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Vietnam - America's Most Controversial War
The first Americans were captured in 1954 in South Vietnam. They were held three weeks and interrogated before being released. Others captured later were not so fortunate.
The death rate in South Vietnamese POW camps was 20 percent, compared with 5 percent in North Vietnam. Why? Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh capitalized on the Vietnamese hatred of foreigners, resulting in the deplorable treatment of POWs. Prisoners were shuffled from camp to camp and given very little food. They suffered disease and received no medical care. They suffered injuries during “interrogation” and were injured during pressure to confess and to sign anti-war propaganda. Most American POWs were pilots who had been shot down and were held in camps. Camps these prisoners nicknamed The Hanoi Hilton, The Plantation, Briar Patch, The Zoo, Alcatraz and others. Held the longest was Floyd Thompson, who endured nine years; and the second longest held was Edward Alvarez, held captive for eight years.
Maj. Fred Cherry was the highest ranking black POW. He was shot down in 1965 and spent 57 continuous weeks in solitary confinement as well as being tortured for 97 straight days. Treatment of American POWs in Vietnam was exposed in a number of ways. One way was through the drawings of journalist Mike McGrath depicting methods of torture used. The Vietnamese put Capt. Jeremiah Denton before their cameras in 1966. The world looked on in horror as Capt. Denton denied poor treatment with his words and used his eyes to send a very different message, blinking the word TORTURE in Morse code. Cmdr. Dick Stratton was filmed bowing to a panel of men, but he went on to bow to the blank walls beside and behind him. The American public took his actions to be those of a man gone insane during captivity.
Former POW Pat Mendoza has said that our freedom as Americans gives us the right to disagree with our government, but those who disagree should not be in the country of our enemies and be associated with enemy troops. After POWs were forced to listen to Fonda's statements, they were forced to sign a statement saying they agreed with her statements. If they refused, they were beaten. Some were beaten to death. In 1969 when Ho Chi Minh died, treatment of American POWs improved slightly. A 1970 raid staged to gain freedom for POWs in Son Tay Prison was unsuccessful because the Vietnamese had removed all the prisoners. However it is believed that the raid may have scared the North Vietnamese, Americans had come to get their POWs. As a result, most POWs were taken to Hanoi and there, they had contact with each other and gained strength from each other to continue to endure. A 1972 bombing by America provided a moral boost to those POWs who could hear the bombs being dropped. Historians believe it was the catalyst which brought the eventual release of POWs in 1973 - Operation Homecoming. Most of us don't know what it's like to lose our freedom for even a day, much less for nine years. Most of us don’t know what it is to suffer through torture. Our veterans have paid that price for us - some came home, some did not. Their sacrifices are the very reason why we can truly celebrate our freedom. They fought for us and now we must fight for them. We must bring them home.
Official intelligence indicates that Americans known to have been alive in captivity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were not returned at the end of the war. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be assumed that these Americans may still be alive. As a matter of policy, the U.S. Government does not rule out the possibility that Americans could still be held. Joint field operations in Laos are very productive. The Lao recently agreed to increase the number of US personnel permitted in-country and allow greater flexibility during field operations. Agreements between the U.S. and the Indochina governments now permit Vietnamese witnesses to participate in joint operations in Laos and Cambodia when necessary. POW/MIA research and field activities in Cambodia have received excellent support. Over 80% of US losses in Laos and 90% of those in Cambodia occurred in areas where Vietnamese forces operated during the war, but Vietnam has not yet responded to countless US requests for case-specific records on loss incidents in these countries. Records research and field operations are the most likely means of increasing the accounting for Americans missing in Laos and Cambodia.
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Just as we "STILL" wait for accountability for our POW/MIA's from Nam and Korea, we now add to the list, those from the Persian Gulf as well.. |
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What can you do? Write or call the President: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Washington DC, 20500 Comment Line : 202-456-1111 ~ FAX 202-456-2461 Write or call your Senators Write or call your Representatives |
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Click a link
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To restore your faith in America's youth |
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During the entire Vietnam War there were 771 POWs, 60 civilians and 2,585 missing in action. Statistics from the Department of Defense reflect that 971 were killed in action and 35 were known to have died in captivity but their remains were not returned. The DoD has made a presumptive finding of death for 878 prisoners. 13 remain classified as missing and 8 remain classified as prisoners.
African Americans were singled out for abuse, the Vietnamese felt that due to prejudicial treatment at home, they might be more likely to agree with their captors and sign statements against America.
Another form of torture was that the men were forced to listen to loudspeakers broadcasting propaganda five hours a day, propaganda that sometimes came from Americans, Americans like Jane Fonda.
