Bean Camp to Briar Patch-Life in the POW Camps of Korea and Vietnam

Submitted by Bob Doerr on November 16, 2013 - 13:29

Book Information:
(Links go to the MWSA Amazon store.)

Cover:

MWSA Review

John Powers has done an excellent job in collating and documenting a fascinating but little known portion of our military history. In his book Bean Camp to Briar Patch, he has provided the reader a perfect sized analysis of the prisoner of war camps run by North Korea and later by the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong during the respective wars against their brothers to the south. While Powers' focus is on those camps where Americans were held, he did make note if any of our allies were also held prisoner at the same camps. Unlike other books, this book doesn't look at the exploits and experiences of one or two people. Rather, it's a study of the camps themselves, and what life was like in them. This is definitely a must read for scholars of military history.

Reviewed by:Bob Doerr (2014)

Author's Summary

Bean Camp to Briar Patch details the life of American POWs during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Conditions in the camps are explained along with how the POWs coped with those conditions. Maps are included and for some camps names of the men (and women) held there are listed. Detailed histories of each of the main camps from both wars are given. Almost half of the POWs died from cold and starvation the first winter in Korea. The dead were stripped of clothing so the living could stay warm. Men were so weak they died while digging in the frozen ground to bury their buddies. In Vietnam the POWs endured extreme isolation. Some went years without seeing another American face to face. They were tortured to the point death was near, then were revived to be tortured again. They had to compete with the rats for their food. Americans know nothing about our POWs in Korea. Some recognize the name of the Hanoi Hilton from Vietnam, but know almost nothing about what happened to the men held there. This book will change that. The book was named Grand Prize winner in the 2013 Great Midwest Book Festival, a Silver Medal winner in the 2013 Stars and Flags Book Festival, and a Finalist in the 2013 USA Best Book Awards.

Also available from croninbooks.org

Author(s) Mentioned:

Powers, John N.

Reviewer:

Doerr, Bob

Work Type:

Book Reviews

Tags:

Air Force