MOUNT PLEASANT — Few of our nation’s heroes sacrificed more for our freedom than those who were taken as prisoners of war or went missing in action.
Now, work is underway to memorialize the stories of Michigan POW’s
Vietnam
“Got a note from the draft board that when my semester, my last semester was over, I was going to be drafted because the Vietnam War was going on. So, I didn’t want to wait and be drafted into the infantry because that’s what they were put in everybody back then. So, I enlisted, into the Army for military intelligence,” said Vietnam Veteran and POW Roberty Hayhurst.
That decision by a young Robert Hayhurst would eventually land him in the center of the Tet offensive in January of 1968.
“I heard 9 or 10,000 North Vietnamese troops invaded the city. The city of Hue. They captured the whole city, took over the whole city. We didn’t have that many troops there to defend it, and the Vietnamese couldn’t defend it. And two of our guys were killed, and we were with some neighbors next door, some Navy guys next door. But anyway, two of us were killed and the rest were captured,” recalled Hayhurst.
Robert was among those captured.
“They took us into Los first. We had to walking every day. Once we got to the border, things got rough. The trails weren’t as wide. We were getting in the mountains and going up in the mountains. And I don’t know how many miles a day we we traveled. But, five, ten miles a day, maybe at the most,” explained Hayhurst.
After 23 days, Robert and another prisoner saw their chance for escape.
“My buddy and I thought, this is the day. Let’s try it. So, after the guards were watching and they were picking their stuff up and doing this and that with them now 3 or 4 weeks. So, if we wanted to get the jungle to go to the bathroom or something, that’s what everybody did. So, we just did that and just kept on going and got the trail and took off
We had crossed the river the day before. Not a very big river, but, probably 3 or 400ft wide. We swam across that river, got in the jungle on the other side. And laid the jungle for about two hours. We thought this is the best place to try to escape, all river slow to the sea. We got back on the river and floated down that river all day,” said Hayhurst.
The two somehow landed on the doorstep of an American base.
“So, the guard, we walked up to him. And what the heck are you guys doing out here? You know, he knew we were Americans. He said we’re just coming into your base. But what are you walking there for? We’re just following your boot tracks. You just walk through a minefield,” said Hayhurst.
There are more than 13,000 stories just like Robert’s among Michigan service members.
An effort is now underway to preserve them in a permanent memorial in Mount Pleasant to inspire the next generation of our nation’s bravest.
“None of the P.O.W. was ever thought that was going to happen to us. And that was a whole different experience. Everyone’s different. Mine is different than a lot of other folks, you know? And I talked to other Vietnam P.O.W., and they were years in prison. I was very lucky to be for like a month,” said Hayhurst.
Robert was later awarded the Silver Star and even met President Nixon at the White House.
He remains incredibly proud of his service.
“I was doing what I was told to do. As far as the prisoner and the opportunity to escape. And there wasn’t many of us that escaped. What I what I’ve heard, in the whole history of the war. My feeling is, don’t ever give up. There’s always an opportunity, always something or something to get away with. What you want to get done, your job, or whatever. Don’t ever give up,” said Hayhurst.
To learn more about the memorial, click here.
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