The treatment received by American prisoners of war depended strongly on what part of Vietnam captured them.
In South Vietnam:
Prisoners of war maintained a tough existence when held captive in the southern areas. Traditional Vietnamese military forces lacked both proper supplies and sufficient engagement toward caring for their prisoner population. Any showing kindness toward prisoners of war was a unique exception among the Vietcong population.
The Tunnels of Cu Chi offers a reflection of a South Vietnamese military captain Nguyen Thanh Linh who described how two American prisoners refused to eat rice as they requested bread and meat. Linh along with his group members stole supplies from the U.S. camp to provide sustenance to this pair of American prisoners. Two military prisoners passed away from illness before they could be transferred to North Vietnamese control.
All escaped prisoners selected to use the passage along the dangerous 2,000 km Ho Chi Minh trail through challenging jungle and mountainous regions to reach Hanoi. The journey claimed many lives since the injured and poorly treated soldiers could not make it through.
In North Vietnam:
North Vietnam provided a stronger survival rate to prisoners of war than its southern territories. The North Vietnamese capture reports showed more than 760 authentic cases of American soldiers becoming prisoners of war. Following the 1973 Paris Peace Accords the North Vietnamese Army released 565 military members together with 26 civilian prisoners.
North Vietnamese prison existence proved to be extremely harsh for its inmates. Imprisoned individuals endured unclean living conditions and poor nourishment while spending extensive times by themselves. Torture was common too.
Some POWs showed great courage. Navy Commander Jeremiah Denton stayed 7.5 years as a prisoner of war and spent more than four years alone. A television studio forced him to participate in an interview yet John McCain used his blinks to transmit Morse code revealing that US soldiers endured "TORTURE".
The prisoner of war record includes Lieutenant Commander John McCain as one of the well-known individuals. During 1967 while McCain pilots aircraft downed in enemy territory the Vietnamese military members assaulted and stabbed him before sending him to Hoa Lo Prison better known as the "Hanoi Hilton." McCain refused the possibility of an early prison release in 1968 since he believed the release process should be based on chronological order of capture. Spending 5.5 years behind bars became his reality in addition to the two years spent by himself in isolation. The abuse rendered McCain unable to raise his arms above the head throughout his remaining lifetime.
The two heroes gained recognition for their exceptional courageousness along with their leadership qualities throughout the difficult period.
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