ive always wondered if there was any truth to the claim that there are live pows in southeast asia, and according to this site i found its common knowledge!!
it says that the bush senior administration was given good evidence to suggest its true, IF its true why wouldnt the u.s government want to help them?

The Evidence Is Clear:
There are LIVE American POWs in SE Asia!!

April 3, 1973: Pathet Lao (Laotian Communist) forces declare they are holding more than 100 American POWs and are prepared to give a full accounting of them The U.S. government responds 9 days later declaring they are all dead -- without ever talking to the Laotians about the POWs they admit holding!

1970-1976: After the French pay an unspecified sum of money to the Vietnamese, the communists release POWs captured in 1954! The North Vietnamese had claimed all of them had died.

June 25, 1981: Defense Intelligence Agency Director Eugene Tighe testifies before the House Subcommittee on Asian/Pacific Affairs that live American POWs remain in Southeast Asia.

December 7, 1984: The Washington Times reports that Bobby Garwood, released by Vietnam 1979, saw up to 70 live captive Americans long after the war ended.

June 28, 1985: The Washington Times reports DIA Director Lieutenant General Eugene Tighe testified Hanoi is still holding at least 50-60 live American POWs.

October 15, 1985: The Wall Street Journal reports that National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane says live American POWs remain in Southeast Asia.

August 19, 1986: The Wall Street Journal reports the White House knew in 1981 Vietnam wanted to sell an unspecified number of live POWs for $4 billion. The White House decided the offer was genuine -- and ignored it!

September 30, 1986: The New York Times reports a Pentagon panel estimates up to 100 live American POWs are held in Vietnam alone.

October 7, 1986: CIA Director William Casey says: "Look, the nation knows they (the POWs) are there, everybody knows they are there, but there's no grounds well of support for getting them out. Certainly, you are not suggesting we pay for them, surely not saying we could do anything like that with no public support."

January 1988: A cable from the Joint Casualty Resolution Center states that during General Vessey's visit to Hanoi, "The Vietnamese people were prepared to turn over 7 or 8 live American POWs if Vessey told then what they wanted to hear. All the prospective returnees were allegedly held in a location on the Lao side of the border."

June 10 1989: The Washington Post reports a Japanese monk released after 13 years in a Vietnamese prison had American POW cellmates who nursed him to health.

September 1990: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Interim Report on POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia concluded that despite public assurances in 1973 that no POWs remained in the region, the Defense Department " . . . in April 1974 concluded beyond a doubt that several hundred American POWs remained in captivity in Southeast Asia."

October 1990: Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach admits Vietnam still holds American POWs but is willing to release "as many as 10 live American POWs." His offer, like others before it, is ignored by Secretary of State James Baker III.

February 1991: Colonel Millard Peck, Chief of the Pentagon's Special Office for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action, resigns in protest of being ordered by policy makers in the POW/MIA Inter-Agency Group not to investigate live-sighting reports of American POWs!

April 25, 1991: Senator Bob Smith addresses the Senate and reveals that, of more than 1,400 eyewitness sightings of live POWs, NONE has ever received an on-site investigation!

May 23, 1991: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Examination of U.S. Policy Toward POW/MIAs concludes that the U.S. has ignored thousands of American POWs, and left them to rot in Soviet slave labor camps and North Korean and Vietnamese prisons. "Any evidence that suggested an MIA might be alive was uniformly and arbitrarily rejected."

Summer 1991: A flood of new evidence of live POWs pours from Southeast Asia: pictures, handwriting samples, hair samples, blood samples, fingerprints, foot-prints, maps and other physical proof. The Bush administration disregards the evidence and attempts to discredit it by rumor and innuendo. Some of the photos are scientifically validated -- and have never been scientifically disproven!

To Date: We are still waiting for these abandoned men and women to come home................

All these facts are a matter of public record and clearly indicate that we have some serious problems in the POW/MIA arena that our elected officials refuse to acknowledge.

This information was compiled by Task Force Omega of Kentucky, Inc.

I'm not disputing any of this. I'm sure there were POW's still there after the war. I only have a couple of questions about the entire issue (I've had these questions about this subject long before the thread-so I'm not attacking it in anyway).

1. If this evidence is there, it's just not just one party doing the denial. Both have been for years. It's not like the Dems have been locked in a closet with socks stuffed in their mouths for the past few years. They've had plenty of opportunity to finger point about this. So, either they don't take it seriously (just like the Republicans don't), they are just as apathetic about the whole thing (as the Republicans), or they are covering it up as well (in league with the Republicans). If the Republicans are blatently ignoring obvious clues, why haven't the Dems said something? (and vice-versa) This would be something that would devestate the entire Republican party-making Watergate seem tame by comparison. The Dems not saying anything (if it's all true), makes them just as guilty of monumental neglect as well.

2. Considering the huge public opinion fallout worldwide from this if it were to be found out that they do have prisoners of war long after hostilities has ceased (Vietnam would have mud on it's face for decades), why haven't the Vietnames just simply executed all of these guys? Keeping very illegal and potentially very embarrassing POW's around to make sure they are miserable instead of dead is taking quite a risk diplomatically, and risking billions of dollars in future trade. People mean enough to do this would have no moral dilemma executing those men. Why haven't they?

pinky your probably right , if my kid was lost out there or my loved one i suppose id cling to any little hope that may present itself too.
thats human nature but what if its true im saying regardless of whos in power republicant or demopratts. you may not like this opinion but i think that they (the vietnamese) are spiteful enough to do it.
there are some places over there so remote that a man could spend his whole life without seeing another person its a huge area and very heavily vegetated, so maybe ?
and would it hurt to approach the powers of vietnam? as you say it would be hugely embarrassing for them if it were true.
im not so sure its a sad mothers hopeful dream.

