Leave No Man Behind

by Garnett "Bill" Bell

Leave No Man  Behind: An eyewitness account of  the Vietnam War from its early stages through the last day of the Republic, 30 April 1975.  A startling new look at the postwar era and the issue  of America's unreturned veterans listed as POW/MIA, an issue that  has haunted America since the beginning of American involvement.   Shrouded in controversy, a subject of great emotion amid charges of  governmental conspiracy and Communist deceit, the possibility of American  servicemen being held in secret captivity after the war's end has  influenced U.S. policy toward Southeast Asia for three decades.  Now,  the first chief of the U.S. Government's only official office in postwar  Vietnam provides an insider's account of that effort.  The challenges  he faced in dealing with U.S. politicians, including Vietnam  veterans, Senators John McCain and John Kerry, are an ardent reminder of  the many similarities in the bloody wars fought by American troops in both  Vietnam and Iraq-Afghanistan.  In an illuminating and deeply personal  memoir, the government's top missing persons investigator in Southeast  Asia, who later became a member of the U.S. Congressional Staff, discusses  the history of the search for missing Americans, reveals how the Communist  Vietnamese stonewalled U.S. efforts to discover the truth, and how the  standards for MIA case investigations were gradually lowered while  pressure for expanded commercial and economic ties with communist Vietnam  increased.  Leave No Man Behind is the compelling story of a  dedicated group of professionals who, against great odds, were able to uphold the proud military traditions of duty, honor and country.

Garnett 'Bill' Bell, a  retired GM-!4, DoD, went to Vietnam as an infantryman in 1965 and  served four tours there.  Bell was awarded 20 individual  decorations and numerous unit awards.  Bell later served as an  instructor in the Department of Exploitation and Counterintelligence, U.S.  Army Intelligence Center and School.  During his career Bell served  in the 327th Airborne Battle Group, 101st Airborne Division, the 1/35th  Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division,  the 2/506th Parachute  Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, the 101st MI Company, the  525th Military Intelligence Group, the Defense Language Institute, the  U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, the 6th Special Forces Group,  the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC), the Four Party Joint Military  Team (FPJMT) and the Joint Task Force Full-Accounting.  Bell's wife  and son were killed and a daughter critically injured in April 1975, when  the families of U.S. officials assigned to the American Embassy in Saigon  were evacuated in conjunction with the 'Operation Babylift'  program.  After being evacuated by helicopter from the roof of the  American Embassy on the final day of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) (30  April 1975), Bell returned to postwar Vietnam as the first  official U.S. representative after the war ended when he was assigned as  the Chief of the U.S. Office for POW/MIA Affairs in Hanoi.  He served  more than 12 years on the POW/MIA Search Teams.  An Airborne-Ranger  and Jumpmaster, Bell eventually became a member of the Congressional  Staff, U.S. House of Representatives.  Fluent in Vietnamese,  Thai and Laotian, Bell is a graduate of Chaminade University and the  author of  'Leave No Man Behind.' Bell is employed as an investigator in the  12th Judicial District, western Arkansas.