Prisoner of War Medal
Encyclopedia
The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award
of the United States armed forces
which was authorized by Congress
and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan
on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is .
The Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded to any person who was a prisoner of war
after April 5, 1917, (the date of the United States
entry into World War I
was the 6th). It is awarded to any person who was taken prisoner or held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing Armed Force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. As of an amendment to Title 10 of the United States Code
in 1989, the medal is also awarded for captivity by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict. The person's conduct, while in captivity, must have been honorable. This medal may be awarded posthumously to the surviving next of kin of the recipient.
The medal was designed by Jay C. Morris of the United States Army Institute of Heraldry.
of Arizona. It was first amended on May 21, 1985 by Senator William V. Roth, Jr.
to include the language that first established eligibility criteria for the POW Medal in Title 10, § 1128. According to Roth, "This amendment will formally recognize that character of military service which arises under the most hostile and difficult of circumstances -- that of being held prisoner by the enemy." The House version of this amendment was submitted on June 21, by Congressman Robert J. Lagomarsino
. According to Lagomarsino, "Official recognition of American prisoners of war is long overdue, Mr. Chairman. This medal will honor the more than 142,000 prisoners of war, and their families, who have sacrificed their liberty for the freedom of this country during World War I
, World War II
, and the Korean
and Vietnam
wars."
, who were detained in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1968, resulted in a 1988 DoD General Counsel opinion authored by Kathleen A. Buck. The general counsel argued that the Pueblo's "passive type of activity hardly qualifies ... as an 'action,' a term that denotes violence in the employment of weapons." Therefore, Buck concluded that the Pueblo crew was not involved in active armed conflict and fell outside of the statute, a position that was hotly contested by the crew and even by the congressmen who authored the legislation. Commander Lloyd Bucher, the former commanding officer of the Pueblo, responded to the review and petitioned directly to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Carlisle A. H. Trost. Bucher claimed that the DoD's position on the medal was "simply contrary to the facts," noting that the Pueblo crew received the Navy's Combat Action Ribbon "specifically for surface combat with North Korea on 23 January 1968." Bucher's petition eventually resulted in the Navy's supporting an amendment to the POW Medal statute to allow eligibility for servicemembers taken captive during situations other than armed conflict. Congressman Robert Lagomarsino, author of the original POW Medal legislation, also agreed with Bucher. He said in an affidavit that the Pueblo crew were denied the medal due to a "technicality," and claimed that "it was never my intent to preclude the crew members of the U.S.S. Pueblo from eligibility for this medal." Others, including the military hostages held during the US Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, Iran (from 1979-1981) likewise objected to their ineligibility. Responding to May 1989 congressional inquiry on behalf of the Iran hostages, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David J. Berteau noted that "many Service members have been held as hostages, detainees or internees who do not meet the criteria for award of the POW Medal." Berteau explained that the criteria for the medal applied only in "wartime situations," and argued that "once the criteria is divorced from wartime situations, it will be difficult to establish a basis for the award in the many other circumstances which could occur." In addition, Berteau argued that granting the medal to people captured outside of formal armed conflict, those who are not officially enemies of the United States. "If the criteria were changed to recognize all members held as prisoners, hostages, detainees and internees," he said, " the recognition originally intended for actual prisoners of war will be lost."
who was kidnapped in 1988 and executed by Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists, and the U.S. Marines from the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, Iran who were held hostage by terrorists from 1979-1981 in the Iran Hostage Crisis
.
, who was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft gunners while conducting an airstrike against Syrian positions in Hammana, east of Beirut, on December 4, 1983. He was captured by Syrian forces and imprisoned until January 5, 1984, when he was released. In a 1991 Navy Office of the Judge Advocate General (OTJAG) review of Goodman's case, a Navy attorney stated that individuals held outside of armed conflict “may be entitled to POW medals as a result of the [1989] amendment if the Secretary determines that the circumstances under which they were held captive were 'comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.'” In 1993 the Secretary of the Army awarded the POW Medal to CW3 Michael Durant
, an MH-60 special operations pilot who was shot down in Mogadishu and held captive by warlord Mohamed Aidid. In 1996 former USAF officers Freeman "Bruce" Olmstead and John McKone received the POW Medal from the Secretary of the Air Force for their captivity in Lubyanka prison in Moscow, Russia, between July 1960 and January 1961; the two were shot down by a Russian fighter plane while flying their RB-47 on a patrol over the Barents Sea. According to the USAF deputy chief of staff for personnel, "a precedent has been set with the award of POW Medals to the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo and to Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant for his capture in Somalia." In 2000 U2 pilot Gary Powers
posthumously received the POW Medal from the USAF for his captivity in Russia. The Deputy General Counsel for National Security and Military Affairs staffed the award for Powers, and explained that Powers qualified despite being held outside of active armed conflict. According to the General Counsel, "The phrase that the Secretary must find the circumstances of captivity to be comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict does not mean that the event must occur during an armed conflict such as World Wars I & II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, etc. It means that the circumstances must be comparable." In particular, the General Counsel highlighted the importance of connecting the captivity to some kind of military or national-security objective, which would separate a case like Powers' from that of a person who "carelessly wanders across the border of a country hostile to the U.S. and is seized by military border guards and imprisoned."
