FAQ

Yes, the concept that American prisoners of war were still being held in Southeast Asia was extremely prevalent in the early 80s (the Vietnamese communists not releasing some French prisoners until 16 years after the Indo-China war). It was taken seriously enough that ex-Green Beret Colonel Bo Gritz organised a private rescue mission (on which this film is based) but was persuaded to call it off by the US government who were organising their own rescue attempt using the Delta Force. In his autobiography former Delta Force member Eric Haney (writer and co-creator of the series The Unit) states that this mission was effectively scuppered when Gritz held a news conference revealing his own efforts in order to draw attention to the issue. Gene Hackman's character is widely thought to be based on Gritz whilst Robert Stack's is based on Texan billionaire Ross Perot who was deeply involved in the Vietnam MIA/POW campaign. In 1993 a meticulous inquiry by Vietnam war veteran Senator John Kerry and former Vietnam Prisoner of War Senator John McCain concluded there was no proof of any prisoners being retained in Southeast Asia after the end of the conflict and the subsequent opening up of Vietnam following the collapse of the Berlin Wall has not revealed any evidence of US servicemen being held against their will.