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~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association Vietnam History Project ~ |
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U.S. Troop Education on the handling of POWs |
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Long before U.S. troop units were engaged in combat in Vietnam, the Army had included in its training programs material designed to inculcate in the troops a knowledge of their rights and obligations under the Geneva Conventions of 1949. |
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Army Regulation 350-216, dated 19 December 1965 placed upon the Commanding General, Continental Army Command, the responsibility of incorporating within appropriate training programs periods of instruction designed to insure that all members of the Army were familiar with the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The soldier's first introduction to the Geneva Conventions was during basic training, where he received two hours of formal instruction, followed by a test, the results of which were noted on his record. During advanced individual training, instruction in the Geneva Conventions was integrated with other subjects and principles were applied during field exercises. |
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In Vietnam, Geneva Conventions training was intensified and became more formalized as troop strength increased. As early as August 1965, the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), directed that the educational program for all U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam include the issuance of a three-by-five-inch card containing the basic requirements of the Geneva Conventions pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war. |
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By October 1965 cards had been prepared in English for U.S. personnel and in Vietnamese for Vietnamese armed forces personnel. U.S. units were instructed in the basic rules of handling prisoners and MACV judge advocate personnel briefed Vietnamese military legal personnel on the application of the conventions. Troops arriving in Vietnam received Geneva Conventions orientation during their initial in-processing period, where they also received a copy of the card, The Enemy in Your Hands. |
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The Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, continuously and emphatically stressed the importance of all troops acting in accordance with the laws of war. In August 1966 the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, personally wrote separate letters to all of his major commanders on this same theme, stating in part, "Active command interest in this program, in coordination with Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces authorities, which assures that prisoners of war and combat captives are properly processed and handled in accordance with International Law is vital." |
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This theme was repeated over and over again. A MACV command information bulletin, titled Application of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions in Vietnam, dated October 1966, instructed the U.S. troops that the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions applied to Vietnam even though there was no formal declaration of war by the United States. Moreover, the United States was applying not only the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, which were designed to protect the individual who could no longer protect himself. Prisoner of war treatment was to be extended to all Viet Cong and to all members of regular North Vietnamese units, whether captured in combat or not, as long as they were not criminals, spies, saboteurs, or terrorists. Criminals, spies, saboteurs, and terrorists were to be given humane treatment and turned over to the Vietnamese government for trial. |
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The material on this page was edited by the History Project from, VIETNAM STUDIES ~ LAW AT WAR: VIETNAM 1964-1973 by, Major General George S. Prugh Department of The Army, Washington, D.C., 1975 |
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