American prisoners of war in Vietnam tell their stories

This paper seeks to examine the experiences of Vietnam POWs, both those held in the jungles of South Vietnam and those in the Hanoi prison camps of North Vietnam based on POW narratives consisting of memoirs, autobiographies, and interviews. Early POW history depicts great differences between the two groups of POWs, giving the impression that Pilot POWS, who comprised the majority of prisoners in Hanoi camps, acted more honorably while interned in comparison to enlisted army POWS, who spent the majority of their captivity in the jungles of South Vietnam. This paper demonstrates the similarities in their experiences through these narrative sources and how certain myths regarding their varying performances solidified. There are two different stories that describe the POW experience in Vietnam. There is the "official story" which focuses largely on the events of Navy and Air force Pilot POW s who spent the majority of captivity within prisons in Hanoi. Additionally, there is the story of enlisted Army or Marine POWs (Jungle POWS) who spent a large part of their imprisonment within the jungles of South Vietnam. In 1973, these 565 American POWs representing various divisions of the armed forces returned home to the United States. The American people, military, and government greeted these men with praises of honor, lauded their courage, and applauded their return as a landmark to the eventual culmination of American involvement in Vietnam. The POWs from Hanoi provided accounts of their experiences within the infamous prison facility nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton," emphasizing tremendous leadership, disciplined military resistance, and camaraderie that sustained this group through a horrific ordeal. These returning POWs hailed President Nixon for his war efforts and cited a faith in God, country, and military service that seldom wavered. The POWs who were originally interned within South Vietnam but spent the last two years within Hanoi were silent or muted during the return, and their overtly critical tone towards the Vietnam War and its policy went largely unheard. To the average citizen, the only visible POW who returned to America was the honorable pilot. The POWs returned to the United States during a tumultuous period filled with antiwar sentiment. Death and destruction in Vietnam mounted considerably during their internment and Americans became restless over the lack of resolution. Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal became increasingly troublesome. Therefore, 1 Craig Howes, Voices of the Vietnam POWS: Witnesses to Their Fight (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 71. 1