# Why did the Vietnam US POW rumors stay alive so long? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 24, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888 "2012-02-24T22:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/101 "2012-02-28T20:27:36Z")
That’s too bad. Perhaps with your patient counsel, they will see the error of that view. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/102 "2012-02-28T21:10:35Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > Why, only recently another Yale grad had to backpedal madly from the slander and libel (since he published a book) that he had repeated about Vietnam Veterans. Amazing how those words and actions of his helped propel him to the Congress, yet would later be dredged up to keep him from higher office. Are you talking about John Kerry? ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/103 "2012-02-28T21:16:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > That’s too bad. Perhaps with your patient counsel, they will see the error of that view. I will tell them it was all in their head, that all of the people saying nasty things to them is a false memory and not real. No doubt that will help immensely. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/104 "2012-02-28T21:24:00Z")
Well, I wouldn’t know, all of my people were Volvo driving Unitarians. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/105 "2012-03-01T15:36:27Z")
Returning to the OP for a moment, I have memories from many years ago of reading that a common practice in the military may have contributed to the persistence of MIA rumors. Unfortunately I don’t remember _where_ I read it, so I am reduced to repeating hearsay, but it sounds plausible. Allegedly, being listed as MIA instead of KIA carried advantages in terms of government benefits. Memory is hazy, but perhaps spousal benefits and/or salary were paid to spouses of MIA servicemen that were cut off when death was confirmed? Anyway, what I recall reading is that many times sympathetic officers would list a man as MIA even if they’d seen him blown sky-high, in order for his family to receive the more favorable benefits for as long as possible. If that’s true, could a “culture” of doing that have sprung up in the military in Vietnam, for humane, even noble reasons? And thus created a false impression that there were lots more people missing-in-action than would otherwise have been the case, and discouraged timely resolution of the cases? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/106 "2012-03-01T18:54:31Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > If that’s true, could a “culture” of doing that have sprung up in the military in Vietnam, for humane, even noble reasons? And thus created a false impression that there were lots more people missing-in-action than would otherwise have been the case, and discouraged timely resolution of the cases? While it’s possible casualties were misreported, it still doesn’t really say anything about the discrepancy between the MIA legends around Vietnam and the lack of such legends (for the most part) about other wars because, again, MIA reports are exceedingly common. There are still more American servicemen listed as MIA from World War II \*than the total number of dead iand missing n Vietnam. \* The total MIAs from Vietnam are actually a smaller percentage of overall casualties than from World War II. And yet WWII didn’t spawn an entire mythology around MIAs with movies and books and its own flag. I think, to be honest, that this boils down to the fact that the USA was on the winners’ podium in WWII and wasn’t in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/107 "2012-03-01T19:39:51Z")
I believe I’ve said it before, but an argument against widespread spitting is the number of spitters very publicly dead. Think about it: There’s a guy who was in country two days ago and is PTSDed to the hilt. Would you reasonably believe you could spit on him without him killing you? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/108 "2012-03-03T01:45:54Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I believe I’ve said it before, but an argument against widespread spitting is the number of spitters very publicly dead. Think about it: There’s a guy who was in country two days ago and is PTSDed to the hilt. Would you reasonably believe you could spit on him without him killing you? I don’t think you’re an expert in the nature of PTSD. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/109 "2012-03-03T02:41:21Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I believe I’ve said it before, but an argument against widespread spitting is the number of spitters very publicly dead. Think about it: There’s a guy who was in country two days ago and is PTSDed to the hilt. Would you reasonably believe you could spit on him without him killing you? Or at least sending them [to the moon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOo6aHSY8hU). Police reports of the altercations would go a long way to establish the credibility of spitting (or police reports of spitting, for that matter: isn’t it assault?) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/110 "2012-03-03T06:40:29Z")
Whoever makes those MIA/Prisoner flags must be a millionaire=every fire and police station seems to have them. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888/111 "2012-03-05T20:26:36Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > While it’s possible casualties were misreported, it still doesn’t really say anything about the discrepancy between the MIA legends around Vietnam and the lack of such legends (for the most part) about other wars because, again, MIA reports are exceedingly common. There are still more American servicemen listed as MIA from World War II \*than the total number of dead iand missing n Vietnam. \* The total MIAs from Vietnam are actually a smaller percentage of overall casualties than from World War II. > > And yet WWII didn’t spawn an entire mythology around MIAs with movies and books and its own flag. I think, to be honest, that this boils down to the fact that the USA was on the winners’ podium in WWII and wasn’t in Vietnam. Yeah, the gist of the argument as I understood it might be restated as “during the 1960/1970s, the changing military culture resulted in an over-reporting of MIAs and a concomitant inability or unwillingness to later re-list them as KIAs, resulting in an awkward situation where military leaders more or less couldn’t downplay the MIA problem without admitting what they’d been doing, and without their guidance, true believers were able to inflate the perceived problem significantly.” Whereas WWII vets were grimly realistic about the inability to meticulously account for every casualty in a vast worldwide conflagration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-vietnam-us-pow-rumors-stay-alive-so-long/613888.md?page=5)