THE CUBAN PROGRAM
"COULD THEY HAVE DONE MORE?"
By: Edward L. Hubbard
Major, USAF
A Paper Submitted to the Faculty
May 1974
Air University
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
The reason for writing this paper is to tell a story that every American should be exposed to in order to really know what happened in the prison camps in North Vietnam. Many stories have been told and several returned POWs have written books, but the grim realities of this story have so far been kept pretty quiet. This story deals with what the author considers to be the worst situation that ever existed in North Vietnam. The other purpose of this paper is to provide detailed information to the Air Training Command to enable them to better determine what, if any, changes should be made in the USAF Survival School training. This paper will be written as a case study, being in chronological story form. The author will not attempt to draw any conclusions or make any recommendations, but only provide information to those people who need it, the American public and the Air Training Command. It will be unclassified, but the information is extremely sensitive because all the details are still not known to the family of one man in the story. The author of this paper is fully qualified to write on this subject, having been a POW in North Vietnam from 20 July 1966 to 4 March 1973, and having lived the experience that will be disclosed herein.
The dates and facts of this story are based completely on the authors best recollection, but are believed by him to be extremely accurate. The opinions and inferences are strictly the authors and are not meant to reflect the attitudes and opinions of any other POW, or any governmental agency.
While most of the paper will deal with the events between 23 May 1968 and 20 February 1969, there will also be references to events both prior to and subsequent to those dates in order to make the story more complete. Throughout the paper all POWs will be referred to by the rank they held while in captivity, however, the names will be fictitious. Whenever two or more names are listed, they will always be listed in rank order with the senior man’s name appearing first.
All of the events in this story transpired at the POW camp known as the Zoo, (see fig. #2) which was near the outskirts of Hanoi in the southwest part of the city. Most of the events occurred in or near the building that the POWs called the “Stable” (see fig. #3). Many things happened in the Stable during the long years of captivity, but none left such an indelible impression as the events that will be disclosed in this story.
The first chapter will serve as an introduction to the cast of characters in this story about a small group of POWs attempting to keep a fellow POW alive. One man, because of extreme torture, had lost touch with reality and had, in the opinion of his fellow POWs, become completely insane. Much of the time he would not eat, drink, or speak. This is the story of a group of American flyers, picked by fate, given virtually no resources, certainly inadequately prepared, already under extreme duress, and then given the task of keeping a man alive even though he claimed he no longer wanted to live. It was a formidable task, but they tried. Could they have done more? Maybe no one will
ever know.
CHAPTER I
"PRIOR TO 13 SEPTEMBER 1967"
The significant events of this story actually took place from May 1968 to February 1969, but in order to better understand all the ramifications and the attitudes of men involved, it is necessary to have a little background. Where did the men come from, what kind of men were they, how did they get there, and most important, how long had they been there? The “there” alluded to in the preceding sentence was a place that had become known as the “Zoo”, a prison camp for American aircrews shot down and captured while flying combat sorties over North Vietnam.
This story really had its beginning in April 1965, When Lt. Cmdr. Vic Rogers, US Navy, was shot down. Vic Rogers (Ray Vohden) is a nice looking, dark-haired, brute of a guy, who had done some college wrestling at Rutgers. He was an A-1 pilot and had been a catapult officer aboard his ship. Vic received a broken leg during his shoot down which never healed. He was, therefore destined to walk on crutches for his entire period of captivity, just less than eight years. He was one of the first half-dozen Americans captured in North Vietnam.
Major Bob Jenkins (Jack Bomar) of the US Air Force was a navigator on an 3B-66 flying out of Tahkli Air Base, Thailand. He was shot down and captured in February 1967 and Mna fortunate enough to get to Hanoi with only minor injuries. Bob is a very likable person with an excellent sense of humor (possibly a little too sarcastic and antagonistic) and one of the greatest story tellers in the world. He is big, with lots of agility and all Bob had the attributes of a good natural athlete. gone to Southeast Asia after having spent four years as a leadership instructor in the Officer Training School at Lockland AFB, Texas. He was required to drew heavily on this experience during his captivity.
From a small town in northern Idaho came an F-105 (Thud) pilot, Captain Walt Douglas (Don Waltman). Walt, who spent most of his career in Air Defense Command, was shot down in September 1966 and arrived in Hanoi with no serious injuries. He is a college graduate with two years of law school and an all-around sharp troop. His never ending humor and “don’t give a shit” attitude helped the morale of every POW with whom he came into contact. It was unfortunate for the other POWs in this story that Walt’s part of the story ends prior to the time that the truly difficult situation evolved.
The effects of his humor would have been a valuable asset.
“The world’s greatest fighter pilot,” was the tag ART given to Major Dick Hathaway (Dave Duart), US Air Force, by his fellow POWs in Stable #3. Dick came into the Air Force, from his home in Indiana, through the Aviation Cadet program. He had spent his entire career in fighter aircraft and loved it, until his F-105F was shot down in February 1967. Dick had been burned slightly during his shootdown but with no serious after effects.
His favorite pastime during captivity was to argue the fine attributes of the “Thud” versus any other aircraft in the inventory. Although he was long on suggestions, he was extremely short on cooperation and therefore was to become a major irritant during a period that was already too difficult. By his own admission, the big chip on his shoulder was a result of being forced into a position where he, a pilot, had to take orders from a navigator (Jenkins), a situation that he felt would never be allowed to exist in the real Air Force.
Captain Don Norton (Norlan Daughtery) was another early arrival in Hanoi. His “Thud” had been shot down in August 1965. In the subsequent high speed ejection both of his elbows had been shattered, leaving him with limited use of his arms. Don was another man with a good sense of humor and a keen mind. His greatest contributions were his antics, which kept the other POWs laughing in a situation where laughs were scarce. This thin (possibly even skinny) pilot, who hailed from Del Rio, Texas amazed his fellow POWs by standing on his head propped up with his two shattered arms. It was agreed among his cellmates, that in this position, he definitely resembled a “pole lamp” in the corner.
Compassion was a truly valuable asset to the POWs in North Vietnam. Most had it unfortunately, some did not. For purposes of this story, it will be considered that compassion was measured by the amount of effort a man put forth in behalf of his fellow POWs. During the difficult circumstances related in this story, Captain Pete Gaylord (Glen Perkins), US Air Force, displayed characteristics of a men solely interested in self-preservation and who totally disregarded the feelings and needs of those around him. His actions were such that he offered very little help, unless ordered to do otherwise. Ile lacked that much needed compassion.
Navy Lt. Carl Annis (Al Carpenter) is a rather quiet man, intelligent far beyond his formal education. He spent about six years enlisted in the Navy before going to flight training, which eventually led to two cruises in SEA. He was shot down twice in his A-l and was captured the second time, in September 1966.
This mild mannered man was also a victim of a high speed ejection and both shoulders were dislocated, something that gave him problems throughout his internment.
1st Lt. Hank Ellsworth (Ed Hubbard), US Air Force, was born and raised in the Kansas City area. He and Pete Gaylord were members of the same EB-66 crew that was shot down in July 1966. Hank was the navigator and Pete was an electronic warfare officer. Neither man was seriously injured during the shoot down. In the opinion of his cellmates, Hank could best be described as rather immature and having a bad temper.
Every group of POWs, no matter how small, had their philosopher and for this group it was Air Force 1st Lt. Bill Tankersly (Tom Barrett). Bill was flying: in the backseat of an FLC when he was shot down in October 1965. Bill, who came from the Chicago area was a math major, a very deep thinker, and very opinionated. He was also pretty mild and rarely started an argument unless pushed too far and then he would gladly argue most any point at great length.
For all the compassion Pete Gaylord lacked, Navy Lt. j.c. Sam Louder (Larry Spencer) had enough to fill the void. Sam was in the backseat of an FB, off the USS Enterprise, when his luck ran out in February 1966. From a small farm town in Iowa, he was probably the most unusual man in the group. As the cliche goes, “he had led a very sheltered life.” He possessed extremely high morals, so high that it caused him to look down a little on the other men he lived with in prison when they discussed their escapades in the past. Unfortunately, it led to a personality conflict with a lot of his cellmates. However, if it had ever come to a vote, there can be no doubt that Sem was one of the best military officers and most conscientious men residing within the confines of the North Vietnam prisons. As has been stated earlier, concerning passion, some had it and some did not. Sam had his share and enough for several other people. It was a good thing he was there to take up the slack when the going really got difficult.
The purpose for the brief personality synopsis on the ten men is to attempt to show that a man’s normal personality traits are not necessarily the only determinant of a man’s actions under extreme stress. ten men described in the first part of this chapter represent a random cross-section of the American POWs living at the Zoo in August 1967. Their ages spread from 27 to 10; some were injured and some were not; they had flown several different kinds of aircraft; no two men came from the same state; and their time in captivity to that date ranged from six months to two years and four months. In August 1967, they suddenly found that they had something in common. One by one, each of the men was quizzed (POW Jargon for interrogation) by two new interrogators. The new interrogators were very hardnosed and made quite a few threats. As the word spread throughout the camp that a few men were being interrogated late at night by two strangers, everyone knew something was in the wind. Nobody knew what it was, but it was a safe bet that it wouldn’t be good. It wasn’t.
