In Loving Memory ... Major Orien Judson Walker, Jr.
*** Major Walker was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On May 23, 1965, he was advising a South Vietnamese unit in Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of Quang Long, South Vietnam when his unit was ambushed and he was taken prisoner. He died in captivity. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in me, your brother, sisters and those who knew you and loved you. You will live on because we remember you!
ORIEN JUDSON WALKER, JR. - Army - MAJ - O4
Age: 32
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Sep 27, 1933
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 092100N 1050500E (WR098325)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
From: BOSTON, MA
Religion: PROTESTANT
Marital Status: Married to Patricia Ann Jones Walker (died at 74 years of age in Florence,Mont., buried in Parkhill Cemetery in Columbus,GA.where she was born) Son, James Walker of Louisville, Ky. Daughter, Victoria Ventaloro and granddaughter, Micah Ventaloro of Florence, Mont. Parents: Father, Orien J. Walker, Sr., (1896 - 1983) and Mother, Beatrice May Walker, Born 1902 and Died July 7, 1991, both of South Daytona Beach, Florida but, Buried in Contoocook Village Cemetery, New Hampshire.
***** The morning of May 23, 1965, thirty-eight years ago, started out fairly routine for Captain (Capt) Orien J. Walker, Jr., as he and two other US Army Advisers escorted their Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops on a mission. Around noon, the day became chaotic. By mid afternoon, Capt Walker was "lost." It was a long way from a "map dot" referred to as Canal Zero in Southern Vietnam to Capt Walker's home in the United States. Nonetheless, Capt Walker fought valiantly as if he was defending his own Country. That's what soldiers do. Sadly, on February 4, 1966, Capt Walker was "gone." Let us all remember soldiers, such as Capt Orien J. Walker, Jr., when we celebrate Memorial Day each year. They, and their families, have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy.
Respectfully, Ray C. Phillips
My Dad Served With Captain Walker
MAJ - O4 - Army - Regular
MACV ADVISORS
Length of service 14 years
His tour began on May 23, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 4, 1966
In , SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died captured, GROUND CASUALTY
OTHER CAUSES
Body was not recovered
Panel 01E - Line 124
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Capt. Orien J. Walker, Jr. was an advisor to the South Vietnamese and attached to Headquarters, MACV. He was working with an ARVN unit on May 23, 1965 in An Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of the city of Quan Long when the unit was ambushed and he was captured by the Viet Cong.
For the next year, Walker was held in several POW camps throughout South Vietnam.
Walker was seen by other Americans in POW camps, and several reported that he was in very bad shape.
One day he was removed from the camp and never returned.
The POW's were told he was taken to a hospital and he died. At least one returnee stated that he died of starvation.
The Vietnamese informed the U.S. that Walker died February 4, 1966. They have made no effort to return his remains.
***********************************
Chicago Daily Herald - Monday, May 28, 2001
The Vietnam War film that won't be shown in theaters
Chuck Goudie
This is the story of a war movie that you will never see.
The "stars" of the movie are clad in American military uniforms, just like the lead players in "Pearl Harbor."
But there is one major difference between the summer's big war picture that opened over the weekend and the one I am about to report here.
In the movie "Pearl Harbor," the soldiers and sailors all walked away after being shot or blown up. They were actors, playing dead. In the war film that you will never see, the stars didn't get up. They couldn't go home. Their families never saw them again because they were actually dead.
Mike Cunningham, a colleague at ABC who thought that there might be a news story in it, gave me the film last fall.
The hour-long film was shot during the Vietnam War, apparently to be used as propaganda by the Communist North Vietnamese government. The film shows downed American warplanes and helicopters. And it shows the identification and family photos of the U.S. servicemen who were on board.
There are wedding pictures and photos of children resumably carried by the U.S. airmen who died.
The film also shows watches, rings and dog tags of dead U.S. soldiers, piled up like trinkets from a cheap carnival.
And then there are the bodies. Lots of them. Mangled, motionless American GIs stacked one on top of the other.
Scenes like this might not cause a modern movie audience to squirm in their theater seats because they know it's "just Hollywood."
But the thought that these are actual American troops on film, Americans killed in action, is unsettling and nauseating. The film is among reels once used for propaganda by the North Vietnamese government. Many were shown to their own citizens in an effort to prove that
they were "winning" the war.
