Some Experiences Reported by the Crew of the USS Pueblo and American Prisoners of War from Vietnam
Abstract
The 82 crew members of the USS Pueblo were evaluated psychiatrically 48 to 72 hours after their release from 11 months of imprisonment in North Korea. Slightly more than half of the crew admitted to experiencing significant anxiety or depression during captivity. A group of men defined as coping with the stress well was compared to a group who tolerated it poorly. Those who did well tended to use a wide variety of ego-defense mechanisms. Particularly faith, reality testing, denial, rationalization, and humor. Men in the group defined as handling the stress poorly were more limited in the number of ego-defense mechanisms utilized. The American prisoners of war imprisoned in Vietnam were for the most part career officers, trained as pilots. The duration of incarceration was variable, lasting from over eight years to several months. A composite profile will be presented including the stresses encountered with capture, imprisonment and repatriation. The methods of coping with these variable stresses will be discussed. A personal impression will be offered regarding the most important factors of the captured Americans' success. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA077057
Entities
People
- Raymond C. Spaulting
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center