National Headquarters
3201 East Pioneer Parkway #40
Arlington, Texas 76010-5396
817-649-2979
817-649-0109 - FAX
|
National Headquarters 3201 East Pioneer Parkway #40 Arlington, Texas 76010-5396 817-649-2979 817-649-0109 - FAX |
|
|
May 2007 Larry Strickland, MedSearch Chairman Drug Interactions: What You Should KnowBy The Council on Family Health in cooperation with the National Consumers League and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Medicines can treat and cure many health problems. However, they must be taken properly to ensure that they are safe and effective. Many medicines have powerful ingredients that interact with the human body in different ways, and diet and lifestyle can sometimes have a significant impact on a drug’s ability to work in the body. Certain foods, beverages, alcohol, caffeine, and even cigarettes can interact with medicines. This may make them less effective or may cause dangerous side effects or other problems. Drug interactions may make your drug less effective, cause unexpected side effects, or increase the action of a particular drug. Some drug interactions can even be harmful to you. Reading the label every time you use a nonprescription or prescription drug and taking the time to learn about drug interactions may be critical to your health. You can reduce the risk of potentially harmful drug interactions and side effects with a bit of knowledge and common sense. When you take medicine, be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions carefully to obtain the maximum benefit with the least risk. Changes in a medicine’s effect due to an interaction with food, alcohol or caffeine can be significant; however, there are many factors that influence the potential for such variations, like dose, age, weight, sex, and overall health. If you have any questions or concerns about possible drug interactions, consult your health care professional. Make sure your doctor and pharmacist know about every drug you are taking, including nonprescription drugs and any dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals and herbals. If you have problems or experience side effects related to medication, call your health care provider right away. Drug interactions fall into three broad categories: Drug-drug interactions occur when two or more drugs react with each other. This drug-drug interaction may cause you to experience an unexpected side effect. For example, mixing a drug you take to help you sleep (a sedative) and a drug you take for allergies (an antihistamine) can slow your reactions and make driving a car or operating machinery dangerous. Drug-food/beverage interactions result from drugs reacting with foods or beverages. For example, mixing alcohol with some drugs may cause you to feel tired or slow your reactions. Drug-condition interactions may occur when an existing medical condition makes certain drugs potentially harmful. For example, if you have high blood pressure you could experience a reaction if you take a nasal decongestant. Drug Interactions and Over-the- Counter Medicines Over-the-counter (OTC) drug labels contain information about ingredients, uses, warnings and directions that is important to read and understand. The label also includes important information about possible drug interactions. Further, drug labels may change as new information becomes known. That’s why it’s especially important to read the label every time you use a drug.
The “Active Ingredients” and “Purpose” sections list: the name and amount of each active ingredient the purpose of each active ingredient The “Uses” section: tells you what the drug is used for helps you find the best drug for your specific symptoms The “Warnings” section provides important drug interaction and precaution information such as: when to talk to a doctor or pharmacist before use the medical conditions that may make the drug less effective or not safe under what circumstances the drug should not be used when to stop taking the drug
The “Directions” section tells you: the length of time and the amount of the product that you may safely use any special instructions on how to use the product
The “Other Information” section tells you: required information about certain ingredients, such as sodium content, for people with dietary restrictions or allergies
The “Inactive Ingredients” section tells you: the name of each inactive ingredient (such as colorings, binders, etc.)
The “Questions?” or “Questions or Comments?” section: provides telephone numbers of a source to answer questions about the product
Learning About Drug Interactions Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the drugs you take. When your doctor prescribes a new drug, discuss all OTC and prescription drugs, dietary supplements, vitamins, botanicals, minerals and herbals you take, as well as the foods you eat. Ask your pharmacist for the package insert for each prescription drug you take. The package insert provides more information about potential drug interactions.
Before taking a drug, ask your doctor or pharmacist the following questions: Can I take it with other drugs? Should I avoid certain foods, beverages or other products? What are possible drug interaction signs I should know about? How will the drug work in my body? Is there more information available about the drug or my condition (on the Internet or in health and medical literature)? Know how to take drugs safely and responsibly.
Remember, the drug label will tell you: what the drug is used for how to take the drug how to reduce the risk of drug interactions and side effects
If you still have questions after reading the drug product label, ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Remember that different OTC drugs may contain the same active ingredient. If you are taking more than one OTC drug, pay attention to the active ingredients used in the products to avoid taking too much of a particular ingredient. Under certain circumstances — such as if you are pregnant or breast-feeding — you should talk to your doctor before you take any medicine. Also, make sure you know what ingredients are contained in the medicines you take. Doing so will help you to avoid possible allergic reactions.
Examples of Drug Interaction Warnings The following are examples of drug interaction warnings that you may see on certain OTC drug products. These examples do not include all of the warnings for the listed types of products and should not take the place of reading the actual product label. Drug Interaction Information Acid Reducers H2 Receptor Antagonists (drugs that prevent or relieve heartburn associated with acid indigestion and sour stomach) For products containing cimetidine, ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are: · taking theophylline (oral asthma drug), warfarin (blood thinning drug), or phenytoin (seizure drug) Antacids (drugs for relief of acid indigestion, heartburn, and/or sour stomach) Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are: · allergic to milk or milk products if the product contains more than 5 grams lactose in a maximum daily dose · taking a prescription drug Ask a doctor before use if you have: · kidney disease Antiemetics (drugs for prevention or treatment of nausea, vomiting, or dizziness associated with motion sickness) Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are: · taking sedatives or tranquilizers Ask a doctor before use if you have: · a breathing problem, such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis · glaucoma · difficulty in urination due to an enlarged prostate gland When using this product: · avoid alcoholic beverages Antihistamines (drugs that temporarily relieve runny nose or reduce sneezing, itching of the nose or throat, and itchy watery eyes due to hay fever or other upper respiratory problems) Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are taking: · sedatives or tranquilizers · a prescription drug for high blood pressure or depression Ask a doctor before use if you have: · glaucoma or difficulty in urination due to an enlarged prostate gland · breathing problems, such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or asthma When using this product: · alcohol, sedatives, and tranquilizers may increase drowsiness · avoid alcoholic beverages Antitussives Cough Medicine (drugs that temporarily reduce cough due to minor throat and bronchial irritation as may occur with a cold) Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are: · taking sedatives or tranquilizers Ask a doctor before use if you have: · glaucoma or difficulty in urination due to an enlarged prostate gland Bronchodilators (drugs for the temporary relief of shortness of breath, tightness of chest and wheezing due to bronchial asthma) Ask a doctor before use if you: · have heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes, or difficulty in urination due to an enlarged prostate gland · have ever been hospitalized for asthma or are taking a prescription drug for asthma Laxatives (drugs for the temporary relief of constipation) Ask a doctor before use if you have: · kidney disease and the laxative contains phosphates, potassium, or magnesium · stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting Nasal Decongestants (drugs for the temporary relief of nasal congestion due to a cold, hay fever, or other upper respiratory allergies) Ask a doctor before use if you: · have heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes, or difficulty in urination due to an enlarged prostate gland Nicotine Replacement Products (drugs that reduce withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting smoking, including nicotine craving) Ask a doctor before use if you: · have high blood pressure not controlled by medication · have heart disease or have had a recent heart attack or irregular heartbeat, since nicotine can increase your heart rate Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are: · taking a prescription drug for depression or asthma (your dose may need to be adjusted) · using a prescription nonnicotine stop smoking drug Do not use: · if you continue to smoke, chew tobacco, use snuff, or use other nicotine-containing products Nighttime Sleep Aids (drugs for relief of occasional sleeplessness) Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are: · taking sedatives or tranquilizers Ask a doctor before use if you have: · a breathing problem such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis · glaucoma · difficulty in urination due to an enlarged prostate gland When using this product: · avoid alcoholic beverages Pain Relievers (drugs for the temporary relief of minor body aches, pains, and headaches) Ask a doctor before taking if you: · consume three or more alcohol-containing drinks per day (The following ingredients are found in different OTC pain relievers: acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, magnesium salicylate, and naproxen. It is important to read the label of pain reliever products to learn about different drug interaction warnings for each ingredient.) Stimulants (drugs that help restore mental alertness or wakefulness during fatigue or drowsiness) When using this product: · limit the use of foods, beverages, and other drugs that have caffeine. Too much caffeine can cause nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness, and occasional rapid heart beat · be aware that the recommended dose of this product contains about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee
To order one copy of this booklet, write: Federal Citizen Information Center Item #527M Pueblo, CO 81009 www.pueblo.gsa.gov
PRESUMPTIVE SERVICE CONNECTED DISABILITIES Public Law 97-37 (Layman's Terms)
by William Paul Skelton, Ill, MD F.A.C.P.