Early in the morning on 13 September 1967, the ten men who had been quizzed were moved into the Stable and all other POWs were moved out. The new line-up was; Stable #1: Rogers (Vohden), Jenkins (Bomar), and Hathaway (Duart); Stable #2: Norton (Daughtery) and Tankersly (Barrett); Stable #3: Douglas (Waltman), Gaylord (Perkins), and Ellsworth (Hubbard); and Stable #4: Annis (Carpenter) and Louder (Spencer). Carpenter and Spencer were put into leg irons and tied to the bed within the first hour, because they had a “bad attitude.” Then the “new program” got off to a flying start, with every man in the building going to quiz before the day was over. It was a bad omen of things to come in the new life in the Stable.
CHAPTER II
"LIFE IN THE STABLE"
The fact that every man in the Stable had a quiz on 13 September 1967 should have given some indication of what was coming. But, oven the most pessimistic men in the group could not foresee the long and trying ordeal that lay ahead. Every man was destined to be quizzed on the average of five or six times per week for several months. According to the new interrogators, they didn’t want much, only an “unconditional surrender” statement. At that time, organization within the POW system still left a little to be desired and, as a result, it was pretty much up to each man to set his own standards. Those standards were based on several things; personal pride, conviction, the code of conduct, and most of all the man’s physical and/or mental strong at any given time. These standards determined the degree of difficulty in getting the desired statement. The interrogators started with Stable #1 and tortured or coerced their way through the building until finally, three and one-half months later, on 27 December 1967, they tortured the tenth and last man. During that three and one-half month period there had been frequent torture, moves, leg irons, solitary, and mental duress that defied description.
In the final analysis six men in the group were physically tortured and the others succumbed to the mental duress. Which men were on which
list is of no consequence in this story. When all had submitted, the Stable took on a now air.
On 8 January 1968, the situation in the Stable had stabilized with cell #1 empty, WALTMAN and PERKINS cell #2, and the other eight men in cell #3. Cell #4 was also empty (see figure 4). That was the way it. would remain, at least for awhile. Though there had been many moves and different men had reacted in different ways, nobody had gotten out of the program. But, for the first time, eight POWs were living together in one cell.
On the morning of 19 January 1968, a vehicle came into the Zoo and deposited four new POWs. Three of them moved into Stable #1. They were the first POWs, outside of the original group of ten, to be allowed into the area of the Stable. The fact that no other POWs had been in the area did not mean that the men in the Stable were isolated. EN HUBBARD HAD established two-way communication by “hand code” with both the “Poolhall” and the “Pigsty” in the summer of 1967. Those links were never broken, despite all the moves. Since there was not a common wall between Stable #1 and Stable #2, it was necessary to find some other way to contact Stable #1. On the afternoon of 19 January 1968, a message was cent from the window of Stable #3 to the vent hole of Poolhall # requesting the Poolhall attempt. contact with Stable #1. The message was tapped down the walls to Poolhall #6 and by noon on 20 January 1968 comm (communications) had been established between Pool- hall #h and Stable #1. It took one day to teach the three new POWs the hand code, but on 21 January 1968 the requested information (brief biography) started to filter back to Stable #3. That information was to be the first hint that there was something wrong in Stable #1.
The message that arrived in Stable #3 that day was as follows: Three POWs in Stable #1 came from Little Vegas (another POW comp). They are Navy Lt. (jg) CHUCK RICE who was flying an F-8 and was down on 27 October 1967 and he is OK. Navy Lt. (j.g.) EARL LEWIS was in the backseat of an R that was shot down on 25 October 1967 and he is OK. His front seater’s name is ROBERT FRISHMAN
he is at Little Vegas and has a broken arm. The third man in Stable #1 is a man named COBEIL who refuses to transmit any further information. Up to that point, no POW had ever refused to send biographical and shoot down information to other POWs. Obviously something was wrong, but nobody knew what.
About one month later Cobiel, Lewis and Rice. moved from Stable #1 to Pigsty #11 without any further information on Cobiel ever getting into the communications network (comm net). (see figure #5) Fortunately the men in the Pigsty had better luck. The second day after the move the POWs, who were the dishwashers in the Pigsty, were able to throw a note through the “flipper” (a small peephole, with a cover, built into the door of every cell) into Pigsty #11. This note explained how to use the “tap code” (see figure #6) and within a few days it was learned that Cobiel did not trust anyone and he would not comm with anybody. Fortunately his cellmates did not share his views, however, there was now a POW in the system who, for some unknown reason, had lost faith in his fellow POWs.
On or about 11 March 1968, there was another move at the Zoo. Cobiel, Lewis, and Rice were split up. Cobiel was moved to solitary confinement in the “Outhouse,” a small six foot building behind the Pigsty, where POWs were put when they got into trouble. Frishman moved out of Stable #3 to Pigsty #10. Daughtrey moved from Stable #3 to Pigsty #11 with Lewis, and Riex, moved into Stable #3 with the six men that remained. Jack Bomar took over in Stable #3 as SRO (senior ranking officer). A few days later, Waltman and Perkins- moved from Stable #2 to Pigsty #9 and the moving was complete for awhile.
Rice brought some additional information on Cobiel but it was still pretty sketchy, and because of Cobiel’s distrust, no one felt the information was too reliable. Rice said the man’s name was Earl Cobiel 9 a Major in the Air Force and he had been shot down on 5 November 1967, while flying in the backseat of an F-105F.
The three new POWs now seemed to be part of the special group. In April 1968, Lewis finally surrendered to the interrogators. Shortly after he moved into Pigsty #9 with Waltman and Perkins. Daughtrey had moved back into Stable #3, bringing strength back up to eight POWS. All attention of the interrogators then shifted to Cobiel still isolated in the Outhouse. When the POWS from Stable #3 were working behind the Pigsty in mid-May, Daughtrey and Hubbard had a chance to talk to Cobiel on a couple of occasions. Cobiel was extremely reluctant to talk and sounded very depressed. On 20 May 1968, Cobiel disappeared from the Outhouse. That was just one more of the hundreds of unexplained moves during the long years of captivity.
CHAPTER III
"COBIEL SUCCUMBS"
Because of the extensive comm net organized by the POWs, it was extremely difficult for the Vietnamese to move any man within the camp without being observed by someone. But, on 20 May 1968 when Earl Cobiel disappeared from the Outhouse, it appeared that nobody had witnessed his departure. A quick check, via the comm net, disclosed that nobody knew the whereabouts of Cobiel. Finally, on the afternoon of May 22, 1968, he reappeared, just as mysteriously as he had vanished, behind the Pigsty. It was not until the next week that the whole story was uncovered. It is necessary to jump ahead that week in order to keep events in the proper sequence.
On Monday, 27 May 1968, a work party of four POWs from Stable #3 went to “Gatehouse Cell #1 to make “Coalballs” (briquets used for cooking).. At that time Navy Lt. James “JJ” Connell was living in solitary in Gatehouse Cell #2. He had been in solitary since his capture in the summer of 1966 and had been faking insanity and the loss of the use of both hands for that entire period. Only the Americans knew the truth. Jennings was not only, sane, but extremely sharp. He had become the most vital link in the comm mot at the Zoo. He was the only witness to what had happened to Eppert from 20-23 May 68, and he passed all the details to the coalball makers that day.
The account of those three days was by word of mouth from Jennings (J.J Connell) to the author of this story (ED HUBBARD), through a boarded-up window, almost six years ago. The author is working strictly from memory because the man who actually witness the events, Charles Jennings, can not tell the story himself. He never returned from North Vietnam. He is listed by the North Vietnamese as having died in captivity.
The following is the account of events as told to Hubbard by Jennings. On the morning of 20 May 68, Cobiel: was taken from the Outhouse to a quiz in the “Carriage House” next to the main gate. Enroute to the Carriage House, he passed a Vietnamese guard and failed to offer the mandatory bow. The guard stopped and yelled at Cobiel a few times but to no avail; Cobel continued. Apparently, when Cobiel entered the Carriage House, he also failed to bow to the interrogator. The guards immediately started slapping him around. As the day wore on, it became obvious that Cobiel had decided he was tired of being degraded and humiliated by the Vietnamese. In his mind, he had picked a point and time to make his stand, and this was his time.
After the sicsts (everyone in North Vietnam took a break from noon until 2 p.m. except the POWs, who were busy communicating) the guards and interrogators, working with Cobie decided they needed some higher authority to press the issue, so they called “Lump” to the Carriage House. Lump was a political cadre at the Zoo. Nobody knew if he was first or second in command. Normally, Lump was a “nice guy” interrogator and rarely got involved in the actual torture of prisoners, however, there was no doubt that he had given the orders to torture many times. Apparently Lump decided that in order to maintain control of the situation he would have to take stern measures with this arrogant American, who even after being severely beaten, refused to bow. Late in the afternoon of 20 May 68, under direct control of Lump, the guards took leg irons, wrist irons, ropes, and clubs into the Carriage House and started torturing Cobiel.
Connell reported that Cobielis torture continued late into the night and even though he could not see him, he felt sure he had been left in the ropes all
night. Early on the morning of 21 May 68 Lump and the guards arrived back at the Carriage House, confident that Cobjel would be more than humble after being beaten all day and then trussed up like a pretzel all night. They were wrong, not only did he refuse to bow, but now, he nl30 refused to speak to them. After torturing him all day, with no success, Lump called on the two special interrogators who had successfully forced the men in the Stable to surrender.
