When American troops were sent to train South Vietnamese soldiers in their fight against the North Vietnamese, the United States was drawn into the battle. More than 800 U.S. military and civilian men and women became prisoners of war and endured severe torture and abominable living conditions.
Traumatic Defeat: POWs, MIAs, and National Mythmaking
War breeds myths, especially those made up by the vanquished to explain or soften their loss. Occasionally the myths of the defeated center on prisoners of war (POWs) and those missing in action (MIAs) to justify the lost struggle, mute national guilt, and sometimes even reject the reality of defeat