awarded the POW Medal to the thirteen USMC embassy guards held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Iran during the Iran Hostage Crisis
. According to the Navy's Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General for Administrative Law, the Marines held in Tehran were "entitled to award of the medal if the Secretary determines that circumstances under which they were held captive were 'comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.'" Similarly, in 2003 USAF Secretary James G. Roche
authorized the POW Medal to all "U.S. Air Force personnel taken hostage anytime during the period of 4 November 1979 to 22 January 1981, at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran." According to Roche, the USAF hostages qualified because "[they] were held by a foreign armed force hostile to the United States and were under circumstances comparable to prisoners held by enemy forces during periods of armed conflict," a clear reference to the 1989 amendment. For unknown reasons, the USAF did not award the medal to any Iran hostages until November 2011. In 2006 and 2009 the Secretary of the Army retroactively awarded the medal to two Army sergeants who were also held during the Iran Hostage Crisis. In 2003, the Secretary of the Navy awarded the POW Medal (posthumously) to USMC Col. William R. Higgins
, who was kidnapped in 1988 and executed by Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists. According to the head of the Marine Corps Awards Branch, "The law governing the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal was amended in 1989. The late Colonel Higgins is eligible for the POW Medal based upon this change to [the] legislation." In a supporting recommendation, the office of the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs stated that COL Higgins was "kidnapped in 1988 by Islamic terrorists," and therefore met the criteria of captivity "by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States." According to the Deputy Commandant's recommendation, "The posthumous awarding of the POW Medal to Colonel Higgins is consistent with law and precedent, and should be supported." Several other hostages of terrorists also received the POW Medal after abduction by terrorists or insurgents during operations in Iraq subsequent to the collapse of the Hussein regime in 2003. Several of these U.S. Army hostages of terrorists who received the POW Medal include Pvt. 1st Class Kristian Menchaca
, and Pvt. 1st Class Thomas Lowell Tucker
, who were abducted from a roadside checkpoint on June 16, 2006, and later executed by Al-Qaeda in Iraq
. Several other U.S. Army soldiers received the POW Medal after the 20 January 2007 Karbala provincial headquarters raid
including 1st Lt. Jacob Fritz, Spc. John Chism, and Pvt. 1st Class Shawn Falter. These soldiers were also killed during captivity.
Awards and decorations of the United States military
Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces...
of the United States armed forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
which was authorized by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is .
The Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded to any person who was a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
after April 5, 1917, (the date of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was the 6th). It is awarded to any person who was taken prisoner or held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing Armed Force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. As of an amendment to Title 10 of the United States Code
Title 10 of the United States Code
Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code.It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense...
in 1989, the medal is also awarded for captivity by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict. The person's conduct, while in captivity, must have been honorable. This medal may be awarded posthumously to the surviving next of kin of the recipient.
The medal was designed by Jay C. Morris of the United States Army Institute of Heraldry.
