A reflection

"[John McCain] also offered an acidic commentary on how the Vietnamese portrayed life inside the prison. Alongside the pictures of Mr. McCain and his fellow prisoners, a plaque declared: "Though having committed untold crimes on our people, the American pilots suffered no revenge once they were captured and detained. Instead, they were treated with adequate food, clothing and shelter."
Shaking his head, Mr. McCain muttered, 'That's entertainment.'"

So having come out of the Hanoi Hilton with some questions about POW life there, I found some really interesting articles online reporting on the US side of the story. Where Poland and Germany have founded great museums reflecting the truth about the horrors that their own countries inflicted upon innocents, the same does not appear true for Vietnam. This once again reminded me that I am living in a communist country where speaking negatively about the government or the country results in the death penalty (something I discussed at length with one of my higher level classes in HaiPhong). My boyfriend reminded me of the photos the Nazis took of the camps for the Red Cross and it appears as though similar things happened during the American war here. Nonetheless, it does appear as though certain soldiers were given medical treatment that ultimately saved their lives (McCain himself benefited from this) and that torture dwindled over the years.


If you're interested in reading some American accounts (I really prefer to avoid Wikipedia when I'm looking for most information, although most of the info you find online is about McCain), check out these articles:
http://blogs.thestate.com/bradwarthensblog/2008/01/what-it-ws-real.html
http://www.mishalov.com/Vietnam_hanoi_hilton.html
http://www.spike.com/blog/survival-stories-1/86067

And so, as Don said, it is always important to remember from whom your information is coming.
All that being said, it is still wonderful to be able to come to this country today with no fear of being treated any differently than other foreigners when 40 years ago, it would have been a death sentence.