As reported elsewhere in this month’s Bulletin, there have been two new presumptives added to the list ~ benefiting former POWs with strokes and most heart diseases. Those veterans will be automatically eligible for disability compensation for those common ailments, and their spouses and dependents will be eligible for service-connected survivors’ benefits if these diseases contribute to the death of a former POW.
1. ARTHRITIS, TRAUMATIC Also known as articular trauma. This disorder looks and is treated just like degenerative arthritis (arthritis associated with age) except it is caused by severe damage to a single or few joints producing early onset arthritis. Since it has a definite cause, it is called a secondary form of arthritis. This is an extremely difficult diagnosis to make, but in general one has to prove that a specific trauma occurred to a single or very few joints, and other changes consistent with degenerative arthritis are not present throughout the rest of the body at the same time. In short, these changes need to be localized.
2. AVITAMINOSIS The total lack of vitamins in the diet. This disorder is a fatal condition unless it is supplemented with vitamins within a few weeks. Therefore, most individuals suffer from hypovitaminosis, which is a relative deficiency of vitamins in the diet. The specific type, intensity and duration of deprivation determines the long-term effects.
3. BERIBERI Caused by a severe lack of vitamin BI (thiamine) in the diet. This produces changes in the nerves (both in the brain and extremities) and the heart. Brain changes could produce dementia or psychosis. Nervous changes are usually associated with numbness and/or painful feet. Beriberi heart disease is an acute condition, similar to congestive heart failure, except that the heart pumps more blood than in normal congestive heart failure and it is associated with the presence of an excessive amount of lactic acid in the body. It is unknown at this time whether this can produce a chronic state.
4.DYSENTERY, CHRONIC A disease characterized by frequent and watery stools, usually with blood and mucus, and accompanied by rectal and abdominal pain, fever, and dehydration. This is an infection in the colon and can be caused by a multitude of different organisms, the most common of which is amoeba which can produce a mild or severe dysentery and possibly be associated with a chronic irritable colon. Bacillary dysentery is associated with the bacteria shigella, but will not cause a chronic state. There are multiple other bacteria that can cause dysentery which usually do not produce chronic states. Viral dysentery can also present like amoebic or bacillary dysentery and will not produce a chronic state.
5. FROSTBITE The actual freezing of tissue. This is graded on a continuum with one representing mild to four representing mummification of the tissue. The extremities furthest from the heart are usually affected, with primarily the nose, ears, fingertips, and toes being involved. This usually produces long-term side effects such as numbness, discoloration, excessive swelling, and pain in the affected area.
6. HELMINTHIASIS Infection with any type of worms that parasitize the human. Most infections usually resolve spontaneously either with proper treatment or as the natural course of the disease. Strongyloides is known to persist in a permanent state in humans due to its ability to reinfect the host.
7. MALNUTRITION Merely means bad nutrition. The nutritional depletion may be either caloric. vitamin, fatty acid, or mineral deficiency, or more likely a combination. Depending on the type, intensity, and duration, it may yield permanent side effects or no lasting side effects at all.
8. PELLAGRA Literally meaning rough skin in Italian, also known as black tongue in dogs. It is caused by a virtual lack of vitamin B3 (niacin) in the diet, producing the classical trio of diarrhea, dermatitis, and dementia. All are easily treated early on with no side effects. The dementia, if left untreated, may produce permanent mental deficits.
9. ANY OTHER NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY The lack of protein and calories in the diet generally produces no lasting side effects. However, vitamin deficiencies other than the aforementioned B1 (beriberi) and B3 (pellagra) can have very disastrous effects on one’s body. Also deficiencies of certain fatty acids and essential minerals in the diet can have lasting and long term sequela.
10. PSYCHOSIS A generic term for any of the insanities. Generally, it is thought of as a mental disorder causing gross disorganization of a person’s mental capacity and his ability to recognize reality and communicate with others regarding the demands of everyday life.
11. PANIC DISORDER Characterized by discrete periods of apprehension or fear with at least four of the following during an attack: shortness of breath, feelings of heart skipping, chest pain, dizziness, sweating, fainting, trembling, fear of dying, or doing something uncontrollable during an attack. These attacks need to occur at least three times within a three week period, not associated with physical exertion or life threatening situations. Also there needs to be an absence of severe physical or other mental illness which could cause these symptoms.
