Tucker Gougelmann Tucker Pierre Edward Power Gougelmann was a United States Marine Corps captain , World War II veteran , and a Central Intelligence Agency officer in their Special Activities Division who was killed in Vietnam in 1976 . World War II and entry into the CIA . During the war he served in the Pacific , participating in battles such as Guadalcanal . During the Solomon Islands campaign he suffered a severe wound as the result of being shot in the right leg by a Japanese sniper while he was helping to move his fellow soldiers who were wounded out of danger . Although the military doctors told him that his leg would have to be amputated as part of his treatment , Gougelmann was intent on returning to service and therefore refused to give his permission for the doctors to proceed with the amputation . He wound up keeping his leg but as a result his convalescence lasted for two years . During this time he was decorated with a Purple Heart in recognition of his having sustained the injury in combat . By the time he had recovered and was returned to active duty the war was drawing to a close . Regardless , Gougelmann remained in the Corps until his honorable discharge in 1949 . Wanting to continue in service to his country , Gougelmann joined the then nascent Central Intelligence Agency , which had been created from the embattled Central Intelligence Group ( " CIG " ) following the National Security Act of 1947 which Truman had signed into law only two years earlier . Although the CIG had a track record of difficulty with attracting " the best and the brightest , " the newly formed CIA had no such difficulties in its early years . It was in fact a magnet for many of the nation ' s privileged youth who were recent graduates of top educational institutions , such as Ivy League universities . It was viewed as presenting a unique set of challenges , interesting work , and the opportunity to serve the country at the beginning of what would ultimately become known as the Cold War . Known for his personality , charisma , intellect , and " get - it - done " attitude , as well as enjoying a good challenge and the opportunity to serve both his country and democracy on a global scale , Gougelmann was a great fit for the CIA of that time . Cold War service . According to his colleagues who knew him well , Gougelmann served in the CIA with the same energy , enthusiasm , and results that he had displayed in the Marines . He was first assigned to Korea during the Korean War from 1950 – 1953 , where he participated in many covert operations , such as helping agents to infiltrate the North . His covert operations expertise was put to use and he was subsequently involved with the CIA ' s attempts to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba during the mid / late 1950s and early 1960s . Although not officially recognized , Gougelmann was reported to have been not only involved with , but actually " at " the botched Bay of Pigs Invasion - a claim that still persists but remains unconfirmed . Following the failed attempts to remove Castro from power and the public relations problems that it caused for the Kennedy Administration , the CIA ' s role with respect to Cuba was severely curtailed and as far as the Agency was concerned the Cold War ' s active theater moved from Cuba back to other parts of the world , including Southeast Asia . His assignments during that time took him to Afghanistan as well as various locations in Europe . Vietnam . In 1962 Gougelmann was assigned to South Vietnam . He continued to specialize in covert paramilitary operations work , coordinating Swift Boat raids against the North using Taiwanese nationals posing as civilians . Following the conclusion of the Swift Boat raiding program , Gougelmann was assigned to the CIA ' s Saigon Station where his knowledge of covert operations methods was put to use in the domestic counter - intelligence work of a local governmental entity . Being settled in a location for the first time in a long while , Gougelmann began a family life there with a local woman . Gougelmann departed South Vietnam in 1975 before the final military capitulation and was living in Bangkok , Thailand as a civilian . When his loved ones were unable to be evacuated from Saigon prior to the impending Communist occupation , he ignored the warnings of many and returned on his own . Once there , he established contact with his family , but was having difficulty finding a way to get them out of the country as they had missed the last plane out before the occupation began . In the environment of that time , his presence was very unsafe as the communists had an extensive intelligence network utilizing many civilians , and an American CIA Officer would be a prime catch . Although his family tried their best to hide him , including stuffing him in an alcove behind a refrigerator , he was eventually found during a search being conducted by the police on the advice of a local informant . Capture , interrogation and torture . He was immediately taken into custody and kept in the main prison of the area , Chi Hoa Prison . Many Vietnamese prisoners in Wing ED , where he was being kept , saw him . A French reporter had even seen him being abducted . The totalitarian Communist government of Vietnam denied that they were holding him , despite being presented with evidence to the contrary . Details of his imprisonment are limited and unconfirmed , and what he suffered at the hands of the Vietnamese during his captivity is based on examination of the evidence after the fact . Gougelmann was removed from the prison several times to be taken for interrogation , and government officials believe he was tortured during this time . The Vietnamese government continued to deny that they were holding Gougelman for the remainder of 1975 and 1976 , but in 1977 they finally relented and released his remains to U . S . authorities . Postmortem examination by U . S . government officials revealed that Gougelmann was tortured during his captivity , as evidenced primarily by a very large number of broken bones which appeared to have been broken and re - broken after healing . After death . Before he left Bangkok to try to retrieve his family , Gougelmann had asked a friend of his to promise him that if anything happened to him , she would continue to struggle to get his family out of Vietnam and to America so that they would be safe and have a better life than if they stayed in Vietnam . His youngest son , Edward , had not even been born until after Tucker ' s abduction . Gougelmann ' s friend kept her promise and by working vigorously and relentlessly , taking such extreme steps as contacting the CIA Director , the White House , Congress , and other high - ranking government offices , she managed to get Gougelmann ' s entire Vietnamese family visas to come to the United States . She had fulfilled her promise . After Gougelmann ' s remains were returned stateside and the investigation was finished , he was given a proper Quaker funeral and buried at Arlington National Cemetery . His grave is next to that of Francis Gary Powers , also a former military man who was recruited by the CIA . While working for the CIA as part of their U - 2 program as a pilot , Powers became famous when he was shot down over Soviet airspace while on a photo reconnaissance mission ; but unlike Gougelmann , the Soviets did not lie about Powers ' captivity and in fact tried to use it for propaganda purposes . CIA Headquarters in Langley , Virginia has a Memorial Wall to honor those CIA staff who died in the line of duty . Although Gougelmann died while not acting on behalf of the CIA but rather as a civilian , they decided that his death was a result of the official business that he had conducted in the past on behalf of the Agency . Accordingly , one of the stars on the wall honors his sacrifice . His family now lives in the United States .