Henry F. Blood was a missionary with the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) in the South Vietnamese mountain town of Banmethuot. While serving as a translator and linguist for Wickliff Translators at the leprosarium at Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam, Henry Blood was present on February 1, 1968 when the CMA compound was overrun by Vietnamese communist forces during the opening phase of the 1968 Tet Offensive. He was captured and held hostage as a prisoner of war by the Viet Cong.
Moved repeatedly to avoid detection, Henry eventually contracted pneumonia, weakened steadily, and eventually died, sometime in July, 1968, as reported by Michael D. Benge, another American civilian who was captured at the time. Henry Blood was buried in a shallow grave along the trail in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Mike Olsen, another fellow POW, conducted graveside services.
In 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government included the name of Henry F. Blood on their "died in captivity" list which was provided to Operation Homecoming officials. The date of death was recorded as October 17, 1972.
Blood's burial site location was investigated in December 1990 by a U.S. field team. During that investigation, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center learned that Blood's grave had been opened in 1987. The remains recovered by Dac Lac Province security officials - which were reportedly those of Henry F. Blood - were given to U.S. officials in February 1988 and officially verified on July 2, 1998.
He was posthumously awarded the United States Prisoner of War Medal.
Moved repeatedly to avoid detection, Henry eventually contracted pneumonia, weakened steadily, and eventually died, sometime in July, 1968, as reported by Michael D. Benge, another American civilian who was captured at the time. Henry Blood was buried in a shallow grave along the trail in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Mike Olsen, another fellow POW, conducted graveside services.
In 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government included the name of Henry F. Blood on their "died in captivity" list which was provided to Operation Homecoming officials. The date of death was recorded as October 17, 1972.
Blood's burial site location was investigated in December 1990 by a U.S. field team. During that investigation, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center learned that Blood's grave had been opened in 1987. The remains recovered by Dac Lac Province security officials - which were reportedly those of Henry F. Blood - were given to U.S. officials in February 1988 and officially verified on July 2, 1998.
He was posthumously awarded the United States Prisoner of War Medal.
Henry F. Blood was a missionary with the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) in the South Vietnamese mountain town of Banmethuot. While serving as a translator and linguist for Wickliff Translators at the leprosarium at Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam, Henry Blood was present on February 1, 1968 when the CMA compound was overrun by Vietnamese communist forces during the opening phase of the 1968 Tet Offensive. He was captured and held hostage as a prisoner of war by the Viet Cong.
Moved repeatedly to avoid detection, Henry eventually contracted pneumonia, weakened steadily, and eventually died, sometime in July, 1968, as reported by Michael D. Benge, another American civilian who was captured at the time. Henry Blood was buried in a shallow grave along the trail in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Mike Olsen, another fellow POW, conducted graveside services.
In 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government included the name of Henry F. Blood on their "died in captivity" list which was provided to Operation Homecoming officials. The date of death was recorded as October 17, 1972.
Blood's burial site location was investigated in December 1990 by a U.S. field team. During that investigation, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center learned that Blood's grave had been opened in 1987. The remains recovered by Dac Lac Province security officials - which were reportedly those of Henry F. Blood - were given to U.S. officials in February 1988 and officially verified on July 2, 1998.
He was posthumously awarded the United States Prisoner of War Medal.
Moved repeatedly to avoid detection, Henry eventually contracted pneumonia, weakened steadily, and eventually died, sometime in July, 1968, as reported by Michael D. Benge, another American civilian who was captured at the time. Henry Blood was buried in a shallow grave along the trail in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Mike Olsen, another fellow POW, conducted graveside services.
In 1973, the Provisional Revolutionary Government included the name of Henry F. Blood on their "died in captivity" list which was provided to Operation Homecoming officials. The date of death was recorded as October 17, 1972.
Blood's burial site location was investigated in December 1990 by a U.S. field team. During that investigation, the Joint Casualty Resolution Center learned that Blood's grave had been opened in 1987. The remains recovered by Dac Lac Province security officials - which were reportedly those of Henry F. Blood - were given to U.S. officials in February 1988 and officially verified on July 2, 1998.
He was posthumously awarded the United States Prisoner of War Medal.
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