evidence he had never fired a shot, and probably had not even participated in combat. Acker, an ex-Marine, had been shot in the leg and taken prisoner in his very first taste of combat within five days after arriving in the country. British Prime Minister James Callaghan reportedly requested Angolan President Agostinho Neto to show mercy to the men. Nevertheless, the four condemned men were executed by MPLA military police on July 10, 1976. According to British former mercenaries Chris Dempster and Dave Tomkins, only McKenzie was killed outright. Callan and Gearhart were killed by coup de grâce, while Barker, who was unscathed but had apparently fainted, was shot after waking up while his 'body' was being removed on a stretcher. Aftermath The two remaining Americans, Grillo and Acker, were released in November 1982 in a prisoner exchange worked out by the United States Department of State. The British prisoners were released in 1984 after negotiation by the British Foreign Office. See also Mercenaries in Angolan Civil War Notes Citations Bibliography Burchett, Wilfred and Roebuck, Derek. The Whores of War: Mercenaries Today Kennedy, Bruce. Soldiers of misfortune CNN Interactive Stockwell, John. In Search of Enemies: A CIA story Cohen Jr., Sylvester, Review of In Search of Enemies: A CIA story, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2 (June 1979), pp. 342–344 External links BBC article on the Luanda Trial BBC On this day 11 June. Interview with Dave Tomkins, former guerrilla Angola: Death for War Dogs, Time magazine, July 12, 1976 1976 in Angola Mercenaries Angolan Civil War Trials in Angola American people executed abroad Executed English people Angola–United Kingdom relations Angola–United States relations