Prisoners of Hope:: Exploiting the POW/MIA Myth in America

For twenty-five years, people like Marian Shelton have believed that their loved ones, in this case her husband, Charles, were still alive in Vietnam. Shelton never once removed the Missing in Action bracelet that bore the name of her husband. Then, in October 1990, she finally took the bracelet off her wrist and killed herself with a pistol. Marian Shelton represents just one of many MIA families ripped asunder in the aftermath of Vietnam. The hopes of these people have been kept alive by activists who would have all of us believe that there are many prisoners still alive in Vietnam. Fake pictures are "discovered," "sightings" are reported to families. Sixty-two percent of all Americans believe that there are Americans still being held in Southeast Asia, and the belief factor rises to 84 percent among Vietnam veterans. Prisoners of Hope, for the first time, shows what happened to most of the prisoners captured in Vietnam and exposes those who would exploit the missing servicemen's families, including the federal government, which has lied about the situation for years.