The larger and more brutal of the two special interrogators will be referred to as “The Giant” “Fidel”, (the Cuban). He arrived with Lump on the morning of 22 May 68 and immediately took over the torturing of Cobiel. Jennings reported that Cobiel as moaning pretty badly as The Cuban (FIDEL).
started beating him, but the louder The Cuban yelled, and the harder he beat Cobiel, the softer the moaning became. Then, at about 11 a.m., there was a blood curdling scream from the Carriage House. Connell felt sure that The Cuban, had killed Cobiel.
Connell kept a constant vigil at the crack in his door throughout the siesta that day and, about 2 p.m., The Cuban returned to the Zoo and went directly to the Carriage House. To the astonishment of Connell, when The Cuban came out of the Carriage House ten minutes later, Cobiel was walking behind him. Connell said
that Cobiel was stumbling pretty badly, had his head down, and looked like a different person. It was obvious that he had been beaten mentally, as well as physically. Cobiel: had drawn on every ounce of his courage to make his stand and even though he had been subjected to unbelievable torture for three days he still would neither bow nor speak. However, it would be difficult to say he had won the battle because he would never recover from that ordeal.
Now it is necessary to move back to the scene, behind the Pigsty, when Cobiel reappeared after having been missing for three days. A work detail composed of the POWs from Stable #3 plus five POWs from the backside of the Pigsty were digging a hole in the ground, When The Cuban presumably to make a place to raise fish. came around the corner of the Pigsty, he ordered the guards to put all the POWs in their cells except Don Waltman and Earl Lewis. He took them down to the Pigsty shower to see Cobiel. The purpose seemed to be to show Lewis what would happen to him if he ever got out of lline again. Then Waltman and Cobiel were locked in the shower while Lewis rejoined the other POWs back at work. Lewis had been told by The Cuban to say nothing about what he had just seen. Because of what he had just seen, he followed The Cuban’s instructions.
About thirty minutes later, when Waltman had finished cleaning up Cobiel;, all the POWs were put back in their cells. Cobie moved into Pigsty #9 with Woltman, and Perkins and Lewis moved out. Perkins moved to Later in the Stable #3 and Leung moved to Pigsty #8. afternoon, Rice, moved out of Stable #3 and into the Outhouse. It appeared that it was going to be Rice ‘s turn to surrender next, but that would have to wait until The Cuban finished with Cobiel.
Cobiel was still defying all orders from the guards and that was a situation which could not be tolerated.
Life in Pigsty #9 that night was beyond comprehension to Don Waltman. A POW had been put with him who refused to eat or drink, and spoke only when he was pressed. When Cobel did speak to Waltman, it was mostly incoherent and included many phrases loudly shouted such as, “I know who you are, you’re a Russian spy. You are very cruel, why don’t you just kill me?” Waltman was completely baffled by that outburst. He wasn’t really sure what Cobel’s mental state was so he tried several different approaches, but all to no avail.
On Thursday morning, 23 May 68, Waltman got some help when Ray Vohden moved into Pigsty #9. Vohden and Waltman discussed the situation and then tried unsuccessfully to get through to Cobiel. Like anyone else, who had no experience around people with mental problems, they were unable to determine if Cobiel was faking or if he really had lost touch with reality. Soon, The Cuban stopped at Pigsty #9 and asked what Cobiel had said. They told him that Cobiel had not spoken to them, and that they thought Cobiel had been tortured excessively, to the point he was losing his mind. The Giant kept insisting that Cobiel was only faking and he (The Cuban) would prove it.
At the same time, RICE had been watching the scene through a crack in the door of the Outhouse. gald The Cuban was extremely upset and had been pacing back and forth behind the Pigsty for an hour before he went to talk to Wohden, and Waltman. It seemed that The Cuban had finally found a POW who had no intention of surrendering. At about 10:30 a.m. on 23 May 1968, The Cuban dragged Cobiel from Pigsty #9 and sat him on the ground. He tried to ask Cobiel questions, but Cobiel refused to acknowledge. The questions were followed by beatings, the beatings followed by questions, This barbaric routine lasted several hours, but Cobiel remained silent. After the siesta, Cobiel was moved to Stable #3.
That evening eight POWs sat on their bunks in Stable #3, confused and bewildered by the actions of a fellow POW. It was a quiet evening as everyone sat organizing their thoughts and evaluating their first impressions of Epperts actions and condition. It is necessary to know the details of the events of the after- noon of 23 May 1963 in order to understand the basis for those first impressions.
CHAPTER IV
"FIRST IMPRESSIONS"
The activities of the afternoon of 23 May 1968 are likely never to be forgotten by those who lived in Stable #3. Shortly after the siesta, Hubbard was taken to a quiz, Connell and Daughtrey were left in the cell and the other men were taken out on a work detail. Since Daughtrey’s arms didn’t allow him to do much work, he was put out in the garden in front of the Stable just to get him out of the cell. With only Connell left inside, The Cuban opened the cell door and threw’ Cobiel on the floor. The Cuban yelled at Bomar, “He is one of yours, so take care of him.”
Connell wasn’t even sure who the POW was but, with information received in the last 24 hours, it was a safe assumption that it was Cobiel. Lying on the was floor was an extremely filthy POW, badly bruised over about 90% of his body. He did not make a sound and make no effort to get up from the floor.
Running short of patience, The Cuban alternately yelled at Bomar to help Cobiel and then jerked Cobiel to his feet and beat him again. Bomar was finally able to get Cobiel onto a bunk and he began washing him with a wet towel. The Cuban kept telling Bomar, “All I want him to do is show respect and answer when I speak to him.” It was obvious, Cobiel had no intention of doing either.
When Hubbard returned from his quiz, Bomar and The Cuban: were bending over a limp form on the bunk in the far corner of the cell. Assuming that one of his cellmates had been hurt, Hubbard hurried back to the corner to see who it was. As he approached, ‘The Cuban turned and yelled, “What are you doing here?” Hubbard 1, slightly confused, retorted, “I live here.” The Cuban took a couple of threatening steps toward Hubbard and shouted, “Get out of here!” So, without getting a good look at the man on the bunk, Hubbard retreated from the cell, Once outside he discovered that there were no guards in the area, but then noticed Daughtrey standing in the garden so he joined him. Daughtrey stated that the man on the hunk was Cobiel, that he had bean in the cell for about an hour, and had been beaten several times within the hour.
A short time later, Bomar helped Cobel to the bath area between the Stable and the Auditorium. While Bomar- was washing Cobiel, The Cuban returned, with a rubber hose about three feet long, and administered one
more brutal beating. He was still demanding some kind of acknowledgement when he spoke but none was forth-coming.
When the afternoon meal arrived the other POWS from the Stable #3 returned from their work detail. Bomar and Cobiel were inside the cell and The Cuban had departed for the time being. After cleaning up, all the POWs picked up their chow and went into the cell. Before anyone could start eating, the cell door opened and Hubbard was taken out on the porch. The Cuban was back with the rubber hose, only this time, it was Hubbard’s turn. The only explanation for the beating was “You show very bad attitude today.” Unexplained beatings were not uncommon to the POWs and as soon as The Cuban had made his point, whatever it might have been, Ed Hubbard returned to the cell. As soon as Hubbard finished explaining what had just transpired, all attention shifted to Cobiel lying silently on his bunk.
One by one, each man walked over to Cobel; and introduced himself. Cobiel sat up and stared blankly at each man, He made no effort to shake hands and said nothing. Even though Cobel, would not relate the details of his experience, his battered condition told a vivid story. The mood of the cell was sullen as
Bomar recapped the events since the siesta. was eaten in silence, each man trying to cope with the knowledge that, for no reason, another American (Cobiel) had been savagely beaten.
A couple of times one of the POWs walked to Cobiel’s bunk and tried to get him to eat, but he refused. After everyone finished eating, Bomar went over, sat on Cobiel’s bunk and tried to impress upon him the importance of eating his chow. Bomar got a reaction from Cobiel, but certainly not what had been hoped for. Cobiel jumped to his feet and started screaming, don’t you kill me?”, “You’re all Russian Spies”, “I know you are going to transplant my face and fingerprints and go to the United States and destroy my family and my country”, “Which one of you is going to be me?” Cobiel kept getting louder and more incoherent. He said he thought there were gas jets in the walls, cameras in the celling, and that the cell was an artificial environment. Over and over he demanded to be killed, stated that he was tired of being tortured, and all he wanted was to be left alone to die. In short order there were guards, standing on the window sill, yelling at Cobiel to shut up. (It was forbidden to make any noise in the cells that could he heard outside). Cobiel; did not become physically violent and, after about ten minutes
he sat down on his bunk and quietly closed his eyes. There was complete silence in Stable #3.
Slowly the conversation started again, and it was centered around Eppert’s condition. Hubbard and Larry Spencer were convinced that, because of the apparent torture, Cobiel had lost touch with reality. Bomor, Duart and Doutey were strong in their feelings that he was only faking. Sure he had been tortured, but he wasn’t really insane. Perkins, AL Carpenter and Tom Barrett said they would reserve judgement. for: the time being. The discussion lasted until late that night and eventually became an argument rather than a discussion. But, it was a senseless argument because not one man in that cell had any education, experience, or training in recognizing or dealing with actual or suspected mental disorders.
