More Lies
by
Tom Abraham
You should have come to this page from an article about the bogus claims of UK citizen Tom Abraham. Abraham was a lieutenant in the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam, 1968. In October 2002 his book The Cage was published in which he claims that he was captured by the "Viet Cong," tortured for several days, after which he escaped.
Not only are his claims to have been captured bogus, but people who served with him have pointed out that many of the other claims made in his book are not true. If you have not read the initial article, follow this link to read it.
Now, on 14 December 2002, Mr. Abraham is at it again. Read the following review of his book from a UK website.
QUOTE
Visit The Spectator.co.uk at http://www.spectator.co.uk
THE CAGE: AN ENGLISHMAN IN VIETNAM
By Tom Abraham
Bantam £16.99 pp. 299
Review By Patrick Skene Catling
The Domino Theory that a communist takeover of all Vietnam would cause the
other nations of South-east Asia to topple, one by one, was disproved at
vast cost in matériel and body-bags. The United States can still afford to
squander a lot of money, of course, but the President can go to war now
only if the public and the armed forces are assured that hardly any
Americans - perhaps just a few experts in various coloured berets - will be
killed in it. After all, what are smart bombs for?
Tom Abraham, a 57-year-old English sometime dealer in textiles and
antiques, has written a dramatic account of his involvement in America's
last large-scale infantry war, which was embarrassingly unsuccessful
militarily and domestically politically disastrous, and made most Americans
swear 'Never again!' The television news from Vietnam during the war and
all the subsequent films and books, notably this new one, make the
reluctance to commit infantry abroad entirely understandable.
When his father moved his family from Yorkshire to Pennsylvania, Tom
attended Dickinson College. 'Notionally,' he writes, 'I was supposed to be
studying what they called "liberal arts", but in reality I spent almost all
my time partying and playing sports.' His father bought him a white Ford
Mustang, 'a boy-racer's dream'.
'From almost as early as I can remember,' he says, 'I've been a firearms
fanatic.' His personal collegiate armoury included a Winchester rifle, 'a
high-velocity, long-range weapon', and a .22 semi-automatic rifle, for
pigeons and squirrels 'or anything else that was around'. He went deer-
hunting 'with other guys', but often alone. In a forest in North Carolina,
in case a bear charged him, he carried a handgun, a Ruger .44 Magnum, 'the
kind Dirty Harry used. I manufactured special bullets, which opened up when
they entered the body and brought down the target quickly.' At the age of
19, he seems to have been one of those gun-enthusiasts who help to maintain
the National Rifle Association's influence in Washington. When eligible for
the draft, he quickly enlisted in the US Army to improve his chances to
train for a commission.
In Vietnam, as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the Seventh Cavalry
and was reminded of its 'proud history':<blockquoteAlmost a century
before, under the command of General George Armstrong Custer, the regiment
was cut to pieces in a heroic last stand against overwhelming Sioux odds at
Little Big Horn. It doesn't sound like a very good omen.</blockquoteThen
he learned that the 'Cav' was based at An Khe in Vietnam's Central
Highlands, where hilly, jungle-covered terrain provided plenty of cover and
the Vietcong were particularly active. He devotes much of the book to
describing, in harrowing detail, the hazards of combat with enemy soldiers
who were rarely seen, except when dead. Leading patrols, he was able to
call in the support of helicopter gunships, fighter- bombers, B-52s and
even the battleships of the Seventh Fleet. But all the high explosives,
napalm and chemical herbicides could not always prevail in close
confrontations in the jungles.
The young lieutenant soon shared the average GI's overriding ambition only
to survive his 12-month tour of duty. He tells how the unpopular plan of
attack of a gung-ho patrol-leader was vetoed by a shot in the back of his
head. Even so, Abraham inevitably took risks, with bravery that won him a
Silver Star, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart - and capture. He was
sadistically burned with cigarettes and lowered in a small cage in water up
to his neck.
The story of his escape, his return to civilian life in England, his
post-traumatic stress, his arrest for drunk-driving and restraint in a
police cage ordinarily used to transport dogs, his marital breakdown (he
threatened his wife with a knife) and his marital redemption reads like
pulp fiction - the very best pulp fiction. And yet the non-fictional
authenticity of his wartime ordeals is certified in official citations for
gallantry, and there are colour photographs, like holiday snaps, taken in
Vietnam, which show that once he had the modestly engaging smile of the boy
next door.
