Performance of American Pows in the Vietnam War - The Black Vault

Convention of 1949. After showing how the Convention was put to the test during the
Korean War, the research examines steps taken to improve guidance and training for
servicemen in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the inception of the Fighting
Man’s Code of Conduct and the training plans outlined to implement it. Using this
information as background, the research turns towards the specific training our
servicemen received immediately prior to and during the Vietnam War. Next, the
research examines the roles of religion; communication; ingenuity and imagination; and
organization and leadership in understanding exactly what the POWs experienced and if
their training prepared them in these areas. Lastly, the research looks at the Vietnam
War’s immediate aftermath and what recommendations were made to increase the
effectiveness of service preparation.
For the purposes of this project, the research is limited to those prisoners of war
being held in North Vietnam, most notably at the Hoa Lo Prison, the infamous “Hanoi
Hilton.” It does not include any information concerning those POWs in South Vietnam,
Laos, or Cambodia. The research focuses on the captivity of the prisoners (i.e.,
resistance) and the training received prior to their being taken captive—it does not
include analysis of survival, evasion, or escape methods, training, or examples. The
focus is primarily aimed at Air Force prisoners of war, though some information is
included about POWs from other services.
The Geneva Convention. In the aftermath of World War II, the Geneva
Convention met in 1949 to consider ways of alleviating victims’ suffering during war.
The overall goal of the 1949 Convention was to improve the treatment of prisoners of
war. The underlying principle was that once a soldier was removed from the fighting
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