Unclaimed: A Soldier Left Behind as MIA, Found 44 Years Later Alive

 John Robertson was a soldier during the Vietnam War. He was shot down over Laos in a 1968 classified mission, declared MIA (Missing in Action) and then presumed dead. He was born in Alabama, married and had a family in the United States.

But for the past 44 years he has been living in a remote Vietnamese village with a Vietnamese wife and children.  Canadian filmaker Michael Jorgensen’s documentary Unclaimed,  introduces a slightly stooped, wiry 76-year-old man living in a remote village in south-central Vietnam who trembles with frustration or pounds his forehead when he is unable to remember his birthday or his American children’s names. He is only able to speak Vietnamese.

Unclaimed follows the dramatic quest of Vietnam vet Tom Faunce to prove that the man he was told about while on a 2008 humanitarian mission in Southeast Asia was indeed an Army “brother” who had been listed as killed in action and subsequently forgotten.  John is now back in Vietnam and has no desire to leave, having fulfilled his one wish: to see his American family once more before he dies.

Unclaimed will have its world premiere at Toronto’s 20th Hot Docs festival on April 30. It will be shown later at the G.I. Film Festival in Washington, D.C., in May.

Continue reading John's story and the making of Unclaimed at Left behind in Vietnam: John can’t understand why nobody came for him

I am definitely going to watch this as I'm very interested to see if DNA was used to prove John's identity.  It's a compelling and powerful story. And it raises many questions which I for one hope the film will address.

Case #14: MIA bracelet for Gordon C. Hall - Help Find Family

Rhonda wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy blog about wanting to find the family of Gordon C. Hall, MIA in Vietnam.  Perhaps my readers can help? Here is Rhonda's email:

I am very touched by these stories I have read about these MIA bracelets. I too am trying to find any family belonging to the soldier of the MIA bracelet that I have. His name is Gordon C Hall. 

I went to the Vietnam Wall last week and penciled a sketch of his name and left a letter thanking him for his service. (my father was in Vietnam). My mother has kept this bracelet all these years and I wanted to leave it at the wall, but we decided to hopefully find his family.

New Vietnam War Records Free during February on Footnote.com

FOOTNOTE.COM AND THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES RELEASE NEW VIETNAM WAR PHOTOS AND RECORDS ONLINE

-Over 27,000 Photos And Records Are Added To The Largest Online Vietnam War Collection-

This Press Release just arrived from Footnote.com . I will be exploring the collection myself later this morning!

Lindon, UT – February 4, 2010 – Today Footnote.com announced a major addition to its Vietnam War Collection: Army Photos and Unit Service Awards. Now totaling over 100,000 photos and documents, this collection helps visitors gain a better perspective and appreciation for this often misunderstood event in U.S. History.

“Our partnership with the National Archives has proven to be invaluable as we work to make these records more accessible,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “Previously you were required to travel to Washington, D.C. to see these records. Now anyone can access the original records through the internet.”

Army Unit Service Awards include documents relating to Presidential Unit Citations, Valorous Unit Awards and Meritorious Unit Commendations. These were usually awarded to units going above and beyond the call of duty, and in most cases, showing exceptional valor. These documents contain:

Dates of service
Duties performed
Letters of recommendation

The Army Photos feature various activities of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. In nearly every case there is a caption or description of what was happening and the names of the soldiers featured in the photos. Everything ranging from daily duties to Bob Hope’s Christmas program is captured, providing a glimpse into what life was like for the soldiers.

“My dad is a Vietnam War hero, but I rarely can get him to share his experiences from the war,” says Justin Schroepfer, Marketing Director at Footnote.com. “Going through these photos allowed me to visualize a little more what he went through and the sacrifices he made for his country.”

In addition to these new records, the Footnote Vietnam War Collection also includes:

The Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial – featuring service records for each name on the wall
Photos of the Marine Corps in Vietnam - color
Photos of the Marine Corps in Vietnam - black and white

Footnote.com will continue to work with the National Archives to add more Vietnam War content online.

“These documents and photos tell a part of the Vietnam War story that you just can’t find in textbooks,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “It’s imperative that we preserve and share this side of history for future generations. We are encouraging everyone to come to Footnote.com and enhance these stories by adding their own comments, photos and documents.”

The Vietnam War Collection will be made free to the public during the month of February. To view these documents, visit www.footnote.com/vietnam.