In ancient times prisoners of war were usually treated without mercy. With Greeks, for example, it was common practice to kill the whole adult male population of a conquered state. The ancient Britons also killed their prisoners in a screwed up way. The Ottoman Turks executed 30,000 Christian prisoners during the War of Candia. In Western Europe, however, as chivalry spread in late medieval times and the practice of sparing and ransoming prisoners was started. Over one hundred thousand people died during the Civil War. Not in battle, but in the prison camps. Looking for shreds of clothing and crumbs of food was an everyday experience. Eating spoiled meat and contaminated water was common place. America now knew that prisoner treatment would now need to be standardized. Although America knew in the beginning of the war that prisoner treatment would need to be standardized, it wasn?t until 1906 that the problem was finally addressed. It wasn?t for forty-one years until a board finally looked upon the issues. This agreement was designed to provide for minimal human rights in time of war such as the protection of military medical personnel and for the humane treatment of the wounded.
It was later supplemented by a Prisoner of War Convention. Although frequently ignored in military operations, this documents remains an important legal document, which for the first time ever, sets out standards of human decency during war. The term prisoner of war or POW is thrown around and misused quite often, but the actual definition is incarcerated members of the armed forces of an enemy, or noncombatants who render them direct service and who have been captured during wartime. POW?s do not include medical officials, the press, a member of the Red Cross or civilians. Members of these groups are granted ?untouchable.? If a member of one of these groups are captured it is a punishable offence pending trial. A prisoner of war may not be treated as a criminal but may be employed in nonmilitary paid work. The prisoner has a right to adequate food, clothing, and quarters and to the transmission of letters and parcels. A member of the armed forces is bound to supply name, rank, and serial number but cannot legally be compelled to give further information to the enemy. The provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1906 and 1929 were largely disregarded by totalitarian regimes, particularly those of Germany and Japan during World War II.
The Term Paper on Queen Mary War Frank Time
United States Contemporary Oral History Project Gregg Hansen 7 th Hour 12-10-01. Were you drafted? 2. What was your reaction when you knew you were drafted? 3. What was your family's reaction? 4. Did any of your friends from high school get drafted? 5. Where did you go after you were drafted? 6. What kind of training did you have at Fort McClellan? 7. Where did you go after Fort McClellan? 8. Did ...
But we?ll get to W.W.II later. All prisoners that survive can apply for a POW medal. If The prisoner did not survive then their family can apply for them. The medal has an American bald eagle on it. The eagle is surrounded by barbed wire and bayonets. The War of 1812 didn?t have too many problems. It was a fairly short war and therefore the prisoners didn?t have too much to worry about. In World War I America lost 325,018 and not that many of the deaths were attributed to prison camps or treatment. W.W.I did have problems with the treatment of its prisoners but it wasn?t too bad. World War II on the other hand was a massacre. Death was simply the way things were. Stalag Luft I was where 8,939 Allied Airmen (7,588 American and 1,351 Royal Air Force) were incarcerated. The weather was the worst Europe had seen in over fifty years and things were terrible. People got so frost bitten that their feet turned black. They were starved for so long that abnormalities in their stomachs would affect them for the rest of their lives. Scars from German rifle butts would always be with them. But worst of all was the memories. I personally don?t know what it is like to go through something like this.
But the written document describes the experience. Your best friends dying from a hypothermia. Your dad dying right in your lap due to pneumonia. These experiences will always be with you. All you can do in this situation is hope to die, or hope for liberation to be quick as hell. Raymond W. Darling wrote about his account of the rescue of Stalag Luft I. He wrote how he was ready to go home. The war was over and he was done. His crew was told they had one mission left, to rescue the men from Stalag Luft I. The Russians had already liberated the prison but weren?t cooperating and didn?t release the prisoners. The briefing officer of their crew said ?If the Russian’s don’t like what we’re doing,” the briefing officer went on, “Then it’s just – Tough Shit.” Darling wrote his account of the state of the prisoners; skinny, glazed eyes, acted as if they were in a trance. They seemed as if they didn?t know what was happening to them. As in most prisoners they had lost their will for life. 1,230 men made it out of Stalag Luft I. That means approximately 7,709 died in Stalag Luft I. This was one of the many problems in W.W.II. Thousands upon thousands died due to POW treatment. This was the first time the Geneva Convention had to respond to serious war crimes, and they did. In1945 to 46 The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial took place. A special panel of eight judges convened in a German town to try Nazi officers for crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during World War II. The judges came from the USA, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Twenty-four Nazis were tried and twelve received death penalties (although one defendant, Hermann G?ring, committed suicide hours before his execution).
