POW Taken on the Road to Phuoc Vinh: The Disappearance of SFC Joe P. Pederson

Joe P. Pederson

Rank and Branch: Sergeant First Class, United States Army
Unit: 595th Signal Company, 36th Signal Battalion
Conflict: Vietnam War
Date of Incident: June 23, 1970
Location of Capture: Near the Ben Cat cutoff, between Lai Khe and Phuoc Vinh, South Vietnam
Final Status: Presumed Killed in Action; body not recovered

Story of Capture and Loss

At approximately 11:00 AM on June 23, 1970, SFC Joe P. Pederson departed the Lai Khe signal site on a routine supply run to Phuoc Vinh with two fellow soldiers—SP4 Robert Phillips and SP4 Leonard Rozo. Before departure, they were warned by multiple sources to avoid the Ben Cat cutoff due to a high likelihood of ambush and recent mine activity. The recommended route was the “new Phuoc Vinh road,” but at some point, they took the hazardous route instead.

At 3:30 PM that same day, their 2½-ton truck was found abandoned in a ditch, engine still running, by ARVN troops and American advisors. The truck showed no external battle damage beyond a blown tire and shattered windshields. Signal equipment and supply documents remained inside. A search revealed jammed rifles, one dead Viet Cong, and no trace of the three men. It was believed the Americans had been taken prisoner.

Months later, a captured Viet Cong admitted to participating in the ambush. He claimed that one of the Americans—believed to be Pederson—had been killed during the attack and buried near the site, while the other two were taken captive. In November 1971, a second Viet Cong defector reported seeing two American POWs being moved into Cambodia. His physical descriptions matched Phillips and Rozo, noting they appeared weary but alive. Pederson was never seen again.

Later intelligence suggested Phillips may have attempted to escape captivity and was executed. Rozo was presumed to remain in enemy hands, but he was not released during Operation Homecoming in 1973. He was declared dead in 1979. In a surprising twist, a 1985 intelligence report to his family suggested that Rozo had escaped in 1973 and was never recaptured. His fate remains unknown.

All three men were posthumously promoted: Pederson to Master Sergeant, Phillips to Staff Sergeant, and Rozo to Sergeant First Class.

Legacy

SFC Joe Pederson’s ultimate fate remains unconfirmed. Despite fragmentary reports and intelligence, no remains have been recovered, and his name endures on the rolls of the missing. His story—and that of his fellow soldiers—stands as a chilling reminder of the war’s unfinished toll, where the lines between the battlefield, captivity, and disappearance blurred into silence.