I'm sure it is entirely possible. No doubt there.

But to risk so much over this...they must really hate those guys. Or they're really stupid.

Or they are there by their own accord (doubtful).

A fifty million dollar reward for irrefutable info from a news organization would get some action I bet.

I'm probibly going to ruffle some feathers with this post. First I do not think that there are any living P.O.W.s in Viet Nam. It would be too dangerous to let the P.O.W.s live. Few nations just forget about their war prisoners. Rome kept sending legions over their eastern Empire border for 37 years before winning the release of all Roman soldiers captured in a military defeat. And the Viet Nam government would have to worry about a "rescue war" to get back Americans.

However I do think there are Americans in Viet Nam. However these are Americans that the US government does not want to have much to do with. I remember reading a book by an American Military Police officer in Saigon. They mounted one offencive sweep thru the city that rounded up some 1500 US Army deserters. American soldiers who had left their units and had melted into the shany towns. But even with the sweep, the M.P.s thought that they had missed getting about 1,000 deserters who had evaided the M.P.s.

As South Viet Nam fell, the US authorities allowed anyone to flee the country, it they had papers or not. And it is believed that several hundred deserters returned to the States and melted back into the population. However there were some Americans hiding in Viet Nam who could not return home. These included those who "fraged" or killed their officers and sargents, then fled to civilian areas to avoid punishment. And would be tried for murder if cought. Then there were several American soldiers (like the famed Salt and Pepper - one black and one white) who deserted and then actively fought with the North Viet Nam army against their former comrades. (Salt and Pepper where know for yelling for help and drawing Americans into N.V.N ambushes. One of them was killed, but the other disapeared into the North) And would not want to return and face a firing squad for treason.

For those repuded to be held in prison by Viet Nam, you have to look at some of the troops that served in Viet Nam. Then it was not common for judges to defer sentances if the young offender joined the army. And the Selective Service drafted anyone whos number came up. Including young petty criminals. So if any of these people first deserted then stayed, they would have no real skill to provide their new host country. Some would have returned to a life a crime. And in my opinion, the Vietnamese law system would have thrown away the keys after their arrest. And left to rot in Vietnamese prisons. Which I think could explaine some Americans being still held in jail.

So I doubt if any American P.O.Ws are still being held against their will in Viet Nam. But are still Americans who live in V.N. and can not return because of what they did during the war.

I lost 2 of my cousins to that "war" and personally I think this thread should be closed as the thread has nothing to do with this forum.

This is just so absurd it's funny. I agree with SwampGator, close this conspiracy bull down.

gator its a conspiracy isnt it? at worst its in the wrong place granted but why would you wanna close it?
you didnt think that birminghams post was really interesting and logical? and i didnt wanna open your wounds but arnt you interested?
as for you ashkatnah, you should stick to the age old policy of swedes and "never seek confrontation" stay neutral be like the svensk tiger!!!
and merry christmas

I was actually confronting the ides of POWs...how does your statement fit in here is beyond me.
Yes, marry christmas.

When I was writing my above post, I forgot about a book I read about 15 years ago. Unfortunatly I just read the book at the library and did not check it out for a more in depth examination.

Basicly in the book it related how two Americans went to Viet Nam and was given the chance to examine the action reports by the V.N. Army concerning American P.O.W.s. What it showed was that a large number of American airmen in the North, and American soldiers in the South were killed after capture by the North Vietnamese Army, the Viet Cong and Northern civilians.

In the North, you had a great hatred of the Americans who were bombing them. And in a number of cases, these bailed out aircrew were killed by cililians on landing, unless rescued by the Militia. And sometimes were killed by the Militia themselfs. Unfortunatly there has been a history of captured aircrew killed by civilians. A number of Allied airmen were killed by German civilians who were living thru the bombing campaign against Germany in WW-II. I'm sure German aircrew did not fair well if captured by Russian civilians. Even in the UK, there were some isolated cases of Germans lynched by British civilians after the RAF shot down their planes over England. Unfortunatly, few civilians know of the Geneva Convention on the care of P.O.W.s - all they want is revenge against those who were bombing them.

In the South, the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army just did not have provissions for care, feeding and retention of American P.O.W.s. A number of P.O.W.s were "shot while trying to escape" or the notation was made that the unit was reassigned 2 weeks walk away. And that the P.O.W.s were killed as not to slow the unit down in its move. I believe that no more than 3 prisoners survived capture in the South and were released after the war.

As far as the Prisoner of War issue, it is still alive. Maybe the only part of that war that is still active. In the American city I live in parts of the year, there are three flagpoles in front of city hall. The US flag, the Washington State flag and the black and white P.O.W. flag. Also the P.O.W. flag flys over the US Capital Building 24 hours. So the American people still think of those missing. Though I am affraid that the outcome for these missing is not what people would hope for.

I wonder if any government would want to admit that it left soldiers behind and made no efforts to get them back? Wouldn't that send a message to the soldiers that says "Hey, if you get captured, we know nothing about you". Wouldn't that kind of demoralize the current members of the military?