Why Didn't You Get Me Out?: The Story of Vietnam's Longest Held P.O.W. [Hardcover]

Frank Anton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 1997

In this startling account of his five terrifying years as a prisoner of war, Anton reveals why our government didn't get him out-- even when a successful rescue could have been easily completed.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Anton was a U.S. Army helicopter crewman in Vietnam when he was shot down and captured by the Vietcong in 1968. A prisoner for the next five years, he suffered the brutal treatment accorded Americans by their Vietcong and North Vietnamese captors. His description of the struggle to survive is arresting and poignant and will provide readers with a compelling personal account of life as a POW. His book will attract more attention, however, for its assertion that U.S. forces knew the location of his POW camps but failed to rescue him and his comrades for political reasons. Readers will also find a narrative of alleged collaborator Bobby Garwood that is radically different from that of Monika Jensen-Stevenson's Spite House (LJ 5/1/97). For comprehensive Vietnam War collections.?John R. Vallely, Siena Coll. Lib., Loudonville, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: The Summit Publishing Group; First Thus edition (June 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565302516
• ISBN-13: 978-1565302518
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,366,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad but True, April 30, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (misterfixit@loveabl... (Antartica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Didn't You Get Me Out?: The Story of Vietnam's Longest Held P.O.W. (Hardcover)

The 525th Military Intelligence Group (525MIG), which supported Military Intelligence (MI) efforts in Vietnam was a maze of political infighting, enormous potential, a deep pool of talent, and daily petty bickering. The POW mission was assigned to the 6th BN, 525MIG, which was a unilateral covert intelligence collection element. Other battalions and detachments had periperial responsibilities. Those of us who were young counterintelligence agents, mostly sergeants, lived on the edge during our one-year tour. Most of us worked hard. Cases such as that of Mr. Anton's were the most difficult to understand. Mainly we would task our human sources, receive information and pass that information onto higher headquarters in the form of Intelligence Research Reports (IRRs). We never received any feedback as to the value of the information collected. We worked hard to find you, Mr. Anton, we really did! Somewhere after the reports left the hands of the ground-pounding, doorbell ringing, CI Special Agents, the Politicians took over. I am sorry, Chief, I truly am sorry about what happened to you and the others you wrote about. I did my best but it wasn't good enough. [SSG (E6),MOS 97B40, CI Special Agent; 1st Bn, 525MIG, DaNang, 1967-1968]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary story of POW captivity......., March 30, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Why Didn't You Get Me Out?: The Story of Vietnam's Longest Held P.O.W. (Hardcover)

In January of 1968, helicopter pilot Warrant Officer Frank Anton was shot down in Southern Vietnam and spent 5 years in captivity. Many prominent books have been written of U.S. POW's in Hanoi's prisons but this story is a riveting look at POW's held in prison camps in Southern Vietnam which may have been worse.

Frank Anton has written a very detailed and graphic account of severly brutal conditions and treatments he and others suffered at the hands of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. For 3 of his 5 years in confinement in the south (he spent time in 4 different camps), he weaves a harrowing tale of torture, starvation, non-existent medical treatment, disease, and barbarity suffered by prisoners. He further adds that during his confinement, he was witness to many Americans dying in the camps and also of betrayal and enemy collaboration by one of their own.

After 3 years of confinement in the south, Anton and the surviving members of his camp, in an incredible display of courage, strength, and determination, are forced to march on foot for an astonishing 6 months to one of Hanoi's prison camps known as the Plantation. For an additional 2 years, this was Anton's new home before being released from captivity in 1973.

Upon arriving home, Frank Anton was debriefed by the military and he eventually found out, to his dismay and horror, that our government know exactly where he was the entire time he was being held and that no serious attempts were considered to rescue him or his fellow soldiers.

In the last chapter of this book, which is absolutely astonishing, you will find out why no attempts were made to rescue many POW's. Additionally, you will learn the current fate of large numbers of POW's that were left behind and are currently unaccounted for in Vietnam. This information is highly disturbing and tragic and paints a very callous and unscrupulous portrait of our government with their regard to our missing servicemen.

This book is exceptionally good and comes highly recommended. As a side note, Pfc Robert Garwood (possibly the most notorious U.S. POW collaborator of the Vietnam war) is featured prominently in parts of this book. For those interested in the complete story of Robert Garwood, you would be well rewarded by reading "Conversations With The Enemy: The Story of Pfc Robert Garwood" by Winston Groom and Duncan Spencer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply one of the best, April 27, 2000

By 

kregg Jorgenson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Didn't You Get Me Out?: The Story of Vietnam's Longest Held P.O.W. (Hardcover)

This is a powerful book that gets to the heart of what it was like to have been a POW in the jungles of South Vietnam. Anton's account is a remarkable account; a gut-wrenching story that will take you to the edge on a very real nightmare, teach you something about perseverence, and give you hope. It is a story that must be included in any war books you have on your shelves. I urge you to buy this book.