[071842Z.OH 06/16/96] NNNN RCV18305 00:51 06/10/93 VZCZCBT0383 RR RUEHBT DE RUHQSGG #8360 1581842 ZNR UUUUU R 071842Z JUN 93 ZYB FM CDR JTF-FA HONOLULU HI//J2// TO RUEHBT/CJTFFA DET ONE BANGKOK TH RUEKJCS/DIA WASHINGTON DC//PW-MIA// RUEAMC/CMC WASHINGTON DC//MHP-10/INTC/INTM// RUEAHOF/CDRPERSCOM ALEXANDRAI VA//TAPC-PED-P// INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASH DC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OASD-ISA/PW-MIA// RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC//CA/OCS/CCS/EAP/VLC// RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//OCJCS/J5/PW-MIA/J3-JOD// RUHQHQB/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI/J3/J30-M// RUEKJCS/USCINCPAC LO WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC//DEA/SEA/IB/DDO/ICOG// RUEHBT/USDAO BANGKOK TH//PW-MIA// BT UNCLAS //N03460// DIA PASS TO DOD POW-MIA CENTRAL DOCUMENTATION OFFICE// MGSID.SYS.RRM/CDR JTF-FA// AMPN/SUBJ: SRV ORAL HISTORY - LTC NGUYEN HONG CHAU// REF/A/RMG/CJT-FA DET ONE/210942ZMAY93// PAGE 02 RUHQSGG8360 UNCLAS RMKS/1. REF A PROVIDED RESULTS OF AN INTERVIEW WITH LTC NGUYEN HONG CHAU, A FORMER COMMUNIST GUERILLA IN THE LONG KHAN AREA AND A RETIRED PAVN OFFICER. ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION HE PROVIDED INDICATES A POSSIBLE CORRELATION TO REFNOS 0049, 0050, AND 0163. 2. IN PARA THREE OF REF A, SOURCE CLAIMED HE TOOK CUSTODY OF TWO CAUCASIAN AMERICAN PRISONERS NEAR THE SUOI DA STREAM (YS6393) SHORTLY AFTER THE BINH GIA BATTLE, WHICH OCCURRED IN DECEMBER 1964. SOURCE REPORTED HIS GROUP ESCORTED THE TWO PRISONERS, A CAPTAIN AND A FIRST LIEUTENTANT, INTO TAN PHU DISTRICT, WHERE THE PRISONERS WERE TURNED OVER TO AN ESCORT TEAM FROM HQ, SOUTH VIETNAM LIBERATION ARMED FORCES (SVNLAF). SOURCE WAS UNABLE TO RECALL THE IDENTITIES OF THE TWO AMERICANS. THIS INFORMATION POSSIBLY CORRELATES TO EITHER REFNO 0049 OR REFNO 0050. A. REFNO 0049: ON 29 DECEMBER 1964, SERGEANT HAROLD G. BENNETT AND PRIVATE CHARLES E. CRAFTS WERE ADVISORS TO THE 33RD ARVN RANGER BATTALION ENGAGED A HOSTILE FORCE NEAR GRID COORDINATES YS549755, APPROXIMATELY FIVE KILOMETERS EAST OF BINH GIA VILLAGE AND THREE KILOMETERS SOUTWEST OF XUAN SON VILLAGE, BA RIA-VUNG TAU PROVINCE, VIETNAM. DURING THE BATTLE, NATIONAL PAGE 3 RUHQSGG8360 UNCLAS LIBERATION FRONT FORCES CAPTURED SERGEANT BENNETT AND PRIVATE CRAFTS. THE NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT RELEASED PRIVATE CRAFTS ON 23 FEBRUARY 1967. UPON HIS RETURN TO MILITARY CONTROL, PRIVATE CRAFTS SAID THAT THEY HAD KILLED SERGEANT BENNETT BECAUSE HE WAS UNABLE TO TRAVEL. PRIVATE CRAFTS ESTIMATED THEIR LOCATION TO BE IN THE VICINITY OF GRID COORDINATES YS550730. APPROXIMATELY SIX KILOMETERS SOUTHEAST OF BINH GIA, BA RIA-VUNG TAU PROVINCE. ON 25 JUNE 1965, A HANOI RADIO BROADCAST ANNOUNCED THAT SERGEANT BENNETT HAD BEEN EXECUTED IN REPRISAL FOR THE EXECUTION OF A COMMUNIST TERRORIST. IN JANUARY 1973, THE PROVISIONAL REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH VISETNAM RELEASED A DIED-IN- CAPTIVITY LIST WHICH INDICATED THAT SERGEANT BENNETT DIED IN JUNE 1965. SERGEANT BENNETT IS UNNACOUNTED FOR. B. REFNO 0050: 31 DECEMBER 1964, CAPTAIN DONALD G. COOK WAS AN ADVISOR TO THE 4TH ARVN MARINE BATTALION DURING A BATTLE IN THE VICINITY GRID COORDINATES YS495775, NEAR BINH GIA VILLAGE, BA RIA-VUNG