At the end of that long, trying day, the men in Stable #3 did not agree on many things. But, they did agree that Cobiel was an American who was definitely in trouble. No matter what his mental state something
was going to have to be done. The big question was, “What?”
CHAPTER V
"DECISION TIME"
Whether or not Eppert had mental problems was one thing. He definitely had physical problems that needed immediate attention. Jenkins told the turnkey (POW jargon for the guard with keys to the cells) that he wanted the medic to examine Eppert. Much to everyone’s surprise the medic came to Stable #3 on the afternoon of 24 May 1968 and gave Eppert a “thorough” exam, a rare occurrence. The information derived form the exam was that Eppert had absolutely no reaction to anything. When exposed to a flashlight, his eyes did not constrict or dilate, Using a pin, the medic stuck him hundreds of times all over his body and there was no reaction. His blood pressure was a rather low 80/50.
Most of the POWs in Stable #3 had been in the ropes before and were aware of the numbness that results lasting sometimes, for months. Therefore, the fact that Eppert had no reaction to the pin sticking came as no great surprise. However, the lack of reaction to the flashlight was rather startling. Again, due to a lack of background and education, no one really knew the significance.
To Hubbard, and Spencer, it further substantiated Cobeil was completely out of touch their view that
with the world. Bomar, Duart.. and Daughtrey seemed to be having some second thoughts but still held that he was faking. Carpenter And Barrett, still held to the middle of the road, but started leaning toward the Hubbard/ Spencer position. Perkins took a new position, one that he alone would maintain throughout the ordeal. His position was that no matter what Cobie I’s condition he, Perkins had plenty of problems himself and it was neither his responsibility nor job to do anything. Perlaws decided to ask the Vietnamese to move him to another cell. For some reason, the Vietnamese consistently refused to honor Perkin’s request. Even though he asked at every opportunity, Perkins was destined to share the experience in Stable #3, like it or not.
Over the weekend Cobiel refused to eat or drink and, only on rare occasions, did he speak. By Sunday after- noon, there was considerable concern about how long Eppert could survive. His physical condition was so poor that severl of the men felt he could die within a week. Late Sunday, Hubbard proposed that Cobiel should be “force fed” but, when pressed on the idea, admitted he had no idea how it could be done. Most of the evening was spent in another discussion/argument concerning the need to feed Cobiel. Perkins got his first hint of support from Duart: Duart didn’t lean on the “no responsibility” idea, he simply stated that he would not help with force feeding. As he put it, “When he gets hungry enough, he will eat.” Fortunately the majority of the POWs in Stable #3 did not share the feelings of Duart and Perkins. By bedtime Sunday night, Bomar made the decision that Cobiel would be force fed starting with the first meal on Monday, 27 May 1968. Since it Hubbard’s idea, it would also be his responsibility to figure out how it was to be done.
On Monday morning a situation report was sent via HARINO) the comm net to the camp SRO, who lived in the Poolhall. Along with that report a message was sent requesting advise and suggestions from any POW in the camp. About twenty answers were received, but nothing that hadn’t already been discussed. The men in Stable #3 spent the rest of the morning deciding how the force feeding would be done.
The first alternative was to ask the Vietnamese for an empty bottle, something like a beer bottle, and a length of surgical tubing. The bottle would be filled with food, then the tubing stretched over the mouth of
of the bottle. If Cobiel could be forced to swallow the other end of tubing, then he could be gravity fed. It was finally decided that even if the Vietnamese would bring the bottle and tubing (which was doubtful) the chance of choking Cobiel to death with the tubing. was too great. Again, a case of no experience or training. The second alternative was chosen and will be discussed later.
The menu for the Zoo that day was a bowl of boiled greens (resembled spinach) and a loaf of French bread, After everyone had finished eating, Hubbard took all of the “weeds” from Cobiel’s bowl and pulverized them in a plate. At the same time, Spencer and Daughtrey were making crumbs out of Cobiel’s loaf of bread. Then it was all mixed together in the soup broth, making a sickening green mush. Fortunately Cobiel rarely opened his eyes, he would probably never see what he was about to eat.
Hubbard’s idea would require four men to feed Cobiel. With Cobiel lying on his back, one man would hold his head, one man would spoon the food into his mouth, one man would prop Cobiel’s s mouth open with a spoon in one hand and push the food down his throat with the other, and the fourth man would sit on Cobiel’s legs and pin his arms to his side. It was assumed that Cobiel was going to resist, and he did with all his
strength.
The first problem was just getting Cobiel’s mouth open. Hubbard had assumed that he could squeeze the jaw, and his mouth would come open. But he was wrong. After about ten minutes Hubbard discovered that covering the mouth and nose, as if to smother, was very effective. In about 30 seconds, Cobiel would open wide and gasp for air. The spoon was inserted on edge and the mouth held open. With Barrett, holding Cobiel’s head and Duart sitting on his legs, Spencer poured in the mush one spoon at a time. Hubbard kept one finger in Cobiel’s mouth and each time he attempted to spit the food out Hubbard
until it blocked his wind. would push it back in Cobiel was then forced to swallow in order to breathe.. The cycle was continued until all the mush was gone; about one hour.
When the feeding was finished there was an unbelieveable mess. Cobiel had been very successful in blowing the mush out of his mouth. When the mush was cleaned off the bunk, the faces and the chests of the feeders, there was enough to fill the bowl about half-way. the feeding had not been a booming success, the men had gotten by one big hurdle. Before they started, nobody was convinced it could be done without choking Cobiel to death, but it had. In the event he had started to choke the emergency procedure was to sit him up and burp him like a baby. As it turned out, that had to be done after each feeding because of the large amount of air Cobiel swallowed with each bite.
That afternoon there had to be some minor changes to the feeding procedure. First, the spoon had cut Cobiel’s gums badly, so Hubbard found a piece of wood
about four inches long, two inches wide, and in thick. He washed it end wrapped it in a piece of cloth torn from a shirt. This would replace the spoon and the cloth could be washed after each feeding. The second problem was the amount of food Cobiel was able to spit out. This actually created two problems. One, food supply was very limited so there had to be minimum of waste if Cobiel was going to get enough to eat. Second, even though the feeders felt they had consider- able compassion for Cobiel after he had spit in their faces for one hour, tolerance wore thin. With no knowledge of how long the situation was going to exist, solving the spitting problem became paramount. By experimenting during the second meal, it was discovered why Cobie could spit out so much food. He could breathe in through his nose and then blow the food out of his mouth, all the way across the cell. The job of the man holding Cobiel’s head was changed. He would use his left hand to cover Cobiel’s mouth and his right hand to hold his nose.
The system had been perfected but, there was still one problem. After the first day, the four feeders were tense and their tempers short. The only solution was to create two feeding teams, thereby allowing each man to be involved in that frustrating experience only once ench day. Hubbard’s force feeding idea turned out to be a good one, but his next idea was anything but good.
Hubbard, called an exercise nut by his cellmates, decided Cobiel, should at least get off his bunk and walk around the cell. Unfortunately, his cellmates agreed end they tried to force Cobiel to go walking. It was a bad idea as it led to the first violent encounter. Cobiel threw everything he could find but luckily nobody was hurt. Finally, he was subdued and after he had been held on his bunk for a few minutes, once again became docile.
The force feeding continued until unexpectedly, the morning of June 1968, the Vietnamese decided to try to help Cobiel. Nobody had much faith in the Vietnamese doctors but, at the same time, nobody felt that Cobiel could survive being force fed indefinitely. The “help” from the Vietnamese at least gave brief respite from the terrific tension developing in Stable #3.
CHAPTER V1
"UP, DOWN, AND DEPART"
After one week of force feeding Cobiel the tension in Stable #3 was almost unbearable. The men found it difficult to discuss anything without it evolving into an argument. There had been a couple of occasions when Cobiel become violent during the clean-up period, subsequent to the feeding. Once, Bomar had lost his temper when Cobiel threw a bowl at him. Carpenter had lost his temper and slapped Cobiel after Cobiel had spit in his face. That was the only occasion when anyone in Stable #3 struck Cobiel. It was not like Carpenter to do that sort of thing because he was normally very mild mannered. Unfortunately, a Vietnamese guard was looking in the window at the time and later that incident would come back to haunt the POWs. Out of the confusion, came a couple of threats of court-martial by Duart directed at Hubbard and Spencer. It was the third time Duart had threatened Hubbard, each time as a result of a discussion, turned argument over who could drop the best bombs. When Duart resorted to belittling and name calling, Hubbard, though considerably junior but rather hard headed, became belligerent. All things considered, the situation was untenable and something had to be done.
When the Vietnamese medics showed up and announced that they intended to treat Cobiel, it was almost like @miracle. However, the POWs were a little skeptical until the medics explained their plan; then they become completely skeptical. The Vietnamese had gotten some equipment from a hospital and brought it to the Zoo. They were going to treat Cobiel in one of the quiz rooms in the comp. As best the medic could explain, through an interpreter, they were going to tape an electrode on both of Cobiel’s temples and shock his brain. None of the eight POWs had ever heard of such a thing and assumed it was some kind of ancient, oriental treatment. Bomar tried to get more information before allowing Cobiel to be taken from the cell, but as an old POW saying goes, the Vietnamese had their way and Bomar received no answers. They just took Cobiel out.