Characterized by generalized persistent anxiety and with symptoms of at least three of the following four categories: (1) Motor tension as characterized by shaking, jumpiness, trembling and restlessness; (2) Autonomic hyperactivity. such as sweating, cold or clammy hands, high or irregular heart rate, dry mouth, etc.; (3) Apprehensive expectations, anxiety, worry, fear, anticipation of misfortune to himself or others; (4) Tendency to insomnia, hyper-attentiveness, irritable. All these symptoms had to have lasted at least one month. Also, there needs to be an absence of all other mental disorders and physical disorders which could explain the symptoms. 13. OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER This may be either obsessions or compulsions. Obsessions are recurrent, persistent ideas or impulses that are thoughts that invade consciousness and are experienced as senseless or repugnant. Attempts are made to ignore or suppress them. Compulsions are repetitive and seemingly purposeful behaviors that are performed in certain similar manners. The behavior is felt by the individual to produce or prevent some future event. Generally, the individuals recognize the senselessness of the behavior and do not derive pleasure from carrying it out, although it often relieves tension. Also, the obsessive or compulsive individuals are associated with a significant sense of distress in that it interferes with social or role functioning. 14. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER The re-experiencing of a trauma of a past recognized stress or that can produce symptoms of distress. This re-experiencing needs at least one of the following: (I) Recurrent and intrusive recollection of the event; (2) Recurrent dreams; (3) Sudden feelings that the trauma was occurring because of an association, an environmental or ideational situation.
Also involved is reduced involvement with the external world beginning after the trauma, revealed by at least one of the following: (1) Hyperalertness or exaggerated startle response; (2) Sleep disturbance; (3) Guilt about surviving when others have not; (4) Memory impairment or trouble concentrating; (5) Avoidance of activities that arouse recollection of the traumatic event; (6) Intensification of symptoms by exposure to events that symbolize or resemble the traumatic event.
This is a category that is used for diagnosis when the affected individual appears to have an anxiety disorder that does not meet the criteria for entry into any of the other known anxiety disorders.
Characterized by depressive periods in which the patient feels sad and/or down and has a loss of interest in the usual activities that cause pleasure or involvement in usual pastimes. These depressive periods are separated by periods of normal mood, lasting a few days to a few weeks, but no more than a few months at a time. During the depressive period, too little sleep or too much sleep, low energy or chronic tiredness, loss of self esteem, decreased effectiveness or productivity at work, social withdrawal, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, excessive anger, inability to respond with apparent pleasure to praise or reward, less active or talkative than usual, pessimistic attitude about the future, tearful or crying thoughts about death or suicide. There are also no psychotic features present.
Literally Greek for the suffering of nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. There are several different causes for peripheral neuropathy, and vitamin deficiency and possibly mineral deficiency are just two. Other causes to be considered are various toxins such as lead, copper, and mercury, a hereditary pre-disposition to neuropathy, deposition of amyloid or protein produced by one’s own body mounted in response to an infection, infections such as by leprosy, which is the most common form of neuropathy in the world, and multiple other less common causes.
18. IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of the intestines that leads to crampy pain, gassiness, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Some people with IBS have constipation (difficult or infrequent bowel movements); still others have diarrhea ( frequent loose stools, often with an urgent need to move the bowels); and some people experience both. Sometimes the person with IBS has a crampy urge to move the bowels but cannot do so. Through the years, IBS has been called by many names - colitis, mucous colitis, spastic colon, spastic bowel, and functional bowel disease. Most of these terms are inaccurate.
19. PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE A peptic ulcer is a sore or hole in the lining of the stomach or duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). In addition to the pain caused by the ulcer itself, peptic ulcers give rise to such complications as hemorrhage from the erosion of a major blood vessel; perforation of the wall of the stomach or intestine, with resultant peritonitis; or obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract because of spasm or swelling in the area of the ulcer. The direct cause of peptic ulcers is the destruction of the gastric or intestinal mucosal lining by hydrochloric acid, an acid normally present in the digestive juices of the stomach.
20. ISCHEMIC CARDIOMYOPATHY A disorder caused by lack of oxygen to the tissues of the heart, in which the muscles of the heart are affected and the heart cannot pump properly. Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a cause of heart failure and is a complication of ischemic heart diseases such as acute MI, angina, and unstable angina. Symptoms include: chest pain, experienced under the sternum, may radiate to the neck, jaw, back, shoulder, arm, may feel tight, pressure, crushing, squeezing, may or may not be relieved by rest or nitroglycerin; palpitations; irregular or rapid pulse; shortness of breath, especially with activity, or shortness of breath that occurs after lying down. cough; fatigue, weakness, faintness; decreased alertness; decreased urine output; excessive urination at night; overall swelling; breathing difficulty; high blood pressure. Examination may reveal an irregular heartbeat, and heart and lung sounds may be abnormal. There may be other signs of heart failure. Decreased functioning and enlargement of the heart may show in these tests: coronary angiography, echocardiogram, chest X-ray, chest CT scan, MRI of chest. An ECG may show enlargement, old MI, ischemic changes, arrhythmias, or other abnormality. A biopsy of the heart may be needed to rule out other disorders. Lab tests may be used to rule out other disorders and to assess the condition of the heart.
21. CIRRHOSIS The liver, the largest organ in the body, is essential in keeping the body functioning properly. It removes or neutralizes poisons from the blood, produces immune agents to control infection, and removes germs and bacteria from the blood. It makes proteins that regulate blood clotting and produces bile to help absorb fats and fat-soluble vitamins. In cirrhosis of the liver, scar tissue replaces normal, healthy tissue, blocking the flow of blood through the organ and preventing it from working as it should. Many people with cirrhosis have no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. However, as scar tissue replaces healthy cells, liver function starts to fail and a person may experience the following symptoms: Exhaustion, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, weakness and/or weight loss. Cirrhosis may be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms, laboratory tests, the patient’s medical history, and a physical examination. A liver biopsy will confirm the diagnosis.
