--- title: "Clint Eastwood once helped fund a Vietnam POW rescue mission" description: "After the Vietnam war, so many POWs were tragically missing. One celebrity helped fund a Vietnam POW rescue mission to help." date: "2022-09-04" modified: "2023-09-04" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/clint-eastwood-helped-fund-a-vietnam-pow-rescue/" categories: - "History" - "Vietnam War" - "War History" tags: - "Vietnam War" --- # Clint Eastwood once helped fund a Vietnam POW rescue mission ![clint eastwood]() *Clint Eastwood stars as The Man With No Name in director Sergio Leone's 1964 classic "A Fistful of Dollars." (Mark Gordon Pictures)* If thousands of U.S. servicemen went missing in action over 10 years of combat, it would surely be the biggest political issue of our day. And that's how it was after the end of the [Vietnam War](). Well into the 1980s, the status of Vietnam's prisoners of war and missing in action was a sore point for politicians and everyday citizens from all walks of life. A few enterprising Americans took matters into their own hands – Dirty Harry himself even funded one daring rescue attempt. Americans these days might have a hard time imagining 2,494 missing U.S. troops. But for Vietnam-era veterans, the idea is all too real. Years after the war ended and Saigon fell to the communists, the American public was still divided over the thought, and what to do about it. ![clint eastwood vietnam rescue]() *There were a LOT of movies about this.* As of 1983, the Pentagon was still [telling reporters at the Boston Globe]() that it couldn't rule out the possibility of Vietnam War POWs left behind in Southeast Asia. After a reported 480 firsthand sightings of POWs *after* the fall of Saigon in 1975, many prisoners' families and members of the veteran community were convinced the American government was just "sweeping it under the rug." That's when a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier named Bo Gritz gained fame. Gritz is said to have made multiple incursions into Laos to find the alleged missing in action. He was also convinced there were American prisoners still being held in Southeast Asia. If there were, he was determined to take the issue out of the political arena and turn Indochina into a new battlefield if necessary – anything to get those troops back home. ![clint eastwood vietnam rescue]() *There were SO MANY movies about this.* [According to the Boston Globe](), the 44-year-old veteran soldier interviewed former prisoners held by the North Vietnamese who were repatriated at the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. He was even given access to American intelligence reports on the issue. His conclusion was to form a team of former Green Berets to go to Laos and locate these men. Gritz's plan was to link up with Laotian anti-Communist resistance fighters under the command of a Laotian general who sided with the Americans during the Vietnam War. That general also commanded 40,000 troops as part of a secret CIA army in Laos. According to the CIA, the effort was funded primarily through actor-director Clint Eastwood, who even informed President Reagan of Gritz's plan (though the [White House disputed]() the Reagan conversation). The February 1983 rescue effort failed to return with any firsthand or photographic evidence of POWs or movement of POWs in Laos. By this time, the hunt for Vietnam War POWs became a "growth industry" in Thailand. Nothing was found of the 568 missing troops thought to be in Laos. Even worse, Gritz's other missions became a publicity stunt. In November 1982, [Gritz led four ex-Green Berets and some Lao insurgents]() into Laos from Thailand, in what some described as a guerrilla invasion. "It's a good day to die," the retiree said, [according to the LA Times](), as he started off across the Mekong River. ![clint eastwood vietnam rescue]() *Eventually, these movies didn't even have to be realistic.* What was supposed to be a two-week incursion was halted after 72 hours when guerrillas from another faction ambushed the group. They retreated back into Thailand, where they were arrested for possessing advanced radio equipment. Two Lao soldiers were killed, and one American was captured. The end result was one more American captured in Indochina and the movie "Uncommon Valor," starring Gene Hackman. The film was based on notes taken by Gritz during his "rescue mission" to Laos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S0ulyUmw-8 It was probably embellished a little. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()