During Kobel’s first shock treatment, Earl Lewis was moved into Stable #3. No one ever really knew why Lewis was moved that day, but there were a couple of possibilities. First, Lewis had lived with Cobiel since shortly after their shoot down and if Cobiel
returned to the cell in a different state of mind, seeing a familiar face might help him. The second idea that The Cuban was trying to confirm that he was faking, was determined to be more likely after the next sequence of events.
About thirty minutes after Lewis moved in, all the POWs in Stable #3 were taken out to make coalballs. Normally they were only watched by an ordinary gun carrying guard. But, on that day Lump checked them on several occasions. Also, the POWs were kept working about two hours longer than usual. Immediately after they returned to the cell, the comm team in the Poolhall got up in their vent and coughed twice. It was not the normal comm time, so something was up.
The Poolhall comm team reported that The Cuban and several Vietnamese had been in Stable #3 during the absence of the POWs, with a ladder, hammers, chisels, and wire. After considerable hammering and banging, The Cuban had been hoard counting, as if testing a micro- phone. The man in the Poolhall felt that Stable #3 had been bugged. The men who lived in Stable #3 had no alternative, but to assume that to be true.
After receiving the message, Hubbard climbed down from the window and put his finger to his lips to signal everyone to remain silent. Using the hand code, he
explained the situation. The trick then was to make sure no one said anything that should not be heard by the Cuban. It appeared that Lewis had been moved in, with the hope he would be concerned about Cobiel, and The Cuban, who still contended that Cobiel was faking, hoped to record some remarks that would bear out his belief. Before the POWs could get very well organized, Cobiel returned from his first shock treatment.
When Cobiel walked through the doorway into the cell, it was apparent that he had indeed been shocked. For the first time since he had moved into Stable #3, he stood very erect and his eyes were open extremely wide. Cobiel seemed unusually alert and sat up on his bunk for some time. He played around with his food but ate virtually nothing. It was decided to stop the force feeding in order to see if the shock treatment was going to work. Cobiel received three more shock treatments on the 7th, 11th and 14th of June 1968, all of them presumably at a hospital. According to the Vietnamese medic, they increased the strength of the shock at each treatment and by June 11th Cobiel was very wide-eyed and had started to eat a reasonable amount of food. He still refused to speak but, at that point nobody really cared if he talked, just as long as he would eat.
Sometime during that week, having failed to gain the desired results from the bugging device, The Cuban had Lewis moved out of Stable #3 and back to the Pigsty. The Cuban went through the biographies of the POWs and discovered that one men, Air Force Lt. MIKE KERR, had majored in psychology. Muce KERR WAS moved into Stable #3 to replace Lewis and to analyze Cobiel’s problem.
The second day that Kerr lived in Stable #3 The Cuban again bugged the cell. Once again, the POWs were warned and were able to cope with the situation. Kerr made no pretense of being able to analyze Cobiel’s problems when discussing them with his fellow POWs but, for about ten days, he made a daily oral report to The Cuban. Kerr attempted to convince The Cuban that Cobiel was insane, a vitally important mission in light of subsequent events. Just one day after Cobel had started eating by himself, the guards started trying to get him to bow. After two days of harassment failed to get results, the guards started beating Cobiel again.
The men in Stable #3 finally got the beatings stopped when they physically lifted Cobiel to his feet, held him by the waist, and bowed him. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese only accepted that for three days and then demanded he get up and how by himself. When Cobiel
refused, the guard left the cell and returned with a length of rubber hose which they used to beat him n the face. For two days, every time the door opened (about ten times a day) Cobiel got hit in the face two
or three times. Not once did he even blink, and it was at that point that all the POWs in Stable #3 finally became convinced that Cobiel was completely out of ouch with reality.
A request was sent to the camp SRO asking for suggestions and also requesting approval for the other eight men to stand in front of Cobiel each time the door was opened. This would force the Vietnamese or The Cuban to beat all the others in order to get to Cobiel.. The idea was Hubbard’s and it did not get majority support in Stable #3 but it did get Bomars approval so the request was sent. It was disapproved by the camp SRO. Hi ationale was that considering The Cuban’s attitude and past actions, he (the SRO) did not want to risk the lives and/or sanity of eight other men.
Because of the savage beatings the morale in Stable #3 went down badly, tempers got short, and there were constant flaps (arguments) with The Cuban and the guards. Finally on 28 June 1968 Cobiel was moved out of Stable #3, presumably to go to the hospital. However, via the comm net, it was learned that he had been oved to Auditorium #3. That info brought about a worse attitude which led to a serious flap the follow- ing day with The Cuban, in what the POWs referred to as the “patio party”.
The Cuban was not known for his casual attitude towards arrogant POWs so the “patio party” came as no surprise. Bomar had gotten into an argument at a quiz about why the bombings had stopped north of 20° latitude. Bomar said, “Obviously you have made some concessions and if things don’t work out the B-52’s ill be here soon to “nuc” you.” The Cuban took exception to those remarks and stomped down to Stable #3. to check the attitudes of the rest of the men. When he found it to be the same, he took Bomar out on the patio and rapped him in the head a few times. Then he put Bomar on the ground on his knees and called the rest of the men out, one by one. As each man went out, he was required to kneel and receive a couple of blows to the head. As each man was hit, Bomar got hit across the butt with the rubber hose. Finally, all the men, except Kerr were on the patio, kneeling, hands up in the air, staring at the ground. Because of the heat and extremely uncomfortable position, it was fortunate they were not kept there long. When they returned to the cell, it was discovered that Kerr had been moved, destination unknown, reason unknown.
On 5 July 1968, the comm team in the Poolhall reported that Cobel had been seen leaving the Zoo in an ambulance. They also reported that they had been Mashing Cobiel’s dishes, while he was in Auditorium #3, and he had eaten nothing. Nobody knew when, or if, they would see Cobiel again but, hopefully, he was going to the hospital where his condition might improve.
CHAPTER VII
"SHORT LIVED JOY"
The period from 5 July 1968 to 20 July 1968 was rather uneventful for the POWs in Stable #3. The Cubanput in fewer appearances with each passing day; something that didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
The Vietnamese had left some of Cobie’s belongings in Stable #3 which raised the question; would he return to that cell if he returned from the hospital? There was considerable discussion about the advisability of him being put back with the same people whom he obviously did not like or trust. It was decided to attempt to get the Vietnamese to take the advice of the POWs concerning Cobiel. That was assuming the POWs could reach agreement on what they they thought would be best for him. The ensuing discussion/argument finally led to four possibilities. First, put Cobiel with a completely different group of POWs where he knew no one. Second, put him in with the man he was flying with when he was shot down. Third, put him in a smaller cell with two men from Stable #3, (Hubbard and Spencer volunteered) hoping the door wouldn’t be opened as often, thereby cutting down on Cobiel’s exposure to the guards.
The last iden, and the one gene ally considered to be the poorest was to ask that Cobiel returned to Stable #3 and then just hope for the best.
When Bomar approached the Vietnamese on the subject, they would not even discuss the first two ideas. They did say they would consider the third and Bomar didn’t bother with the fourth. Just after dark on 20 July 1968, the door to Stable #3 opened and in walked Cobiel, standing erect, eyes open wide, and smiling. His first remark was a real show stopper, “Hi, when do we eat? I’m starved.” Vietnamese guards and medics stood behind Cobiel, smiling proudly. The POWs just stood and stared in amazement. It was too good to be true.
It took awhile for the shock to subside but, as soon as the Vietnamese closed and locked the cell, the POWs, cautiously at first and then with great enthusiasm, went over to welcomo Cobiel book. Cobel smiled and shook hand with everyone. He was especially happy to see CHUCK RICE with whom he had lived earlier. RICE had moved back into Stable #3 during Cobiel’s absence. The two reminisced about being together at Little Vegas. Cobiel acknowledged recognition of the others, particularly those who had, as he put it, “shoved food down my throat.” He appeared to have no animosity and even displayed some humor. He looked at Daughtrey, who was extremely thin, and said, “What’s wrong with you, don’t they ever feed you?” It was especially humorous coming from Cobiel who probably weighed less than 100 pounds at that time.
Most of the evening was spent listening to Cobiet recount his experiences since he had been moved out several weeks before. He could vaguely remember the period in Auditorium #3 but stated that he had been unable to determine his location at that time. He enthusiastically told of his time at the hospital, where he was well treated and where he met a very nice Vietnamese doctor (the man the POWs called “Doc Zorba”). Cobiel also stated that he had been well fed and had received quite a few bananas. With that, someone recalled that the POWs at the Zoo had received a banana with the afternoon meal and several men in Stable #3 had saved theirs’s for the next morning. Four bananas were gathered and given to Cobiel Since he stated he was hungry, everyone was more than willing to give up their banana, plus they all were dying to see him eat. The evening passed quickly and when the gong sounded at 9:00 p.m. there was nothing but happiness in Stable #3.
