Bo Gritz James Gordon " Bo " Gritz ( born January 18 , 1939 ; surname " Gritz " rhymes with " bites " ) is a former United States Army Special Forces officer who served in the Vietnam War . His post - war activitiesnotably attempted POW rescues in conjunction with the Vietnam War POW / MIA issue have proven controversial . Gritz may be most notable for his two United States presidential campaigns in association with the white nationalist America First party in 1988 and 1992 . In 1988 , Gritz ran as vice president with former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan , David Duke . A vocal advocate for re - institution of racial segregation in states that pass laws to allow it , Gritz ran in 1992 under the slogan : " God , Guns and Gritz , " and published an isolationist political manifesto entitled " The Bill of Gritz " . Among other things , the " Bill of Gritz " called for the complete closing of the border with Mexico , and dissolution of the Federal Reserve . Gritz lives near Sandy Valley , Nevada with his wife Judy . U . S . military service . Born in 1939 in Enid , Oklahoma , his father served in the Army Air Force in World War II and was killed in action . Gritz was raised by his maternal grandparents on patriotic stories of his father ' s heroics in the war . He enlisted in the U . S . Army in 1957 and shortly thereafter attended Officer Candidate School ( OCS ) . As a lieutenant colonel in Vietnam , he commanded detachment " B - 36 " , U . S . Army Special Forces 5th SFG for a time . B - 36 was a mixed American and South Vietnamese unit which operated in the III Corps area of Southern South Vietnam . He served in a variety of assignments until his retirement in 1979 at the rank of lieutenant colonel . Gritz ' huge claimed array of military awards has been drawn into question . A memo regarding his awards and award recommendations during his time in Vietnam seems to indicate that Gritz was personally involved with the recommendation of some of his medals , including the Legion of Merit , and that some of his awards recommendations cited the same missions and incidents , effectively awarding Gritz multiple medals for the same missions , including the Legion of Merit , Air Medal , Silver Star , Bronze Star , and Army Commendation Medal . Attempts to locate prisoners of war . During the 1980s Gritz undertook a series of private trips into Southeast Asia , purportedly to locate United States prisoners of war which as part of the Vietnam War POW / MIA issue some believed were still being held by Laos and the Socialist Republic of Vietname . g . , at Nhommarath . Those missions were heavily publicized , controversial and widely decried as haphazardfor instance , as some commentators stated , few successful secret missions involve bringing to the border towns women openly marketing commemorative POW - rescue T - shirts . In the book " Inside Delta Force " , CSM Eric L . Haney , a former Delta Force operator , claims that the unit was twice told to prepare for a mission involving the rescue of American POWs from Vietnam . However , both times the missions were scrubbed , according to Haney , when Gritz suddenly appeared in the spotlight , drawing too much attention to the issue and making the missions too difficult to accomplish . U . S . Government involvement in drug trafficking . In 1986 , after a trip to Burma to interview drug kingpin Khun Sa regarding possible locations of U . S . POWs , Gritz returned from Burma with a videotaped interview of Khun Sa purporting to name several officials in the Reagan administration involved in narcotics trafficking in Southeast Asia . Among those named was Richard Armitage , who most recently served as Deputy Secretary of State during George W . Bush ' s first term as president . Gritz believed that those same officials were involved in a coverup of missing American POWs . During this period Gritz established contacts with the Christic Institute , a progressive group which was then pursuing a lawsuit against the U . S . government over charges of drug trafficking in both Southeast Asia and Central America . Conspiracy researcher . In 1989 , Gritz established the Center For Action , which was active on a number of issues , mostly pertaining to . Attempting to build bridges among conspiracy theorists and other activists of both the left and right , in 1990 he held a conference in Las Vegas , Nevada called " Freedom Call ' 90 " . Speakers at that conference included October surprise conspiracy researcher Barbara Honegger , Bill Davis of the Christic Institute , conspiracy theorist Eustace Mullins , and several others . This newfound interest in conspiracy theories proved to be as controversial as Gritz ' s earlier missions searching for POWs . Anti - war activities . During the 1991 Persian Gulf War , Gritz was an outspoken opponent of that war , and linked it to a conspiracy theory alleging plans to implement a one - world government , known as the " new world order . " He appeared on Pacifica Radio stations in California as a guest several times , and for a short time was in demand as a speaker to left - wing and anti - war audiences . However , during this period he also became closely associated with the Christian Patriot movement on the right , and spoke at conferences sponsored by Christian Identity pastor Pete Peters . When these associations became known to those on the left , especially after the publication of a report by the Los Angeles - based group People Against Racist Terror calling Gritz a " front man for fascism " , left - wing audiences lost interest in Gritz , and the Christic Institute and Pacifica Radio cut off any further association . Writings . Gritz is the author of three books . The first , " A Nation Betrayed " , was published in 1989 and contained Gritz ' s allegations of drug trafficking and a POW coverup , based on the Khun Sa interview . The second , " Called To Serve " , was published