The Joint Personnel Recovery Center (often referred to as JPRC) was a joint task force within Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) active from 1966 to 1973, whose mission was to account for United States, South Vietnamese and Free World Military Assistance Forces (FWMAF) personnel listed as Prisoners of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA) in the Vietnam War.
Under Embassy chairmanship, the committee was given the primary responsibility for formulating policy recommendations and coordinating actions relating to US POWs and civilian detainees held by the Vietcong (VC) in South Vietnam.
The committee was further tasked to initiate necessary liaison with South Vietnamese authorities and to coordinate any necessary Mission action that might be required concerning US prisoners or detainees in third countries, specifically Laos.
[1]: F-2 Acting on the recommendations of the committee, and with the concurrence of the Mission Council, the Ambassador, General Maxwell Taylor, established a Joint Recovery Center (JRC) which would: (a) be staffed by individuals provided by the Department of Defense, US Overseas Mission, US Information Service, the Embassy and Controlled American Source (CAS) (i.e. Central Intelligence Agency); (b) be directly responsible to the Ambassador for all operational matters; and (c) coordinate operations in adjacent areas, particularly Laos with the appropriate embassy or command[1]: F-2 The JPRC was formed in September 1966 as Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) OP-80 to establish a personnel recovery capability within MACV.
On 13 April Hambleton was successfully rescued by Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris and Republic of Vietnam Navy Petty Officer Nguyen Van Kiet.