Philip W. Manhard

Philip Wallace Manhard (November 13, 1921 Cambridge, Massachusetts - 1988) was the American Ambassador to Mauritius (sworn in on March 19, 1974, Left post on May 10, 1976) and was the first POW foreign service officer named as an Ambassador.

Manhard graduated from the University of Southern California in 1943.He served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1944 and in the Marine Corps from 1944 to 1946. Manhard then worked for IBM and Standard Oil.

While assigned as Province Senior Adviser in Thua Thien Province (Hue), South Vietnam, Manhard was taken prisoner by the Viet Cong.He was the highest ranking civilian captured and held as a Prisoner of War during the Vietnam War (January 31, 1968 until March 16, 1973).,