in 1992 and expanded on the previous book to cover a wide range of conspiracies , including the assassination of John F . Kennedy , and allegations of a conspiracy to establish a new world order . His third book is titled " My Brother ' s Keeper " and was published in 2003 . . Populist Party presidential tickets . In 1988 , Gritz was the candidate for Vice President of the United States on the Populist Party ticket , as the running mate of former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke . Gritz pulled out early in the race and ran instead for a Nevada Congressional seat . Gritz was then replaced with Floyd Parker on some ballots . Gritz has claimed he accepted the party ' s nomination with the belief he would be the running mate of James Traficant , and that sometime after learning it would be not be Traficant but Duke and sometime after meeting Duke , he decided to drop out . In 1992 , Gritz ran for President of the United States , again with the Populist Party . Under the campaign slogan " God , Guns and Gritz " and publishing his political manifesto " The Bill of Gritz " ( playing on his last name rhyming with " rights " ) , he called for staunch opposition to what he called " global government " and " The New World Order " , ending all foreign aid , and abolishing federal income tax and the Federal Reserve System . During the campaign , Gritz openly proclaimed the United States to be a " Christian Nation " , stating that the country ' s legal statutes “ should reflect unashamed acceptance of Almighty God and His Laws . " He received 106 , 152 votes nationwide , or only 0 . 14 % of the popular vote . In two states he had a respectable showing for a third party candidate : Utah , where he received 3 . 84 % of the vote and Idaho , where he received 2 . 13 % of the vote . In some counties , his support topped 10 % , and in Franklin County , Idaho , was only a few votes away from pushing Bill Clinton into fourth place in the county . His run on the America First / Populist Party ticket was prompted by his association with another far - right political Christian talk radio host , Tom Valentine . During his Presidential run , part of Gritz ' s standard stump speech was an idea to pay off the National debt by minting a coin at the Treasury and sending it to the Federal Reserve . This predates the 2012 Trillion dollar coin concept . Also during 1992 , Gritz attracted national attention as mediator during the government standoff with Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge , Idaho . Controversial activities . In 1993 , Gritz changed his emphasis again and began offering a course called SPIKE ( Specially Prepared Individuals for Key Events ) , where those events oppose the New World Order , which taught paramilitary and survivalist skills because he predicted that there would be a total sociopolitical and economic collapse in the U . S . He also established a community in Kamiah , Idaho ( contiguous to the Nez Perce Reservation ) called Almost Heaven . Several times he used his influence and reputation in the Christian Patriot community in attempts to negotiate conclusions between legal authorities and far - Right activists . In August 1992 , he intervened on behalf of Randy Weaver who , with his family , was holed up on his rural home in Ruby Ridge , Idaho , after U . S . Marshals attempted to arrest him for failure to appear in court . The 11 - day standoff , which resulted in the deaths of a U . S . Marshal and Weaver ' s son and wife , ended after Gritz convinced Weaver to leave his cabin and place his faith and trust in the court system . In 1996 , he unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a conclusion to the stand - off by the Montana Freemen , a group of Christian Patriot activists who were wanted on a collection of charges . After speaking with the " Freemen , " he left in frustration , stating that they presented him with what he called " legal mumbo - jumbo " to support their claims , and cautioned others in the Patriot movement not to support them ( the stand - off ended when the " Freemen " surrendered after 81 days ) . He has been accused of white supremacy by some , although he renounced the belief in an interview with The Militia Watchdog , saying " I ' ve served with black , white , yellow , brown , red ; all religions ; nobody ever asked you about your religion , your blood bleeds red the same as everyone else . " Subsequent activities . In 1998 , Gritz organized a fruitless search for Atlanta Olympic and abortion - clinic bombing suspect Eric Rudolph in order to save Rudolph ' s life . In 2005 , Gritz became an active protester for intervention in the Terri Schiavo case . On 19 March 2005 , when the tube was removed , he was arrested for trespassing after trying to enter the hospice where she lived . Involvement with Mormonism . In 1984 , Gritz and his wife Claudia were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints ( LDS Church ) . However , amid infidelity scandals , Gritz ' s stake president refused to renew Gritz ' s temple recommend until Gritz could prove that he had paid his federal income tax . In response , Gritz resigned his membership in the LDS Church . In 1999 , Gritz and his second wife Judy became involved in the Church of Israel , a group that originated within the Latter Day Saint movement and has since become involved with the Christian Identity movement . Trivia . The character of John " Hannibal " Smith on the 1980s television series " The A - Team " was loosely based on Gritz . In the early 1980s , actor William Shatner paid almost $ 15 , 000 for the entertainment rights to Gritz ' s life story . In the 1996 TV film about the Ruby Ridge incident , " " ( later re - edited as " The Siege at Ruby Ridge " ) , Bo Gritz was portrayed by Bob Gunton . Gritz appears as himself in the 1998 BBC television documentary , Survivalists , part of the first series of Louis Theroux ' s Weird Weekends .