OCTOBER 2004 Treatment of American Prisoners of War In South East Asia 1961-1973 By John N. Powers Part 3 of 3 (Parts 1 and 2 below) At this point a rope might be passed from the wrists to a hook or beam in the ceiling and the prisoner hoisted off the floor. Done in a violent enough motion this would break the arms or dislocate the shoulders. The prisoner might be stood on a chair with the rope leading to a beam and the chair kicked out from under him. Instead of tying the hands with ropes the torture cuffs might be used in this process. Another variation would be to place the prisoner’s feet in ankle stocks, pass a rope from the wrists behind the back up over the head to the ankles and pull the prisoner forward until their face was against their legs. POWs told of being forced into this position until their nose was pressing against their anus. The position was also reversed. Placing the prisoner on his stomach, the guards would run a rope from the ankles to the prisoner’s neck and pull them into a bow. Another variation was to place the prisoner on his sleeping platform face down. The ankle stocks would be put in place, a rope passed from the wrists or elbows to a beam or hook, and the prisoner lifted off the sleeping platform by the rope. Their feet were held in the stocks and the rest of their body was suspended in the air. POWs with broken arms or legs were put into the ropes. Guards would twist or punch the broken limb while the prisoner was held in position. Some of the guards were very adept at relieving the pain just before a prisoner was about to pass out. Then they would continue. When the prisoner screamed a rag would be stuffed in their mouth. The rags were never clean. Since clubs and rifle barrels were often used to do this many prisoners had teeth broken in the process. At first ropes were used for this torture. The ropes left very visible scars so the Vietnamese switched to webbing. The webbing straps would be carefully applied over shirt sleeves or pant legs so scars would be minimized. While tying the arms the torturer would actually stand on the prisoner’s back to gain leverage in forcing the elbows and shoulders together. Sooner or later the ropes broke the will of any prisoner they were applied to. Usually the prisoner could not immediately write whatever statement the Vietnamese wanted because their hands and arms were swollen and numb. Especially from 1965 through 1969 there were POWs who were repeatedly subjected to the ropes treatment. Torture was used by the North Vietnamese for a number of purposes. They wanted statements from pilots they could use in their propaganda efforts against the United States. They tortured pilots to admit they bombed hospitals and schools or to produce statements against the war. They tortured prisoners to find how they were communicating between their cells and who they were communicating with. They tortured prisoners to find who the leaders were, to determine who was giving orders. They tortured prisoners who would not supply whatever information the interrogators were looking for. Many POWs were tortured in the summer of 1969 after two prisoners escaped from the Zoo Annex in Hanoi and were recaptured the next day. The most severe torture was experienced by those POWs who resisted all questioning and who attempted to provide leadership to their fellow captives. There were American POWs tortured to their death. Communication The Vietnamese tried hard to prevent their American prisoners from communicating with one another. If they could keep the POWs isolated they had a better chance of obtaining written statements or recordings they could use for propaganda purposes. The American POWs developed various methods of communicating between cells, between separate compounds within camps, and between separate camps. There was even some communication back and forth between some of the prisoners and Washington, D.C. The best known method of communicating was the tap code. The letter K was dropped from the alphabet and the remaining 25 letters arranged in a 5 by 5 grid. The first series of taps gave the line across and the second series the line down. Three taps followed by two taps meant the letter M. The letter C took the place of K. The tap code was helped by using abbreviations. GBU meant God Bless You. The code was most commonly used to tap on the walls between cells. It could also be sent using a broom, sneezing, coughing and shuffling feet. Holes could be poked in paper using the code and left where other POWs would find it. The code was brought to Vietnam by a pilot who had attended a survival course where the instructor mentioned the method. The instructor had learned it from the British while a POW during World War II. He was not allowed to teach the code in classes as it was not part of the set curriculum. He mentioned it in class and some students asked questions during a coffee break. One of them remembered it when he was captured in the summer of 1965. The tap code could also be used by flashing numbers using fingers. At times POWs could see each other by looking under the door. Other times they dumped water under their cell door so other prisoners could see their signals in the puddle’s reflection. They also developed a method of shaping their hands into letters and symbols. Written notes could be passed if some sort of paper and writing tools were available. These notes could be passed by hiding them in a bowl of rice when a prisoner was allowed to pick up his meal. Notes could be left in common areas such as a bath house or the tank where waste buckets were emptied. At times POWs were allowed to wash their clothing. They could put notes into pockets of other clothing hanging to dry. Messages were scratched on the bottom of food bowels. The POWs developed a code of arm and hand movements. Brushing the left arm with the right hand, wiping the brow with the left hand, scratching the head – all had meanings. Prisoners would pretend to be talking to a guard who spoke some English. They would use pig-Latin and actually be talking for the benefit of other POWs. A prisoner would pretend to be trying to talk to a guard who spoke no English. In reality he would be passing information to those prisoners in near-by cells. At times the POWs could actually talk to each other. This was sometimes possible in the early afternoon when the guards typically rested. Prisoners could put their drinking cup against the wall and talk to the next cell. A loud cough or thump on the wall ended all conversation or tapping. In some cases prisoners actually bored holes through the wall to the next cell. When they were caught in these activities they were at times severely punished, especially prior to 1970. Some POWs managed to get messages out in letters they were allowed to write to their families. Coded messages were some times received in letters from home. The idea for the raid on Son Tay evidently originated from the camp itself. Some of the POWs requested a rescue force. In another case an escape attempt was coordinated with US forces but the attempt called off by the senior ranking POW. When forced to record statements which were to be broadcast to other POWs, prisoners would refer to "Horse Shit Minh" to let their fellow POWs they were being coerced. One of the most famous examples of prisoners communicating occurred when a POW blinked out the word "torture" while being filmed for propaganda purposes and the film was shown in the West. Another was a group photo of American POWs which had every one of them giving the photographer the finger. The Vietnamese referred to the American POWs as Yankees. But apparently they had never heard of Yankee ingenuity. Medical Care Medical care provided to the POWs was minimal and often withheld for long periods of time as a means of persuasion. It is very probable that many of those prisoners that did not return died from injuries and illnesses the Vietnamese did not or could not treat. There were cases of seriously injured POWs being sent to civilian hospitals in Hanoi for treatment. There were more cases of POWs in need of such treatment never receiving it. Although medical care, when made available, was outdated and crude by standards the POWs were accustomed to, most of the time it was the same care as available to the Vietnamese themselves. The difference was that care was frequently and deliberately withheld and injuries often further aggravated as a means of torture. Food In the first year or so of Americans being held prisoner in North Vietnam they were fed three meals a day consisting of sliced bread, meat, and vegetables. Even so, some of the first POWs had meals so poor-chicken heads and rotten fish-they became sick and quickly lost weight. From 1965 through 1970 the prisoners typically received two meals a day, the first about 10 am and the second about 4 pm. Meals included a bowl of watery soup made from the vegetable of the season-pumpkin, turnip, kohlrabi, or squash. A second bowl consisted of whatever vegetable the soup was made from fried in fat. Last was a bowl of poor quality rice which often included gravel and grit. Some days however, a meal consisted only of a handful of rice and a bowl of warm water. Many POWs formed the habit of swallowing the rice without chewing it to prevent damage to their teeth. When a prisoner was being punished or the guards were in a bad mood the vegetables would not be washed of the human excrement applied in the fields. Dirt would be deliberately thrown on the food. The bowls of food would be left just outside the door of the cell to get cold and allow rats to help themselves. Prisoners told of setting down the moldy bread while they ate their soup only to have rats nibbling on it when they reached for it again. New prisoners often thought they were eating rye bread until they found the dark flecks were bugs or rat feces. It was not uncommon for the soup to contain pig feet, chicken heads, rotten fish, or chunks of fat with hide and hair attached. Prisoners scheduled for early release would be fed three times a day with food of increased quantity and quality, including fresh bread. They were also allowed out of their cell so the sun would darken their obvious prison skin tone. All part of the humane and lenient treatment of the North Vietnamese people. Special meals which included fruit and candy were commonly provided three or four times a year for holidays. It was also common for the Vietnamese