The Cage by Tom Abraham

[bsmart]

Tom Abraham was British. His father was transferred to the US for his Job. Abraham finished highschool and went to College, but ended up dropping out and was in the process of being drafted into the Army. He took his unopened draft papers into the recruiting office and opted to enlist. Apparently that was an accepted practice. He did recruit school and opted of Officer Candidate Selection, which he passed. He ended up being commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the 1st Air Cavalry Division in 67-68.
He was captured and interrogated by a North Vietnamese Officer who liked using Abraham's chest as an ashtray. He was incarcerated for about 4 days, when he managed to escape from the cage they kept him in at night.
I was sceptical about the book at first, I don't know how a British Citizen can be drafted into the US Army. There are some pretty authentic photo's in the book. He won the Silver Star and Bronze Star with V device for Valor, plus Purple Heart plus the usual in country decorations for those who served out their twelve month posting.

Worth a read.

Johnno

[NWPTrainer]

I may be off on my info, CRS kickin in, but I thought that Col. Rowe was the only American servicemember to be captured and escape under his own power....?

[bsmart]

That was one of the reasons I was dubious about the book in the first place. Also, aren't commissioned officers in the US Armed Forces supposed to be US citizens? This guy claims to be a British citizen.

Anyone else read the book and checked out any details at all????


Johnno

[Lionsniper]

not sure as to whether or not this book is on the staight and narrow but I believe that after living there through highschool etc. he would have qualied for citizenship or legal-alien status therefore I believe he wouldbe elligable to join the U.S. Forces. This comes from a Brit who was inquiring as to the chances of me joining the U.S. forces whilst I was looking at immigrating. As to the rest of the story I am unsure, but would like to know before going out and buying it.

[bsmart]

I found this in the Brisbane City Library. If they want anymore than 10 bucks US for it, forget it.
When he went to the US, He'd was in his last year at HS before College, so he would have only been there about a year or so before his callup papers bounced on his doorstep. He states he was still a Brit when he received his commission, that's what was odd about it.

Johnno

[mangda]

"However, in the weeks immediately following the publication of The Cage, some doubts were raised by other former Vietnam veterans over whether sections of the book, particularly the capture and imprisonment, are true.

Checks done with the Pentagon by BBC researchers confirm that Tom served in Vietnam, but he is not on the list of those missing or held prisoner.

Tom strenuously denied these allegations when interviewed in November 2002 on BBC Radio Four's The Choice. He claimed that the recordkeeping at the time could have been suspect.

Tom lays his soul bare for the world to see - a fact that is made all the more significant when you realise that to write it he had to search into his mind to bring back memories he had suppressed for more than 30 years - and had told nobody - not even his closest friends.



And in 1999, now with his second wife, Sally, things come to a head. The episode with the police is just the start, and soon he has snapped, attacking his wife, and has to leave the family home and live - on benefits - in a bedsit.

Yet a chance meeting with another former serviceman begins to change things, and when the divorce petition arrives from his wife, he resolves he's going to do whatever it takes to get her back."

[bsmart]

Mangda, The main reason I'm having trouble believing what Abraham says is the timing of events. He states that it was "late February" when they were on the patrol that he got captured on. Lets say around 25-26 Feb. That year is a leap year, so add another day to the month. They spent a full day travelling to the camp where his interrogation started. When he was captured, he was only about 30 k's from the Laotian border, which could be covered in a days march. He spent about 4 days or so in the camp being interrogated by an english speaking North Vietnamese officer. This brings the date to around the 2nd of March. He escapes from his cage which is suspended in water with the top six inches of the cage exposed to air so he could breathe. He'd been working on the bindings of the bamboo for a couple of days or so and got them loose enough to get through.
He made his escape after the camp had settled down the the night guard was asleep or dozing. He then snuck out spent the next two days evading capture and finally running into a US Army patrol. They get him flown out to Camp Evans. This would put the date at around the 4/5th of March. The next day he was flown back to his unit and the day after that, they returned to Camp Evans. This puts the date at around 6/7th March. Yet in the book which he dates at the 2nd of March, he's writing a letter to his girlfriend in England telling her he is now the company XO.
He states that he was listed as MIA but that didn't get to Battalion HQ. You'd think that they would have done that within at the most a couple of days. There was no fanfare made of his escape which would have been a real propaganda coup for the US Army against the North Vietnamese. Plus you'd think he would have been given an award of some significance for achieving what he did.


Johnno