Published August 1970 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Public Outcry Could Aid American POW's Recent disclosures concerning the alleged mistreatment of enemy prisoners held by South Vietnam in its Con Son Island prison caused a great outpouring of public indignation. As a result of this vocal expression of world censure, remedial action was taken by the proper authorities. Yet, there are others who are being held as prisoners-of- war-the 1500 American military personnel and civilians presently missing or captured in Southeast Asia. While these men languish in unknown Asian prisons, wives, children, parents, relatives, and friends here at home grieve for their missing loved ones, not knowing whether they are starving or ill, dead or alive. Americans held as prisoners should be protected under the Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners-of-War, to which North Vietnam is a party. But Hanoi callously refuses to abide by this Convention, which provides for humane POW camps, and for adequate food, clothing, and medical care. Nor do the North Vietnamese acknowledge the rights of communication and repatriation also provided for in this agreement. Thus, the families of prisoners- of-war are made to endure a continuing agony of writing letters and sending parcels to loved ones, only to see those letters and parcels disappear into a void. Wives of POW's have traveled to Paris in search of information, only to be renounced by the North Vietnamese who continue to maintain their unwillingness to release even the most meager information regarding the identity and treatment of American prisoners. As the United States continues a policy of Vietnamization and troop withdrawal, it must not abdicate its responsibilities to these courageous prisoners-of-war and their families. Every voice that can be raised in this country-including that of the most vocal critics of the Vietnam war-should be heard, and the condemnation should be so loud that Hanoi, which closely monitors American public opinion, can make no mistake about the united concern of our people. In addition, the United States, knowing that the North Vietnamese are also sensitive to world opinion, should intensify its efforts to marshal world protest against Hanoi's inhumane treatment of American prisoners. Our fellow countrymen should not become the forgotten men of war. AUG 19 1970