to film the POWs eating those meals, usually in groups. There was no filming of meals the prisoners ate in their cells the remainder of the year. In 1970 meals generally began to improve. A third meal was given to the POWs, usually a breakfast of toast and perhaps a small amount of milk. The quality of the soup improved with the addition of noodles and better vegetables. By 1972 food from packages was made available. This included vitamins, condensed milk, and fruit. These packages were either from the Red Cross or packages sent by relatives but never delivered. The day before release in March 1973 some POWs were fed turkey. The guards served the prisoners and ate with them. The guards evidently hoped the prisoners had short memories. The first American held in North Vietnam was allowed to write two letters a week and received mail frequently. That practice ended as more POWs were captured. Typically, a prisoner might be allowed to write a letter about a year after he was first captured and might be given a letter some time in his second year of captivity. Letter writing was a privilege given to a POW which had to be earned. Earning the privilege meant writing some kind of propaganda statement, often after being tortured for refusing to write that statement. Allowing a prisoner to write and giving a prisoner his mail from home were acts planned to benefit the Vietnamese. It was either a reward or a punishment. A prisoner might be given a letter at Christmas time with family photographs or news of a family death. The hope was that an already depressed POW would be that much more open to suggestions that better treatment was available if only they would write a statement. A letter might be shown to a POW but not actually given to him until he demonstrated a "correct attitude". If there was an average number for letters received by POWs it was probably two per year. Letters given to prisoners were commonly months old. Prior to 1970 some prisoners were never allowed to write or receive mail. Of about 500 packages sent to the POWs during two early Christmas seasons, none were given to any prisoners and almost all were returned to the senders. In 1971 and 1972 prisoners were more likely to receive mail. Just before they were released in 1973 some prisoners received as many as 20 or 30 letters, some of them which had been written as many as six years before. After their release, some POWs felt those most likely to be allowed to write and receive mail were those prisoners whose names were known to U.S. officials. A prisoner listed only as MIA was likely to be allowed no mail privileges. Again, the death of Ho Chi Minh seemed to mark a general improvement in treatment of POWs. After 1969 many prisoners received mail on a more regular basis. Still, when released in 1973, ninety-five POWs had never received a letter from home and eighty had never written a letter that was actually mailed by the Vietnamese. Conditions in Laos Prisoners of war held in Laos had three chances to survive. They could escape (3), they could be released early by their captors (28), or they could be sent on to camps in North Vietnam (10). Individuals not in one of these three categories simply disappeared. Only ten POWs captured in Laos were returned alive in 1973, and these were the ten sent to camps in North Vietnam (nine were American and one Canadian). Perhaps the only Red Cross visit of the war occurred in Laos in 1961. Eight Americans had been captured in early 1961 and held under miserable conditions for a year and a half. Only four survived. At one point they were staked all night on their back in the rain. Being placed in a cell did little to improve their condition. Their food was rice and weeds. They were kept in a dark cell except for a morning bath in a stream. While bathing they would pick leaves to eat. The guards were cruel and abusive. They would shoot into the cell for fun. One American was killed when he refused to obey the guards. Six POWs were locked side-by-side in heavy ankle stocks for twelve hours at a time. They were transferred to a different prison for the Red Cross visit. During those few days they were housed in clean, sunlit cells with no stocks. They were given blankets and fed well. When the Red Cross inspection team left the POWs were sent right back to the camp with the stocks and darkened cells. By the time of their release one American had been killed, one starved to death and two others simply never seen again. Three more Americans were known to have been captured between 1963 and 1966. Within a few days of his capture one POW was tied upside down to a tree and beaten, dragged behind a water buffalo, and had an ant’s nest jammed on his head. Again, guards shot at the prisoners for entertainment. Food and water were scarce. All three eventually escaped, but only one made it back alive. A fourth American captured in 1964 successfully escaped after three months. One prisoner captured in Laos was kept in various bamboo cages for three years. His hands and feet were tied and a rope fixed around his neck and to a stake outside the cage. During the day his hands and feet were freed and some slack allowed in the neck rope. The cage was not large enough for him to stand. He was allowed out twice a day to use the latrine. About every six weeks he was allowed to bathe and wash his clothes. His food was mostly rice. Tied as he was at night he could do little to escape the rats that crawled over him looking for food and the snakes looking for the rats. After one escape attempt his legs and neck were placed in stocks in his cage. Another escape attempt got him buried up to his neck for a week. Some guards treated him well, even providing him with necessary medicine for various fungus problems. Other guards allowed him to almost die from neglect. This prisoner was allowed to write one letter in that three year period in Laos but the letter was never sent. Of the over 300 American POWs missing in Laos only nine returned in Operation Homecoming in 1973. These nine had been sent from Laos to POW camps in North Vietnam. They called themselves the Lulus – Legendary Union of Laotian Unfortunates. The whole time they were in North Vietnam they were kept separate from other American POWs and were never allowed to write letters. The Vietnamese used the Geneva Convention as their excuse for treatment given to American prisoners of war. Since no war had been declared they were not bound by the Geneva Convention. No declaration of war meant no prisoners of war. Their American captives were referred to as criminals. Yet, by their own actions, they demonstrated their treatment of the POWs was wrong and they knew it. Prisoners were threatened before interviews with peace delegates not to mention how poorly they were treated. Those prisoners being released early were told if they talked about their treatment the Vietnamese would release to the public the anti-war statements the prisoners had signed under torture. POWs being released early and all the POWs at Operation Homecoming were deliberately fattened up before release with much better food. In the months before their release they received medical care few of them had experienced during their captivity before that time. The Vietnamese kept show camps where visitors were allowed to observe healthy looking prisoners performing every day tasks. Films were produced showing prisoners relaxing in groups or playing volleyball. At times they failed to cut all the scenes which showed the guards in the background threatening those prisoners. The Vietnamese "humane and lenient treatment" of the POWs was a sham and they knew it. References Anton, Frank and Tommy Denton. Why Didn’t You Get Me Out? Arlington, TX: Summit Publishing Group, 1997. Blakey, Scott. Prisoner of War, The Survival of Commander Richard A. Stratton. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1978. Brace, Ernest C. A Code To Keep. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. Coffee, Gerald. Beyond Survival, Building on the Hard Times-A POW’s Inspiring Story. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1990. Day, George E. Return With Honor. Mesa, AZ: Champlin Museum Press, 1989 Hubbell, John G. P.O.W., A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964-1973. New York: Reader’s Digest Press, 1976. Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking Press, 1983. McCain, John with Mark Salter. Faith of My Fathers. New York: Random House, 1999. Philpot, Tom. Glory Denied, The Saga of Jim Thompson, America’s Longest-Held Prisoner of War. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001. Powell, Stewart M. "Honor Bound." Air Force, Journal of the Air Force Association, August 1999. Risner, Robinson. The Passing of the Night. My Seven Years As a Prisoner of the North Vietnamese, New York: Random House, 1973. Rochester, Stuart and Frederick Kiley. Honor bound, American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia 1961-1973. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998. Rowan, Stephen A. They Wouldn’t Let Us Die, The Prisoners of War Tell Their Story. Middle Village, New York: Jonathon David Publishers, 1973. Schemmer, Benjamin F. The Raid, The Son Tay Prison Rescue Mission. New York: Ballantine Books, 1976. Sheehan, Neil. A Bright and Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. New York: Vintage Books, 1988. Skelton, William P. III. American EX-POW Lecture Series, Presumptive Service Connected Disabilities Stockstill, Louis R. "Prisoners of War-The Forgotten Americans of the Vietnam War." Air Force, Journal of the Air Force Association, October 1969. Veith, George J. Code-Name Bright Light, The Untold Story of U.S. POW Rescue Efforts During the War. New York: Dell Publishing, 1998. Advocacy and Intelligence Index for Prisoners of War-Missing in Action Day, George E. The Seventh Annual Hugh J. Clausen Lecture on Leadership to the 49th Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course at the Judge Advocate General’s School, U.S. Army, Charlottesville, Virginia, 26 March 2001. Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), Vietnam War missing personnel report Kushner, Hal. Speech to 1st Ca Reunion, http://members.aol.com/bear317/kushner.htm Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004, "Prisoners of War (POWs)" Pownetwork.org/bios.htm PBS Online. "Return With Honor." Transcript of conversation with George Day and Ed Mechenbier, 9 Nov 2000.
