Former POW speaks to Vietnam veterans (Elbert)

U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war

ROCHESTER — Those who know Lance Cpl. Fred Elbert describe him as quiet and sincere, but the Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war began his speech at the Vietnam Veterans of America meeting Wednesday with a proud, strong “Semper Fi.”

Elbert, 62, of East Liverpool, Ohio, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 1966, when he was 19.

“I was gung-ho,” he said. “I was trying to get into the National Guard.”

Elbert said the Army was sending troops directly to Vietnam after basic training, and when a recruiter told him he could use his aviation mechanics training in the Marine Corps, Elbert signed up. It didn’t turn out the was he expected, though.

When he completed his training some time later, Elbert decided to go into reconnaissance duty and was deployed to Vietnam in January 1968.

Read more

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

Richard Bates, POW

On this date in 1973, the Viet Cong released First Lieutenant Richard Bates of the U.S. Air Force. While flying a mission nearly 6 months before, he was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. Bates was from Plaza, ND, and was 24 when he was captured.

Read More »

POWs and Politics: How Much does Hanoi Really Know A Paper Presented on 19 April 1996 at the Center for the Study of the Vietnam Conflict Symposium “After the Cold War: Reassessing Vietnam,” at Texas Tech University

The recent diplomatic recognition of Vietnam, along with the lifting of the economic embargo, offers an opportunity to re-examine one of the most pernicious legacies of the Vietnam War, the POW/MIA dilemma. Two decades after the war ended, the POW/MIA issue continues to divide Americans in a manner reminiscent of

Read More »