How does America reward those who fight its wars? Perhaps you should ask these Vietnamese Green Berets.

At least 31 native Vietnamese served in the American Special Forces during the Vietnam War. They performed the most dangerous reconnaissance and intelligence missions for the US. They often performed these missions with exceptional valor. And, in return for their loyalty and bravery, they… got sent to prison.

Bureaucratic foul-ups kept the 30 men and one woman in refugee “detention centers” in Hong Kong for five to seven years.

In 1975, as the US withdrew from Saigon, these loyal soldiers were assigned to guard sensitive US facilities. They were told that the departing helicopters would come back to pick them up. The helicopters never came back.

When the soldiers told their stories to the bureaucrats running refugee detention centers in Hong Kong, none of them were believed.

According to one official “every one of these guys is authentic. It’s really tragic that they have gone through five to seven years, sitting in a detention camp.”

(Source: Washington Post.)