Inspiration for the Medal
The idea of creating a military award to recognize prisoners of war was first put forth in 1944. However, the military services opposed the idea, claiming that other medals could be awarded in such cases. Congressman F. Edward Herbert (D-LA) submitted a bill to create a POW lapel button in 1971, but the bill was defeated. The Defense Department told Herbert that the pin "could have an adverse impact on the morale and pride of those families whose members are or were missing in action," and also claimed that it was inappropriate to seem to reward soldiers for having suffered with "such an undesirable status" as prisoners of war. The first bill to create a POW Medal was submitted by Senator John G. Tower (R-TX) in the same year, but was also defeated due to opposition by the military services. Congressman G. William Whitehurst (R-VA) proposed the medal again in 1975, and was informed by the Department of Defense that "the present hierarchy of military awards is adequate for recognizing valorous and meritorious acts" performed by former POWs. The Iran hostage crisis in 1979 changed the attitudes of many Americans toward POWs, and helped convince Congress to authorize a POW Medal. Senator Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) asked the Department of Defense to create a "Prisoner of War Recognition Medal" in 1983, and the Department of the Army informed him that awards were only intended as "an incentive to achieve some higher goal or perform some desired service" and maintained that surrendering did not merit any such thing. Only in 1985 did Congress pass legislation creating the POW Medal, notably over the Pentagon's objections.Original Legislation
The statute that established the POW Medal was Public Law 99-145, Title V, Sec. 532(a)(1), Nov. 8, 1985. The public law in question, which began as S.1160, was the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1986, sponsored by Senator Barry GoldwaterBarry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
of Arizona. It was first amended on May 21, 1985 by Senator William V. Roth, Jr.
William V. Roth, Jr.
William Victor "Bill" Roth, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Representative and U.S...
to include the language that first established eligibility criteria for the POW Medal in Title 10, § 1128. According to Roth, "This amendment will formally recognize that character of military service which arises under the most hostile and difficult of circumstances -- that of being held prisoner by the enemy." The House version of this amendment was submitted on June 21, by Congressman Robert J. Lagomarsino
Robert J. Lagomarsino
Robert John "Bob" Lagomarsino is a former Republican congressman from California. Lagomarsino began his service in the United States House of Representatives in 1974 and was re-elected every two years until 1992, when he was defeated for renomination by Michael Huffington...
. According to Lagomarsino, "Official recognition of American prisoners of war is long overdue, Mr. Chairman. This medal will honor the more than 142,000 prisoners of war, and their families, who have sacrificed their liberty for the freedom of this country during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the Korean
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
wars."
Scope of Legislation
The original wording contained in Public Law 99-145 only authorized the POW Medal for service members held captive “while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.” Accordingly, DoD policy articulated in 1988 concluded that only military captives taken prisoner by enemy states during active armed conflict were eligible for the award. Specifically, DoD policy stated that "hostages of terrorists and persons detained by governments with which the US is not actively engaged in armed conflict are not eligible for the medal.”Challenges to Legislation
A congressional inquiry on behalf of the former crew of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2)USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
, who were detained in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1968, resulted in a 1988 DoD General Counsel opinion authored by Kathleen A. Buck. The general counsel argued that the Pueblo's "passive type of activity hardly qualifies ... as an 'action,' a term that denotes violence in the employment of weapons." Therefore, Buck concluded that the Pueblo crew was not involved in active armed conflict and fell outside of the statute, a position that was hotly contested by the crew and even by the congressmen who authored the legislation. Commander Lloyd Bucher, the former commanding officer of the Pueblo, responded to the review and petitioned directly to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Carlisle A. H. Trost. Bucher claimed that the DoD's position on the medal was "simply contrary to the facts," noting that the Pueblo crew received the Navy's Combat Action Ribbon "specifically for surface combat with North Korea on 23 January 1968." Bucher's petition eventually resulted in the Navy's supporting an amendment to the POW Medal statute to allow eligibility for servicemembers taken captive during situations other than armed conflict. Congressman Robert Lagomarsino, author of the original POW Medal legislation, also agreed with Bucher. He said in an affidavit that the Pueblo crew were denied the medal due to a "technicality," and claimed that "it was never my intent to preclude the crew members of the U.S.S. Pueblo from eligibility for this medal." Others, including the military hostages held during the US Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, Iran (from 1979-1981) likewise objected to their ineligibility. Responding to May 1989 congressional inquiry on behalf of the Iran hostages, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David J. Berteau noted that "many Service members have been held as hostages, detainees or internees who do not meet the criteria for award of the POW Medal." Berteau explained that the criteria for the medal applied only in "wartime situations," and argued that "once the criteria is divorced from wartime situations, it will be difficult to establish a basis for the award in the many other circumstances which could occur." In addition, Berteau argued that granting the medal to people captured outside of formal armed conflict, those who are not officially enemies of the United States. "If the criteria were changed to recognize all members held as prisoners, hostages, detainees and internees," he said, " the recognition originally intended for actual prisoners of war will be lost."