An Army Intelligence officer had evidently obtained the film. He had apparently been told to destroy the film. He didn't. After the Intelligence officer died several years ago, the film passed through the hands of some devoted Chicago veterans. That's how it came to my colleague and finally to me.
On the film, at least three American soldiers are somewhat identifiable. One of them is an Army Ranger Captain being taken prisoner by Viet Cong forces. The other two identifiable soldiers appear to be dead. One is Ronald E.
Blake, according to a photo of a military ID card. The other is known only by the last name Owens, the name on his green Army jacket.
After months of unsuccessful searching battle reports, casualty and fatality records and POW lists to find out who these men were, I sent a copy of the tape to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office at the Pentagon.
I asked two primary questions: who is the Ranger Captain and what happened to him? Who are the dead GIs, Blake and Owens?
The Pentagon assigned three senior analysts to research the case. This spring the mystery was solved. "The Ranger Captain is Captain Orien J. Walker, U.S. Army," writes a
Pentagon official. The Boston native "was serving as an adviser to an Army of the Republic of Vietnam unit when Viet Cong forces attacked it on May 23, 1965. Capt. Walker
and several ARVN soldiers were captured during the attack. The capture scene depicted in the propaganda movie appears to be a staged re-enactment of Walker's capture."
After the film was shot, Walker was moved to a POW camp, according to the Pentagon. He was in very poor health.
On February 4, 1966, Walker was put on a boat and taken to a hospital. That was the last time he was seen alive.
"Despite repeated efforts to recover his remains," states the Pentagon letter, "they have yet to be repatriated."
The Pentagon apparently had a copy of the Walker film in 1967. "In this instance, we maintain the photos of Capt. Walker in our file and presume that the U.S. Army casualty office furnished copies to his family following their receipt nearly three decades ago."
Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC/7 News in Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sun Feb 01 1998
Orien J. Walker died in the arms of Nick Rowe, twenty-eight days after being transferred into Rowe's camp. Rowe called him "Tim Barker" in Five Years to Freedom to protect his identity. CPT Walker died of starvation and disease, and inability to respond to hand feeding by Nick Rowe.
*** Major Walker was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On May 23, 1965, he was advising a South Vietnamese unit in Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of Quang Long, South Vietnam when his unit was ambushed and he was taken prisoner. He died in captivity. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in me, your brother, sisters and those who knew you and loved you. You will live on because we remember you!
ORIEN JUDSON WALKER, JR. - Army - MAJ - O4
Age: 32
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Sep 27, 1933
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 092100N 1050500E (WR098325)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
From: BOSTON, MA
Religion: PROTESTANT
Marital Status: Married to Patricia Ann Jones Walker (died at 74 years of age in Florence,Mont., buried in Parkhill Cemetery in Columbus,GA.where she was born) Son, James Walker of Louisville, Ky. Daughter, Victoria Ventaloro and granddaughter, Micah Ventaloro of Florence, Mont. Parents: Father, Orien J. Walker, Sr., (1896 - 1983) and Mother, Beatrice May Walker, Born 1902 and Died July 7, 1991, both of South Daytona Beach, Florida but, Buried in Contoocook Village Cemetery, New Hampshire.
***** The morning of May 23, 1965, thirty-eight years ago, started out fairly routine for Captain (Capt) Orien J. Walker, Jr., as he and two other US Army Advisers escorted their Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops on a mission. Around noon, the day became chaotic. By mid afternoon, Capt Walker was "lost." It was a long way from a "map dot" referred to as Canal Zero in Southern Vietnam to Capt Walker's home in the United States. Nonetheless, Capt Walker fought valiantly as if he was defending his own Country. That's what soldiers do. Sadly, on February 4, 1966, Capt Walker was "gone." Let us all remember soldiers, such as Capt Orien J. Walker, Jr., when we celebrate Memorial Day each year. They, and their families, have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy.
Respectfully, Ray C. Phillips
My Dad Served With Captain Walker
MAJ - O4 - Army - Regular
MACV ADVISORS
Length of service 14 years
His tour began on May 23, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 4, 1966
In , SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died captured, GROUND CASUALTY
OTHER CAUSES
Body was not recovered
Panel 01E - Line 124
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Capt. Orien J. Walker, Jr. was an advisor to the South Vietnamese and attached to Headquarters, MACV. He was working with an ARVN unit on May 23, 1965 in An Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of the city of Quan Long when the unit was ambushed and he was captured by the Viet Cong.
