SGT Tadios to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG). Today, Staff Sergeant Tadios is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.
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