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Honorable Mention: In 1916 the German Kaiser permitted British POW of two years Robert Campbell to leave camp to visit his dying mother on the condition that he give his word as a gentleman to return after having done so. He kept his promise and thereafter remained prisoner until the war’s end in 1918.

World War II … During the Second World War the Japanese captured 17,000 Americans in the first five months of battle. Collectively they were the longest serving POWs of the conflict, in some cases being held more than 44 months.

Honorable Mentions: Alfie Fripp, Britain’s longest held POW spent from 1939 until 1945 as a German prisoner; and “Dusty” Miller, a British POW whom the Japanese literally crucified for his Christian ministry to fellow captives.

Korean War … Current POW status is unknown. The US government was aware of American POWs numbering as many as 900 in North Korea as early as one year after the war’s end. As late as 1997 it was reported there might have been at least 15 American POWs remaining in North Korea.

Vietnam War … Current POW status is unknown. Floyd James “Jim” Thompson was the longest held American POW who later recovered. His incarceration lasted ten days short of nine years. Those tortures and deprivations are beyond what can be described here.

Honorable Mentions: Dozens of other POWs were held for nearly as long.

First Gulf War … There are currently no known POWs in captivity from this conflict, although several individuals were briefly held. Scott Speicher was the final unrecovered POW who went missing on January 17, 1991 and whose remains were identified in 2009.
   
Afghanistan War … Bowe Bergdahl has been a POW since 2009 and is believed to be still held by Taliban-aligned Haqqani forces in Afghanistan.

Second Gulf War … There are currently no known POWs in captivity from this conflict. It should be noted that several soldiers were taken captive during the 2003-2007 period and executed.

Obviously these are only some of the many and only a sampling of those soldiers whose identities are known. There have undoubtedly been thousands more who cannot be individually recognized.

Wherever they are held or now lie, we regard them highly. At least among some of us, you are not forgotten.