Vietnam War

[Bazile]

Were american prisoners from the vietnam war still held for years after the end of the conflict ?

[Peter Pedant]

I think we probably do know,

the POWs were returned altho a handful stayed on, and I think one was returned 19 y later - and investigated for collaboration. He had to explain what he had been doing for the previous decades

which was kinda different to Dien Bien Phu the catastrophic defeat of the French by the Viet Minh - where very few of those who surrendered came back

The difficulty is that there are the usual anglo conspiracy sites and I think there are 100 000 Vietnam sites run by GIs ( sorry vets ) of varying sanity. Falklands war sites - a handful. Aden another handful

The English just dont get off on Whitehall conspiracy. There was a prog on conspiracy and whether MI5 let off bombs on 7/7 and they couldnt even fill a small bus ....

[Peter Pedant]

shows that of 39,888 prisoners held by the Vietminh, 29,954
this is the 1954 death rate for the French. 75% mortality

http://archives.chez.com/international.htm

you need O level French

The frenchies had around 50-100 stay behinds ( "ralliers")

[Peter Pedant]

exhausting site here
http://www.nationalalliance.org/vietnam/namdx.htm

[Jackdaw33]

The one thing I will say in favour of Harold Wilson is that he did not cosy up to Lyndon Johnson, as Blair did to Bush, and embroil us in a foreign war.

[Peter Pedant]

You are absolutely correct jay-dee
SO should you find yourself in Hanoi
the first thing you say is: I am English and no English troops were ever sent to Vietnam ....