information en Prisoner of War Cim) . . r. North Vietnam,|
Ha Doni Town,
information
reporlenter and baasd on tne^laarvationa expresaad byofficer, tha daelaionwas Lnltiallv made not toThe JPRC'a specifle reasons for tending to doubt theere noted at the spproprtalacea la the report. these staUstlca: total prlaoncra of war (POW) Inat. (including China): total mlstlag In action (sama area)there are no Australian POW'e oo record aa being heldVietnam (NVN).
Comment: Thar* are no holdingsOW camp In Ha Dong (WJ81S1
p nearn which there Le Information is
bllahed ooccordingRC record.
Hanoi-He Dong streetcar line.* No attempt baa been made tocamp In any way. Terrain to the aouth and weat ol the campeoft-aod marshy. The terrain to the east and north ol the
r
2- The camp wasandlord-owned housing tract which waaver by the North Vietnamese Government In4 Itwas convertedrison camp for Vietnamese prisoners. Earlya* convertedOW camp for Americans and Australians. In0 the POW camps ai Son Tay and Ben Pha Den were closed, and the prisoners from these camps moved to the Ha Dona Consequently, the Ha Dong camp became badly overcrowded.
were kept Lb continuous, sbedlikethree aide* of the las Id. wall. Thee two
stories high; access to the second story was by means of laddere fastened at regular intervale to the front wall of tha barracks. tfhere were no partitions or furniture In the harraekl, and the prisoners slept crowded together on the floor. Doorwaya and windows were cut Into the front Of the barracks at regular Intervals to admit light and >tr and provide access. Windows bad neither glass nor screens, and the doore/ays had not Seen fitted with doors. During the day the prisoners were free to wander In and out of the barracks and move around the compound. At night they were expeeted to remain In the barracks.
was "quiteee Four guards were on dutytimes, one in each of four corner guard lower*. The guarde seldom
O
sue being
sutToanding area
of the camp In etailed sketch of the camp Itself J
Comment: The POW's ability to "wander" Is Inconsistent with the operation of other POW camps In NVN,
Comment: "Security was quitegain Inconsistent with debrieflngs of released POW't.
catered the compound. Tbey climbed to the guard towers on ladders laslened to the outside of the prison wall. The small guard towersuilt on top of the barracks, and in each towerloodlight aimed into the compound to illuminate it at night. There were no machinethe towers, nor were mlncB or barbed wire around the camp. Guards had no weapons such as tear gas grenades or other speeial chemical weapons. The, were equipped only withnd SKS rifles.
Prisoners regularly left the camp forrk detalls In the nearby fields. Details numberedrisoners and were supervised by two or threen general, the guards did not harass, persecute, or beat the prisoners, although prisoners were occaalonally chained for disciplinary reasons.
Fewer thanuards were assigned to the prison, There were aboutdditional eoldicra assigned to Ha Dong city:th infantry battalionstationed in Hanoi; and there wereoldiers quartered In the vicinity of the Long Binh Bridge over the Red River,
At Ky Son there were eight heavy Soviet anti-aircraft rocketby abouthinese, and at Ba Vi Mountain there werelight anti-aircraft rockets, each about one meter long. rocketa at Ky Son were aet In camouflaged concretethe exception of the camp wall, there were no fortification apositions In the Immediate vicinity of the camp. land on the volleyball court Inalde the camp. In the cemeterynortheast. In the fields to the southeast, and poaalbly In the ricefield* north of the camp. The fielda to the southwestand muddy for helicopter
combined guard barracks and administration building located directly ncrosS Route It irom trie camp. Guards
to roam Ha Doog towc during their off-duty hours. There was one telephone In the administration building which, with the exception of the possible uae of Ha Dong's air raid siren, was the only means of communication available to the camp staff.
ommanded by Major TJftuycn Van Thanh, a heavy-set man aboutears old, as of Hie quarters.
0 prisoners superviaed by two or threef Again inconaiatent.
prison publicystem. No Interrogations were conducted at the camp. ump ni frequently visited by groups of VUbuuneeo or In tklrd country nationals. Occasionally Polieh member* ol the International" Controlvisited the camp, bul Canadian and Indian. of the Comml..ion were not permitted to visit the camp, because the North Vietnamese feared they wculd give details about the camp. authorities. North Vietnamese policy Is to move any camp known. authorities.
unt number olhla campelyth- number of man he aaw during hie two viIt. Since the camp was badly overcrowded, thla may have led him to Overeatunate the number of th. men there.
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Original document.
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