The Battle Behind Bars: Navy and Marine POWs in the Vietnam War - Paperback

by Stuart I. Rochester (Author), Department Of the Navy (Author)

The unconventional nature of the war and the unforgiving environment of Southeast Asia inflicted special hardships on the Vietnam-era POWs, whether they spent captivity in the jungles of the South, or the jails of the North. This book describes their experiences - the similarities and the differences - and how the POWs coped with untreated wounds and other malaises, systematic torture, and boredom. The creative strategies they devised to stay fit, track time, resist the enemy, communicate with one another, and adhere to a chain of command attest to the high standards of conduct in captivity that so distinguish the POWs of the Vietnam War.

Author Biography

The late Stuart I. Rochester was the Chief Historian in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He received his MA and PhD in history from the University of Virginia and taught at Loyola College in Baltimore before coming to the Pentagon in 1980. His narrative history, Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973, coauthored with Frederick Kiley, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in history. He wrote numerous other books, articles, and papers, including American Liberal Disillusionment in the Wake of World War I and Takeoff at Mid-Century: Federal Civil Aviation Policy in the Eisenhower Years.