For the next year, Walker was held in several POW camps throughout South Vietnam.
Walker was seen by other Americans in POW camps, and several reported that he was in very bad shape.
One day he was removed from the camp and never returned.
The POW's were told he was taken to a hospital and he died. At least one returnee stated that he died of starvation.
The Vietnamese informed the U.S. that Walker died February 4, 1966. They have made no effort to return his remains.
***********************************
Chicago Daily Herald - Monday, May 28, 2001
The Vietnam War film that won't be shown in theaters
Chuck Goudie
This is the story of a war movie that you will never see.
The "stars" of the movie are clad in American military uniforms, just like the lead players in "Pearl Harbor."
But there is one major difference between the summer's big war picture that opened over the weekend and the one I am about to report here.
In the movie "Pearl Harbor," the soldiers and sailors all walked away after being shot or blown up. They were actors, playing dead. In the war film that you will never see, the stars didn't get up. They couldn't go home. Their families never saw them again because they were actually dead.
Mike Cunningham, a colleague at ABC who thought that there might be a news story in it, gave me the film last fall.
The hour-long film was shot during the Vietnam War, apparently to be used as propaganda by the Communist North Vietnamese government. The film shows downed American warplanes and helicopters. And it shows the identification and family photos of the U.S. servicemen who were on board.
There are wedding pictures and photos of children resumably carried by the U.S. airmen who died.
The film also shows watches, rings and dog tags of dead U.S. soldiers, piled up like trinkets from a cheap carnival.
And then there are the bodies. Lots of them. Mangled, motionless American GIs stacked one on top of the other.
Scenes like this might not cause a modern movie audience to squirm in their theater seats because they know it's "just Hollywood."
But the thought that these are actual American troops on film, Americans killed in action, is unsettling and nauseating. The film is among reels once used for propaganda by the North Vietnamese government. Many were shown to their own citizens in an effort to prove that
they were "winning" the war.
An Army Intelligence officer had evidently obtained the film. He had apparently been told to destroy the film. He didn't. After the Intelligence officer died several years ago, the film passed through the hands of some devoted Chicago veterans. That's how it came to my colleague and finally to me.
On the film, at least three American soldiers are somewhat identifiable. One of them is an Army Ranger Captain being taken prisoner by Viet Cong forces. The other two identifiable soldiers appear to be dead. One is Ronald E.
Blake, according to a photo of a military ID card. The other is known only by the last name Owens, the name on his green Army jacket.
After months of unsuccessful searching battle reports, casualty and fatality records and POW lists to find out who these men were, I sent a copy of the tape to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office at the Pentagon.
I asked two primary questions: who is the Ranger Captain and what happened to him? Who are the dead GIs, Blake and Owens?
The Pentagon assigned three senior analysts to research the case. This spring the mystery was solved. "The Ranger Captain is Captain Orien J. Walker, U.S. Army," writes a
Pentagon official. The Boston native "was serving as an adviser to an Army of the Republic of Vietnam unit when Viet Cong forces attacked it on May 23, 1965. Capt. Walker
and several ARVN soldiers were captured during the attack. The capture scene depicted in the propaganda movie appears to be a staged re-enactment of Walker's capture."
After the film was shot, Walker was moved to a POW camp, according to the Pentagon. He was in very poor health.
On February 4, 1966, Walker was put on a boat and taken to a hospital. That was the last time he was seen alive.
"Despite repeated efforts to recover his remains," states the Pentagon letter, "they have yet to be repatriated."
The Pentagon apparently had a copy of the Walker film in 1967. "In this instance, we maintain the photos of Capt. Walker in our file and presume that the U.S. Army casualty office furnished copies to his family following their receipt nearly three decades ago."
Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC/7 News in Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sun Feb 01 1998
Orien J. Walker died in the arms of Nick Rowe, twenty-eight days after being transferred into Rowe's camp. Rowe called him "Tim Barker" in Five Years to Freedom to protect his identity. CPT Walker died of starvation and disease, and inability to respond to hand feeding by Nick Rowe.
