Roger Anderson was interned as a Prisoner of War in Southeast Asia after he was captured in South Vietnam on January 3, 1968. After reports of his live capture by agents in the area, a search was launched by Allied forces. On January 12, 1968, a U.S. helicopter attacked a Sampan containing two Viet Cong soldiers, killing one of them, and enabling Anderson to jump up from the bottom of the boat to attract their attention, enabling his successful rescue.