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PRISONERS OF WAR

PRISONERS OF WAR The Vietnam war, also called the Indochina War , may be said to have started in 1957 when Communist-led rebels began mounting terrorists attacks against the government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The rebel forces, commonly called the Vietcong, were later aided by troops of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). American combat personnel were formally committed to the defense of the South in 1965. An agreement calling for a ceasefire was signed in January 1973, and by March the few remaining U.S. millitary personnel in Vietnam were withdrawn. However, the war between the two Vietnamese sides persisted inconclusively for two additional years before South Vietnamese resistance suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed. Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the Communists on April 30, 1975. A prisoner of war is traditionally a member of a belligerent’s armed forces who has been captured by the enemy. The complexities of modern warfare, however, have led to the extensions of prisoner-of-war status to persons of other categories. International law identifies the categories of persons who should be classified as prisoners of war (POW) is to be treated humanely and is to be detained for no purpose other than to prevent his further participation in combat. The Vietnamese tortured the American soldiers beyond unimmagineable boundries. Torture isn’t always bad as it is made out to be. Not getting mail, may not seem that bad to you, but what if somebody parents died and they received a letter telling them that and they never got it. The Vietcong or Vietminh would withold all the incoming mail. Lot of soldiers parents died or something really important happened and they were not told. Whenever they wanted to know something they just tortured somebody enough untill the answer was given. They would tie their hands with rope and turn a wheel that stretched their back. The worst part was coming off and getting the rope off of you. Soldiers were placed in handcuffs and leg irons and were left that way for sometimes many years. Mr. Ralph Gaither was a navy ensign when his plane was shot down. He was immediately taken to one of the thirteen vietnamese prisons. He would spend the next seven to eight years of his life in an 4.5x9 cell with another man. From the cell he watched many of his friends lives get wasted, because they talked back to the Vietnamese. There was no love in these camps between the Americans and the Vietcong. Soldiers were told that they were not prisoners-of-war, but mere criminals. A war had not been declared by the United States Government so therefore they could treat their advisaries as murderers and thieves. The prisons that they were being held in were built by the French in the latter parts of the nineteenth century. The same times when the Geneva Accordance came around. This was the law on treatment of all foreign prisoners of war and civilians. It stated that humane treatment of civilians, prisoners, and wounded persons in wartime must be adhered to or a war crime indictment would be issued. Colonel Bud Day whose f100 was shot down in Vietnam stated “I was hung by my feet like a side of butchered beef for many hours because I refused to answer my captors questions.” Beatings were uncontrollable and sometimes resulted in death. “I was tied down by all four limbs and they beat me with an automobile fan belt,” replied Gaither. “We prayed that whoever beat us knew what they were doing so they didn’t kick our internal organs out,” said Gaither. “I went in weighing 170 lb. two years later I weighed 105, and I stayed that weight for more than five years.” People were put into solitary confinement for long periods of time. Sometimes spending years in a cell all by themselves. Some of the guys were optimistic about getting out, but most were doubtful. The Senior officer (SRO) would keep the morale high in his barracks as long as he could, but he couldn’t please everyone. Some people resorted to suicide, which was usually done by a prisoner tying a sheet to his neck then to his bed the jumping off his bed. Even though people were dying left and right troops still realized that they were American and escape was a priority as stated in the handbook. The treatment was harsh, but the soldiers endured it. What did the U.S. do to repay them? The Government gave them a purple heart and an advance pay. Now, any state you live in you can walk down the street and find a Vietnam Veteran. They probably will not be dressed up and leading some big time corporation or managing finances for an insurance company. You will probably see them walking down the street hungry and homeless. That’s what we did for them. We made it impossible for them to get good jobs. They saved our country. They saved our lives and we kicked them out of our social clique. If you see one walking down the street you should be ashamed. First, be ashamed for rooting against them. If you were a hippie or did any other type of political rallying against the war, than you were rooting against the United States. Second be ashamed for not knowing that over two-thousand more prisoners-of-war are still in Vietnam. Almost twenty-five years after the wars end we still haven’t kept our promise. The government knows about these names, but they would rather not say anything than admit they made a mistake. POWs really helped out before they were captured and this is how we repay them. They saved us; we abandoned them! Bibliography:

Word Count: 955