Just before dawn on 21 July 1968, the POWs were awakened by the sounds of a man vomiting. Much to everyone’s disappointment, the sick man was Cobiel. Maybe he had eaten too much or too fast. Possible it was just the excitement of the previous night, which was certainly new to him. Whatever the cause, he was definitely sick and much to their chagrin, his cellmates were going to receive the blame. Almost immediately, Cobiel launched into a tirade accusing the other POWs of trying to kill him by feeding him poisoned bananas.
No one could believe the sudden and drastic change in Cobiel’s attitude and they tried to reason with him. The frustration mounted as the situation deteriorated. When the first meal arrived, the POWs were pleasantly surprised; Cobiel ate his entire meal. He even continued to talk occasionally but most of his remarks were confined to accusations that his cellmates were trying to destroy him.
Later in the day, when the POWs in Stable #3 went to bathe, it was discovered that Cobiel had another problem. Apparently his hygiene at the hospital had not been too good, because he had three large boils, one on each hip and one on his right shoulder blade a boil was about the size of a ping pong ball. Most POWs had suffered with boils before and the same argument started every time. Do you squeeze them or leave them alone?
Hubbard and Spencer were both believers in the “squeeze ’em” theory and, since no one else seemed violently opposed, they started cleaning the boils. Within a few days, several other men in the cell started to get boils and that brought on still another argument; are boils contagious. Duart and Perkins again took the stand that it wasn’t any of their concern and refused to help. As it turned out, Hubbard had 221 boils over the next two months, but Spencer, the only other man helping with Cobel’s boils, never had a single one. So, that argument was never settled.
About two days after Cobiel’s boils were discovered, Bomar convinced the Vietnamese that Cobiel needed some medical attention. When the medic saw the boils, he squeezed them, rinsed the holes (now big enough to hide e golf ball) with alcohol, poured sulfa powder over the effected area, and covered them with bandages. Cobiel was also given shots of penicillin and several different vitamins. For some reason, the medics refused to treat the boils of the other POWs in the cell but as long as they took care of Cobiel, no one complained. Near the end of July 1968, The Cuban disappeared from the Zoo and was never seen again. It seemed that as soon as he left, the Vietnamese at the Zoo were able to change policies and admit that there really was something wrong with .Cobiel. The first thing that happened was the addition of an extra dish of special food for Cobiel. Generally it was some kind of meat, frequently fixed with onion greens. Unfortunately
Cobiel was convinced that anything he got that was different from his cellmates was probably poisoned, so he would not touch it. The effort with the special food went for nought. A couple of times, when he was consti- pated, Cobiel even accused the other men of putting some sort of cement in his food.
Things were going along pretty well until one afternoon is September. Though Cobiel had not spoken for about a month, he suddenly decided to talk to Bomar. Everyone was sitting on their bunks eating the second meal when Lobiel suddenly turned to Bomar and said, “Does your bread taste OK?” Bona replied, “Yes, mine is fine.” “Mine tastes funny, how about trading with me?” Cabiel came back. Without thinking about what it might lead to, Bomar snapped back, “scrow you, ent your own!” Cobrel very quietly pushed his food down to the end of the bunk, pulled his blanket up over his head and refused to cat. A stunned silence came over the room as they sat and stared in disbelief. As soon as he finished eating, Hubbard got up and went to Cobiel’s bunk and sat down. He tried to sound stern but it sounded more like a plea as he tried to impress the man under the blanket with the importance of eating. After B few minutes of trying to be nice and getting nowhere, Hubbard got a little belligerent. He told Cobiel, “OK, I have not bothered you for a long time because I knew you wanted to be left alone, However, I’m not interested in having to feed you again so I’m going to make you a deal. As long as you eat, I will not bother you but, as long as you refuse to eat, I am going to sit here 24 hours a day and bug you. It’s up to you.
If you ever want to trade food again, just ask me and I will be glad to trade with you.” About five minutes later, Cobiel sat up and ate his food. A crisis had been narrowly averted. Cobiel didn’t say another word for about two weeks until the Vietnamese, unexpectedly, brought a special meal of rice soup full of meat for him. The guard said it was doctor’s orders and that he would be getting special chow for an indefinite period. As soon as the guard left, Cobiel called Hubbard’s bluff. He walked to Hubbard’s: bunk and said, “I want your food.” Hubbard looked at Bomar who nodded ap- proval and the trade was made. Then Cobiel watched as Hubbard ate the special soup and licked the bowl. Then Cobiel ate Hubbard’s weeds and rice. After that day he never again asked to trade food.
Slowly but surely, Cobiel’s intake was dwindling. tried to hide some of his food by putting it in his soup…and then putting his plate on top of the bowl when he finished eating. By mid-October 1968, he was eating only about one-half of his food. As the weather started to cool off, there was increasing concern about his health and whether or not ho could be kept alive through the winter.
On the first real cold day, early in November 1968, Spencer suggested that the men should start giving Cobel a rub-down once or tice a day to stimulate his blood flow. After lengthy discussion, with only Hubbard agreeing, another two man program was started. Twice each day, Hubbard and Spencer put Cobel through his paces. They worked his limbs back and forth for about 30 minutes and then gave him a rub-down. There was no resistance from Cobiel nor was there any cooperation.
As Cobiel ate less and less, there was an increase in the amount of time spent by some individuals bugging and yelling at him. Suddenly he started becoming a little more violent. Periodically, he would throw his bowl of soup across the cell. One day he walked by Hubbard’s bunk and spit in his soup. As was mentioned before, Hubbard had a bad temper and it required a great effort to just sit and smile.
After about two weeks, a couple of the men in Stable #3 brought up the possibility that Cobiel could be potentially dangerous, especially at night when everyone na sleeping. Although the majority didn’t agree that he was that dangerous, it was decided that if some men were unable to sleep under those conditions then something should be done. So they implemented the “rat patrol”. The idea was to have some one awake 24 hours a day.Each man was required to pull a two hour shift and then woke up the next man. The rat patrol was in effect the remainder of time Cobiel lived in Stable #3.
The rat patrol also gave a little more credibility to another program that had been launched; to get the Vietnamese to send Cobiel home where he could receive the proper treatment. Due to the concern about Cobiel’s ability to survive the winter, Bomar had requested and received permission from the camp SRO to implement a new policy in Stable #3. Starting in mid-November, any- time one of the men went to a quiz he was to refuse to talk to the Vietnamese about anything except Cobiel’s deteriorating condition. That was to be followed by a suggestion or demand, depending on the mood of the qui”, that Cobiel be sent home immediately. The Vietnamese rebutted the idea by stating that if his health was that bad, then he could never make the trip alone.
When that information was passed to the camp SRO, he ordered Daughtrey (because of Daughtrey’s serious injuries) to volunteer to accompany Cobiel. He also ordered Daughtrey to write a request for amnesty or whatever else was necessary, within reason, to negotiate the deal. It should be noted that the standard POW policy was that, “No one will accept early release under any circumstances.” However, it appeared to be the only chance to save Cobiel’s life. The Vietnamese said they would check with the high command, but nothing ever came from the idea. The first night of the rat patrol, a guard caught the POW on duty up pacing the floor. When the POW refused to go back to bed, a Vietnamese officer was called and it was explained that Cobiel was being watched round the clock because the POWs were afraid he was going to die soon. That seemed to impress them, but it didn’t get Robiel released. By early December, Cobiel was eating very little. The rat patrol continued and the POWs kept pushing for Cobiel’s release. But 1968 came to an end with morale in Stable #3 at an all time low. It was just a matter of time before Cobiel would have to be force fed again.
Merry Christmas? Not hardly.
CHAPTER VIII
"POW'S WIN ONE ROUND"
1959 started with an air of considerable tension in Stable #3. Cobiel’s condition continued to deteriorate and the Vietnamese showed no signs of changing any of their policies. Once again Hubbard, and Spencer were. the major pushere to start force feeding, before it was too late. Their primary argument was that no one in that cell had the knowledge or experience to accurately assess Cobiel’s condition. Therefore, they argued, “we cannot afford to assume he is going to be OK, we must feed him and assure that he will survive.”
The opinion of Hubbard and Spencer was not shared by everyone in the cell, but their position was gaining support. Finally Bomar made the decision; if Cobiel refused to eat the first meal on 15 January 1969, he would be force fed the second meal. The situation was explained to Cobiel, but he showed no signs of. understanding or caring one way or the other.
On 15 January, everyone had their fingers crossed,’ but deep inside they knew it was a hopeless situation. Nobody really expected Cobiel to eat. The feeding teams were being reorganized and preparations were made to start the dreaded ordeal for the third time.
When the first meal arrived at the Stable, it was Accompanied by about four guards and two medics. Obviously the Vietnamese were planning something, but it was anybody’s guess what it might be. They opened the door and announced with a smile, “The doctor think Cobiel need more exercise, so he must pick up own food from porch.” It should be noted that Cobiel’s cellmates had not allowed him to pick up his own food for several months because he had a bad habit of picking it up and then throwing it out onto the garden. At first everyone was too shocked to say anything but then Bomar, with his quick mind, stepped forward and tried to explain to the Vietnamese that they were making a terrible mistake. He explained, “Any time you try to force him to do 30mething you are taking a chance that he will become upset and refuse to eat. Things are going pretty good, so why don’t you leave him alone?” However, the guards were adamant and stated that if Cobiel wanted to eat he must pick up his own chow. Everyone just stood by as the guards explained the situation to Cobiel. He would neither open his eyes nor acknowledge that they were even speaking to him. Then the guards ordered Bomar to tell Cobiel to pick up his chow. In his comical way, Bomar turned to Cobrel and said, “Go get your chow Earl.” He then turned back to the guards and sarcastically said, “I guess he isn’t hungry.” After a few minutes of shouting by the guards, the other men were allowed to go get their chow but were directed to leave Cobie Is on the porch.