P.S. A US veterans' group, the POW Network, says that Abraham is 'a
phoney', whose account of imprisonment, torture and escape is fictitious
and 'dishonours all the real POWs'. Abraham states, 'I completely refute
the allegations that I made any of it up' and Bill Scott-Carr, his editor
at Transworld Publishing, says that they are standing by the author while
the US army is checking his records.
(c)2001 The Spectator.co.uk
~~~~
END QUOTE
Well, not exactly
Mr. Abraham has now compounded the lies in his book. Let's look at three obvious problems in this review.
The "collegiate armoury"
Mr. Abraham claims to have attended Dickinson College. He states that his parents moved to Pennsylvania. Dickinson College is a small liberal-arts college in Carlisle, PA -- the Washington Redskins professional football team hold their pre-season training camp at the Dickinson College stadium. I attended the US Army War College in Carlisle and have visited the campus.
Read this section of the review:
'From almost as early as I can remember,' he says, 'I've been a firearms
fanatic.' His personal collegiate armoury included a Winchester rifle, 'a
high-velocity, long-range weapon', and a .22 semi-automatic rifle, for
pigeons and squirrels 'or anything else that was around'.
His "personal collegiate armoury?" Is he telling me that Dickinson College permitted him to keep firearms on campus? I doubt it. Perhaps someone who reads this article will check with Dickinson College as to their policy about firearms on campus -- I won't waste my time. And perhaps checking with Dickinson College would be a waste of anyone's time -- it appears that Abraham lied about attending Dickinson College -- read on.
Dickinson College - or - York Junior College? Not the same.
Note in the interview Abraham says:
"When his father moved his family from Yorkshire to Pennsylvania, Tom
attended Dickinson College (emphasis added). 'Notionally,' he writes, 'I was supposed to be
studying what they called "liberal arts", but in reality I spent almost all
my time partying and playing sports.' His father bought him a white Ford
Mustang, 'a boy-racer's dream'.
Abraham says he attended Dickinson College, a small liberal arts college in Carlisle, PA. His military records include his military and civilian education. The civilian education information is what he would have told the Army at the time he enlisted. Go to this link where his military records are posted. Note that on his official military records he lists attending York Junior College, York, PA, and he says nothing about Dickinson College. York, PA and Carlisle, PA are two different places; Dickinson College in Carlisle and York Junior College in York are two different schools. Abraham is confused or he's lying -- take your pick.
Abraham's Ruger .44 mag pistol
Abraham then treats us to this bit of fantasy.
He went deer-hunting 'with other guys', but often alone. In a forest in North Carolina,
in case a bear charged him, he carried a handgun, a Ruger .44 Magnum, 'the
kind Dirty Harry used.
So, he went deer hunting and carried a pistol to protect himself from bears? Why not use his deer rifle to protect himself from bears?
Visit the Ruger Arms website and check out what they have to say about the Ruger Redhawk, a large-frame .44 magnum pistol:
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/rvpages/largetext.html
"When the Ruger Redhawk was first introduced in 1979, it signaled an
important advance in the design of heavy-frame, double-action revolvers.
Ruger's patented double-frame cylinder lock was first used in this design.
The original Redhawk was also the first double-action revolver specifically
designed to handle the powerful .44 Magnum cartridge,"
Let's do the math. Abraham served in Vietnam as a lieutenant in 1968. He says he enlisted so he could undergo officer training. If he enlisted, he would have spent six months or so before attending Office Candidate School then he would have spent a year in OCS and associated training. Thus, he would have been on his deer hunting adventures sometime prior to 1968.
Ruger manufactured .44 magnum pistols as early as 1958 based on their .357 pistol. However, the large-frame Ruger .44 magnum pistol was not manufactured until 1979.
And, "Dirty Harry" did not carry a Ruger -- he carried a Smith & Wesson .44 magnum. (For those of you who are not familiar with Dirty Harry and Clint Eastwood, follow this link.)
Murdering a squad leader
Abraham then relates this tale.
The young lieutenant soon shared the average GI's overriding ambition only
to survive his 12-month tour of duty. He tells how the unpopular plan of
attack of a gung-ho patrol-leader was vetoed by a shot in the back of his
head.
Exactly what did Lieutenant Abraham, the platoon leader, do when one soldier murdered another? Sounds to me as though this guy has watched one too many re-runs of Platoon.
Return to the main article.
UPDATE: Tom Abraham's official military records are now posted on the Internet. Funny, nothing in his records about his having been a prisoner of war. (16 Dec 02)
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