DID ANY PRISONER GET LEFT BEHIND AFTER THE WAR? hundred and ninety one American prisoners of war (POWs) were returned during Operation Homecoming in 1973. The U.S. listed about 1,350 Americans as prisoners of war or missing in action and roughly 1,200 Americans reported killed in action and body not recovered. The claim was ALL POWs had been returned and MIAs that could be accounted for by the North Vietnamese were.
In 1979 Robert Garwood, a young Marine captured by the Viet Cong in 1965, smuggled a note out of North Vietnam begging to come home. How's that???? ALL the POWs were released in 1973...right...???? Well, apparently NOT. The incident ALONE belies the "truth" of the statement that ALL POWs were returned. More troubling, throughout the late 70s and into the early 80s numerous reports of what appeared to be American (or at least European and African) prisoners filtered out of Vietnam and Laos. These included a report by Garwood that, while still held captive after the release of ALL the POWs, he had seen other American POWs still being held too.
At the time of Operation Homecoming in 1973 the military was surprised at how few prisoners Hanoi released. A number of POWs that were KNOWN to have been captured (and were seen and reported by returned POWs) were not only NOT returned, but they were not listed as prisoners who died in captivity. So...where were (are) they...????
The short answer to your question is NO, not all the POWs were returned in 1973. It is unlikely that Garwood, returned in 1979 was the last either. And the Communists also hold American bodies or know their were-about of their burials which they are NOT being forthcoming about.
You are right...the administrations of Nixon, Ford and Carter almost certainly engaged in an active cover-up. It is likely that both Reagan and Bush Sr's administrations were less then honest about the Missing in Action from Southeast Asia too.
An interesting question now might be, are there STILL any living American POWs left in SEA after all this time? My belief is that they were likely all executed after Garwoods escape so as not to cause anyone any more embarrassment.
The OFFICIAL line today is that there are no POWs left in Southeast Asia. People who believe there are must be conspiracy nuts. Trouble is, those same "officials" were caught lying about Garwood. I'm not a big believer in conspiracy theories, but this one has a ring of truth to it.
CAGES
in Vietnam war if an american solider was captured he would have to be a salve or he would be killed.If he accepts being a slave he would be put in tiny bamboo cages and if they try to escape they would be put in a barbed wired cage for torture and or punishment.