Those seriously interested in reading more about American POWs in Vietnam should read at least two books. P.O.W., A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-of-War Experience in Vietnam (660 pages) gives detailed individual accounts of captivity and treatment. Honor Bound (706 pages) gives an excellent view of the overall experience of American POWs in Vietnam.
SEPTEMBER 2004 Treatment of American Prisoners of War In South East Asia 1961-1973 By John N. Powers Part 2 of 3 (Part 1 below) Conditions in North Vietnam Americans held prisoner in North Vietnam experienced boredom, discomfort, hunger, and torture over the period of their captivity. Each of these conditions was deliberately imposed on the POWs by their Vietnamese captors. Until 1969 or 1970 the Vietnamese kept the POWs as isolated as possible. They accomplished this isolation by maintaining a number of camps scattered throughout northern Vietnam. Some of them held only ten or fifteen prisoners. There were compounds within camps, all kept separated from each other. Communication of any kind was generally forbidden and severe punishment administered to those who ignored that rule. The Vietnamese wanted every individual prisoner to feel abandoned and alone. Constant pressure was applied on the individual to write or record statements against the war which could be shown to other POWs or printed in Communist or Western publications. If a POW felt alone it was easier for his interrogators to convince the prisoner to give in to their demands for propaganda material. Many prisoners went months, even years, without face to face communication with another American. During the years 1965 through 1970 sixty-five percent of the POWs entered captivity. Those were also the years of the worst torture, both in frequency and severity. POWs were tortured to obtain information on their units, their fellow pilots, unit tactics, and aircraft capabilities. They were tortured to obtain "confessions" of their crimes in bombing schools and hospitals. They were tortured to obtain statements against the war. They were tortured for communicating with their fellow POWs. They were tortured to force them to meet with peace delegates. They were tortured for not acting as directed by their captors during those meetings. They were tortured for refusing to display the "correct attitude" towards their captors. After 1970 some changes took place. The Vietnamese seemed to ease up (but not completely abandon) their practice of torture and improved the food and living conditions somewhat. Three events are seen as catalysts for these changes. In late 1969 Ho Chi Minh died and three POWs were released by the North Vietnamese. For the first time, the released POWs talked publicly about their treatment as prisoners, especially the torture. The North Vietnamese felt world opinion turning against them and apparently used Ho’s death as their excuse to try to regain their status as less of an aggressor and more of a victim. The third event took place late in 1970. In November of that year a force of about 130 Americans penetrated to within twenty-five miles of Hanoi, landed on North Vietnamese soil, and assaulted the prisoner of war camp at Son Tay. They were prepared to rescue and return to US control about seventy American POWs. They found none. Within days of that raid the Vietnamese were moving most of their prisoners into camps within Hanoi. This required housing the POWs together in large groups, something they had tried to avoid prior to that time. Some POWs went from having no cell mate or one cell mate to having twenty or thirty. POWs met face to face for the first time with fellow prisoners they had been communicating with by code for years. By the last half of 1972 the Vietnamese knew the war was almost over. Food and medical care improved and more physical activity was allowed. The prisoners were being fattened up to show the world how well they had been treated under the humane and lenient policies of the North Vietnamese. Housing Three types of cells were common. A two man cell contained two beds and measured about seven feet by seven feet. The beds were wooden pallets or cement platforms raised about eighteen inches off the floor. In some cells were wooden or iron ankle stocks. Normally, the only other piece of furniture was a latrine bucket. There was a two foot wide aisle between the bunks. A small wattage light bulb might remain on twenty-four hours a day. The cells typically had high walls with small windows or vent holes at the top. This meant very little air movement. The second type of cell was larger. It would hold eight or twenty or even forty prisoners. Some of these measured twenty by forty five feet. A raised concrete sleeping platform, again about eighteen inches high, was in the center of the cell with about a two and a half foot space around it. If there was room, all the prisoners slept on the platform. If not, some slept in the walk space. The third type of cell was the single cell used for punishment or in which the senior officers and the hard line resisters were isolated. These were only the standard cells. There were frequent variations of each type. Common to almost any cell were the very large rats, mice, cockroaches, mosquitoes, lack of air movement, heat of 120 degrees or more in the summer, and cold as low as 40 or 50 degrees in the winter. There were fourteen established POW camps in North Vietnam. (A CIA study claimed nineteen known camps. It is not obvious whether they were referring only to camps in North Vietnam.) Twelve of the fourteen were in or near Hanoi. Many of them were known by more than one name. These other names usually resulted from references to sections within a prison compound. The most well known, the Hanoi Hilton, had fifteen sections within its walls, each referred to by a separate name. Some of these prison camps also held South Vietnamese and Laotian military prisoners and North Vietnamese civilians, including children. Some of the prisons had been built by the French, others were buildings modified to hold American POWs. It was common for American POWs to be taken to the Hanoi Hilton when they were first captured. They would be questioned and later sent to Briarpatch or the Zoo. Later they might be returned to the Hilton. Frequent transfers to other camps or to compounds within the same camp were normal. After arriving at a prison camp for the first time, POWs would often receive a standard issue of supplies. This consisted of a set of striped pajamas, underwear, sandals, a cotton blanket or two, mosquito net, toothbrush, water jug, cup, soap, three pieces of toilet paper of paper bag consistency, a straw mat, and a waste bucket. These supplies might all be issued at once, not issued until later, or only some of them issued. At times some of these items were removed as a form of punishment. Alcatraz was a very small compound in Hanoi. It was thought to be the worst of the prisons. Eleven POWs considered hard line resisters were kept here for two years starting in October of 1967. Originally built by the French, Alcatraz had tiny cells which were underground. The walls were earth and there were no windows. This meant very little ventilation. The tin roof of the cells collected heat in the summer and cold in the winter. During storms the cells would have water flowing through. POWs were kept in heavy ankle shackles well over half of each day, including while they slept. Each prisoner was kept isolated from the others. Talking was not allowed and the guards attempted to prevent prisoners even from seeing another American. All eleven POWs were tortured. One American was so weakened by treatment here he died. The remainder were transferred back to the Hanoi Hilton at the end of 1969. Briarpatch was thirty five miles west of Hanoi. The camp had no running water and no electricity. The prisoner’s diet was very poor and many of them suffered from malnutrition. Briarpatch was opened