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An Enormous Crime
The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia
A book by former U.S. Rep. Bill Hendon (R-NC)
and Elizabeth A. Stewart
Previewed by Christian Nelson, VietNow National Editor

Maybe you already know this: A huge percentage of books that are carried out of bookstores every day never get read. And here’s something editors know that most other people don’t know: Most of the book reviews you’ve read here and everywhere else are written by people who haven’t actually read those books they’re telling you about. It’s true. And I must confess that, even though I’m “reviewing” this rather large and extensively footnoted tome from our old friend, Billy Hendon, I haven’t read all the way through the book. Not yet. But I’m going to. Meanwhile though, since the POW/MIA topic is so much on our minds, and since this book is so important, I’m going to review this book in an unusual way here – I’m going to preview it from two points of view – and later, after I’ve read every word of the book, I’ll write a review for some future issue of this magazine. Before I even start my “preview,” let me assure you that, based on spending a few hours paging through it, this is a good book, maybe even a great one. A landmark. Hendon and Stewart have truly outdone themselves on this one.

The True Believer’s Preview

This is going to be a great book. I’ve followed the POW/MIA story for years, and I’m convinced that Nixon, Kissinger, the Pentagon, and everyone on down have done nothing but lie to us for over 30 years now.

The only questions are, why have the Vietnamese kept our guys for so long, where (exactly) are they keeping them, and what can we do about all these people who have kept these secrets for so long? And, most importantly, when are we going to bring our guys back home?

Hendon’s book is going to rattle the government to its very foundations. It’s going to tear the dome right off the capitol building, and expose the inner workings of this enormous crime. We’ve finally got the goods on these $%#!*@s, and they’re going to have to come clean now. The facts are in,
and everything we’ve said for years is now proven true.

It’s only a matter of a few weeks, or months at the most, until we’re going to get a Delta team into Laos or North Vietnam, and bring out 1,500 or more guys who were left behind – and Billy Hendon will be leading the way. It’s going to be a glorious day, and we’ll be able to melt down our POW bracelets, and donate our POW/MIA jackets to the local museum.

The Skeptic’s Preview

I’ve dodged this issue for years. I’ve kept quiet about my true thoughts, because I didn’t want to argue about it with the other guys – but really – I just don’t believe this stuff. All Hendon is doing in this book is repeating the same old stories we’ve heard for years, adding a few obviously made-up tall tales, and making it all look “official” by writing up over 70 pages of footnotes.

Why can’t people see that getting a live POW/MIA out of Laos or Vietnam is about as likely as seeing a real-live flying saucer (complete with little green men) land on the White House lawn? If – and I do mean “if” – there were any POWs left behind at the end of the war, they’ve all been dead for 20 years or more. Let’s get real here. There’s no way they’d still be alive. Impossible.

But, what about all the satellite photos and the eyewitness reports, you say? What about them?!? That’s all meaningless, and doesn’t prove a thing. Pick up any of the countless books out there that are supposed to “prove” that UFOs are real, and that we really are being visited by aliens from other planets. Check into all those UFO stories and the sighting affidavits, and you’ll find a motley crew of charlatans, delusional dreamers, and well-meaning but seriously misguided people. Not much different from some of the POW/MIA people.

I have nothing but sympathy for the POW/MIA families, and that’s what really bothers me about books like this. False hope like this is the real “enormous crime.”

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