About fifteen minutes later, the guards returned and tried the same thing again. When it became apparent they were wasting their time, the guards went out on the porch to regroup. Shortly they returned to allow one of the other POWs to pick up Cobiel’s chow. It was no surprise to any of the POWs when Cobiel refused to sit up and eat. Because they had been warned by Bomar of the possible consequences of their actions, the guards climbed up to look through barred windows to see if Cobiel would eat. The panic showed on their faces when Cobiel, tired of the game played, tossed his howl of soup across the room.
The POWs had intentionally led the Vietnamese to believe that Cobiel was eating everything, but still growing weaker. They hoped it would convince the Vietnamese that Cobiel should be sent home as soon as possible.
The Vietnamese had just given the POWs an excellent bit of ammunition to fight the next round and Bomar recognized it immediately. As soon as the guards ran off to tell what had happened, Bomar started laying out the next plan of attack. Everyone was convinced that Cobiet would not have eaten the meal under any circumstances, but now all the blame could be shuffled onto the Vietnamese. The result of victory in the next round could be softening of policy toward Cobiel, either in the form of improved food, which had been demanded for months, or his release. In either case, the net result would be an increase in the probability of Cobiel survival and that was the ultimate goal.
On the afternoon of 15 January 1969, the force feeding of Cobiel started again. Once again Duart and Perkins voiced their displeasure at the decision but, once again, Bomag gave them a direct order to do their part of the job. The feeding proceeded exactly as before–difficult and discouraging-but not impossible.
In an effort to implement Bomar’s new plan of putting all the blame on the Vietnamese, it was necessary to talk to the Vietnamese officers who knew how to speak English. Suddenly there were no quizzes and the few guards who spoke some English seemed to avoid the area around the Stable. The Vietnamese knew they had a problem but they weren’t quite ready to discuss it yet.
Then, on the morning of 18 January 1969, Perkins WAS taken to a quiz. Much to his astonishment, he was given package from his family. The quiz was with a former turnkey who spoke very little English and claimed no knowledge of Cobiel’s condition. Hence, Perkin’s remark fell on deaf ears and in short order he returned to Stable #3.
After a short period of time, Hubbard was taken to a quiz. He anticipated he might receive a package also but, if the quiz was with the same Vietnamese Perkins had seen, Hubbard probably wouldn’t accomplish much either. As it turned out, the quiz was with the same Vietnamese but, after about five minutes the quiz. took on a new twist. After Hubbard had made an inventory of the package contents, he was told that he must see the camp commander before he would be allowed to take his package back to the cell. About ten minutes later, a gun-carrying guard entered and escorted Hubbard to another quiz room where he found that Lump was playing. the part of the camp commander that day. It was the beginning of a strange, but very important quiz.
Lump spent the first five minutes with his standard psuedo-nice guy questions and then took all the items out of Hubbard’s package and asked several stupid. questions about them. Obviously he was stalling, but
Hubbard had no idea what was coming next. Finally a Vietnamese general, from the high command, entered the quiz room. He had been given the nickname “The Cat” by the POWs. With him was an interpreter known as “Rabbit”, a familiar face at the Zoo for several years.
The Cat, through the Rabbit, said, “I understand you have a problem in your room.” Then he went to great lengths to explain to Hubbard, that Cobiel had n mental problem, and it had been caused by the way the other POWs had been mistreating him. The Cat made reference to that one time when the guard had observed Carpenter slap Cobiel. It was ludicrous as The Cat went on and on about how the POWs must try to understand Cobiel’s condition; how they must stop hitting him; how they must show more concern for his health; and how they must realize that it was their fault that Cobie was in his present condition and therefore they were responsible for feeding him and getting him back to good health.
It had taken Hubbard more than two years and quite a few lumps on the head before he learned to control his temper. That day he forgot all that he had learned and launched his own tirade, completely devoid of respect for The Cat and his lofty position. Hubbard did not know if The Cat really knew what had happened to Cobiel in the last eight months, but he was determined to spell it out in detail. First, the Rabbit told Hubbard to shut up and show more respect for the general. Hubbard started to get the idea that The Cat was unaware of why Cobiel was in his present condition. He pressed on and, as he did, both Lump and the Rabbit became increasingly nervous. Cat showed considerable interest as Hubbard explained the torture that Cobiel, had been exposed to by The Cuban, rind the later period when Cobiel; had been beaten in the face with the rubber hose. Then Hubbard explain- ed how Cobiel had been force fed on two previous
Occasions and that because of the outstanding effort by his fellow POWs, Cobiel not only had been kept alive but his health had improved. The tirade ended with Hubbard laying complete blame on the Vietnamese high command for allowing such barbaric treatment to take place in their “lenient and humane” prisons.
At that time, The Cat asked why Cobiel had stopped eating again. Hubbard explained that as long as Cobiel was left alone he would eat, but as soon as he was pressured to do anything he would stop. had been doing fine until the doctors and guards insisted Cobiel that he pick up his own chow, Hubbard added. The quiz continued while longer with a discussion of what Hubbard though should be done for Cobiel. He gave the “party line,” send him home. Then Hubbard was taken back to his cell.
The significant thing about the quiz was that norm- ally a POW could not get away with being so belligerent. and making such caustic remarks about the Vietnamese. Hubbard’s actions at the quiz would have usually lod to a severe beating and a tour in solitary confinement. It was a sudden and strange departure from standard Vietnamese attitudes and nobody knew why it had happened. Hopefully news of Cobiel’s condition, had finally gotten to the high command and had generated considerable concern.
Later the same day, Bomar and Daughtrey had a similar quiz with the same three Vietnamese. The only difference was that Bomar was calmer and offered more alternative suggestions. First, send Cobiel home. If that couldn’t be done, send him back to the hospital where his mental condition had improved greatly once before. As a last resort, leave him in Stabel #3 but give the POWs more to work with such as; plastic sheets; better food including meat, sugar powdered milk, and vitamins for Cobiel; and lastly tell the guards to stay out of the cell and leave Cobiel alone.
Cobiel was left in Stable #3, but all the demands that Bomar had made were honored within the next twenty-four hours. What brought about the new attitude was anybody’s guess, but no one really cared as long as it would help relieve the situation.
As has been stated before, the POWs had not won many rounds in the Hanoi jails, but that day they tasted victory. When considered in the “big picture” it might seem rather insignificant. To the POWs in the Stable #3 it was a victory of enormous magnitude, one that might save the life of a fellow American.
CHAPTER IX
"THIRTY-FOUR DAYS TO NOWHERE"
Considering that Cobiel was being force fed, morale was unusually high in Stable #3. Because the Vietnamese had provided the POWs with plastic sheets to wrap around Cobiel during feeding, the mess was reduced appreciably. It also reduced the clean-up time after each feeding by about thirty minutes. There was another advantage with the plastic sheets. They could be kept relatively clean, so the food that Cobiel spit out was
the soup bowl, and taken off the sheets, put back into fed to him again. The result was that Cobiel was consuming a much higher percentage of the food. All of that plus the addition of more meat, sugar, powdered milk, and vitamins added up to a much higher probability of successful completion of the assigned mission; keep Cobiel alive. That influenced morale noticeably, but there were still some problems.
Bomar felt he had the Vietnamese on the run so he continued to make more demands. Much to everyone’s Amazement, each new demand led to a confrontation with THE Vietnamese, but each was eventually honored the first demand came when the Vietnamese got lazy about cutting up the meat, in Cobiel’s food. The chunks of meat got too large for Cobiel to swallow so one day Bomar refused to feed Cobiel. After a short argument with the turnkey, the food was taken back to the kitchen, the meat cut into smaller pieces, and the food reheated. That was never a problem again.
Bomar had also requested that Cobrel’s food be brought either one hour before the other POW’s food, or thirty minutes after. That appeared to be too much trouble, so the Vietnamese delivered all the food at once. After about a week, one of the medics came to watch Cobiel be force fed. When he entered the cell, the POWs were eating and Cobiel’s food was sitting on the bunk getting cold. The medic told Bomar to feed Cobiel, but Bomar refused. He said, “I’m responsible for keeping all of these men alive, not just Cobiel. Besides Cobiel doesn’t care if the food is hot or cold, so when we finish our meal we’ll feed him.” The medic stressed the importance of getting the hot food in Cobiel (which the POWs knew was true) but Bomar felt he had a point to make and stubbornly refused to do no the medic ordered, Finally Bomar told the medic, “If you want him to have hot food, then deliver it like I asked you to a week ago. From that day on,
Cobiel’s food always arrived one hour ahead of the regular food.