in September 1965, closed after three weeks, opened again in December 1965, closed in February 1967, and used one last time for the first half of 1971. At that time it held POWs who were captured outside of North Vietnam. Treatment at Briarpatch was harsh. Severe beatings and use of torture cuffs and torture ropes were common. Deep holes were dug in each cell for use as a bomb shelter. These holes were then used as punishment cells, some of the POWs forced to remain in them for a month with their hands cuffed behind them. After the transfer of some of the guard personnel, conditions at Briarpatch improved shortly before it was closed down in early 1967. Dirty Bird was near a power plant in Hanoi. It was opened in June 1967 and pains taken to make sure the US government knew American POWs were held there. The first prisoners were held in a section of eight larger than normal cells. The condition of these cells led to the name of the camp. Coal dust from the plant was everywhere. The cells had no windows so ventilation was minimal. Prisoners were kept shackled most of the time, the food was terrible and the cells uncomfortable, but there was no torture. In July another eight cells were opened in a building nearby. This camp had a number of names: Army Post, Dirty Bird Annex, Dirty Bird West, Doghouse, Foundry, and Power Plant. In August another camp with seven cells opened nearby. This was called The School or Trolley Tracks. All three camps were closed down in October 1967. Dogpatch was only about ten miles from the Chinese border. It was opened in May 1972 and closed January 1973. Each cell held ten to twenty prisoners. The walls and ceiling were thick stone and concrete and the windows were narrow slits. There was no electricity. Prisoners were allowed to have fires in the cells to ward off the cold. Faith, also called Dan Hoi, was nine miles west of Hanoi. It was opened in July 1970 and closed that same November. Six separate compounds contained rooms with individual beds. Each cell held anywhere from eight to twenty POWs. Prisoners were allowed out of their cells to mingle. Food was much better than at other prisons, as was medical treatment. Fruit was a regular part of the menu. Guards were for the most part more relaxed. The requirement of bowing to guards was dropped. Many prisoners received mail. Prisoners played cards and set up classes in a variety of subjects. The camp was closed after the 21 November 1970 raid on the nearby Son Tay camp. All of the prisoners at Son Tay had been transferred to Faith four months before the raid. Farnsworth, sometimes called D-1, was about twenty miles southwest of Hanoi. It was opened in August 1968 and held prisoners captured outside North Vietnam. The rooms had no windows and the prisoners were not often allowed out of the rooms. Treatment by the guards was generally brutal. Farnsworth was also closed down after the Son Tay raid. The well known Hanoi Hilton was in central Hanoi. POWs were held here from August 1964 through March 1973. The Hilton was actually a French prison built at the beginning of the 20th century. Surrounding it were twenty foot high concrete walls. The walls had broken glass and electric wire on top. There were also guard towers. Within the walls of the Hanoi Hilton were compounds known as Heartbreak Hotel, Little Vegas, New Guy Village, and Camp Unity. Within the Little Vegas compound were sections, sometimes just a single cell, known as the Cave, Desert Inn, Golden Nugget, the Mint, Riviera, Snake Pit, Stardust, and Thunderbird. Temperature in the cells during the summer reached 120 degrees. The cells were specially equipped for torture. The cells at Heartbreak Hotel were described as closets. Higher ranking POWs and others considered resisters were held in the Vegas cells. All POWs on the official list of those captured in North Vietnam were moved to the Hanoi Hilton after the Son Tay raid. Especially in the early years of their captivity, POWs were likely to undergo repeated torture sessions at the Hilton. The Meathook Room at the Hilton was so named because of the hook on the ceiling. Prisoners were tied into various painful positions and hung from this hook. The Knobby Room was designed to muffle the screams of POWs being tortured. Hope, more commonly known as Son Tay, was twenty miles northwest of Hanoi. It was opened in May 1968 because of the lack of space in camps in Hanoi. The most Hope ever held was 55 POWs. The cells were filthy with no ventilation, rats were everywhere, and the food was terrible. Sections of the small camp were known as the Beer Hall, the Cat House, the Opium Den, and the Stag Bar. Prisoners were kept in group cells. Some torture was carried out by the guards, but the majority of the POWs were not tortured. Towards the end of 1969 treatment and conditions improved at Son Tay. The camp was closed in July 1970. Mountain Camp, also called K-49, was in the mountains about fifty miles north of Hanoi. Each cell contained a table, stool, toilet, and bed with a straw mattress. Despite the better facilities, isolation was the rule at Mountain Camp. This camp was occupied from the end of 1971 until January 1973, when the prisoners were transferred to Hanoi for Operation Homecoming. Plantation was opened in June 1967 and held prisoners until March 1973. Part of this camp was used as a showcase camp for visiting peace delegations. A few cells were maintained just for that purpose. Plantation was also known as the Citadel, the Country Club, Funny Farm, and Holiday Inn. Sections within the prison compound were called the Big House, Warehouse, Gunshed, Corncrib, and the Movie House. The three cells set aside for visiting delegations were called the Show Room. Conditions overall were much the same as at other prisons. Portholes, or Bao Cao, was near the coast of North Vietnam in the northern part of the panhandle, in the area of Vinh. Within the camp civilian POWs were held in cells called Duc’s Camp, enlisted prisoners in the cells called Minh’s Camp, and officers in a third section. The buildings were about thirty feet long with small individual cells. Each cell had wooden leg stocks and nothing more. Prisoners slept on thin mats on the wooden floor. Some of the cells were dug below ground. The camp name came from the round holes cut into the doors to allow ventilation. Many prisoners referred to this camp as Bao Cao, the phrase the guards insisted the prisoners use as a sign of respect. The camp opened in the summer of 1967 and was closed in late summer 1968. Rockpile was thirty miles south of Hanoi. It was also known as Camp B and Stonewall. Rockpile held prisoners from June 1971 to February 1973. It had large rooms and a dining room. Only about fifteen prisoners were kept here. Skidrow, also called Camp Hughey and K-77, was six miles southwest of Hanoi. It was named for the dirty and rundown condition of the buildings. Prisoners were held here from July 1968 through January 1972. POWs who would not cooperate at the Hanoi Hilton were sent to Skidrow. POWs captured in South Vietnam and Laos were also held here for a time. The cells were small, painted black, and without windows. The food was better than what the POWs captured in the South had experienced, yet POWs transferred from Hanoi considered the food to be inadequate compared to what they had been eating. The Zoo was on the outskirts of Hanoi in an old French film studio. Various buildings within the compound were called the Auditorium, Barn, Chicken Coop, the Garage, and the Stable. At times torture was common at the Zoo. Punishment cells were dark, had no air movement, and likely to be crawling with maggots. Prisoners were kept in these cells for as long as three weeks. During that time they were likely to be left with no mosquito net, ankles in stocks, and hands tied behind their backs. The POWs might be released once a day to clean their waste bucket, or they might be kept tied and in stocks for days at a time. Food