Why POW/MIA Numbers Dropped
Why POW/MIA Numbers Dropped by Scott Sigmund Gartner, USA Today
The release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl highlights a fundamental difference between the war in Afghanistan and previous American conflicts. The U.S. has achieved a historic first: There are now no U.S. military personnel held captive in Afghanistan. Bergdahl was the last POW.
The figures are striking. The Defense Department's Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office lists the number of troops unaccounted for from past conflicts: World War II has 73,547; Korea 7,883; the Cold War 126 and Vietnam 1,642.
In comparison, Iraq and other conflicts (which also include Afghanistan, Desert Storm and Libya) have a total of six. Six unaccounted for in more than three wars; clearly something changed…
