It might interest you to know that many soldiers were in fact illiterate or had a very basic level of understanding of english. this is because many came from rural backgrounds or were poor. this was less prominent in vietnam but they actually ran into issues with some soldiers being unable to fill out the paperwork to enlist.
He was stupid, but for some reason, that was passed down through generation to generation. So no, teacher. I did not cheat on that test, I just didn't know I was cheating.
Imagine being a Vietnamese soldier who learned that the one you literally called “the incredibly stupid one” had literally been spying on everything going on inside the camp, sabotaging vehicles, and remembering hundreds of names and identifying factors of soldiers, all while you remember how you looked at him as a stupid, incapable prisoner
It's clearly a made up story by himself. No way North Vietnamese held pows near any of their vital assets and strategic points. Pows have bags on their faces all time while travelling, and most always transfered straight to Hanoi Hilton, knowing nothing about the surrouding of their prison. His was just a very ordinary pow exeprience like everyone else.
The brilliant aspect of his deception is that he didn't just pretend to be stupid, he created a mental model of not an American farmer's son but of a Vietnamese farmer's son, a context which his captors would understand, using details which would not have been commonly known to Americans at the time, based purely on his intuition.
It shows how Doug was very sharp, and his tactics allowed him to work very well at the Hanoi Hilton, as well as being able to still sabotage troops who were there while being able to get a lay of the prison so well.
@@Trgn What? How do people this stupid exist? His story was fucking backed the the POWs including the officer he got the NVA to release... How are you not embarrassed to be alive with such a dysfunctional mind?
Was about to say, “I can’t read and write” would be unheard of to a western enemy, but to the North Vietnam army that would be very relatable and believable
"Are you sure we should let him walk around the prison?" "He's stupid, what kind of threat is he?" 4 days later "Hey our truck is down again!" "Damnit!"
This is because the US army sent thousands of retarded men to fight in the war, the McNamara morons, check into it. He pretended to be an idiot an the vietnamese had already probably met a bunch of retarded soldiers captured during the war.
As I was leaving the military I made good friends with a retiring 5th group E-7, great guy who taught me a lot. When he talked about SERE school, and what to do of you're captured or just being held up by hostile people, he really did harp on "play stupid" as being white possibly the best tactic to protect yourself. You guys know who Sgt. Shrek McPhee is, right? Delta and Green Beret legend? The Sheriff of Kandahar? He was one single guy who went alone in Afghanistan for over a year, gathering intelligence and stuff. Whenever confronted by checkpoint guards or anyone really, he would just scream a "mongoloid scream" and convince people he was mentally disabled. Worked like a damn charm
appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak. that solider was strong inside, so he appeared weak on the outside. it worked too, actually genius.
Now you couldn’t go more than 12 hours without being reported missing on a properly functioning US Navy Ship. Probably in part because of this example. Between meals, duty, and watch shifts your whereabouts are accounted for multiple times a day.
I learned about him while I was in the military. One thing he would do is every morning when he woke up he would sit up in his bed and bang his head on a board that was above it. The guards the guards would gather around his cell every morning just to watch him do it.
I mean this not ironically, not sarcastically, but as sincere as I possibly can. Thank you for your service, actually. The very fact that people such as you are willing to take a grueling sacrifice for your country is rather inspiring.
Really? I mean, that's impressive, but I think coming up with the perfect cover identity, playing it perfectly, and keeping it up for who knows how long really takes the cake
There is a story about an British officer who walked up to a German tank because they shot a clearly marked “hospital”. But because of Geneva conventions it was forbidden and the officer told them to stop. Can you do a story about that? It’s a bit of an unknown story, so...
@@adamkey1934 Too is not correct. too means as well or in excess while to is a proposition or infinitive. nobody is paying attention as well/also the fool? that doesn't sound right does it?
I can imagine Jeremy being held prisoner by the NVA and he tries to get released by being nice "Look at the genius here of the NVA. Oooooo, and the power of those AK-47s. It's just magnificent."
I've actually visit hanoi hilton when I was in vietnam. It was a dreadful place. Especially when I stood in the room where the inmates slept in chains. People would pass out and die in the heat during the hot summer. Lots of death.
