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POW Suicide: Pressured, Persecuted By Military

By VVAW

When the POWs first returned home the Nixon Administration paraded them around as a justification for his war policies. They were given new cars, tens of thousands of dollars, Presidential dinners and prime time on television to tell of the barbaric Vietnamese and of their wonderful President Nixon.

But the crack in the POW's story began to appear as more of the POWs began to talk. Naval Captain Wilbur, among others, said that he had never been tortured or seen anyone tortured. POWs said they were against the war in Vietnam and against it here in the United States.

The Administration had to move to silence the truth. The most outspoken were officers, but charging high ranking officers would cause trouble. So on May 29, an Air Force career officer, Colonel Guy brought charges of aiding the enemy against eight enlisted men.

The public and the press picked up on the fact that no officer was charged and the eight were infantry men. People began to ask embarrassing questions. So on June 26, charges were brought against two officers, Captain Wilbur one of them.

Two days later on June 28th, Sgt. Abel Kavanaugh, one of the eight enlisted men charged, killed himself. The pressure of the United States government and military became too much for him. His wife, Sandra, stated that "He went to Vietnam and the North Vietnamese people kept him alive for five years. Then he came home and his own people killed him." Colonel Guy noted that, "It was regrettable."

After feeling the public reaction to the suicide of Kavanaugh, the Pentagon dropped the charges against the eight enlisted men several days later.

The government admitted responsibility for Kavanaugh's death by dropping the charges against the other POWs. "The dismissal of these charges make it clear that the government realizes its responsibility of Larry's death," said Mrs. Sandra Kavanaugh. "In bringing these charges, the government murdered my husband and caused indescribable hardship in the lives of the other POWs."

The government doesn't care about the POWs any more than they do about the rest of the Vietnam-era veterans. The pressure brought upon Brother Kavanaugh by the government forced him to kill himself. We are saddened because we understand his experience.

In Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier, we saw ourselves labeled as 'cowards' and 'liars' like the charged POWs for speaking the truth about Indochina. We remember being arrested for asking the government to end the war and being heard when we demanded its end.

In August of 1971, one of the U.S. captured servicemen sent us the following message, "We believe the Provisional Revolutionary Government and the Vietnamese people care more about our lives than our own President, Mr. Nixon, who seems to be worried about one thing - and that, that he doesn't want to be the first President to lose a war. For if our President would please wake up and face reality, he'd realize that this war has all ready been lost for quite some time. And nothing is going to change history."

Since this statement was made more than 100 Americans became POWs, more than 4,000 servicemen were killed, and more than 400,000 Indochinese became victims. Also, two POWs were killed within 60 days of their homecoming.

And the bombing and the war continue.

UNITY - Struggle - VICTORY