In Loving Memory ... Major Orien Judson Walker, Jr.
*** Major Walker was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On May 23, 1965, he was advising a South Vietnamese unit in Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of Quang Long, South Vietnam when his unit was ambushed and he was taken prisoner. He died in captivity. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in me, your brother, sisters and those who knew you and loved you. You will live on because we remember you!
ORIEN JUDSON WALKER, JR. - Army - MAJ - O4
Age: 32
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Sep 27, 1933
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 092100N 1050500E (WR098325)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
From: BOSTON, MA
Religion: PROTESTANT
Marital Status: Married to Patricia Ann Jones Walker (died at 74 years of age in Florence,Mont., buried in Parkhill Cemetery in Columbus,GA.where she was born) Son, James Walker of Louisville, Ky. Daughter, Victoria Ventaloro and granddaughter, Micah Ventaloro of Florence, Mont. Parents: Father, Orien J. Walker, Sr., (1896 - 1983) and Mother, Beatrice May Walker, Born 1902 and Died July 7, 1991, both of South Daytona Beach, Florida but, Buried in Contoocook Village Cemetery, New Hampshire.
***** The morning of May 23, 1965, thirty-eight years ago, started out fairly routine for Captain (Capt) Orien J. Walker, Jr., as he and two other US Army Advisers escorted their Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops on a mission. Around noon, the day became chaotic. By mid afternoon, Capt Walker was "lost." It was a long way from a "map dot" referred to as Canal Zero in Southern Vietnam to Capt Walker's home in the United States. Nonetheless, Capt Walker fought valiantly as if he was defending his own Country. That's what soldiers do. Sadly, on February 4, 1966, Capt Walker was "gone." Let us all remember soldiers, such as Capt Orien J. Walker, Jr., when we celebrate Memorial Day each year. They, and their families, have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy.
Respectfully, Ray C. Phillips
My Dad Served With Captain Walker
MAJ - O4 - Army - Regular
MACV ADVISORS
Length of service 14 years
His tour began on May 23, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 4, 1966
In , SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died captured, GROUND CASUALTY
OTHER CAUSES
Body was not recovered
Panel 01E - Line 124
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Capt. Orien J. Walker, Jr. was an advisor to the South Vietnamese and attached to Headquarters, MACV. He was working with an ARVN unit on May 23, 1965 in An Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of the city of Quan Long when the unit was ambushed and he was captured by the Viet Cong.
For the next year, Walker was held in several POW camps throughout South Vietnam.
Walker was seen by other Americans in POW camps, and several reported that he was in very bad shape.
One day he was removed from the camp and never returned.
The POW's were told he was taken to a hospital and he died. At least one returnee stated that he died of starvation.
The Vietnamese informed the U.S. that Walker died February 4, 1966. They have made no effort to return his remains.
***********************************
Chicago Daily Herald - Monday, May 28, 2001
The Vietnam War film that won't be shown in theaters
Chuck Goudie
This is the story of a war movie that you will never see.
The "stars" of the movie are clad in American military uniforms, just like the lead players in "Pearl Harbor."
But there is one major difference between the summer's big war picture that opened over the weekend and the one I am about to report here.
In the movie "Pearl Harbor," the soldiers and sailors all walked away after being shot or blown up. They were actors, playing dead. In the war film that you will never see, the stars didn't get up. They couldn't go home. Their families never saw them again because they were actually dead.
Mike Cunningham, a colleague at ABC who thought that there might be a news story in it, gave me the film last fall.
The hour-long film was shot during the Vietnam War, apparently to be used as propaganda by the Communist North Vietnamese government. The film shows downed American warplanes and helicopters. And it shows the identification and family photos of the U.S. servicemen who were on board.
There are wedding pictures and photos of children resumably carried by the U.S. airmen who died.
The film also shows watches, rings and dog tags of dead U.S. soldiers, piled up like trinkets from a cheap carnival.
And then there are the bodies. Lots of them. Mangled, motionless American GIs stacked one on top of the other.
Scenes like this might not cause a modern movie audience to squirm in their theater seats because they know it's "just Hollywood."
But the thought that these are actual American troops on film, Americans killed in action, is unsettling and nauseating. The film is among reels once used for propaganda by the North Vietnamese government. Many were shown to their own citizens in an effort to prove that
they were "winning" the war.
