Operation homecoming: psychological observations of repatriated Vietnam prisoners of war

While in military service as a psychiatrist stationed at Scott Air Force Base, I had the opportunity to do the psychiatric evaluations on a number of the prisoners of war returning from North Vietnam. Scott Air Force Base is an area medical center (North Central United States), and was responsible for administering the medical and psychiatric examinations on all the men whose homes were in this area. Our hospital processed 29 returning POWS, of whom I saw 14. This group of POWS was probably unique in military history in that it was comprised almost entirely of officers. Their period of confinement was considerably longer than that of the prisoners of World War II and the Korean War, with the typical Vietnam POW being in captivity about six or seven years. This paper is an attempt to share my observations and thoughts on the experience of being a Vietnam Prisoner of War.