Dec. 24, 1962 - Communist Viet Cong guerrillas today freed an American army sergeant held captive five months. He is Sergeant Roque S. Matagulay (pictured), 30, of Richmond, Calif. Matagulay was released near the spot where he was captured on the outskirts of Phan Thiet, 90 miles east of Saigon. Matagulay, a native of Guam whose mother was killed by the Japanese in World War II, was reported weak from loss of weight but otherwise in satisfactory physical condition. He and another fellow soldier were ambushed July 23 while hunting off-duty for deer. During his captivity, he was tied up and constantly reminded he would be killed if he made any effort to escape. Although he was not tortured, Sgt. Matagulay was subjected to eight hours of political indoctrination and interrogation on a daily basis. He was forced to listen to the English-language broadcasts on Communist North Vietnam’s Radio Hanoi three times daily and was regularly tested on what they had to say about the world situation.