was bad at the Zoo and the drinking water dirty. Guards constantly inspected cells and beat the prisoners. The Zoo Annex was within the walls of the Zoo compound but considered a separate camp. Cells held as many as nine POWs. Junior officers were held here. Treatment If there was a typical day for an American prisoner of war in North Vietnam it might have started with a gong at 5 or 5:30 am. At 6 Hanoi Hannah and the program the Voice of Vietnam were broadcast over the camp speakers. Sometime in the morning a prisoner would be allowed to take out their latrine bucket to empty and clean it. This was done on a schedule meant to keep POWs from seeing each other. The first meal was issued about 10 am, the second about 4:30 pm. There was no third meal. A gong sounded about 9 pm as a signal to go to bed. A bath might be allowed, unless the prisoner was being punished, there was a water shortage, it was too cold, or for any other reason the guards might have. A bath could mean washing with a rag and a bucket or standing under water flowing from a pipe in the wall. Bathing only once every couple of weeks was common. The Voice of Vietnam was broadcast again in the evening. Some POWs would exercise by doing pushups or pacing the 2 or 3 steps to the end of their cell and back again. They would calculate how many steps back and forth would equal a mile. Some of them walked a mile or more on many days. Normally, except to empty their waste bucket and to wash, prisoners were kept in their cells. In some cases prisoners were required to sit on their sleeping board or platform until the gong signaled go to bed. In some cells in some camps a small wattage light bulb remained on twenty-four hours a day. All of this describes what was a normal day for many POWs under normal circumstances. Normal was frequently interrupted. An example of an interruption to normal would be the two POWs in one cell who were punished for not cooperating with interrogators. For ten weeks they were issued no toilet paper, no soap, no toothpaste, allowed only one bath a week, and given one pint of water per day for the two of them. There were many such interruptions in the life of an American POW in North Vietnam. Senior ranking POWs were commonly kept isolated from other prisoners. They were usually housed in single cells and communicated only through various codes with other POWs. There were men in this group who spent four or five years in almost complete isolation. To combat the hours, days, and years of solitary confinement, men built imaginary houses, studied insects, recalled complex math formulas, or planned extravagant meals. After the November 1970 Son Tay raid the POWs were moved to the prisons in Hanoi. From that point on few POWs were isolated. Most were housed in group cells. In some cases they were allowed more freedom of movement at least within their compound. Torture Any discussion of the treatment of American POWs during the Vietnam War has to look at the issue of torture. On their return in 1973 some POWs estimated that ninety-five percent of them had been tortured at some time. Others felt that up through 1969 ninety-five percent of them had been tortured. Torture varied in degree and duration. Locking prisoners in ankle stocks or leg irons was very common. This might be continued for four or five days during which time the POW would never be released from the stocks. That meant urinating and defecating on their sleeping platform and themselves. It was common during this four or five day period not to be given any food or water, which helped keep down the mess (although weakness from starvation was the intended effect). If further punishment was to be given the POW would be fed bread and water once a day after the initial period of starvation. Release from the stocks might come periodically to use the waste bucket or to be interrogated. There were POWs who endured weeks and even months of this treatment. When kept in ankle stocks for longer periods of time they might be allowed out of the stocks for 10 minutes out of each 24 hour day to clean their waste bucket. One POW was given eighty-five days in leg irons as punishment. The next step would often be beatings by the guards. They would enter the cell individually or in groups and punch and kick the prisoner. Ribs, teeth, and noses were often broken in these beatings. Sometimes clubs, rifle butts, or rifle cleaning rods were used. Flogging was practiced by some guards. They used light bamboo rods or rubber whips cut from old tires. There are accounts of POWs receiving 300 blows from such a rubber whip in one session. Beatings were part of the common practice of sleep deprivation. If this took place in a torture room the prisoner would be forced to sit on a stool or cement block about eight inches high. This position was designed to be physically uncomfortably. They would be punched and screamed at every half hour or so to keep them awake or if they fell off the stool. They would not even be allowed to leave the stool for bowel movements. This would continue for four or five days until the prisoner agreed to the guard’s demands. If the sleep deprivation took place while the prisoner was in his cell he would be forced to stand and bow every time a guard entered the cell. Guards would come into the cell several times an hour. If the POW did not rise and bow he was punched and kicked. Sleep deprivation was used as punishment or in an attempt to get the prisoner to write propaganda statements. Complete isolation was another common treatment. The extreme form of this was to place a prisoner in a completely darkened cell. Ensuring the cell was dark also meant there was no air circulation. The prisoner’s clothing and/or his mosquito net might be removed. The cell was usually not cleaned after the last prisoner had been there. Rats, bugs, and spiders abounded in these cells. There would be nothing in the room except for a waste bucket. At times even this was removed. Food and water were limited. If there was a waste bucket the prisoner might be allowed to empty it once a day – or not. In some cases the prisoners hands would be tied behind his back and his ankles tied or put in cuffs. Again, this could, and did, go on for weeks. If the prisoner was not cooperating by this time torture cuffs would be applied to their wrists. These were steel cuffs or manacles. The cuffs were locked by a key wrench. As long as the key was turned the cuffs were ratcheted down smaller and smaller, causing instant and severe pain. They could be, and usually were, tightened right down to the bone. This would cause tearing and cutting of the wrists and quickly cut off the flow of blood to the hands. The hands would swell up and turn black. The torture cuffs would be applied and the prisoner locked into the ankle stocks on his sleeping platform. With his arms cuffed behind him and ankles in stocks, the prisoner could not lay back down to sleep. He would have to remain upright, legs straight out before him. If he went to sleep and fell back on his arms the pain from the cuffs woke him or the guards would come into the cell and beat him. The weight loss of the POWs meant little or no body fat, including their buttocks. Being forced into this position for long periods of time caused huge sores. To further complicate the matter, the prisoner would not be released to use his waste bucket. Some POWs remained in torture cuffs for more than a month. The cuffs might be removed twice a day to eat and use the waste bucket. The torture cuffs were frequently combined with the ropes treatment described below. Being put into the ropes was one of the worst of the torture techniques used by the Vietnamese. A prisoner would have his ankles tied together and wrists tied or cuffed behind his back. His arms would then be tied together so they were touching from the elbows to the wrists. The method used to tie the arms together also shut off circulation in the arms and hands.
AUGUST 2004
|