Colonel James “Nick” Rowe’s life and legacy are inseparable from the experience of captivity and the hard truths it revealed about survival, resistance, and human endurance. Before Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) became a formalized program, Rowe lived its principles under the harshest possible conditions.
Rowe was a U.S. Army Special Forces officer deployed to Vietnam in the early 1960s. In 1963, while leading a patrol, he was captured by the Viet Cong. Rowe went on to endure five grueling years as a prisoner of war (POW) in Viet Cong prisons camps. While a POW, Rowe endured starvation, disease, forced marches, isolation and psychological pressure. Through it all Rowe maintained a spirit of resistance and maintained the will to survive.
In his work, Five Years to Freedom, Rowe recounts his experience as a POW in Vietnam, and underscores the critical lessons learned from his captivity. Surviving and returning home with honor, in accordance with the U.S. Code of Conduct, stands as the focal point of Rowe’s account.
After five years of captivity and patient planning, Rowe escaped from his captors while on a work detail in the Vietnam jungle. Rowe managed to wave down a U.S. helicopter to assist in his extraction. After the Vietnam War, Rowe formally compiled his experience into a formidable program. In the absence of refined training, many Servicemembers facing captivity were ill-prepared to live up to the U.S. Code of Conduct requirements. Rowe went on to found modern SERE training for the U.S. Army.
Fundamentally, SERE school trains Servicemembers to live up to the U.S. Code of Conduct and return home with honor. Nick Rowe taught the modern force that surviving and returning home with honor requires discipline, wit, and patience. Above all, survival in an isolated environment requires loyalty to fellow Servicemembers and one’s country – keeping the faith.
Rowe continued to serve as a Green Beret following his captivity. In 1989, while serving in the Philippines, COL Rowe was assassinated by a communist insurgent group. His legacy continues in the countless Servicemembers who have received SERE training and strived to live up to the Code of Conduct.
The U.S. Code of Conduct
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES
I
I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
II
I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender my men while they still have the means to resist.
III
If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
IV
If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
V
When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am bound to give only name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
I will never forget that I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
Read More
For more SERE and survival stories check back here.
Follow and Subscribe
Stay tuned on Substack, Social Media, or our mailing list!