Inside Hanoi's Secret Archives [Hardcover]

Malcom Mcconnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 1995

Providing definitive answers to the POW/MIA mystery, an authoritative investigation into an enduring controversy reveals shocking information from secret Vietnamese archives about MIA and POW cases, including photographs and material obtained from Operation Swamp Ranger. 30,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the face of Hanoi's policy of withholding POW/MIA information, a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency operation called Swamp Ranger, led by former U.N. refugee officer Theodore G. Schweitzer, gained access to the People's Army archives and examined records of Americans who survived capture during the Vietnam War and some who did not. Schweitzer also obtained photos of U.S. prisoners, alive or dead. Though Vietnamese military officials were helpful, the civilian bureaucracy eventually withdrew cooperation, but not before Schweitzer had collected information on the fate of hundreds of missing American servicemen. McConnell's (Into the Mouth of the Cat) book demolishes the myth that Washington knowingly abandoned surviving POWs in Indochina. It also exposes fund-raising scams, bogus former POWs and others who attempt to take advantage of grieving relatives. The book offers vivid glimpses of Vietnam, especially the corruption, greed and negative impact of the current commercial boom on the resolution of the MIA issue. Photos not seen by PW. Military Book Club selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Reportedly based on exclusive access to secret Vietnamese archives in Hanoi, this book aims to settle the MIA/POW controversy once and for all.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First edition. edition (January 25, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671871188
• ISBN-13: 978-0671871185
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #675,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The end of the MIA mystery?, May 26, 2003

By 

Kyle Tolle (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside Hanoi's Secret Archives (Hardcover)

For two decades following the Vietnam war, ill-fated attempts by the United States to obtain conclusive evidence concerning the fate of hundreds of POW/MIA's from the Vietnam war finally found success. In a bold and daring espionage mission, former U.N. refugee officer Theodore G. Schweitzer was the acting agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in what later became known as Operation Swamp Ranger.

Beginning in March of 1992 and lasting several months, Schweitzer was granted access to Vietnamese war archives that held a voluminous amount of information on U.S. servicemen that were missing in action and others that were held as prisoners of war. Vietnam, up until this point, had strenuously denied for years that they had any useful data on missing servicemen and they blatantly withheld documents that would solve many discrepancy cases on unknown losses of U.S. personnel. Using previously unreleased photographs, meticulously annotated files, and physical evidence, Operation Swamp Ranger completely exposed Vietnam's attempts to bury the POW/MIA issue over the years. Although only suspected by the U.S. government, Vietnam's General Political Directorate (GPD) finally admitted that many U.S. servicemen were killed in cold blood.

Operation Swamp Ranger also proved to be useful in the aspect that it helped dispel the widespread theory that Americans had been abandoned by the U.S. government after repatriation of POW's in 1973. Furthermore, scams and other fraudulent activities aimed at the grieving families of MIA's were exposed and contradicted by evidence gained from Hanoi's archives. Lastly, there appears to be no conclusive facts to date which could verify that there are actual live POW's still held in Vietnam today.

Although limited cooperation with the Vietnamese government regarding POW/MIA's faltered after revelations from Operation Swamp Ranger became known to the public at large, the U.S. government still claimed a large victory in what amounts to a monumental breakthrough in the enduring POW/MIA controversy. Unfortunately, this long and arduous journey does not have a happy ending. Not yet, anyway. Even as the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) continues to negotiate, haggle, bargain, cajole, and mediate with Vietnam regarding additional unreleased material they still hold, there are no clear indications of just how much further progress will be accomplished in the future. As stated in the author's narrative, communist archives are notoriously known for disinformation and forgeries and nothing in Vietnam is ever straightforward or simple.

Inside Hanoi's Secret Archives is a remarkable investigation into previously hidden wartime data. Generously footnoted and offering revealing photographs, this is a fascinating and memorable reading experience. Anyone having the slightest or even most demanding questions concerning the ongoing legacy of missing U.S. servicemen in Vietnam, I would enthusiastically recommend this book to you and to everyone in general.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book..., July 19, 2003

By 

T. Nociti (Missouri) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inside Hanoi's Secret Archives (Hardcover)

...I'm not sorry I read it.

Throughout, there are hints of "conspiracy theories" but I think that is unavoidable in a topic as sensitive as this one. Did the US knowingly abandon troops in Vietnam and Laos? Do we know they are still there but unwilling to do what's necessary to get them home? These questions are answered, I think, satisfactorily. It's well-documented and the photographs are very applicable.

While not necessarily what I consider a 5-star book, it was recommended to me by an avid history and military history reader whose opinion I regard highly. If these topics are your "cup of tea", I'd recommend this even more.

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read, August 16, 2009

By 

Steven G. Shores (Winchester,Tn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside Hanoi's Secret Archives (Hardcover)

Unbeliveable. Everyone who has voiced an opinion on the MIA issue needs to read this book.