“I remember him being a very kind brother.”That’s how Jose Puentes remembers his older brother Manny.Manny is Manuel Puentes, who was living in Omaha when he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.He may still be there.See the story in the video aboveManny is one of the more than 1,500 Americans still listed as Missing in Action from that war.Recently, Jose and his nephew Diego, traveled to Vietnam trying to get more information about what happened to Manny.The official government documents show that on March 25, 1971, Puentes was on a 12-man patrol just a few miles south of the DMZ in the Quang Tri province, when they were ambushed.Nine of the men survived, but two died.Manny was wounded and separated from the squad because of the gunfire and could not be evacuated.When soldiers were debriefed, they told investigators that “Puentes was not hit bad,” and that “his condition was fair. He was trying to take cover behind rocks.”The U.S. called in airstrikes to push the enemy back and search patrols went out, but Puentes was never found.During their trip to get answers, Jose and Diego saw the tunnels the Viet Cong used to evade U.S. forces.They saw machinery left behind by the United States.They saw not only where the war was fought, but former warriors, meeting in peacetime.“They shook hands, they saluted each other,” Diego said, and Jose added, “They were even hugging each other.”On the eve of their visit to the area where Manny was last seen, I did a remote interview with them when they were in Khe Sanh.“To be honest with you I don’t know what to expect,” Jose said, “What I hope to learn is, what really happened to him, you know, and, what he went through because the last time he was saying he went to hide behind a rock and that’s it. That’s. That’s all they know. But there’s got to be more than just that.”Diego said he wanted answers for himself — and all of the cousins and other family members who couldn’t make the trip.“In a way, I feel like I’m here for them to kind of just help put eyes and experience,” Diego said, “And, hopefully, there is some, some kind of closure.”The next day, the moment they had waited decades for: getting close to where Manny was last seen.There’s a small, makeshift memorial and Jose spent a minute or two talking to his brother, listing the names of family members.I caught up with Jose and Diego after they got back to the States.“Oh man, it was amazing,” Jose said, “It was great. It was probably more than what I was expecting.”Jose talked about being so close to where Manny was.“I think I felt his presence. I felt like I had my hands tied behind my back, and he had his hands tied behind his back. I felt like he was looking at me, and I was looking at him, but, you know, it was frustrating because we cannot connect, you know, we cannot communicate.”Jose said he still wanted to try to communicate with him and that’s why he talked about the family.I asked if he thought Manny heard him.“It might sound like a cliche, right, but I think so,” Jose said.So I followed up by asking if he thinks his brother is still alive.“You know what? A lot of people don’t think so. If I had to choose, I would say yes. You know, because that’s as long as I have any evidence that he’s alive or not alive, I’m gonna say yes.”Diego wants to believe his uncle is alive, but he remembers the airstrikes that were called in while Manny may still have been in the area.“After seeing it in person and seeing the big divot holes that the bombs left, and you read the report of, they searched and then they came in and bombed it. I don’t know how he could be,” Diego said.They think that if Manny is still alive, he may be hiding, in captivity, or even living a different life.Finally, I asked Jose what he would say to the people who think he should just let Manny rest.“Does he want to rest, or what does he want?” Jose wondered. ”That’s a good question because at one point I thought to myself, what if it was me? You know, what if that was me out there in Vietnam, in the middle of nowhere, a different country, and then me, myself, I would like somebody to look for me.”He added, “It’s not just about my brother, you know. It’s about veterans, all veterans. So I want to let them know that they have been appreciated, you know, they’re not been just ignored or forgotten.”Jose thanked the Ralston Tigers baseball team which raised the money to send them to Vietnam. He said the team has supported Manny, and other American heroes, for years.Jose plans to meet with U.S. government officials this summer to discuss his brother’s case.It is still listed as “Active Pursuit.”
“I remember him being a very kind brother.”
That’s how Jose Puentes remembers his older brother Manny.
Advertisement
Manny is Manuel Puentes, who was living in Omaha when he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.
He may still be there.
See the story in the video above
Manny is one of the more than 1,500 Americans still listed as Missing in Action from that war.
Recently, Jose and his nephew Diego, traveled to Vietnam trying to get more information about what happened to Manny.
The official government documents show that on March 25, 1971, Puentes was on a 12-man patrol just a few miles south of the DMZ in the Quang Tri province, when they were ambushed.
Nine of the men survived, but two died.
Manny was wounded and separated from the squad because of the gunfire and could not be evacuated.
When soldiers were debriefed, they told investigators that “Puentes was not hit bad,” and that “his condition was fair. He was trying to take cover behind rocks.”
The U.S. called in airstrikes to push the enemy back and search patrols went out, but Puentes was never found.
During their trip to get answers, Jose and Diego saw the tunnels the Viet Cong used to evade U.S. forces.
They saw machinery left behind by the United States.
They saw not only where the war was fought, but former warriors, meeting in peacetime.
“They shook hands, they saluted each other,” Diego said, and Jose added, “They were even hugging each other.”
On the eve of their visit to the area where Manny was last seen, I did a remote interview with them when they were in Khe Sanh.
“To be honest with you I don’t know what to expect,” Jose said, “What I hope to learn is, what really happened to him, you know, and, what he went through because the last time he was saying he went to hide behind a rock and that’s it. That’s. That’s all they know. But there’s got to be more than just that.”
Diego said he wanted answers for himself — and all of the cousins and other family members who couldn’t make the trip.
“In a way, I feel like I’m here for them to kind of just help put eyes and experience,” Diego said, “And, hopefully, there is some, some kind of closure.”
The next day, the moment they had waited decades for: getting close to where Manny was last seen.
There’s a small, makeshift memorial and Jose spent a minute or two talking to his brother, listing the names of family members.
I caught up with Jose and Diego after they got back to the States.
“Oh man, it was amazing,” Jose said, “It was great. It was probably more than what I was expecting.”
Jose talked about being so close to where Manny was.
“I think I felt his presence. I felt like I had my hands tied behind my back, and he had his hands tied behind his back. I felt like he was looking at me, and I was looking at him, but, you know, it was frustrating because we cannot connect, you know, we cannot communicate.”
Jose said he still wanted to try to communicate with him and that’s why he talked about the family.
I asked if he thought Manny heard him.
“It might sound like a cliche, right, but I think so,” Jose said.
So I followed up by asking if he thinks his brother is still alive.
“You know what? A lot of people don’t think so. If I had to choose, I would say yes. You know, because that’s as long as I have any evidence that he’s alive or not alive, I’m gonna say yes.”
Diego wants to believe his uncle is alive, but he remembers the airstrikes that were called in while Manny may still have been in the area.
“After seeing it in person and seeing the big divot holes that the bombs left, and you read the report of, they searched and then they came in and bombed it. I don’t know how he could be,” Diego said.
They think that if Manny is still alive, he may be hiding, in captivity, or even living a different life.
Finally, I asked Jose what he would say to the people who think he should just let Manny rest.
“Does he want to rest, or what does he want?” Jose wondered. ”That’s a good question because at one point I thought to myself, what if it was me? You know, what if that was me out there in Vietnam, in the middle of nowhere, a different country, and then me, myself, I would like somebody to look for me.”
He added, “It’s not just about my brother, you know. It’s about veterans, all veterans. So I want to let them know that they have been appreciated, you know, they’re not been just ignored or forgotten.”
Jose thanked the Ralston Tigers baseball team which raised the money to send them to Vietnam. He said the team has supported Manny, and other American heroes, for years.
Jose plans to meet with U.S. government officials this summer to discuss his brother’s case.
It is still listed as “Active Pursuit.”