Spy that alerted the Army of northern Virginia to the location of the Army of the Potomac pretended to be a dumb farmer looking for his wife (who had run off with a soldier). All the while, finding out unit locations and directions of movement.
@@LeOssiTrollterrible This was in the early 90's and he gave about a 30 minute lecture on his experiences to the class before we went on our evolution.
Nope. Just an idiot who neglected physics and deck safety protocol during gun operation who just happens to be spying now that he's here. Yall (the VC) make it sound like the US government dropped him off in the middle of the Gulf and said go spy on these guys.
Imagine being so dumb, you're literally view as a non-threat, taken care of, put on the radio, and educated by the very people who are torturing and killing your fellow serviceman.
Brilliant! All those families that would learn their loved ones weren’t killed in action… I’ve been to some of these camps and the ones in Cambodia. (Khmer Rouge though) It’s horrifying.
@@leoslack6104 You don't need to be a "Trumpie" to dislike an old dementia-ridden racist. I do agree that bringing politics into videos like these is annoying though.
For the record, the north Vietnamese were quite stupid during that time. So the tutor they got to teach him probably wasn’t all that great. Here’s 1 example of their ignorance. When they first started taking over the south, they thought a ceiling fan was an execution device. Made to lop off heads. 🤷♂️
They wanted him to write an anti-war statement and to serve as a fake spokesperson for the average american soldier, basically. They were stupid but not that much
Well, we Vietnamese have another version for this story. We know there is a prisoner who play dump in our prison. Think about it, we have undercover even in South Vietnam Government until it collapse and evacuation to US. Playing dump is a child play to us. Thus, we go along with him, provide and help him remember a list of names one way another. Include name of sons, relatives of important generals in US sides. We don’t really have all of them. But that put us some favor in negotiation of prisoner of both side. How a man could remember 250 names without repetition? Who creates the environment of repetition for him? Think about it.
@@huynhdung7602 hahahahaha! I believe you. That's much more likely than some goofball soldier fooling an entire prison camp. It's far too much like something out of a comedy skit.
@@huynhdung7602 That's an awfully complicated plan just to send a list of names. A letter would have been faster no? Also seems weird that the South Vietnamese would catch on to his act but not the North Vietnamese who were running the prison. Its not that unbelievable that someone could remember 250 names with enough time and technique. Some people can memorize thousands of names. After all they are just words, or rather they are words of an over-complicated song he made up.
I don't know what is dumber, the fact that the NVA believed he's really stupid or they believed that water buffalo were used by American farmers. Edit: Ignore all them replies
Ah Vietnam, my grandfather went there and while he is alive and well he left his mind there Edit: you can talk with him and have great conversations with him but you know he isn't always there, and he was worst as my mother told me when he came back.....
@Mr. Dude I think it’s more along the lines of that was not as much Constant psychological stress in World War II then there was in Vietnam. Obviously I’m not saying that there wasn’t any mental anguish in World War II, but at least in World War II they knew who the enemy was and who they were fighting. Vietnam, they were constantly having to be wary of everyone around them because they couldn’t tell who was a true member of south Vietnam or who was a sympathizer of the north Vietnamese army or Vietcong.
former US veterans watching this be like: now thats whats called big brain former NVA soldiers watching this: he is a master of deception former hanoi hilton guards watching this: **screaming**
@@chickyismycat When men are forced to fight, of course atrocities like this would accrue, and the Vietnamese were far from the only ones who did this. We bombed their people and burned their lands, it was a horrible war for both sides.
"He wasn't able to fight the way he was trained, but he fought the way he could"-if there is a will there is a way. I admire this guy for being innovative and resourceful in what others would find to be an impossible situation👊
@@cameronsprague101 good thing it was only Vietnam the us lost to? I don't know what you mean You've posted like 30 comments about the Vietnamese economy on this video. I don't know what you're mad about, and I don't think you're going to find the satisfaction you're looking for by doing this. Have a good week.
so the next time you see someone who's really dumb, there's always the possibility that they're actually running a clever intelligence operation against your brethren
