U.S. POWs In North Vietnam, Beaten, Tortured, Denied Medical Care, And Placed In Solitary Confinement

U.S. POWs In North Vietnam, Beaten, Tortured, Denied Medical Care, And Placed In Solitary Confinement

Sep. 3, 1969 United Efforts at Home The POW situation during the SEA conflict resulted in a most unique development in U.S. history. When Lt. R.F. Frishman of the U.S. Navy (released to a U.S. anti-war group on July 18, 1969) held a press conference on Sep. 3, and revealed that POWs in North Vietnam had been beaten, tortured, denied routine medical care, and placed in solitary confinement, their families in the U.S. banded together to bring group pressure to bear wherever it would do the most good.

Beginning n the fall of 1969, delegations of wives and relatives of POWs and those missing-in-action (MIA) confronted the North Vietnamese peace team (in Paris) in an attempt to secure better treatment for their loved ones. These delegations began to receive extensive coverage on television and in newspapers, much to the consternation of the North Vietnamese peace team who realized the growing sympathy of the world for the POWs.

Shortly before Christmas 1969, the POWs were ordered to write letters to their loved ones. It was the first indication of improved treatment, small as it was. For the last three years of the war, POW/MIA groups continued to focus attention on the plight of the POWs and those MIAs for which no reports had ever been received. Even after the cease-fire, their efforts continued, particularly since the Communists refused to permit on-site inspection of their territories for those men still reported as MIA.