How was vietnam's camp life in the war?

Answer 1

POW camps in South Vietnam for NVA/VC were distributed through-out the country, and were operated by South Vietnamese officials, with US Military policemen assigned to each installation. All camps were operated under the rules of the Geneva Convention's articles of war. Enemy POW camps operating in North Vietnam, consisted primarily of US AIRMEN. Airmen (mostly pilots) were considered "war criminals" by the North Vietnamese government, as their cities had been bombed. Consequently, harsh treatment was administered to US POW's in North Vietnam; captured US Infantrymen, Tank Crewmen, Artillerymen, were often treated just as harshly as US Airmen, however, those captured men usually had to be marched/trucked to North Vietnam, and could be seen as fellow "draftees forced to fight an unpopular war." Translation: A captured US grunt "might" get more sympathy from the enemy, than an airman.

Answer 2

For US Army ground troops in Vietnam, there were two basic types of "camp" life. 1. Sleeping in the field encamped with dismounted infantrymen, either in fox (type) holes or on the surface of the ground; sleeping within a circlement of tanks or ACAV's (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles-M113's); sleeping within a gun battery (6 field guns). These positions were often referred to as Ambush Sites, or NDP's (Night Defense Positions), or Ron Sites. 2. Firebases were the preferred camping methods. An out house (latrine), engineer purified drinking and shower water (potable and non-potable), maybe a tiny canteen (snack bar), plenty of sand-bagged bunkers for protection, and a good perimeter equipped with lots of barbed wire and claymore mines, with pre-plotted mortars and machineguns for any NVA that chose to attack the outpost. The BAD thing about firebases, was a man had to get his sleep cycle used to the cannon firing. Those guns went off continuously, at all odd hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At one firebase, there was a single 175mm self propelled gun, and everytime a group of GI's was having a social conversation, one man had to be positioned so he could see the 175mm's tube raise into air, indicating it was going to fire...the designated man would warn the others, so every man could stop conversing and plug his ears. If the 175's gun crew (after firing) walked away from the gun, we knew they were done shooting (for a awhile anyway); and now everyone could relax and pass the night away with some fun conversation (socializing).

Answer 3

Both sides had POW camps. Neither was fun. Read John McCain's or James Stockdale's book about living for several years in a North Vietnamese POW camp.