Roll Call Tribute

(Published in) Houston Chronicle Jan. 24, 2011

Thomas Hargrove risked his life to feed world's poor
11-month captivity inspired Proof of Life
By HARVEY RICE HOUSTON CHRONICLE Jan. 24, 2011, 11:14PM

Thomas Hargrove, whose 11 months as hostage to Colombian guerillas was the
basis for the movie "Proof of Life," died at 66.
GALVESTON —
Thomas Rex Hargrove , whose 11 months of captivity by Colombian guerillas formed the basis for the movie Proof of Life, died Saturday of heart failure. He was 66.

Hargrove, who moved to Galveston with his wife, Susan, in 1996, risked his life as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War to bring high-yield rice to the Mekong Delta, dramatically improving the lives of Vietnamese farmers.

After the war, he became a writer and editor with the International Rice Research Institute and devoted his life to bringing the "Green Revolution" to poverty-stricken areas of the world.

"He loved being part of something that was helping feed the world's poor," said Miles Hargrove, 38, of
Dallas, Hargrove's eldest son.

Writer of songs, memoirs
Hargrove wrote country-western songs; he also wrote two books, a memoir of his Vietnam experience, A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta 1969-1991 and Beyond and a memoir of his 11 months in captivity, Long March to Freedom.

He became a security consultant, discovered a Spanish colonial city hidden beneath the waters of a Philippine lake, and traced the origins of a strain of rice discovered in the Amazon to South Carolina.

Hargrove was born March 3, 1944, in Rotan, one of three children of Tom and Bargy Hargrove. He received a double degree in agricultural science and journalism from Texas A&M University in 1966.

In 1969, he was made agricultural adviser for the Military Assistance Command in Chuong Thien, one of
Vietnam's deadliest provinces. Traveling mostly by sampan on canals and rivers, Hargrove spread the newly developed IR8 high-yield rice variety that doubled and tripled crops.

After the war, he visited Vietnam on another agricultural mission and met Viet Cong veterans who told him they had him in their sights but let him live because he was doing so much good.

Captured by FARC
In 1991, he went to work for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, based in Cali, Colombia. As he drove to work Sept. 23, 1994, he was captured at a roadblock by the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC.

He escaped death several times before his family paid two ransoms and he was released in August 1995. Released in the jungle, he walked for two days and finally stumbled into a house in Cali where he was greeted by his family. Hargrove kept a diary written on scraps of paper that he used to write his book.

The movie loosely based on his story — Proof of Life, starring Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe — opened in 2000. Younger son Geddie Hargrove, 37, of Dallas, said his father liked the movie, despite the liberties it took with the facts.

Historical finds
Hargrove friend Merle Shepard, a biologist at Clemson University in South Carolina, recalled how Hargrove discovered an underwater Spanish colonial city while they were skin diving in Lake Taal, a volcanic lake in the Philippines.

Sleuthing by Hargrove later found that a strain of rice, Carolina gold, found in the Amazon was brought by Confederate soldiers from South Carolina who immigrated to Brazil after the Civil War.

Hargrove is survived by his brother, Raford Hargrove of Rotan; sister Becky McKinney of Angleton; sons Miles and Geddie, both of Dallas; and grandson Everett.

Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the First United Methodist of Rotan, 209 North McKinley. Burial will follow at the family cemetery.
harvey.rice@chron.com
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Published in Abilene Reporter-News on January 27, 2011

Thomas Rex Hargrove
Rotan

Thomas Rex Hargrove, 66, died Sunday January 23, 2011 at Memorial Herman Southwest Hospital in Houston. Services will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday January 29, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church of Rotan. Burial will follow at the Hargrove family cemetery under the direction of Weathersbee-Ray Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Born March 3, 1944 in Rotan, Thomas was a son of the late Tom and Marguerite "Bargy" (Fields) Hargrove. Tom graduated from Rotan High School and received a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University and M.S. and PHD degrees from Iowa State University. Tom married Susan (Sheldon) on July 27, 1967 in Rotan. He was commissioned in the United States Army at Texas A&M and served as an officer and agriculture advisor in Vietnam in 1969.

Tom was passionate in helping feed the worlds hungry. He devoted his life to international agriculture and the "Green Revolution". Tom served with the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Philippine Islands for twenty years. He was later with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Cali, Colombia and the International Fertilizer Development Center in Muscle Shoals, AL. Tom also served as a security consultant for the United States Air Force. His work as an advisor for the Military Assistance Command in Chuong Thien put him in one of the deadliest provinces of Vietnam. He traveled by sampan on canals and rivers to introduce the newly developed high-yielding rice that would triple crop production. Visiting Vietnam post-war Tom on an agricultural mission met Viet Cong veterans who explained they had him in their sights, but because of all the work he had done to help feed the hungry they let him live.

In 1991 while living and working in Cali, Colombia for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture Tom was captured by the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) in September of 1994. Before being released by his captors in August of 1995 Tom had escaped death many times. He traveled on foot for two days through the thick Colombian jungle when he came upon a house in Cali where he was reunited with his family.

Among Tom's many accomplishments were the country-western songs he wrote as well as three books, "A Dragon Lives Forever" based on his Vietnam experience, "War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta 1969-1991 and Beyond", and a diary he kept on scraps of paper during his imprisonment by FARC became a book he wrote titled "Long March to Freedom". The movie "Proof of Life" starring Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe was loosely based on Tom's account of his capture.

Tom is also noted for discovering an underwater Spanish colonial city while skin diving in Lake Taal, a volcanic lake located in the Philippines. Through his studies Tom also discovered a strain of rice, Carolina Gold, found in the Amazon as a result of Confederate soldiers immigrating to Brazil following the Civil War.

Tom is preceded in death by his parents and his wife Susan in 2009.

Tom is survived by his two sons and daughter-in-law, Miles and Emily Hargrove of Dallas and Thomas Geddie Hargrove of Dallas; one grandson, Everett Hargrove; one sister and brother-in-law, Becky and Durwood McKinney of Angleton; one brother and sister-in-law, Raford and Lana Hargrove of Rotan.