Heroes Who Fell from Grace: The True Story of Operation Lazarus, the Attempt to Free American Pows from Laos in 1982

by Charles J. Patterson, G. Lee Tippin

Chronicles the events surrounding & including three separate military-type operations aimed at investigating & freeing the remaining POWs in Laos. All were led by the same man -- Lt. Col. James 'Bo' Gritz. The first two operations were half-heartedly supported & funded by the U.S. government. Gritz's dedicated refusal to give up led to a third, independent operation, which he organized & headed on his Operation Lazarus. Their unforgettable trek is portrayed with vivid descriptions of the horrors they guerrilla attacks, casualties, jungle warfare, deception & dissension, & ultimately, failure.

Genres: History

319 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1985

Reviews

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regardless of what your opinion of Bo Gritz is it is difficult to ignore his mishandling of the operation in this book. I think impatience, fear of giving up, fear of sabotage, and a bevy of other plausible reasons drove him to try to will the rescue mission into happening. The onion here is deeper than this book can properly expose but it is interesting to get another perspective of this operation as the only other book I am aware of about this is by Bo Gritz himself.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A REAL-LIFE "RAMBO" EXPEDITION? READ AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF

Sylvester Stallone's 1985 "Rambo" movie popularized the notion of searching for missing U.S. POWs, but this is the story of an actual attempt. Lt. Col. James "Bo" Gritz (supposedly, Stallone based "Rambo" on Gritz, a Special Forces veteran officer) led two unsuccessful operations to try and find missing U.S. POWs in North Vietnam; finally, he organized a non-governmental operation called "OPERATION LAZARUS." Co-author Charles Patterson (a former Special Forces member) was second-in-command, and co-author G. Lee Tippin is (was?) a retired U.S. Army Colonel.

Tippin's Preface to this 1985 book states, "Operation Lazarus was intended 'to free at least one of the more than 2,494 Vietnam War American Prisoners of War or Missing in Action...' ... if there are live American POWs... What do they think of their homeland for failing to rescue them? ... this is the story of two men, both genuine American war heroes... This is their story as told by Chuck Patterson."

Early on, the author notes that "The Vietnamese say they are not obligated to provide an accounting for U.S. POW/MIAs because the U.S. did not live up to its obligation to provide reconstruction aid... It is clear... that President Nixon did indeed promise the money to North Vietnam. It is also clear to see why the Communists are angered by this broken promise." (Pg. 23-24)

There were problems with the operation from early on. Concerning Gritz, he says, "Gritz was heavy on 'bumper sticker rhetoric' and vague generalities, but was thoroughly lacking when it came to giving detailed planning and professional decision-making." (Pg. 37) Tippin later notes, "Patterson does not believe that Gritz had just returned from Laos---not in the condition described..." (Pg. 180)

They conclude, "Operation Lazarus (has) faded into history amidst a storm of controversy. His intentions were honorable and his zeal and dedication is to be admired, but his methods were baffling and the results hurt many people. He has forever invalidated himself as a contributor in solving the POW/MIA issue. The issue itself may never be solved. We may never know for sure." (Pg. 207-208)

The issue of potentially missing POWs/MIAs is a sad one, and we are fortunate that more care is taken with modern soldiers. This book is of value to anyone interested in the issue, historically.