What did the Vietcong do to prisoners?

Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, which demanded "decent and humane treatment" of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as waterboarding, strappado (known as "the ropes" to POWs), irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement.

How did U.S. treat Vietnamese prisoners?

Americans held prisoner in North Vietnam experienced boredom, discomfort, hunger, and torture over the period of their captivity. Each of these conditions was deliberately imposed on the POWs by their Vietnamese captors. Until 1969 or 1970 the Vietnamese kept the POWs as isolated as possible.

What is the Vietnamese rope trick?

During a routine torture session with the hook, the Vietnamese tied a prisoner's hands and feet, then bound his hands to his ankles—sometimes behind the back, sometimes in front. The ropes were tightened to the point that you couldn't breathe.

What happened to the prisoners of war in Vietnam?

After a year, the likelihood of freedom dwindled. Only three POWs successfully escaped North Vietnamese forces after being held for a year. All successful escapes took place in South Vietnam. Nine men fled camps in North Vietnam, but none reached American forces.

How brutal were the Viet Cong?

In October 1961 a U.S. State Department study estimated that the VC were killing South Vietnamese civilians at a rate of 1,500 per month. In October 1964, U.S. officials in Saigon reported that from January to October 1964 the VC killed 429 Vietnamese local officials and kidnapped 482 others.

Hanoi Hilton - The Worst POW camp of the Vietnam War?

Do the Viet Cong still exist?

In 1976, the Viet Cong was disbanded after Vietnam was formally reunited under communist rule. The Viet Cong tried to create a popular uprising in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War with their 1968 Tet Offensive but were able to seize control of just a few small districts in the Mekong Delta region.

How scary was the Vietnam War?

The fighting was intense and the results, the former soldiers say, were especially brutal. Villages were bombed, burned and destroyed. As the ground troops swept through, in many cases they gunned down men, women and children, sometimes mutilating bodies -- cutting off ears to wear on necklaces.

Are POWs still alive in Vietnam?

In 1973, when the POWs were released, roughly 2,500 servicemen were designated “missing in action” (MIA). As of 2015, more than 1,600 of those were still “unaccounted-for.” The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense lists 687 U.S. POWs as having returned alive from the Vietnam War.

How were POWs treated when returned from Vietnam?

They were often chained or imprisoned in small cages. Some of the younger RPOWs showed maturation deficiencies due to the malnutrition, disease and infections. For many POWs returning to their families, the enduring physical problems were not their only concern.

When was the last POW found in Vietnam?

Greensburg, Indiana, U.S. Often cited as the last verified American POW from the Vietnam War, Garwood was taken to North Vietnam in 1969, and reportedly was released in 1973 along with the other U.S. POWs as part of the Paris Peace Accords.

Who was the longest POW in Vietnam?

Floyd J. Thompson, who endured nearly nine years of torture, disease and starvation in Vietnam as the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, has died. He was 69.

How many POWs died in Vietnam?

During the longest war in American history, the Vietnam War, 766 Americans are known to have been prisoners of war. Of this number, 114 died during captivity. Unlike previous wars, the length of time as a POW was extensive for many, with some being imprisoned for more than seven years.

What is it like being a POW?

The experience of capture could be humiliating. Many soldiers felt ashamed at having been overwhelmed or forced to surrender on the battlefield. It could also be traumatic. Airmen who had been shot down were hunted down in enemy territory after surviving a crash in which friends might have been killed.

What happened to prisoners of war?

During the conflict prisoners might be repatriated or delivered to a neutral nation for custody. At the end of hostilities all prisoners are to be released and repatriated without delay, except those held for trial or serving sentences imposed by judicial processes.

How did South Vietnam treat POWs?

Some prisoners received medical treatment in the field, and some spat on the doctors trying to treat them. There were POW camps in Saigon, 40k N VN and VC soldiers in "4 crowded camps," plus 200k S VN civilians, "many held without trial." There was torture, including electric shocks, waterboarding, and hanging men up.

Why were soldiers treated poorly after Vietnam?

American soldiers returning home from Vietnam often faced scorn as the war they had fought in became increasingly unpopular.

Why did they call Vietnam vets baby killers?

Appy explains in his book Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam. In some instances, antiwar protesters reportedly spit on returning veterans and called them baby-killers. Although such incidents were rare, the stories were often repeated among U.S. soldiers in Vietnam.

What percent of Vietnam vets are still alive?

These numbers have come about due to the extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources by the American War Library which concluded that about one-third of those who served in the Vietnam War are still alive today.

Do POWs get paid?

Captive or POW Pay and Allowance Entitlements: Soldiers are entitled to all pay and allowances that were authorized prior to the POW period. Soldiers who are in a POW status are authorized payment of 50% of the worldwide average per diem rate for each day held in captive status.

Is Vietnam still communist?

Vietnam is a socialist republic with a one-party system led by the Communist Party. The CPV espouses Marxism–Leninism and Hồ Chí Minh Thought, the ideologies of the late Hồ Chí Minh. The two ideologies serve as guidance for the activities of the party and state.

Are there still American soldiers in Vietnam?

Since the war's end, official U.S. government investigations have consistently concluded that no military personnel remain alive in Vietnam.

What did Vietnam smell like?

In the back of a candy shop in Hai Duong, another man recalled: “The war smelled of burnt nylon.” That was just one day of almost 40 we spent in Vietnam, over three years, capturing testimonies and images of more than 100 North Vietnamese veterans and their families.

What is the scariest war?

The deadliest and most destructive war in human history claimed between 40 and 50 million lives, displaced tens of millions of people, and cost more than $1 trillion to prosecute.

Was it hot in the Vietnam War?

Sweltering heat covered the entire Indochina peninsula over the weekend. Danang hit 100 degrees. Hue topped 105. Much of Vietnam's southern third has held in the 90s the past few days.