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James N. Rowe

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James Nicholas Rowe
File:Rowebook.jpg
then-Major James N. Rowe on the cover of his book,
Five Years to Freedom
Nickname(s)"Nick"
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1963 - 1974
1981 - 1989
RankColonel
Commands5th Special Forces Group - Battalion Commander
Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group - Chief, Army Division
Battles / warsCold War
*Vietnam War
*Filipino Insurgency
AwardsSilver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star - 2
Purple Heart - 2
Meritorious Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
Other workAuthor
Five Years to Freedom

James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe (February 8, 1938–April 21, 1989), United States Army officer, 1960 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, was one of only thirty-four American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War.[1] Colonel Rowe is credited with developing the rigorous Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program taught to high-risk military personnel (such as Special Forces and aircrews) and the U.S. military doctrine which institutionalizes these techniques and principles to be followed by captured personnel.

Vietnam service

Rowe was assigned as Executive Officer of Detachment A-23, 5th Special Forces Group, a 12-man "A-team" in Vietnam in 1963. Located at Tan Phu in An Xuyen Province, A-23 organized and advised a Civilian Irregular Defense Group camp in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. On October 29, 1963, after only three short months in the Republic of Vietnam, then-Lieutenant Rowe was captured by Viet Cong elements along with Captain Humberto "Rocky" R. Versace and Sgt. Daniel L. Pitzer. Separated from his comrades, Lt. Rowe spent 62 months in captivity with only brief encounters with fellow American POWs. He escaped from his Vietnamese captors on December 31, 1968. Rowe had been promoted to Major (United States) during his captivity.[2] He authored the book, Five Years to Freedom, an account of his years as a prisoner of war.

Politics

Rowe was a staunch conservative and a strong critic of George McGovern in the 1972 presidential campaign. He ran as a Republican for the office of Texas Comptroller in 1974 but was defeated by Democrat Bob Bullock. Rowe did not run for office again and Bullock was a popular two-term lieutenant governor.[3]

Retirement and recall to active duty

Colonel Rowe retired from the United States Army in 1974. In 1981, he was recalled to active duty to design and build a course based upon his experience as a POW. Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is now a requirement for graduation from the U.S. Army Special Forces Qualification Course. SERE is taught at the Colonel James "Nick" Rowe Training compound at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. It is considered by many to be the most important advanced training in the special operations field. Navy, Air Force and Marine Special Operations personnel all attend variations of this course taught by their respective services.

Assassination

In 1987, Colonel Rowe was assigned as the chief of the Army division of the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG), providing counter-insurgency training for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Working closely with the Central Intelligence Agency and intelligence organizations of the Republic of the Philippines, he was involved in its nearly decade-long program to penetrate the communist New People's Army (NPA), insurgency that threatened to overthrow the Philippines' government.

By February 1989, Colonel Rowe had acquired intelligence information which indicated that the communists were planning a major terrorist act. He warned Washington that a high-profile figure was about to be assassinated and that he himself was second or third on the assassination list. At around 7:00 in the morning of April 21, 1989, as he was being driven to work at the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group headquarters in an armored limousine, Colonel Rowe's vehicle was hit by gunfire from a .45 caliber pistol and an M16 rifle near the corner of Tomas Morato Street and Timog Avenue in Quezon City.[4] Twenty-one shots hit the vehicle; one round entered through a an unarmored portion of the vehicle frame and struck Colonel Rowe in the head, killing him instantly. Rowe's driver, Joaquin Vinuya, was wounded. Years later, the New People's Army eventually claimed responsibility for his assassination. Two Filipinos were convicted by a Philippine court and sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for Rowe's assassination: Juanito T. Itaas as principal and Donato B. Continente as an accomplice. Continente was however, released in 1995, under a Philippine government amnesty program.[5]

He was buried May 2, 1989 in Section 48 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorials

  • A high school and street in the South Texas city of McAllen are named in his memory.
  • The JROTC Drill Teams (Rowe's Rifles, Rowe's Rangers) and Shooting Team (Rowe's Rangers) of McAllen High School were named in his honor well before he died.
  • A training facility, Rowe Hall, at the US Army Intelligence Center and School, Fort Huachuca, Arizona was named in his honor.
  • Having been a member of the Order of DeMolay as a teenager, he was recognized with both the DeMolay Legion of Honor, the highest honor DeMolay confers, and was inducted into the International DeMolay Hall of Fame.
  • An Order of Knighthood priory of DeMolay International in the state of Florida was named in his memory.
  • The obstacle course on Camp MacKall, arguably the hardest obstacle course in the Army, is named the "Nasty Nick"
  • An office facility, the Rowe Building, of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group - Philippines, US Embassy, Manila, was named in his honor.

See also

References

  1. ^ Patterson, Michael Robert. "James Nicholas Rowe". Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  2. ^ "Case Synopsis: Rowe, James Nicholas "Nick"". Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  3. ^ Garza, Alicia A. "Handbook of Texas Online - Rowe, James Nicholas". Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  4. ^ Magay-dris, Tomasita B. "People vs. Continente, et al". Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  5. ^ Sampley, Ted. "U.S. Gives Philippines Lukewarm Reminder to Keep Col. Rowe's Killers in Jail". Retrieved 2007-08-01.
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