Many important people have been a influence in my life. But until now, just before making my final decision to join the Army, one person has had an impact on me. James Nicholas Rowe, Colonel, United States Army. Known famously as Colonel “Nick” Rowe. His past of being a Intelligence Operative, war hero, POW, and officer paled in comparison to what he truly exemplified, a gentleman who sacrificed his life for others to enjoy theirs.
I feel that this man is someone that can motivate not just me but the public as well. He was first and foremost a Special Forces Officer. As a former POW, he suffered for five years at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors before escaping and making his own way back to US forces on his own. He was a teacher in that he founded and taught the U.S. Army Special Forces Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Program which trains military of all branches how to survive if they are separated from their forces, how to evade the enemy and make their way back to friendly forces, how to resist the enemy if captured, and how to plan an escape. He was a real live hero of our times who became a living legend in the special forces community until his assassination by guerilla insurgents in the Philippines.
James Rowe was born in Texas, Feb. 8th 1938. He attended West Point and graduated in 1960. In 1971 he published a book Five Years to Freedom, he went through his ordeal as a Viet Cong Prisoner, his escape and his return home. What brought about the book was his journal that he kept while a prisoner of war. He wrote it in various different languages, such as German, Spanish, Chinese and his special code in order to deceive his captors. He also wrote Southeast Asia Survival Journal for the United States Department of the Air Force, published in 1971. Upon his return home he was presented with lifetime memberships in the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The way soldiers can overcome great odds is something that I want to be a part of. Rowe, while a POW, was kept in a bamboo cage in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta for five years, but they could not break his spirit with a constant barrage of propaganda and death threats. Rowe had tried repeatedly to escape. Word reached U.S. Intelligence officers that he was known as “Mr. Trouble.” Rowe kept himself busy by chopping firewood and setting traps to capture small animals to supplement his diet of rice and fish. Rowe had to put up with all types of medical aliments. Dysentery, fungal diseases and psychological and physical torment. He had to live day by day thinking at any time he could be executed, or worse, kept alive, but never released. Since he was an intelligence officer he had access to all sorts of classified and sensitive information including camp setups, where the locations of mines were at. Names of important people and supply locations would never be given to his captors. Rowe finally escaped from his cage on New Years Eve, 1968. The prestige that Rowe got from his hometown is something to be admired. After being home for a few weeks he made a speech at McAllen High School’s football stadium, and a parade was held in his honor. It was said thousands came to see the hometown hero.
It is not hard to mistake a soldier. A man by the name of John Ford, one of Rowe’s cousins said, “He knew it was a hot spot when he went over there. He knew he had to be careful. He walked like an Army officer, he talked like one and he died like one.” Rowe was gunned down on April 21, 1989, by members of the communist New Peoples’ Army in the Philippines. This organization existed only for the means to find and execute deeply routed agents working for the CIA inside the Philippines’ communist organization. Because of these and many more threats many Intel agents thought there was a plan of major terrorist acts against U.S. Military advisors. Rowe had worked closely with the CIA, and was involved in its nearly decade-old program to penetrate the NPA and its parent communist party along with the Philippine’s own intelligence organizations. Since the early 1980’s many CIA agents had already been captured and tortured. The counter-intelligent officers had there own assets who knew the CIA’s assets in the party were in jeopardy as a result. Rowe had developed his own intelligence information this is what helped him realize that the communist were planning a major terrorist act. What Rowe did was warn Washington that a high-profile figure was about to be hit. The department ignored his letter that he had sent them. Although Rowe was a highly seen officer and for certain a target for the communist terrorists, some intelligent sources believed it was sabotaged that the communist party had leaks from the CIA of Rowe’s importance to the U.S. government. His assassination was meant to be used as a message to the American people by killing a Vietnam veteran. According to Robert Mounted, “He was a target when he went over there because of his dealings with the North Vietnamese and his time as a prisoner”. Rowe was under constant clear and present danger and other intelligence operatives were too.
Something that I admire about serving in the United States Army is that I am going to be making certain sacrifices that in history many others before me have made. There will be no luxuries of having power windows, automatic locks, interior lighting, just as Rowe was not given an armored car to travel in. One reason for this is that funding had to be cut for the budget for the defense system in 1989. At times I know I will have to be responsible for the equipment that I am signed for through the government such as, lab top computers, overhead projectors and display boards.
One of the many things that I am going to be dealing with is understanding other cultures and learning their propaganda and how it is being used to help the enemy. Rowe knew that his death would be a real propaganda victory for the communists. My job is to prevent that propaganda information from becoming reality from Rowe’s death. The information that I have access to can only be used for the purpose of collecting more information. My job is to prevent future terrorist’s acts by gathering all sources of enemy propaganda from foreign executives. The best experience that Rowe had was traveling to other countries. When I am finally in the Army I will have those same opportunities to travel to places such as, Japan, Europe, Australia, and Korea. While most jobs in the Army rely on physical prowess my job will entail mental prowess. Customs of other countries will be a real world experience for me. I will learn first hand what the is the proper way to greet and respect other cultures by ways of body language and eye contact. If I go about this the wrong way I will jeopardize the trust of the people.
Rowe, a man of character, was a leading example of what the best of qualities an individual should strive for. In today’s society many children are raised with everything catered to them. They are not pushed in ways that challenge themselves to learn of what true capabilities they have. Obstacles that make them grow. Expanding their minds without using drugs because they learn real life lessons. These can not be learned in books. Values and Perseverance are embodied into those who go beyond their comfort zone. Exploration and experience will promote drive and open new avenues of thinking. The Army I believe is the foundation in which I can build upon. I will achieve more discipline to achieve my goals easier. I know I will develop more focus on my studies. I am a realist. Rowe went to West Point before being in the active Army. I will have not completed my associate’s degree prior to leaving for basic training. Rowe was an officer. I will be enlisted. What does motivate me, regardless of his education and rank? He is a Soldier. I attend future soldier meetings that are held once a month and I learned so much already. All soldiers live by a warrior ethos. It goes like this, “I will always place the mission first, I will never quit, I will never accept defeat, and I will never leave a fallen comrade.” What I have learned from this warrior ethos is that it can be applied to everyday living. It’s this ethos that can make people not be complacent with just satisfactory and settle for mediocre. To be a leader and a warrior is to be a person who is humble and to do for others before they do for themselves. This man proves to me that there is reward in self of doing well for the bigger picture. I want to have a taste of being outside my comfort zone and doing what many did before me. In writing this paper I come to realize one thing. This is not about the job that I chose to do in the Army. An Intelligence Analyst is something I want to further my career with in the future. I want to look back on my life and know I did something that many in my generation made up too many excuses of why they would not join. I want to be part of history that is larger than life. I want to be a United States Soldier.
www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jamesnic.htm
www.pownetwork.org/bios
www.psywarrior.com/rowe