Posted on Sep 29, 2018
Hanoi announces that downed pilots will be treated as war criminals
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https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hanoi-announces-that-downed-pilots-will-be-treated-as-war-criminals?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2018-0 [login to see] 8&om_rid=9754f68e782e800e414bdd9d8de07d822418f1b24b8c839f0c0af3b24529c73a&om_mid=458563490&kx_EmailCampaignID=24365&kx_EmailCampaignName=email-hist-tdih-2018-0 [login to see] 8&kx_EmailRecipientID=9754f68e782e800e414bdd9d8de07d822418f1b24b8c839f0c0af3b24529c73a
Hanoi publishes the text of a letter it has written to the Red Cross claiming that since there is no formal state of war, U.S. pilots shot down over the North will not receive the rights of prisoners of war (POWs) and will be treated as war criminals.
The U.S. State Department protested, but this had no impact on the way the American POWs were treated and most suffered extreme torture and other maltreatment while in captivity. The first pilot captured by the North Vietnamese was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez, who was shot down on August 5, 1964. The American POW held longest was Army Special Forces Captain Floyd James Thompson, who had been captured in the South on March 26, 1964. American POWs were held in 11 different prisons in North Vietnam and their treatment by the North Vietnamese was characterized by isolation, torture, and psychological abuse. The exact number of POWs held by the North Vietnamese during the war remains a debatable issue, but the POWs themselves have accounted for at least 766 verified captives at one point. Under the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords, the North Vietnamese released 565 American military and 26 civilian POWs in February and March 1973, but there were still more than 2,500 men listed as Missing in Action (MIA).
Hanoi publishes the text of a letter it has written to the Red Cross claiming that since there is no formal state of war, U.S. pilots shot down over the North will not receive the rights of prisoners of war (POWs) and will be treated as war criminals.
The U.S. State Department protested, but this had no impact on the way the American POWs were treated and most suffered extreme torture and other maltreatment while in captivity. The first pilot captured by the North Vietnamese was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez, who was shot down on August 5, 1964. The American POW held longest was Army Special Forces Captain Floyd James Thompson, who had been captured in the South on March 26, 1964. American POWs were held in 11 different prisons in North Vietnam and their treatment by the North Vietnamese was characterized by isolation, torture, and psychological abuse. The exact number of POWs held by the North Vietnamese during the war remains a debatable issue, but the POWs themselves have accounted for at least 766 verified captives at one point. Under the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords, the North Vietnamese released 565 American military and 26 civilian POWs in February and March 1973, but there were still more than 2,500 men listed as Missing in Action (MIA).
Hanoi announces that downed pilots will be treated as war criminals
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 15
Posted >1 y ago
Thank you for the share SP5 Mark Kuzinski.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs,SPC Douglas Bolton,Brig Gen Jim Jaeger,CPT Jack Durish,Maj Marty Hogan,SPC Christopher Smith,Lt Col Charlie Brown,Cpl Scott McCarroll,SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth,PVT Mark Brown,SGT Elizabeth Scheck,PFC Jacob Wrubel,MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy,SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL,SSG William Jones,TSgt Joe C.,SSgt Robert Marx,SGT Robert George
COL Mikel J. Burroughs,SPC Douglas Bolton,Brig Gen Jim Jaeger,CPT Jack Durish,Maj Marty Hogan,SPC Christopher Smith,Lt Col Charlie Brown,Cpl Scott McCarroll,SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth,PVT Mark Brown,SGT Elizabeth Scheck,PFC Jacob Wrubel,MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy,SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL,SSG William Jones,TSgt Joe C.,SSgt Robert Marx,SGT Robert George
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SGT Michael Thorin
>1 y
Your welcome brother, and have a great day as well SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth!
COL Mikel J. Burroughs,SPC Douglas Bolton,Brig Gen Jim Jaeger,CPT Jack Durish,Maj Marty Hogan,SPC Christopher Smith,Lt Col Charlie Brown,Cpl Scott McCarroll,SP5 Mark Kuzinski,PVT Mark Brown,SGT Elizabeth Scheck,PFC Jacob Wrubel,MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy,SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL,SSG William Jones,TSgt Joe C.,SSgt Robert Marx,SGT Robert George, LTC Stephen F.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs,SPC Douglas Bolton,Brig Gen Jim Jaeger,CPT Jack Durish,Maj Marty Hogan,SPC Christopher Smith,Lt Col Charlie Brown,Cpl Scott McCarroll,SP5 Mark Kuzinski,PVT Mark Brown,SGT Elizabeth Scheck,PFC Jacob Wrubel,MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy,SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL,SSG William Jones,TSgt Joe C.,SSgt Robert Marx,SGT Robert George, LTC Stephen F.
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Craig Hatch
>1 y
Johnson was a pansy ass president, we should of went in hardcore and leveled the dam place! They want to treat our pilots as war-criminals then we treat Vietnam like Nazi Germany at the end of the war!
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Posted >1 y ago
One of the worst legacies of the Vietnam war was their treatment of our POW’s and the fact that so many guys are still missing. But no one knows if the missing were ever POW’s or KIA that were never found.
Great share and thank you for posting it.
Great share and thank you for posting it.
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski
>1 y
MSgt Robert "Rock" Aldi - To your lost friends and to mine - Rest in peace and welcome home.
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