1M ARE WE SO RIGHTEOUS

One of my jobs in Tay Ninh East was to make the weekly courier trip to the 25th Division Headquarters in Cu Chi. On one such trip my helicopter landed at a Vietnamese Special Forces camp to deliver needed ammo and medical supplies. The layover at the camp was for an hour, but I did not mind so I took a walk around the camp and studied the layout of their defenses, always looking for ways to further strengthen our own outpost in Tay Ninh East. The Special Forces camps always had the strongest defenses for their size, and I personally considered the camps works of art. During my walk around the perimeter, I stumbled across a mortar pit where Vietnamese Special Forces officers were interrogating a Viet Cong suspect. The Vietnamese were doing a “thorough” job of interrogating the prisoner. I wondered what the prisoner had done to deserve the beating he was receiving. When the interrogators noticed my presence and my apparent interest in the way they were treating the prisoner they moved him out of my view. I wanted to make them stop the torture, but before I could get involved, an American in a “sterile” Tiger uniform pulled me aside and told me to mind my own business and not interfere with another country’s policies. He reminded me I was not back in America and forget what I had just witnessed. He then stared at me before turning around and yelling to the Vietnamese interrogators to stop; the incident ended. I have never told anyone about that day, the torture I saw, and the inhumane treatment of the enemy soldier. I had no idea what that Viet Cong had done to deserve the punishment he had received, but since no American soldiers were involved, I decided to mind my own business and continue my inspection of the camp. I have often wondered if I would have tried to intercede if Americans had been involved with such torture—I can only hope so.
As I was drafting this story, I had a flashback to my Officer Candidate days in a Georgia swamp. While on an Army Escape & Evasion Course I was captured and then tortured until I revealed what I had for breakfast that day. My imprisonment began when I had the misfortunate of being stepped on by an enemy soldier who was looking for my three-man team. They tied my hands behind my back and cut off my boot laces before throwing me in the back of an Army utility truck. When I arrived at the simulated Viet Cong village I was immediately interrogated and made to sign a release document stating that I had no physical impairments which would prevent me from completing the course. I knew then that I was in trouble. When I refused to answer their questions, they dragged me into a courtyard and hung me by my feet until my head was inches above a buried 55-gallon drum filled with water. After about fifteen minutes my interrogators decided I was not cooperating and lowered my body into the water. They started with 15 seconds, 30 seconds, and then they finally stopped dunking when I began to gag. When I again refused to answer their questions, they tied me to a telephone pole and crossed my legs. That was the breaking point for my body, within minutes, I could hear my knees cracking and both legs were beginning to cramp. I tried not to let my body slide down the pole any further, but the pain was unbearable, and I almost passed out. The guards were constantly throwing water in my face to keep me awake and the only way they stopped the torture was when I lied to them and made up a story about a fictitious skiing injury I had years earlier. None of the guards believed me but they were afraid to push me any further in case I really did have an old injury. One of the guards even checked the waiver I signed and said I did not list any previous injuries. I told them I did not list it as I did not think anyone would be stupid enough to hurt a future officer. My bluff worked; they moved me back into a stockade where my other classmates were held.
As for the outcome of the Viet Cong soldier, my interrupting his torture might have saved his life. No doubt he was in that mortar pit, so he was out of sight while questioned. If he was lucky, my interrupting the torture session might have scared the interrogators into thinking I might report the incident and sent the prisoner to a prisoner of war camp…but I doubt it!
leo.