I have a serious problem with the Vietnam War and the number of or rather the lack of or low number of Prisoners of War taken on either side and the treatment of prisoners. As for the treatment of prisoners of war, I have always been under the impression a capturing force is obligated to feed prisoners in the same it feeds its most numerous rank of soldiers. A Japanese soldier in the field was given 1 kilo of rice, 2.2 pounds, a half dozen dried fish and a half liter of cooking oil. That was to last him a week. The lowest rank Japanese soldiers fixed their own food.
American prisoners thought they were being starved to death when furnished the same ration. I suppose the Japanese could have contracted with Halliburton’s predecessor to bring in MREs - meals ready to eat - and could have fed our guys like they were fed back home. Steak. Meatloaf. Beef stew. But war is hell, someone said. I’m sorry our guys did not get fried chicken every Sunday but I really can’t blame the Japanese, hey we were there and not here.
We had 550,000 soldiers in Vietnam in 1968. There were probably 75,000-100,000 Viet Cong - guerillas in South Vietnam. The NVA - North Vietnam Army - probably numbed 200,000-300,000 men and women. The South Vietnam Army probably numbered about 150,000 men at its peak. Yet, there were very few prisoners. On either side. I never thought about it when learned about it in school, but now it seems there must have been some gruesome policy in effect on both sides - TAKE NO PRISONERS. Anyone got any ideas about that?
- Tran Van Quang [North Vietnamese negotiator] explained the American POW issue in detail. He said the total number of American POWs captured in combat actions and who were in the DRV consists of 1205, of which 671 were taken prisoner in North Vietnam, 426 in South Vietnam, 43 in Laos and 65 in Cambodia.
There are 767 aviators among the prisoners. All of the American POWs were held in 11 prisons and were assigned according to military rank (there are 16 colonels, 104 lieutenant colonels, 235 majors and the remaining prisoners are of lower rank).
aiipowmia.com
A Book About Prisoners of War. "Broken Soldiers" by Raymond B. Lech, University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago IL, 2000; 330 pp.
Korean War. Of the 7,190 Americans who were captured (mostly in the first nine months of the war), approximately 3000 died in captivity, a mortality of 43%, largely of starvation over a six month period (Nov 1950 - April 1951). This compares with WW II rates: 4% of US prisoners in Germany (considered a normal rate, reflecting the Geneva convention), 34% in Japan (rightly condemned as barbarous), 45% of German POWs held by the Soviets, and 60% of Soviet POWs held by the Germans. Of 766 US POWs officially held by North Vietnam (1965 - 1973), 106 deaths were reported (14%)
cyberussr.com
The United States Military Code of Conduct, Articles III through V, are guidelines for United States service members who have been taken prisoner. When a person is taken prisoner, the Code of Conduct reminds the service member that the chain of command is still in effect (the highest ranking service member, regardless of armed service branch, is in command), and that the service member cannot receive special favors or parole from their captors, lest this undermine the service member's chain of command.
History. During the American Revolutionary War, at least 16 hulks - a ship no longer seaworthy - including the infamous HMS Jersey, were placed by British authorities in the waters of Wallabout Bay off the shores of Brooklyn, New York as a place of incarceration for many thousands of American soldiers and sailors during about 1776–83.
Over 10,000 of these prisoners died from intentional neglect. Their corpses were often tossed overboard . . See Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument at Fort Greene Park, once the scene of a portion of the Battle of Long Island.
wikipedia
John McCain. As a naval aviator, McCain flew attack aircraft from carriers. In 1967, John McCain was flying an A-4E Skyhawk off the USS Forrestal [actually it was the USS Oriskany] when he was shot down n his twenty-third bombing mission over North Vietnam. He was badly injured breaking both legs and one arm. After the war, his last duty station was Navy liaison to the U.S. Senate. He retired from the Navy in 1981 as a decorated captain. In 1982 he was elected to the House from Arizona’s First District. Reelected in 1984, he then ran for the Senate in 1986 and was reelected in 1992, 1998 and 2004, to a term that expires in 2010.
John McCain. To my best knowledge John McCain has never held a "job" in the private world. His father was an admiral and so he was always in a premo position. Grown men would address him as "sir" despite his tender years. McCain has never paid one dime for his health care insurance. He like Eisenhower and so many others, were always under socialized - totally free - medical care furnished by the government but they never wanted to share that blissful state of secure feeling with us ordinary mortals. But our time will come.
Is Big John a Double dipper? Nope! A Triple dipper? Nope. Gosh, are you suggesting McCain is that rare bird, a QUADRUPLE dipper? Yup!
- Retired from the Navy.
- Disability rated for injuries sustained in the Vietnam War.
- Social security.
- US Senate retirement. (Due later). And IF he is elected president, he will be QUINTUPLE dipper!
- Presidential retirement. Sweet Jesus! Can we afford him?
US Military Retirement payments. Navy Captain (O6) with over 20 years, retirement pay is $5,115 per month.
defenselink.mil
I do not know what percentage of disability McCain has been awarded. I DO WANT TO KNOW what percent he has because if he is 100% I smell STINK. With father and grandfather as admirals I suspect he got ALL HE DESERVED if not MORE from the VA. Military veterans disability award monthly payments. 10%, $117. 50%, $728. 100%, $2,527 a month. VA disability payments are tax exempt and are not to be counted in income.
military.com
Social Security. It is very difficult to find what the maximum benefit payable in 2008 is. I don’t know why that should be so, but based on the website below I believe the current maximum is $1,800. Per month.
social security.gov
Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Member's of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension. According to the Congressional Research Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of Oct. 1, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972.
usgovinfo.about.com
Presidential pension. It was $260,000 a year, but it may be more now. Plus the government pays for him to have an office and to have staff to answer mail and etc.
Republican 527s. Here they come again "Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain" - May 2008. Beginning in early March 2008, a website titled "Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain" appeared on the WWW. The site contains a collection of attacks on John McCain. As McCain moved to cement the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, the site added more and more attacks on McCain. Briefly stated, the site is bull#. The website, "Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain" is the creation of Ted Sampley from Kinston, NC.
Sampley is assisted by another individual, Jerry Kiley, and the bills are being paid by rightwingnut and former member of Congress, John LeBoutillier. This is a long and twisted tale. To fully understand why Sampley is attacking McCain, you need to start by reading this article after which you need to read the articles linked to this one.
miafacts.org
NOTE: I personally do not like the above website but not for its defense of John McCain. I don’t like it because it is a MIA Forever Website that ACCUSES the US Govt of "knowingly" leaving behind some of our MIA-POWS in Vietnam. I call those falsifiers ‘Mark Lane Juniors’ because they, like him, see there is money to be made in conspiracy theories. Mark Lane’s "Rush to Judgment" was the FIRST in the endless JFK "two shooters" theme. That is not true and none of our men were left behind in Vietnam.
But see also the first hand account by Senator McCain:
usnews.com
Hanoi Hilton. The Hoa Lo Prison (commonly translated as "fiery furnace" actually means "stove." The name originated from the street name "pho Lò" due to the concentration of stores selling wood stoves and coal-fired stoves along the street from pre-colonial times). It was a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners. It was later used by North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was known to American prisoners as the "Hanoi Hilton."
Phew...that's it for now all that info made my brain hurt.