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Old 07-01-2016, 05:27 PM
 
Location: Arizona
12,923 posts, read 7,093,256 times
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Watched a documentary on YouTube called Prisoners of War Betrayed sad every war we have been in we have betrayed POW's since ww1. I remember the Vietnam POW/MIA issues in the 1980's never knew the details. I can't post the link to the video I don't know if it's copyrighted but you can easily find it on YouTube just search "Prisoners of War Betrayed".
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Old 07-02-2016, 01:05 AM
 
Location: Southwest
2,596 posts, read 2,293,269 times
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I didn't know it went back to WWI. I know about WWII, which many people don't. My guess is the WWII POWs were either worked hard, then died or were killed like what happened in Katyn.

I read claims that Vietnam POWs were offered for sale to the US by either Vietnam or Laos (forget which). Our guv wouldn't pay.
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Old 07-02-2016, 05:39 PM
 
Location: On a Long Island in NY
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I don't have the link ATM but several years ago I came across an excellent website put together by a former US Army officer who had been assigned to the DIA and did alot of work in the POW/MIA "left behind" thing. In short, he concluded there was nobody left behind in a secret North Vietnamese prison camp, or in a Soviet gulag or whatever (ie: like Harmon Rabb Sr. in the TV show "JAG"). Most of the Vietnam MIA's were personnel who were certainly KIA or in accidents but their body was not recovered for various reasons. There were however some deserters and such who voluntarily stayed behind, and some have resurfaced over the years.

Ah here we go, excellent website. It gave me many hours of entertainment back when I first found it.
http://www.miafacts.org/
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Old 07-03-2016, 11:01 PM
 
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Prisoners of War Betrayed is a very good Documentary, the Rita Van Wees experience was telling about 20 to 27 minute mark. I recall reading about it in early 1990s when there was a last push to find out. That era of POWs is likely dead now.


After spotting her son in a propaganda piece in magazine, Rita Van Wees appealed to government.
Government: "Mrs. Van Wees wouldn't you think it would be better to believe your son was dead... it would be better if you thought that way"


U.S. Knew in 1953 North Koreans Held American P.O.W.'s - NYTimes.com
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Old 07-04-2016, 06:10 AM
 
Location: St. Louis
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The Korean War has not "ended" to this date. But short of starting up the war again what were we supposed to do?
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:35 AM
 
Location: Sun City West, Arizona
50,358 posts, read 23,944,182 times
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This topic comes up every once in a while, and I think there are several aspects to it.

1. Conspiracy theories. That may or may not (probably not) have any validity to them.

2. A desire to disappear and not return to their families and life in America. I lived in Thailand for a couple of years, and occasionally heard tales about expats who never came back from Vietnam, but who faded into the Thai (or other SE Asian country) woodwork, so to speak. Didn't want to return to a wife and kids, etc.

3. Where is that line between certainty/uncertainty of evidence where you risk personnel and resources to search for a person who may or may not be there?
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Old 07-05-2016, 04:04 PM
 
Location: Cape Cod
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Moderator cut: We're not going to turn the History forum into a Current Politics forum. .

I think soldiers will always pay the price for their leaders screw ups.

I agree with phetaroi post. I bet there are guys out there that for one reason or another disappeared during a war and they don't want to be found.

Last edited by mensaguy; 07-06-2016 at 04:23 AM.. Reason: No need to discuss Bengahzi in this forum.
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Old 07-06-2016, 09:30 AM
 
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All of the cases that are discussed over the years (and many center on the Soviet Union) contain extremely complex geopolitics. I believe that the US has always done it's best to secure the release and repatriation of all Americans, within the context of what was best overall for US foreign policy. Some may consider this a "betrayal", I would consider it being those involved having given their lives for their country.
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Old 07-08-2016, 09:17 AM
 
Location: Arizona
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What surprised me was the actual reasons in WW2 Stalin wanted to keep some for ransom or leverage he picked up POW's who had Jewish names, or Russian names according to the video. In Vietnam I never knew this Nixon and Kissinger made a deal with the Vietnamese to pay them billions of dollars which was never approved by congress. They held back some until that money was paid which it was never paid. In the video they touched on in WW2 a US general without approval sent planes in and picked up POW's from Soviets and was successful . I researched this and found more about it there is a book called

Beyond the Call: The True Story of One World War II Pilot’s Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front

http://spectator.org/62413_american-...eastern-front/
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Old 07-08-2016, 09:35 AM
 
14,780 posts, read 43,543,561 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kell490 View Post
What surprised me was the actual reasons in WW2 Stalin wanted to keep some for ransom or leverage he picked up POW's who had Jewish names, or Russian names according to the video. In Vietnam I never knew this Nixon and Kissinger made a deal with the Vietnamese to pay them billions of dollars which was never approved by congress. They held back some until that money was paid which it was never paid. In the video they touched on in WW2 a US general without approval sent planes in and picked up POW's from Soviets and was successful . I researched this and found more about it there is a book called

Beyond the Call: The True Story of One World War II Pilot’s Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front

An American WWII Pilot
During WW2 at the Tehran Conference it was agreed by both sides to repatriate all POW's/citizens that were liberated. In order to carry favor with Stalin, within that arrangement FDR agreed to include Russians who had chosen to fight on Germay's side during the war. In general these were certain Cossacks, White Russians who had fled during the Revolution, etc.

The US and Britain ultimately pulled back on this agreement. While the majority were sent back (as were the majority of allied POW's the Soviets found) many were retained as assets by the US and Britain. In return the Soviets kept some allied POW's, in particular those they deemed as most useful given their skills or those who were descended from White Russians that had fled to the US. The estimate is that there were approximately 500 allied POW's retained by the Soviets.

Over the course of the Cold War many other Americans found themselves as Soviet POW's. There were the captured crews of downed spy planes, prisoners taken in Korea and Vietnam that had technical skills the Soviets wanted, etc. Of course, there were plenty of Soviets held by the US as well. "Black Op" sites are not an invention of the war on terror.

As for the money for prisoners deal, that is a theory postulated by some of the more hardcore MIA people. The truth is that no such offer was ever made. This site breaks down the theory and contains the text of the actual letter:

The Nixon Letter

Please be aware that the video you watched, for the most part, is theory masquerading as fact.
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