TAU PROVINCE, VIETNAM. ARVN MARINES REPORTED THAT CAPTAIN COOK WAS WOUNDED IN THE LEG AND WAS LED AWAY BY VIET CONG FORCES. RETURNEES REPORTED THAT CAPTAIN COOK WAS HELD AT PAGE 4 RUHQSGG8360 UNCLAS VARIOUS PRISON CAMPS LOCATED IN TAY NNING AND DONG NAI PROVINCES. ONE RETURNEE REPORTED THAT A GUARD TOLD HIM CAPTAIN COOK DIED OF MALARIA IN DECEMBER 1967 WHILE BEING MOVED BETWEEN CAMPS IN NORTHEASTERN TAY NINH PROVINCE. CAPTAIN COOK'S NAME APPEARED ON THE DIED-IN-CAPTIVITY LIST RELEASED BY THE PROVISIONAL REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH VIETNAM. THE LIST INDICATED CAPTAIN COOK DIED ON 8 DECEMBER 1967. CAPTAIN COOK IS UNACCOUNTED FOR. C. THE GENERAL TIME FRAME AND LOCATION OF THE ALLEGED INCIDENT DESCRIBED BY THE SOURCE AND THE NUMBER AND RACE OF THE ALLEGED AMERICAN CAPTIVES CORRELATES WELL WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH REFNO 0049 AND REFNO 0050. JTF-FA FILES INDICATE REFNO 0049 AND 0050 WERE THE ONLY GROUND LOSS INCIDENTS, INVOLVING UNACCOUNTEDS FOR INDIVIDUALS, WHICH OCCURRED WITHING 25 KILOMETERS OF THE SUOI DA STREAM (YS6393) DURING LATE 1964 OR EARLY 1965. 4. IN PARA FOUR OF REF A THE SOURCE PROVIDED A HEARSZAY ACCOUNT CONCERNING THE ALLEGED CAPTURE OF A LONE CAUCASIAN AMERICAN ON NATIONAL HIGHWAY ONE IN THE VICINITY OF GRID COORDINATES YT6308, DURING THE MID-1960'S. ACCORDING TO THE SOURCE, THE AMERICAN PAGE 5 RUHQSGG8360 UNCLAS PRISONER EVENTUALLY SUCCESSFULLY ESCAPED AFTER A SHORT PERIOD OF CAPTIVITY. ANALYSIS INDICATES THIS INFORMATION PROBABLY CORRELATESD TO REFNO 0163, A RESOLVED CASE. A. REFNO 0163: ON 8 OCTOBER 1965, MR. JOE L. DODD, A U.S. CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE OF THE RMK CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, WAS TRAVELLING BY MOTORCYCLE FROM THE BIEN HOA AREA EAST ALONG NATIONAL HIGHWAY ONE TOWARD PHAN THIET, BINH THUAN (FORMERLY THAUN HAI) PROVINCE, VIETNAM. HE WAS CAPTURED BY VIETNAMESE FORCES IN THE VICINITY OF GRID COORDINATES YT5906, APPROXIMATELY 15 KILOMETERS EAST OF XUAN LOC, DONG NAI (FORMERLY LONH KHANH) PROVINCE. MR. DODD SUCESSFULLY ESCAPED FROM HIS CAPTORS ON 25 OCTOBER 1965. B. THE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AMERICAN PRISONER, THE GENERAL TIME FRAME AND THE LOCATION OF THE INCIDENTS, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF CAPTURE PROVIDED BY SOURCE CORRELATE WELL WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH REFNO 0163. JTF- FA FILES INDICATE REFNO 0163 IS THE ONLY GROUND LOSS INCIDENT, INVOLVING AN UNACCOUNTED FOR INDIVIDUAL, WHICH OCCURRED ALONG HIGHWAY ONE IN THE MID-60'S. 5. IN PARA FIVE OF REF A, THE SOURCE PROVIDED HEARSAY INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CAPTURE OF ONE CAUCASIAN AMERICAN IN PAGE 06 RUHQSGG8360 UNCLAS BA RIA-VUNG TAU PROVINCE. ACCORDING TO THE SOURCE, THE ALLEGED INCIDENT OCCURRED AFTER THE INCIDENT CORRELATED TO REFNO 0163 DESCRIBED ABOVE. THE SOURCE REPORTED THAT THE AMERICAN WAS EVENTUALLY TURNED OVER TO AN ESCORT TEAM FROM THE HQ, SVNLAF. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE SOURCE IS INSUFFICIENT TO ESTABLISH A CORRELATION WITH DATA IN JTF-FA FILES. 6. FOR CMC/MHP-10 AND CDRPERSCOM/TAPC-PED-P: INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION. SANITIZED COPIES OF REF A WILL BE FORWARDED SEPARATELY. EVAL-KLE// BT #8360