1989 Amendment for Captives Held Outside of Armed Conflict by Non-Enemies
was later modified by , Nov. 29, 1989, which originated from H.R.2461, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1990 and 1991. Sponsored by Representative Les Aspin, the bill added the fourth paragraph to Title 10 § 1128 and authorized the POW Medal for those captured “by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.” This amendment was the result of congressional recognition of multiple groups of individuals who were not originally authorized to receive the medal after Department of Defense review, such as the USS Pueblo crew detained in North Korea in 1968, the US Navy and US Army Air Force crews interned in neutral Russia during World War II, the US Army Air Force crews interned in neutral Switzerland during World War II, US Marine Corps Col. William R. HigginsWilliam R. Higgins
William Richard "Rich" Higgins was a United States Marine Corps colonel who was captured in 1988 while serving on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was held hostage, tortured and eventually murdered by his captors.-Biography:William Higgins was born in Danville, Kentucky on...
who was kidnapped in 1988 and executed by Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists, and the U.S. Marines from the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, Iran who were held hostage by terrorists from 1979-1981 in the Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
.
Intent of 1989 Amendment
As expressed by the House Committee on Armed Services in report 101-121, the original intent of the POW Medal statute was to allow the award in incidents such as the USS Pueblo capture, but that due to the wording of the statute the detainees simply did not “meet the literal requirements of the law.” Admiral J.M. Boorda, the (then) Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, made a policy statement to the House Committee on Armed Services on behalf of OSD and OMB: “Within the Department of Defense, the general counsel has determined that the Pueblo crew does not, under the current statute, qualify for the POW medal…Additionally, persons detained by governments with which the United States is not engaged actively in armed conflict are not eligible for the POW medal. As a result, if an award is to be made, and I believe it should be, it is necessary to amend the existing statute that is currently being processed through the Department.” Rep. Jim Slattery, who drafted the House version of the 1989 amendment to 10 USC § 1128, explained to the House Committee on Armed Services that the amendment was intended to remedy “a quirk in the law” that required active armed conflict against an enemy state. As a result, detainees of non-enemies such as the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo were not eligible for consideration for the award, since “the United States was not in open conflict with North Korea at the time the U.S.S. Pueblo was attacked.” According to Sen. Alan Cranston, who drafted the Senate version of the 1989 amendment to 10 USC § 1128, “The Department of Defense has interpreted that provision [Public Law 99-145], which is codified at section 1128 of title 10, as not permitting the award of [the POW Medal] to individuals who were taken and held as prisoner in situations other than the classical prisoner-of-war situation during armed conflict. As a result, the medal has not been awarded to such former captives as the crewmembers of the U.S.S. Pueblo and the military personnel who were held captive in Iran during the seizure of the United States Embassy in Teheran.” Cranston stated explicitly that the amendment was intended to “include [as] eligible for the medal those individuals who were held captive in neutral or allied countries in situations similar to those of prisoner-of-war conditions during armed conflict.”Scope of Final Amendment
The Senate members of the conference committee for the FY1990 National Defense Authorization Act eventually drafted an amendment that “would clarify the intent of Congress that persons serving with the U.S. armed forces who are taken prisoner and held captive by certain hostile, foreign armed forces should receive the prisoner of war medal. This clarification is intended to cover the individuals taken prisoner as a result of the U.S.S. Pueblo seizure, as well as any similar occurrence that the Service Secretary concerned deems comparable to the circumstances under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during a war or conflict.” This amendment to the POW Medal statute now appears at 10 USC § 1128 (a)(4). This exception clause is the only authority to award the POW Medal to persons held by terrorists in current conflicts, since terrorists are not conventional enemy armed forces that would automatically qualify a captive for the award under the original statute adopted by the 99th Congress in 1985. Detainees and internees of neutral countries are also authorized the award provided that the service secretary determines that circumstances of their captivity were "comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict." What exactly qualifies as comparable circumstances of captivity and treatment was never defined in Title 10, although the 38 USC § 101 (32) Veterans Affairs POW Status statute that served as the source of the 'comparability clause' for the 1989 amendment to Title 10 contains similar language requiring "circumstances which the Secretary finds to have been comparable to the circumstances under which persons have generally been forcibly detained or interned by enemy governments during periods of war." According to VA guidelines contained in 38 C.F.R. § 3.1 (y): "To be considered a former prisoner of war, a serviceperson must have been forcibly detained or interned under circumstances comparable to those under which persons generally have been forcibly detained or interned by enemy governments during periods of war. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, physical hardships or abuse, psychological hardships or abuse, malnutrition, and unsanitary conditions." Although these criteria do not formally apply to the military's Title 10 POW statute, the legal rule of pari materia allows the reference of the Title 38 guidelines for clarification purposes since both statutes were crafted to be complimentary. Therefore, the military has used VA determinations of POW status for veterans affairs purposes- including VA comparability criteria- in order to establish eligibility for the POW Medal.Detainees
This category applies to servicemembers detained by a foreign government in the absence of a formal armed conflict. After the passage of Public Law 101-189, Secretary of the Navy K. Lawrence Garrett III authorized the POW Medal to the crew of the USS Pueblo on December 22, 1989, and the medal was awarded to the crew on May 5, 1990. Later in 1991 Secretary Garrett also awarded the POW Medal to a Naval Aviator, Lt. Robert O. "Bobby" Goodman Jr.Bobby Goodman
Robert O. Goodman is a former A-6 Intruder Bombardier Navigator and class of 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He was shot down over Lebanon on December 4, 1983. Captured upon ejection from his stricken plane, he was held captive for 30 days...