The Essay on Vietnam War Chris Barnes Vietnamese
Saad Bhut taU. S. History II Profess: Clark 12 May 2005 Platoon Platoon is a story of a soldier's perspective of the Vietnam War. The movie is for the most part told out of the eyes of members of one platoon of the 25 th Infantry Division. It is a movie dedicated to all of the people who fought in the Vietnam War. In the movie, Chris Taylor is a young man from a wealthy family, but while in ...
This trial was important as it showed that even in times of war, basic moral standards apply in spite of military law principles which oblige a subordinate officer to obey orders. “The true test,” wrote the Tribunal, “is not the existence of the (superior) order but whether moral choice (in executing it) was in fact possible”. The crimes included torture, deportation, persecution and mass extermination. That showed that our world would not put up with inhumane treatment anymore. We were ready. As a result of World War II, particularly of the conduct of Germany and Japan, four conventions were adopted in 1949 to strengthen earlier treaties and protect civilians. At the beginning of the Korean War the Communists promised to honor the principles of the 1949 convention. In spite of this, the Communist forces were responsible for numerous violations; prisoners received crappy food, clothing, and shelter and poor medical treatment, often resulting in death. During truce negotiations during the war an unusual problem arose about the return of prisoners. The United Nations said that the principle of “voluntary repatriation,” said that prisoners of war shouldn?t be returned if they don?t want to.
The Term Paper on Lyndon Johnson North Vietnam
The thirty-sixth president of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson became president Nov. 22, 1963 shortly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was before long elected in 1964 for a full term. Deciding not to run for a second term, he was replaced as president by Richard M. Nixon in 1969. Lyndon was born on a farm near Stonewall, Tex. , Aug. 27, 1908. The first of five ...
The Geneva Convention does not actually authorize voluntary return, the United Nations Command said that the basic idea of the convention would be violated if the prisoners were forcibly returned to their country. The new principle was finally started in the armistice agreement on July 26, 1953, following a yearlong deadlock; the agreement granted the countrymen the right to speak with prisoners opposed to being returned. The Korean War was more specific than other wars throughout history for the out going and effective use of, psychological warfare or “brainwashing” of prisoners, by North Korea. Korea started their own new way of torture as a way of getting around the Geneva Convention. The convention states that torture is unethical and is illegal in war. That is why Korea started their way. This type of torture is now more commonly known as psychological warfare. In Vietnam things were worse. Our men treated prisoners as animals and so did the North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese. It has often been said that two wrongs don?t make a right, and that is proven in our conflict with Vietnam. Bad treatment of prisoners was brought to the surface by the Red Cross throughout the war.
In September 1969 the North Vietnamese Red Cross declared that U.S. pilots, guilty of “crimes against humanity,” would not be given the protections afforded by the Geneva Convention. South Vietnamese mistreatment of prisoners of war was alleged in 1970 in reports that tiger cages were used to confine North Vietnamese prisoners. In the Vietnamese conflict, a major problem in negotiations between the United States and North Vietnam was the release of hundreds of American prisoners of war and the return of both North and South Vietnamese prisoners. By 1971 the prospects of U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam depended largely on a solution of the prisoner-of-war problem, which had been said to be a bargaining point by North Vietnam. The first contingent of 143 American military and civilian prisoners of war arrived in the Philippines after the cease-fire. During the following weeks, 444 prisoners were released. Two decades later, more than 2000 U.S. soldiers remained unaccounted for and are listed as missing in action. When general rules of war aren?t followed both sides lose. That is what happen in Vietnam. Present day Prisoner of War treatment is obviously a lot better than it had been. The past is something to learn from and that is what we do everyday. Our goal as mankind is to get by. Without rules and regulations we wouldn?t be able to do this. The Geneva is the world?s rules and regulations to war. Our planet would simply be flushing down the crapper if we didn?t have the convention and that is why we feel that the Geneva Convention is the Frontier of Prisoner Treatment.
The Term Paper on Vietnam Vietnamese South North
Vietnam is one of the most famous wars that America has taken place in. It is also considered by some to be the most controversial. Many say that America did not belong in the fight and that it was a waste of money, man-power, and time. Others say that it was important to show that the U. S. will not stand by and let a country or territory be taken in the wrong way. Vietnam lasted from 1959 to ...
