Vietnam Throws a Glitch Into Payments for Ex-Commandos

For dozens of former South Vietnamese “lost commandos” now living in Southern California, a U.S. government compensation program has been successfully concluded, thanks to years of effort by an ex-Senate lawyer named John Mattes.

But for their former colleagues still living in Vietnam, unexpected problems have arisen that may thwart the will of Congress. The Vietnamese government has threatened to block U.S. payments until an agreement can be reached, a condition the Pentagon says could take months or even years to resolve.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), whose district is home to most of the ex-commandos, has pledged to look into the impasse at the request of Mattes, a former aide to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) who has fought legal battles on behalf of the men.

Mattes worked four years to get recognition and back pay for about 200 surviving “lost commandos” who had volunteered to help U.S. forces in Vietnam. Dropped behind enemy lines by the CIA in the 1960s, most were killed or captured by North Vietnamese units with inside information on their plans.

Those commandos who weren’t killed were brutally interrogated, starved to death or kept in shackles for years.

Determination Paid Off for Attorney

Mattes learned of their plight while working on MIA and POW issues for Kerry. Later, as a private attorney, he helped many gain entry to the United States, where they established new lives--most of them in Orange County.

The Pentagon and the Justice Department initially rejected Mattes’ demands for compensation for these men, arguing they had been the sole responsibility of the former South Vietnamese government. But Mattes filed lawsuits on their behalf and unearthed 53 boxes of CIA and military records showing the commandos had been recruited and promised pay by U.S. officials.

Senate hearings followed, and Congress appropriated $20 million two years ago to pay each man or his survivors a minimum of $40,000--with more for those who spent 20 years as prisoners.

With more than 130 ex-commandos in the United States having received compensation by early this year, Mattes said that Pentagon officials recently informed him about the problem with about 70 other men, or their survivors, still in Vietnam.

He made public an official message from Lt. Col. Earle F. Hudson Jr., director of the Army’s Vietnam Commandos Compensation Commission, that says in part:

“While we made every effort to establish a process for making payments in Vietnam, the government of Vietnam has made it clear that they will not permit the claimants to receive the compensation in the country at this time.

“They offer that any approval would likely be contingent upon a government-to-government agreement, which could take months, if not years, to accomplish.”

Fears of Claimants Being Targeted

Mattes, in an interview from his Miami office, said that in view of the hostility by their government, he fears claimants in Vietnam “are in danger of being identified and targeted” by officials there.

“Some reported being visited recently by state security officials, who told them there would be a 70% fee for any money they received,” Mattes said. “Congress never envisioned any condition like this.”

He went on to say that “these are men whose health was ruined by long years of captivity. Every single one has suffered some form of disability or amputation, mostly from leg irons piercing their ankles.”

Sanchez is “outraged” by Vietnam’s action but wants to study the problem before deciding on a course of action, according to a spokesperson. Mattes said he also plans to consult with Senate officials.

He added that “we may have to get these men out of Vietnam and into the United States or another country if they ever hope to be compensated.”

“Their government cannot forgive people of Vietnamese nationality who signed up with America to invade the north,” Mattes said. “And that’s rather tragic.”