# Unclaimed documentary controversy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unclaimed-documentary-controversy/657318 "2013-05-02T15:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unclaimed-documentary-controversy/657318/1 "2013-05-02T15:51:00Z")
> **[Unclaimed: Controversy erupts over man claiming to be missing Vietnam veteran](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/05/02/unclaimed_controversy_erupts_over_man_claiming_to_be_missing_vietnam_veteran.html)** > > But documentary filmmaker Michael Jorgensen stands by his film, as does the American family of John Hartley Robertson. I’m unclear how this is like an actual issue. I haven’t seen the actual film, but I think it is pretty clear that even if the guy is not Robertson, he is also not Dang Tan Ngoc! I find it almost impossible to believe he was able to steal the identity of a Vietnamese man successfully:dubious: I bet those would have been some fascinating moments in some Vietnamese bureaucrats office. It seems probable even if he is not Robertson he is an American, or at least someone who natively speaks english. And since he openly admits to stealing the identity of a dead Vietnamese man, which I assume is a crime, why haven’t the authorities arrested him and let immigration hold him til he finally admits who he is and what nationalities he holds? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unclaimed-documentary-controversy/657318/2 "2013-05-02T16:07:49Z")
Blah I missed the small detail that the guy claims to not speak a word of english, and has no details of his former life. I figured his family and former friends had at least spoken to him personally without an interpreter. To add to the silliness there are different pictures that don’t even appear to be the same guy, the one in the article versus the state department report. Scam. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unclaimed-documentary-controversy/657318/3 "2013-05-02T16:15:40Z")
I hate to reply twice in my own thread but from another article a more likely claim. [http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/24689.html](http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/24689.html) > [@](#): > > Mr. Bendell says, ‘The man seen in the documentary posing as John Hartley Robertson is a guy from France, an impostor, who has been used to scam money from well-meaning veterans and others who would LOVE to see any POW rescued.’ Reports suggest that Ngoc has been attempting to impersonate Sgt. Robertson since 1982. Senior members of the special forces veterans community have also made it clear to the MailOnline their disgust at the man’s claims expressed through the new documentary. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unclaimed-documentary-controversy/657318/4 "2013-05-02T16:20:37Z")
Yeah - doesn’t seem legit to me. I can’t visually tell an absolute difference due to age (and lack of skill perhaps), but the no DNA match - and the crappy reason why the family doesn’t want to do the test - seem like willful blindness to me. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unclaimed-documentary-controversy/657318/5 "2013-05-02T20:04:02Z")
That’s fascinating to hear the follow-up.