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He retired in 1979 at the rank of lieutenant colonel after more than two decades of active service.
Post‑Military Life: POW/MIA Advocacy and Controversial Missions
Shortly after leaving active duty, Gritz became one of the most visible figures in the Vietnam War POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) movement — a network of veterans and activists who believed that American servicemen were still unaccounted for and possibly held captive in Southeast Asia.
In the early 1980s, Gritz led a series of private expeditions into Laos and other regions of Southeast Asia in search of information about missing U.S. servicemen.
These missions were frequently publicized and highly controversial. Though at times quietly supported by individuals in U.S. defense circles, they failed to produce definitive evidence of live POWs.
His efforts drew both admiration from those who saw him as a dogged advocate for missing American troops, and criticism from observers who argued that his methods were disorganized or not grounded in verifiable intelligence.
Gritz himself maintained that he was driven by a deep sense of loyalty to his fellow soldiers and a determination to resolve one of the lingering human questions of the Vietnam era.
Political Activism and Presidential Campaign
Beyond his military and activist pursuits, Gritz also ventured into American politics. He became a member of the Populist Party, an organization known for its nationalist and anti‑establishment views, and launched an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. presidency in 1992 on that ticket.
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