James N. Rowe
Encyclopedia
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer and one of only thirty-four American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Colonel Rowe was credited with developing the rigorous Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program taught to high-risk military personnel (such as Special Forces and aircrews) and the U.S. military doctrine which institutionalizes these techniques and principles to be followed by captured personnel.
Personal life
Rowe was born in McAllen, Texas on February 8, 1938 to Lee Delavan and Florence (Survillo) Rowe. He grew up in McAllen and graduated from McAllen High School in 1956 before leaving for the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, New York.
Rowe married Susan Rowe on December 27, 1969.
Military service
Rowe graduated from West Point in 1960 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. In 1963, First Lieutenant Rowe was sent to the Republic of VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
and assigned as Executive Officer of Detachment A-23, 5th Special Forces Group, a 12-man "A-team". Located at Tan Phu in An Xuyen Province
Ca Mau Province
Cà Mau is a province of Vietnam, named after its capital city. It is located in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, and is the southernmost of Vietnam's 58 provinces...
, A-23 organized and advised a Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was a program developed by the U.S. government in the Vietnam War to develop South Vietnamese irregular military units from minority populations.-Purpose:...
camp in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
region of Vietnam. On October 29, 1963, after only three months in country, Rowe was captured by Viet Cong elements along with Captain Humberto "Rocky" R. Versace
Humbert Roque Versace
Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace was a United States Army officer of Puerto Rican-Italian descent who was awarded the United States' highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his heroic actions while a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. He was the first member of...
and Sergeant Daniel L. Pitzer. Separated from his comrades, Rowe spent 62 months in captivity with only brief encounters with fellow American POWs. Rowe was held in the U Minh Forest, better known as the "Forest of Darkness," in extreme southern Vietnam. During most of his five years in captivity Rowe was held in a cage. He managed to escape on December 31, 1968, after overpowering his guard,he was picked up by a UH-1 helicopter. Rowe was promoted to Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
during captivity. In 1971, he authored the book, Five Years to Freedom, an account of his years as a prisoner of war. In 1974, he retired from the Army.
In 1981, Rowe was recalled to active duty as a lieutenant colonel to design and build a course based upon his experience as a POW. Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE
SERE
SERE is a military acronym for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, a program that provides military personnel, Department of Defense civilians and private military contractors with training in evading capture, survival skills and the military code of conduct...
) is now a requirement for graduation from the U.S. Army Special Forces Qualification Course. SERE is taught at the Colonel James "Nick" Rowe Training compound at Camp Mackall
Camp Mackall
Camp Mackall is an active U.S. Army training facility located in eastern Richmond County and northern Scotland County, North Carolina, south of the town of Southern Pines. The facility is in close proximity to and is a sub-installation of Fort Bragg Camp Mackall is an active U.S. Army training...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. It is considered by many to be the most important advanced training in the special operations field. Navy, Air Force and Marine Special Operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
personnel all attend variations of this course taught by their respective services. By 1987, Colonel Rowe was assigned as the chief of the Army division of the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG), providing counter-insurgency training for the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...
. Working closely with the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and intelligence organizations of the Republic of the Philippines, he was involved in its nearly decade-long program to penetrate the communist New People's Army
New People's Army
The New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...
(NPA), insurgency that threatened to overthrow the Philippines' government.
By February 1989, Colonel Rowe had acquired intelligence information which indicated that the communists were planning a major terrorist act. He warned Washington that a high-profile figure was about to be assassinated and that he himself was second or third on the assassination list. At around 7:00 in the morning of April 21, 1989, as he was being driven to work at the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group headquarters in an armored limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
, Colonel Rowe's vehicle was hit by gunfire from a .45 caliber pistol and an M16 rifle
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
near the corner of Tomas Morato Street and Timog Avenue in Quezon City. Twenty-one shots hit the vehicle; one round entered through an unarmored portion of the vehicle frame and struck Colonel Rowe in the head, killing him instantly. Rowe's driver, Joaquin Vinuya, was wounded. Years later, the New People's Army eventually claimed responsibility for his assassination. Two Filipinos
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
were convicted by a Philippine court and sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for Rowe's assassination: Juanito T. Itaas as principal and Donato B. Continente as an accomplice. Continente was however, released in 1995, under a Philippine government amnesty program.
Rowe was buried May 2, 1989 in Section 48 of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Politics
Rowe was a staunch conservative and a strong critic of George McGovernGeorge McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
in the 1972 presidential campaign. He ran as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
for the office of Texas Comptroller in 1974 but was easily defeated by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Bob Bullock
Bob Bullock
Robert Douglas Bullock, known as Bob Bullock , was a Democratic politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 15, 1991–January 19, 1999 during the terms of Governors Ann Richards and George W...
in a strongly Democratic year because of the Watergate scandal. Bullock would receive 1,099,599 votes (71.6%) to Rowe's 419,657 (27.3%). A third party candidate earned the remaining 16,383 (1%) votes. Rowe did not run for office again and Bullock became a popular two-term lieutenant governor.
Memorials
- James "Nikki" Rowe High SchoolJames "Nikki" Rowe High SchoolJames "Nikki" Rowe High School is one of three high schools and the only T. E. A. recognized high school serving the McAllen, Texas area as a part of the McAllen Independent School District. It houses over 4,200 students from grades 9-12. The school originally opened in 1990, its current location...
and a major street in McAllen, TexasMcAllen, TexasMcAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the . Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa, the Rio...
are named in his memory. - The JROTC Drill Teams (Rowe's Rifles, Rowe's Rangers) and Shooting Team (Rowe's Rangers) of McAllen High SchoolMcAllen High SchoolMcAllen High School is one of three high schools serving the McAllen, Texas area as a part of the McAllen Independent School District. It houses over 2200 students from grades 9-12. The school originally opened in 1909 and moved to its current location at 2021 La Vista Avenue in 1963. The school...
were named in his honor well before he died. - A training facility, Rowe Hall, at the US Army Intelligence Center and School, Fort HuachucaFort HuachucaFort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
was named in his honor. - Having been a member of the Order of DeMolay as a teenager, he was recognized with both the DeMolay Legion of Honor, the highest honor DeMolay confers, and was inducted into the International DeMolay Hall of Fame.
- An Order of Knighthood prioryPrioryA priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of DeMolay InternationalDeMolay InternationalDeMolay International , founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1919, is an international organization for young men ages 12–21. DeMolay derives its name from Jacques DeMolay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar...
in the state of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
was named in his memory. - The obstacle course on Camp MacKall, arguably the hardest obstacle course in the Army, is named the "Nasty Nick"
- An office facility, the Rowe Building, of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group - Philippines, US Embassy, Manila, was named in his honor.
- The Colonel James N. "Nick" Rowe Memorial, located in Veteran's Memorial Park in Union Beach, New Jersey, was dedicated on October 9, 2004, by friends, classmates from the West Point Class of 1960, and comrades-in arms, Among attendees were Major General Ted Crowley (a classmate) and Ross Perot and Colonel Rowe's widow and children.