An Army Intelligence officer had evidently obtained the film. He had apparently been told to destroy the film. He didn't. After the Intelligence officer died several years ago, the film passed through the hands of some devoted Chicago veterans. That's how it came to my colleague and finally to me.
On the film, at least three American soldiers are somewhat identifiable. One of them is an Army Ranger Captain being taken prisoner by Viet Cong forces. The other two identifiable soldiers appear to be dead. One is Ronald E.
Blake, according to a photo of a military ID card. The other is known only by the last name Owens, the name on his green Army jacket.
After months of unsuccessful searching battle reports, casualty and fatality records and POW lists to find out who these men were, I sent a copy of the tape to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office at the Pentagon.
I asked two primary questions: who is the Ranger Captain and what happened to him? Who are the dead GIs, Blake and Owens?
The Pentagon assigned three senior analysts to research the case. This spring the mystery was solved. "The Ranger Captain is Captain Orien J. Walker, U.S. Army," writes a
Pentagon official. The Boston native "was serving as an adviser to an Army of the Republic of Vietnam unit when Viet Cong forces attacked it on May 23, 1965. Capt. Walker
and several ARVN soldiers were captured during the attack. The capture scene depicted in the propaganda movie appears to be a staged re-enactment of Walker's capture."
After the film was shot, Walker was moved to a POW camp, according to the Pentagon. He was in very poor health.
On February 4, 1966, Walker was put on a boat and taken to a hospital. That was the last time he was seen alive.
"Despite repeated efforts to recover his remains," states the Pentagon letter, "they have yet to be repatriated."
The Pentagon apparently had a copy of the Walker film in 1967. "In this instance, we maintain the photos of Capt. Walker in our file and presume that the U.S. Army casualty office furnished copies to his family following their receipt nearly three decades ago."
Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC/7 News in Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sun Feb 01 1998
Orien J. Walker died in the arms of Nick Rowe, twenty-eight days after being transferred into Rowe's camp. Rowe called him "Tim Barker" in Five Years to Freedom to protect his identity. CPT Walker died of starvation and disease, and inability to respond to hand feeding by Nick Rowe.
*** Major Walker was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On May 23, 1965, he was advising a South Vietnamese unit in Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of Quang Long, South Vietnam when his unit was ambushed and he was taken prisoner. He died in captivity. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in me, your brother, sisters and those who knew you and loved you. You will live on because we remember you!
ORIEN JUDSON WALKER, JR. - Army - MAJ - O4
Age: 32
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Sep 27, 1933
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 092100N 1050500E (WR098325)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
From: BOSTON, MA
Religion: PROTESTANT
Marital Status: Married to Patricia Ann Jones Walker (died at 74 years of age in Florence,Mont., buried in Parkhill Cemetery in Columbus,GA.where she was born) Son, James Walker of Louisville, Ky. Daughter, Victoria Ventaloro and granddaughter, Micah Ventaloro of Florence, Mont. Parents: Father, Orien J. Walker, Sr., (1896 - 1983) and Mother, Beatrice May Walker, Born 1902 and Died July 7, 1991, both of South Daytona Beach, Florida but, Buried in Contoocook Village Cemetery, New Hampshire.
***** The morning of May 23, 1965, thirty-eight years ago, started out fairly routine for Captain (Capt) Orien J. Walker, Jr., as he and two other US Army Advisers escorted their Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops on a mission. Around noon, the day became chaotic. By mid afternoon, Capt Walker was "lost." It was a long way from a "map dot" referred to as Canal Zero in Southern Vietnam to Capt Walker's home in the United States. Nonetheless, Capt Walker fought valiantly as if he was defending his own Country. That's what soldiers do. Sadly, on February 4, 1966, Capt Walker was "gone." Let us all remember soldiers, such as Capt Orien J. Walker, Jr., when we celebrate Memorial Day each year. They, and their families, have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy.
Respectfully, Ray C. Phillips
My Dad Served With Captain Walker
MAJ - O4 - Army - Regular
MACV ADVISORS
Length of service 14 years
His tour began on May 23, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 4, 1966
In , SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died captured, GROUND CASUALTY
OTHER CAUSES
Body was not recovered
Panel 01E - Line 124
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Capt. Orien J. Walker, Jr. was an advisor to the South Vietnamese and attached to Headquarters, MACV. He was working with an ARVN unit on May 23, 1965 in An Xuyen Province, about 10 miles northwest of the city of Quan Long when the unit was ambushed and he was captured by the Viet Cong.