, who was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft gunners while conducting an airstrike against Syrian positions in Hammana, east of Beirut, on December 4, 1983. He was captured by Syrian forces and imprisoned until January 5, 1984, when he was released. In a 1991 Navy Office of the Judge Advocate General (OTJAG) review of Goodman's case, a Navy attorney stated that individuals held outside of armed conflict “may be entitled to POW medals as a result of the [1989] amendment if the Secretary determines that the circumstances under which they were held captive were 'comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.'” In 1993 the Secretary of the Army awarded the POW Medal to CW3 Michael Durant
Michael Durant
Michael J. "Mike" Durant is an American pilot and author who was held prisoner for eleven days in 1993 after a raid in Mogadishu, Somalia. He was a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as a Chief Warrant Officer 3...
, an MH-60 special operations pilot who was shot down in Mogadishu and held captive by warlord Mohamed Aidid. In 1996 former USAF officers Freeman "Bruce" Olmstead and John McKone received the POW Medal from the Secretary of the Air Force for their captivity in Lubyanka prison in Moscow, Russia, between July 1960 and January 1961; the two were shot down by a Russian fighter plane while flying their RB-47 on a patrol over the Barents Sea. According to the USAF deputy chief of staff for personnel, "a precedent has been set with the award of POW Medals to the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo and to Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant for his capture in Somalia." In 2000 U2 pilot Gary Powers
Gary Powers
Francis Gary Powers was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission over Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.- Early life :...
posthumously received the POW Medal from the USAF for his captivity in Russia. The Deputy General Counsel for National Security and Military Affairs staffed the award for Powers, and explained that Powers qualified despite being held outside of active armed conflict. According to the General Counsel, "The phrase that the Secretary must find the circumstances of captivity to be comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict does not mean that the event must occur during an armed conflict such as World Wars I & II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, etc. It means that the circumstances must be comparable." In particular, the General Counsel highlighted the importance of connecting the captivity to some kind of military or national-security objective, which would separate a case like Powers' from that of a person who "carelessly wanders across the border of a country hostile to the U.S. and is seized by military border guards and imprisoned."
Internees
This category applies to any belligerent servicemembers interned by non-belligerent (or neutral) countries during a period of international armed conflict. From 1991-1993 the Air Force and the Navy Secretaries awarded the POW Medal to all U.S. aircrew members interned in neutral Russia during World War II. While staffing one of the Navy awards, the Assistant Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Rear Admiral Raymond M. Walsh, explained that an internee of the Soviet Union was previously denied the POW Medal under the older version of 10 USC § 1128 “because he was not a prisoner of an enemy of the United States.” However, he could now be considered for the medal because “The 1989 change to the law permits the Secretary of the Navy to determine if the circumstances under which [an internee] was held captive were ‘comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.’” While staffing the Air Force award, the Air Force Directorate of Personnel Services (AFPC/DPS) concluded that “In 1989, Title 10, Section 1128, regarding Prisoner of War Medals changed and allowed Service secretaries to determine eligibility for the POW Medal for personnel held captive in countries not directly involved in armed conflict with the United States, provided the treatment of the prisoners was similar to the treatment received by prisoners held by enemy forces.” AFPC/DPS determined that the internees in Siberia met the statutory criteria because “the conditions of this detainment were comparable, if not worse, than those experienced in Germany, and therefore, should be eligible for the POW Medal.” In 1996 and 2006 the USAF awarded POW Medals to USAAF T/Sgt Daniel Culler and Lt. Richard Pettit for illegal incarceration during World War II in prison camp Wauwilermoos, in neutral Switzerland.Hostages of Terrorists
This category applies to servicemembers held captive or hostage by non-state actors regardless of the existence of an active armed conflict. The first hostage award under the amended statute was possibly the case of Donald R. Blair, who received POW Medal from the Secretary of the Navy around 1991. According to the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Mr. Blair was "a member of the US Navy [who] was interned from 3 December 1946 to 15 January 1947 by Chinese guerilla forces." This case was then used as a precedent for several other hostage scenarios outside of formal armed conflict. In 2001 Secretary of the Navy Richard DanzigRichard Danzig
Richard Jeffrey Danzig is an American lawyer who served as the 71st Secretary of the Navy under President Bill Clinton...
