American Prisoners Of Japan: Did Rank Have Its Privilege?

This thesis examines the story of American POWs held by the Japanese in WWII to see if there were significant differences in treatment based on rank. It examines how the Japanese treated the prisoners according to international law and also distinctions made by the officers themselves simply because of higher rank. The thesis begins by discussing the historical framework for POW rank distinctions by looking at past wars and the development of rank distinctions in international rules. It then cov