prisoner of war

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Photos Capture Plight of Ukrainian POWs

The AP counts more than 200 deaths amid allegations of brutal treatment

(Newser) - More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died while imprisoned since Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago. Abuse inside Russian prisons was likely a contributing factor in many of these deaths, according to officials from human rights groups, the UN, the Ukrainian government, and a Ukrainian medical examiner who has...

Russia, Ukraine Swap POWs in Biggest Release So Far

Deal brokered by UAE comes as Ukraine steps up strikes against Russian side of the border

(Newser) - Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the biggest single release of captives since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian authorities said that 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home in the first exchange in almost five months. Russia's Defense Ministry said that...

Here's How to Surrender to a Ukrainian Drone

It's easier than ever thanks to Ukraine's 'I want to live' program

(Newser) - There’s no place like Ukraine to experiment with drones. Throughout the war, drone tactics by both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries have evolved to include reconnaissance, artillery guidance, direct assault with drone-dropped munitions, and even drone-on-drone dogfights . As the New York Times reports, drones can also be used to...

Under Pennsylvania Soil, Remnants of a POW Camp

Researchers say they've found remnants of Camp Security in Yorktown, Pa.

(Newser) - Researchers say they've solved a decades-old riddle this week by finding remnants of a stockade, and therefore the site of a prison camp in York, Pa., that housed British soldiers for nearly two years during the American Revolutionary War. The location of Camp Security was thought to have been...

Tunnel Used in Biggest Nazi Prison Break of WWII Found

83 German prisoners of war escaped Welsh prison camp in 1945

(Newser) - In March 1945, 83 German prisoners of war escaped a prison camp in South Wales. It was the biggest escape of German prisoners during World War II, and now—thanks to a report published earlier this month in the Journal of Conflict Archaeology —we know how they did it....

One of the Most 'Disgustingly Brilliant' Escapes of All Time

WWII POWs spent months toiling away in excrement to escape from the Germans

(Newser) - A 25-year-old Texan named William Ash and a 21-year old from Quebec named Eddy Asselin climbed into a toilet and dropped into a sewage pit—and that's how the story of "one of history's most disgustingly brilliant escape schemes" begins on Narratively . Stephen Dando-Collins presents this excerpt...

Nazi POW Leaves Life Savings to Village Where He Was Held

Heinrich Steinmeyer wanted his money to help the elderly in Comrie

(Newser) - A former German soldier has left his life's savings to a small Scottish village where he was held as a prisoner of war during World War II, the AP reports. Heinrich Steinmeyer, a Waffen SS soldier, was 19 when he was brought to POW camp at Cultybraggan near the...

How 2 Nazi POWs Escaped Into the Wilds of Minnesota

They were among 13 who escaped in Minnesota during WWII

(Newser) - Nazi Cpl. Heinz Schymalla, 22, and fellow captive Walter Mai, 21, were among some 200 Germans cutting timber for Minnesota's pulp industry in a prisoner-of-war camp in 1944. Both captured in Tunisia in May 1943, they gained momentary notoriety when, moved to act in part by news that Schymalla'...

McCain: Trump Should Say Sorry to POWs, Not to Me

'To denigrate that service in any way is offensive to veterans,' senator says

(Newser) - Donald Trump has been vocal in his refusal to apologize to John McCain, whose war hero status Trump mocked Saturday. Trump doubled down on that to the Today show's Matt Lauer this morning, saying, "I'm not a fan of John McCain. He's done a horrible job...

Meet the Guy Whose Face Is on the POW Flag

Jeffrey Heisley wasn't actually a prisoner of war

(Newser) - Jeffrey Heisley was never a prisoner of war—but his silhouette has represented POWs for decades. Suffering from hepatitis, Heisley had to leave the Marine Corps' officer candidate program as a young man. In the course of the illness, he tells Fox News , "I had all my hair cut...

Bergdahl Was Kept in Shark Cage for Weeks

US officials also say he's in decent shape physically; mentally still unready

(Newser) - Bowe Bergdahl tried in vain to escape his Taliban captors, US officials tell the New York Times , and as punishment, he says "they kept him in a shark cage in total darkness for weeks, possibly months," says one official; that's a drastically different scenario than the Taliban...

White House: We Thought Bergdahl Would Be Killed

Says it bypassed Congress because of threats by Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration has told senators it didn't notify Congress about the pending swap of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban officials because the Taliban had threatened to kill him if the deal was made public before it happened. That's according to three congressional officials who spoke to...

Taliban: Here's Video of Bergdahl Handover

Afghanistan meeting lasted less than a minute

(Newser) - The moment Bowe Bergdahl saw freedom after five years of captivity is captured in a dramatic video released by the Taliban. In the 17-minute video, a clean-shaven Bergdahl can be seen waiting in a pickup truck while Taliban soldiers stand guard in eastern Afghanistan, Reuters reports. "We told them...

What Bergdahl Faces: a Long, Tough Road

As platoon members say 'deserter' should face trial

(Newser) - The only American POW held in Afghanistan is now free —but experts believe it could take Bowe Bergdahl a very long time to get over the physical and psychological damage of his years in captivity. It's not clear whether he was tortured by his captors, but he is...

US Sweetens Taliban Deal in Bid to Get POW Back

Sources say officials are willing to set 5 Gitmo prisoners free at once

(Newser) - Time is ticking away for the US to extract American POW Bowe Bergdahl before the bulk of US forces withrdraw from Afghanistan this year, and the Obama administration is now once again considering a prisoner swap. The administration is looking to re-open talks with the Taliban about trading the Army...

Torture Changes the Way You Feel Pain Forever
Torture Changes the Way
You Feel Pain Forever
Study Says
Nov 7, 2013 10:40 AM CST

Torture Changes the Way You Feel Pain Forever

Including psychological torture

(Newser) - Torture doesn't just hurt you once, it keeps on hurting you forever, a new study in the European Journal of Pain suggests. Researchers examined 104 Israeli soldiers who fought in the 1973 war between Syria and Egypt, 60 of whom had been taken captive and tortured, gauging their reaction...

US POW Manages to Get Letter to Parents

Handwritten letter 'definitely from Bowe': source

(Newser) - The father of the only American prisoner of war in Afghanistan has received an early Father's Day present from his son, who was captured while deployed in the country in 2009: a handwritten letter. Bob and Jani Bergdahl say they're confident the letter was indeed written by son...

POW's Parents Break Silence on Potential Taliban Swap

Bowe Bergdahl's father says US is bungling his son's case

(Newser) - The US has been considering a prisoner swap with the Taliban that would free the only American prisoner of war in Afghanistan, reports the New York Times . The negotiations have apparently stalled, however, and Bowe Bergdahl's father is so fed up with the lack of progress that he's...

Great Escape Forger Dead at 95
 Great Escape Forger Dead at 95 
Obituary
Apr 23, 2012 3:49 AM CDT

Great Escape Forger Dead at 95

Flight Lt. Alex Cassie key figure in mass breakout of German camp in WWII

(Newser) - Flight Lt. Alex Cassie, the British bomber pilot whose work as a forger of Nazi documents was immortalized in The Great Escape, has died, reports the New York Times . He was 95. Seventy-six prisoners of war escaped from the Stalag Luft III camp in eastern Germany on March 24 and...

Great Escape Tunnel Set for Excavation

'George,' a lesser-known tunnel, was dug after initial escape

(Newser) - It's called "George," the lesser-known tunnel of the Great Escape, and historians hope to uncover World War II equipment or personal effects when engineers excavate it. Prisoners of war dug “Tom,” “Dick,” and “Harry” for the famous 1944 escape attempt from the Nazi...

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