awarded the POW Medal to the thirteen USMC embassy guards held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Iran during the Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
. According to the Navy's Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General for Administrative Law, the Marines held in Tehran were "entitled to award of the medal if the Secretary determines that circumstances under which they were held captive were 'comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.'" Similarly, in 2003 USAF Secretary James G. Roche
James G. Roche
Dr. James G. Roche was the 20th Secretary of the Air Force, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2005. Prior to serving as secretary, Roche served in the United States Navy for 23 years, and as an executive with Northrop Grumman....
authorized the POW Medal to all "U.S. Air Force personnel taken hostage anytime during the period of 4 November 1979 to 22 January 1981, at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran." According to Roche, the USAF hostages qualified because "[they] were held by a foreign armed force hostile to the United States and were under circumstances comparable to prisoners held by enemy forces during periods of armed conflict," a clear reference to the 1989 amendment. For unknown reasons, the USAF did not award the medal to any Iran hostages until November 2011. In 2006 and 2009 the Secretary of the Army retroactively awarded the medal to two Army sergeants who were also held during the Iran Hostage Crisis. In 2003, the Secretary of the Navy awarded the POW Medal (posthumously) to USMC Col. William R. Higgins
William R. Higgins
William Richard "Rich" Higgins was a United States Marine Corps colonel who was captured in 1988 while serving on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was held hostage, tortured and eventually murdered by his captors.-Biography:William Higgins was born in Danville, Kentucky on...
, who was kidnapped in 1988 and executed by Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists. According to the head of the Marine Corps Awards Branch, "The law governing the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal was amended in 1989. The late Colonel Higgins is eligible for the POW Medal based upon this change to [the] legislation." In a supporting recommendation, the office of the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs stated that COL Higgins was "kidnapped in 1988 by Islamic terrorists," and therefore met the criteria of captivity "by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States." According to the Deputy Commandant's recommendation, "The posthumous awarding of the POW Medal to Colonel Higgins is consistent with law and precedent, and should be supported." Several other hostages of terrorists also received the POW Medal after abduction by terrorists or insurgents during operations in Iraq subsequent to the collapse of the Hussein regime in 2003. Several of these U.S. Army hostages of terrorists who received the POW Medal include Pvt. 1st Class Kristian Menchaca
Kristian Menchaca
Kristian Menchaca , Brownsville, Texas, was a United States Army Private First Class who was tortured, killed, and mutilated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was married to Christina Menchaca of Big Spring in September 2005, before he was deployed to Iraq.-Military life:Menchaca was one of two U.S...
, and Pvt. 1st Class Thomas Lowell Tucker
Thomas Lowell Tucker
Thomas Lowell Tucker from Madras, Oregon, was a Private First Class of the U.S. Army tortured, killed, and mutilated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was one of two U.S. soldiers seized by the Mujahideen Shura Council during an attack that left a third soldier Spc. David J...
, who were abducted from a roadside checkpoint on June 16, 2006, and later executed by Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a popular name for the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda. It is recognized as a part of the greater Iraqi insurgency....
. Several other U.S. Army soldiers received the POW Medal after the 20 January 2007 Karbala provincial headquarters raid
Karbala provincial headquarters raid
The raid of the Karbala provincial headquarters was an infiltration attack carried out on 20 January 2007 by insurgent commandos, with possible Iranian involvement, on a meeting of U.S. and Iraqi officials at the governor's compound in Karbala to discuss security for the Shia ceremony of Ashoura...
including 1st Lt. Jacob Fritz, Spc. John Chism, and Pvt. 1st Class Shawn Falter. These soldiers were also killed during captivity.
