Prisoners
of war suffer in ways most veterans don't, enduring humiliating forced
marches, torture or other trauma that may haunt them long afterward. In
partial recompense, the government extends them special benefits, from
free parking and tax breaks to priority in medical treatment.
Trouble is, some of the much-admired recipients of these benefits apparently don't deserve them.
There are only 21 surviving POWs from the first Gulf War in 1991, the
Department of Defense says. Yet the Department of Veterans Affairs is
paying disability benefits to 286 service members it says were taken
prisoner during that conflict, according to data released by VA to The Associated Press.
A similar discrepancy arises with Vietnam POWs. Only 661 officially
recognized prisoners returned from that war alive -- and about 100 of
those have since died, according to Defense figures. But 966 purported
Vietnam POWs are getting disability payments, the VA told AP.
More people claiming POW benefits than recorded as real POWs, VA figures obtained by AP show
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