For almost six months, Bomar had been asking the Vietnamese to give Cobiel some mail from home, hoping it might help get him back in touch with reality. On 25 January 1969, Bomar was taken to quiz and when he returned he was carrying a package, sent to Cobiel by his family. There was a new discussion/argument about what should be done with the package. Since there were pictures of his children in the package, some were opposed to giving them to Cobiel for fear he might tear them up. Others argued that the package belonged to Cobiel and it was up to him what he did with the contents. Bomar finally decided on the latter course of action and the package was put on Cobiel’s bunk. He was shown the customs tag, written in his wife’s handwriting, and he was shown the pictures of his children. It was a very sad moment when he just stared for a few seconds and then lay back down and closed his eyes.
Later the same day, Hubbard used some cardboard from his package to make a picture frame for Cobiel’s pictures. They were hung over his bunk and then Hubbard monitored Cobiel each time he got up from his bunk to see if he ever showed any sign of recognition.
On about the third day, when Cobiel was returning to his bunk, he suddenly stopped and stared at the pictures.. He stood there for a full minute as if he was seeing them for the first time. Then he sat down and closed his eyes. What went through his mind at that time. Hopefully, in his lonely world, those pictures gave him some comfort that day. This author will always consider that to be the case.
In mid-February Doc Zorba, the Vietnamese doctor that Cobiel had met at the hospital, stopped by Stable #3 to see how Cobiel was doing. It was obvious by his reaction that he had no idea Cobiel was being force fed or how it was being done. When Doc Zorba walked in, the POWs were in the middle of a feeding session. Normally Doc was very mild mannered and never raised his voice. However, that day he almost had a stroke. He immediately started shouting orders to the guards, but none of the Vietnamese in the cell could speak English– confusion followed. Finally, an interpreter showed up and informed the POWs that the doctor felt Cobiel could be killed if he was fed in that manner. When Doc was told that Cobiel had been fed that way, twice each day, for almost a month, he was stunned. He stayed until the feeding was finished then he just walked out shaking his head in disbelief.
The Vietnamese did some rather strange things during the years that Americans were interned there, but probably the strongest thing was the charade they played on 20 February 1969. Daughtrey and Bomar were taken to a quiz at about 10 A.M. The quiz was with Lump and it started like a normal quiz but changed complexion when “Cochise”, the military camp commander arrived. Cochise wanted to know all about Cobiel’s condition and if the guards were doing things that Bomar had requested. Then he started hinting that maybe there was more that could be done for Cobiel. With a great flare of psuedo-surprise, Lump said, “Look, here comes the doctor (Doc Zorba), let’s see what he thinks.” Bomar and Daughtrey decided there was nothing to lose so they just went along with the game. When Doc Zorba entered, he turned to Bomar and said, “I’m glad you are here because I have an idea to discuss with you.” Lump was translating everything as Cochise and Doc Zorba spoke little or no English. Doc continued, “I think Cabiel would be better if he was in the hospital.” Then it was Bomar’s turn, “What a terrific idea, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.” The POWs had learned long ago that the Vietnamese liked to think everything was their idea, and nothing would be gained by pointing out that the POWs had been pushing for Cobiel’s hospitalization for months.
Cochise also thought it was a “great idea”and he suggested Doc Zorba call the hospital to see if there were any beds available. While Doc was gone, supposedly to make a phone call, Cochise kept telling Bomar and Daughtrey what a great idea the doctor had had. He didn’t pass up the chance to tell them how difficult it would be to get a bed for Cobiel because the hospitals were full of “innocent women and children” who had been injured by the “dirty yankee imperialist air dogs”. Normally Bomar and Daughtrey would have started a big argument, but that day they elected to sit, grit their teeth, and smile. When Doc returned, he appeared to have bad news. He started by giving them the same spiel they had just gotten from Cochise, about the “innocent women and children”. But then he assured them he would do his best to get Cobiel in a hospital sometime in the next month. After a few more slaps at the “yankee imperialists,” Bemar and Daughtrey Stable.
Two hours later an ambulance arrived at the Zoo bearing Doc Zorba, who strutted into Stable #3 to announce that he had performed a miracle. He moved his patients around to make room for Cobiel, all in keeping with their “lenient and humane” policy. In a matter of minutes, Cobiel was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the waiting ambulance. As the ambulance drove from the Zoo that day, thirty-four consecutive days of force
feeding came to an end. There were some pretty relieved POWs in Stable #3. At the same time, there was considerable apprehension as they discussed the odds of ever seeing Cobiel again. All they could do was wait and hope.
CHAPTER X
"LONG WAIT WITH LITTLE HOPE"
From 20 February 1969 until mid-June 1969, the POWs in Stable #3 repeatedly asked for information concerning Cobiel’s location and condition. Whether it was a guard, a turnkey, an interrogator, or a medic, the answer never changed. They always said the same thing, “Cebiel eat OK, sleep OK, shit OK.”
The same discussion that had been held earlier was started again. What should be done, with Cobiel if and when he returned form the hospital, The Vietnamese seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because in May 1969 they asked who had become Cobiel’s closest friend. Obviously no one had become his close friend, but one man had shown more compassion and appeared more dedi- cated to caring for Cobel than any other. That was Spencer, After some discussion, and with Spencer’s concurrence, Bomar told the Vietnamese that if they were considering putting Cobiel in a small cell with one other POW it should be Spencer. In June 1969, a situation evolved that gave the Vietnamese a chance to consider That very thing.
Spencer was recovering from a case of hepatitis when the Vietnamese took him to the hospi al for a check-up. It seemed a little strange because several other POWs at the Zoo had had hepatitis and none of them had been taken to the hospital. When Spencer arrived, he was taken in, examined very briefly, and taken back to sit in the jeep. About thirty minutes later, he was taken back into the hospital, but to a different free. When he stepped around a curtain, there sat Cobel, obviously having just finished one of the shock treat- ments. Doc Zorba said, “Speak to your friend,” and indi- cated for Spencer to sit down near Cobiel. Spencer stuck out his hand but Cobel made no effort to respond. Finally, He set and stared at Spencer but did not speak. Spencer got up and said, “I guess he doesn’t remember me,’ and walked disappointedly, back to the jeep.
After the jeep returned Spencer to the Zoo, a second trip wes made. The POWs in Stable #3 suspected that the second trip was to bring Cobie back to the Zoo. Who- ever came in the jeep was moved into Auditorium #2. About thiry minutes later, a guard came to Stable. #3 and picked up some of Cobiel’s gear that had been left behind in February. Now there was little doubt that it wan Cobiel in the Auditorium. The next morning it was confirmed by the dishwashers at the Poolhall. If Cobiel had shown any sign of recognition when he was confronted by Spencer at the hospital, Spencer probably would have moved into the Auditorium, also.
Between 24 June 9 and 29 July 69, things were pretty quiet in the Stable. The men in the Poolhall were observing Cobiel on a regular basis and reported that. he appeared to be in fairly good condition. They also reported that the Vietnamese wore handling him gently. That was a good sign. As long as no one pressured him, he would probably eat on his own.
On the night of 29 July 1969, there was a big shuffle at the Zoo in an attempt by the Vietnamese to destroy the POW comm net. Very few people stayed in the some building, let alone the same cell. Within one week, the entire comm net was reestablished and it was discovered that, after almost two years, the ten POW 3 picked by fate to be in the special program under The Cuban, had been scattered to the four winds. They had returned to the routine prison system, a relatively happy moment in their internment. Two of them, Hubbard and Spencer, had moved all the way across the camp to the “Bern.” From there, they had a good vantage point to observe Cobiel’s cell in the Auditorium.
From 29 July until 1 December 1969, Cobiel remained in Auditorium #2. It was observed that the door to Cobiel’s cell was open almost all day, every day except Sunday. Apparently he was eating by himself. When he went to bathe he moved unbelievably slow, but the guards never rushed him. It also appeared that the guards were They were certainly trying washing his clothes for him to keep him from he coming upset again.
Then on 1 December 1969, Cobiel was moved to Barn #7. Because of his lack of trust in his fellow POWs in the pont it was decided not to try to establish contact with him. Most men in the Barn felt that it would be an unsuccessful venture, plus there was always the chance that he would become upset and stop eating. Hubbard And Spencer wore on the dishwashing crew in the Barn, so they had the opportunity to check Cobiel ‘s dishes. They were thrilled to find that he was eating most of his food.
Suddenly on the night of 10 December 1969, ten POWs were moved from the Zoo, destination unknown. Cobiel was one of those ten men.
In late 1970, when all the POWs were moved back to the Heo Lo prison in downtown Hanoi, it was discovered that Cobiel had been seen in the Heartbreak Hotel area of Hao Lo in September 1970. The POW who saw Cobiel; said that he was in very bad health and was eating almost nothing. That was the last time anyone ever saw Earl Cobiel alive.
When the POWs were released in the spring of 1973, they discovered that Cobel was listed by the North Vietnamese as having died in captivity. The United States government listed him as “POW not returned.” year later in the spring of 1974, Cobiel’s remains were recovered from North Vietnam. Shortly thereafter he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
What was his fate? No one will ever know. But there is a more important question. Could the POWs, who lived with Cobiel have done more, or could they have done something different that might have saved his life? Maybe no one will ever be able to answer that question either. Hopefully, by studying this story, the people who determine the syllabus of the Defense Department Schools will be able to make the appropriate changes and additions, so the POWs in the next war will be better prepared and the “Cobiel s” will have a greater probability of survival. Before reading this story, possibly you wondered, just how bad did it get in the Hanoi prisons. Now you know.
