PHILLIPS, ROBERT PAUL
Name: Robert Paul Phillips
Rank/Branch: E2/US Army
Unit: 595th Signal Company, 36th Signal Battalion, 2nd Signal Group, 1st
Signal Brigade
Date of Birth: 31 July 1949 (Quincy MA)
Home City of Record: Sylvania OH
Date of Loss: 23 June 1970
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 110933N 1063858E (XT801340)
Status (in 1973): Prisoner of War
Category: 1
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: 2-ton Truck
Refno: 1639
Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 1998.
Other Personnel In Incident: James Rozo; Joe P. Pederson (missing)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: At about 1100 hours on June 23, 1970, SFC Joe P. Pederson, supply
sergeant; SP4 James M. Rozo, armorer; and Pvt. Robert P. Phillips, unit
supply specialists, all from the 595th Signal Company, left their base at
the Lai Khe Signal site for the Phuoc Vinh Signal site in a GMC 2 1/2 ton
vehicle on a supply mission. These men were updating clothing records,
retrieving excess equipment, adjusting receipts and inventorying weapons of
two outlying subunits of the 595th Signal Company.
Before leaving the Lai Khe site, Sgt. Pederson was told by three separate
individuals to go down to the "new Phuoc Vinh road", because the "cutoff to
Ben Cat" was closed to traffic. The cutoff had been reported to be mined,
and had a high probability of ambush.
At 1530 hours on the same day, the truck used by SFC Pederson and the two
enlisted men was discovered by ARVN and U.S. Mobile Assistance Team 33
elements in a ditch along provincial highway 7B in Binh Duong Province,
South Vietnam. The truck's engine was still running. Initial reports
indicated that the vehicle had no major damage other than a blown tire, and
both front windshields shattered. Assorted signal equipment and supply
records were found, but there was no sign of any of the personnel in the
area. A search party found one dead Viet Cong and the three Americans'
rifles jammed, and they surmised that the men had been ambushed and
surrendered to the enemy.
In September 1970, a Viet Cong was captured who said he was part of the
ambush and he claimed that one of the men (Pederson) had been killed and
buried near the location of the incident, but that the other two had been
captured.
The following day, the company commander of the 595th inspected the vehicle
and found 12 small calibre bullet holes, the left front tire shattered, a
small hole in the canvas top, and small metal objects in the cab. However,
there were no indications of blood.
Initially, the three men were listed Missing In Action while the government
took 15 months to determine the validity of the Viet Cong's story. Then, in
November 1971, a captured Viet Cong told interrogators he had seen two POWs
being evacuated from South Vietnam into Cambodia. His description of the men
fit Phillips and Rozo, whom he described as tired but healthy. Their status
was quickly changed to POW. Pederson was maintained as Missing.
In 1973, 591 American prisoners were returned home. Rozo, Phillips and
Pederson were not among them. The Vietnamese deny any knowledge of the
three. Follow up reports on these three men remain classified in 1989,
although they have been officially declared "presumed dead".
In October, 1985, Rozo's parents were informed that their son escaped prison
in 1973 and was not recaptured. His whereabouts are unknown. Rozo's parents
are understandably disturbed that it took the U.S. Government 12 years to
tell them this, and wonder what additional information remains hidden from
them under the blanket of "classified". They wonder if their son is one of
the many said to be still alive in captivity in Southeast Asia.
[ssrep6.txt 02/09/93]
South Vietnam James M. Rozo
Robert P. Phillips
Joe P. Pederson
(1639)
On June 23, 1970, Sergeant First Class Joe P. Pederson, Private
Robert P. Phillips and Specialist Fourth Class Rozo, members of the
595th Signal Company, departed the town of Lai Khe to drive to
Phuoc Vinh. They never arrived at their intended destination and
were declared missing. Information culled from enemy POWs during
the war claimed that two individuals were captured alive during the
ambush of their vehicle. Additional information was received that
the two were initially taken to the Sub-Region 5 Headquarters and
were then taken in the direction of Cambodia. Other information
alleged they were in a prison from which they attempted to escape,
resulting in one of them being killed and the other successfully
escaping.
Rozo, Phillips and Pederson were all listed as POW at the end of
Operation Homecoming. They were later declared dead/body not
recovered. Returning U.S. POWs were unable to provide any
information on their fate.
The Joint Casualty Resolution Center field investigators in Vietnam
have located witnesses to the imprisonment of the three Americans.
Two were in captivity when they reportedly attempted to escape from
a jungle prison and were killed by mines around the prison.
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