For the next year, Walker was held in several POW camps throughout South Vietnam.
Walker was seen by other Americans in POW camps, and several reported that he was in very bad shape.
One day he was removed from the camp and never returned.
The POW's were told he was taken to a hospital and he died. At least one returnee stated that he died of starvation.
The Vietnamese informed the U.S. that Walker died February 4, 1966. They have made no effort to return his remains.
***********************************
Chicago Daily Herald - Monday, May 28, 2001
The Vietnam War film that won't be shown in theaters
Chuck Goudie
This is the story of a war movie that you will never see.
The "stars" of the movie are clad in American military uniforms, just like the lead players in "Pearl Harbor."
But there is one major difference between the summer's big war picture that opened over the weekend and the one I am about to report here.
In the movie "Pearl Harbor," the soldiers and sailors all walked away after being shot or blown up. They were actors, playing dead. In the war film that you will never see, the stars didn't get up. They couldn't go home. Their families never saw them again because they were actually dead.
Mike Cunningham, a colleague at ABC who thought that there might be a news story in it, gave me the film last fall.
The hour-long film was shot during the Vietnam War, apparently to be used as propaganda by the Communist North Vietnamese government. The film shows downed American warplanes and helicopters. And it shows the identification and family photos of the U.S. servicemen who were on board.
There are wedding pictures and photos of children resumably carried by the U.S. airmen who died.
The film also shows watches, rings and dog tags of dead U.S. soldiers, piled up like trinkets from a cheap carnival.
And then there are the bodies. Lots of them. Mangled, motionless American GIs stacked one on top of the other.
Scenes like this might not cause a modern movie audience to squirm in their theater seats because they know it's "just Hollywood."
But the thought that these are actual American troops on film, Americans killed in action, is unsettling and nauseating. The film is among reels once used for propaganda by the North Vietnamese government. Many were shown to their own citizens in an effort to prove that
they were "winning" the war.
An Army Intelligence officer had evidently obtained the film. He had apparently been told to destroy the film. He didn't. After the Intelligence officer died several years ago, the film passed through the hands of some devoted Chicago veterans. That's how it came to my colleague and finally to me.
On the film, at least three American soldiers are somewhat identifiable. One of them is an Army Ranger Captain being taken prisoner by Viet Cong forces. The other two identifiable soldiers appear to be dead. One is Ronald E.
Blake, according to a photo of a military ID card. The other is known only by the last name Owens, the name on his green Army jacket.
After months of unsuccessful searching battle reports, casualty and fatality records and POW lists to find out who these men were, I sent a copy of the tape to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office at the Pentagon.
I asked two primary questions: who is the Ranger Captain and what happened to him? Who are the dead GIs, Blake and Owens?
The Pentagon assigned three senior analysts to research the case. This spring the mystery was solved. "The Ranger Captain is Captain Orien J. Walker, U.S. Army," writes a
Pentagon official. The Boston native "was serving as an adviser to an Army of the Republic of Vietnam unit when Viet Cong forces attacked it on May 23, 1965. Capt. Walker
and several ARVN soldiers were captured during the attack. The capture scene depicted in the propaganda movie appears to be a staged re-enactment of Walker's capture."
After the film was shot, Walker was moved to a POW camp, according to the Pentagon. He was in very poor health.
On February 4, 1966, Walker was put on a boat and taken to a hospital. That was the last time he was seen alive.
"Despite repeated efforts to recover his remains," states the Pentagon letter, "they have yet to be repatriated."
The Pentagon apparently had a copy of the Walker film in 1967. "In this instance, we maintain the photos of Capt. Walker in our file and presume that the U.S. Army casualty office furnished copies to his family following their receipt nearly three decades ago."
Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC/7 News in Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sun Feb 01 1998
Orien J. Walker died in the arms of Nick Rowe, twenty-eight days after being transferred into Rowe's camp. Rowe called him "Tim Barker" in Five Years to Freedom to protect his identity. CPT Walker died of starvation and disease, and inability to respond to hand feeding by Nick Rowe.
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