Injuries and Illnesses of Vietnam War POWs. III. Marine Corps POWs

The Prisoner of War

“…Repatriated U.S. Marine POWs from Vietnam (N=26) had an average of 12 medical diagnoses at the time of their return, representing 155 separate diagnostic entities. 120 The 77 U.S. Army repatriated Vietnam-era POWs accumulated 1,149 diagnoses and 386 separate diagnostic entities. 121 The most frequent medical diagnoses made in follow-up medical evaluations of repatriated U.S. Air Force POWs from Vietnam were orthopedic, cardiac, and neurologic.…”

“…123 Nutritional deficiency and physical trauma during captivity increase the risk for postrepatriation medical and psychiatric sequelae. 6,14,15,60,120,124,125 Eitenger maintained that the development of what appeared to be a neurotic outcome, the KZ Syndrome, is actually the result of the extreme organic stressors in the concentration camps. 61 Because POWs can have lifelong medical morbidity, frequent attention to physical and medical status is important.…”

Trauma Rehabilitation After War and Conflict

“…Literature documenting the detrimental effects of war captivity on health covers malnutrition (Cohen & Cooper, 1954, hearing loss (Reid & Strong, 1988, hemorrhoid (Reid & Strong, 1988), peripheral neuropathy (Beebe, 1975), broken limbs (Reid & Strong, 1988), and head injury (Beebe, 1975). Some effects appear during captivity (Berg & Richlin, 1977a, 1977b, whereas others may appear after a long latency periods (e.g., Cohen & Cooper, 1954;Reid & Strong, 1988) following repatriation. In addition, premature aging, shown by the early appearance of such illnesses generally associated with old age (e.g., rheumatism, cardiac and vascular disease, and deterioration of mental functioning), has also been noted among former prisoners of war (Beebe, 1975;Nefzger, 1970;Spaulding, 1977).…”