Prisoner of War (POW)

In an armed conflict, a participant who is captured and held by an enemy. The United States uses the term [Page 597]prisoner of war (POW) to refer only to its own soldiers, or soldiers of its allies, who are captured by an enemy. Prisoners of war taken by the United States are referred to as enemy prisoners of war (EPW).

United States Marines assigned to the Third Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion lead rescued U.S. prisoners of war (POWs) off a Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules cargo aircraft in April 2003. The flight transported the POWs from an airfield near Baghdad to Kuwait following U.S. military actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war that deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Every major conflict in history has had prisoners of war, many of whom were not fortunate enough to be rescued.

U.S. Navy.

Soldiers are the individuals most likely to become prisoners of war, although the third Geneva Convention does define other categories entitled to POW status. These include members of other militias and other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements who are commanded by someone responsible for their subordinates. In order to be eligible for protection under the Geneva Conventions, such individuals must be represented by a sign, symbol, or insignia; carry arms openly; and conduct their operations according to the laws of war.

Other individuals who receive POW status include members of armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or authority, even if that authority is not recognized by the power that captures them. Those who take up arms spontaneously to resist invading forces and who obey the laws of war, even if they have not organized themselves into regular army units, also receive POW status. Unarmed noncombatants captured during a conflict are covered by the fourth Geneva Convention.

The POW issue has taken on different dimensions in different conflicts. Treatment of POWs became more significant in the aftermath of World War II, when the Nazi death camps were opened up in central Europe. The brutal treatment by the Nazis toward enemy combatants and their slaughter of more than 6 million Jews and members of other groups formed the critical part of the prosecution's case at the Nuremberg war trials. Horrific medical experiments carried out on human subjects, gassing, forced labor, and complete disregard for sanitation set a new standard of inhumanity.

The fact that Nazi atrocities had occurred despite Red Cross inspections raised questions about the ability to assure the humane treatment of prisoners. The Nazis, however, were selective in what they showed to the inspectors. In addition, the Red Cross has pointed out in its own defense that its primary goal was maintaining access to the camps. They argued that far more people might have suffered if the camps had been closed completely.

A significant number of veterans from the Korean War and the Vietnam War believe that the U.S. government has not done everything it should to account for those taken prisoner and those whose status is missing in action (MIA). This issue is particularly central to the Vietnam conflict, where certain groups have even gone so far as to accuse the government of covering up evidence of remaining prisoners. The POW/MIA issue has had a recurrent impact on popular culture, where movies, books, and other media feed an appetite for conspiracy theories and rescue scenarios. One school of critical thought suggests that these narratives are manifestations of the fact that the [Page 598]United States was forced to retreat from Vietnam. These critics say the stories serve the purpose of portraying an alternative type of victory, or re-fighting the war with a revised outcome.

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