Author Raymond B. Lech

CODE OF CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOR OF PRISONERS OF WAR WHILE IN CAPTIVITY

2006-11-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Since writing his second book “Broken Soldiers,” Raymond has become one of the foremost experts on POWs and the behavior of soldiers in captivity. He literally “wrote the book” on the subject and his lectures on this topic have been well received.

Seminar Summary

CODE OF CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOR OF PRISONERS OF WAR WHILE IN CAPTIVITY

In August, 1955, the Code of Conduct was signed by President Eisenhower and this code offered guidelines for dealing with the enemy while a prisoner of war. Subject to the code, actions as a POW should follow the mandate contained in that short document and the simple rule of the code is to furnish the captors with only name, grade and service number, plus a few minor items which, in some cases, depending on the branch of service, include date of birth and home town. This is simply not enough guidance for a young soldier and unblinking adherence to the code is tantamount to having a death wish. Therefore, members of the armed services require instruction (about two-hours) in addition to the normal one-hour-a-year of hearing someone read the Code of Conduct from a manual and then forgetting about it for another twelve months.
The seminar uses American prisoners of war during the Korean Conflict to form the foundation for the class because the behavior of captive Americans while interned in North Korea by the Chinese for three years was despicable and also because the camps were slaughterhouses, especially Camp 5 on the Yalu River.
Most people don’t know that more men were killed in Korean POW camps during captivity than any other war in American History. From October, 1950 to April 1, 1951, 7,000 men were captured (mostly army and then marines) and in this same period, 3,000 were killed. That’s 43 percent of the population. During World War II, 4 percent of POWs held by the Germans and Italians perished, 34 percent held by the Japanese died, Viet Nam had 14 percent, and the infamous Confederate Andersonville prison camp in Georgia had 32 percent expire. Only with Russians captured by Germans during World War II was the rate higher (60 percent) and with Germans captured by Russians the rate was 45 percent.
“What is the status of a POW?” The common answer is that he is a non-combatant but nothing can be further from the truth. The POW camp is a battlefield and an extremely dangerous one. Gen. Lemuel Shepherd, commandant of the Marine Corps at the time, noted that:

Men who become prisoners of war must learn to accept the implications of their fate with the same fortitude with which they have learned in the past to steel themselves to accept the stark reality of death in battle. The prisoner-of-war stockade is only an extension of the battlefield where they must . . . carry on an unequal struggle with the only weapons remaining to them – faith and courage.

How does one behave while a POW? This question is the essence of the seminar, which is not to take away from the Code of Conduct but to add some survival (common) sense to it. Prisoners are absolutely worthless to an army on the march. You’re a nuisance which has to be fed, guarded, housed, and taken care of. They’d rather shoot you unless, and this is important, you have some value.
Value has three different arenas and they are (1) military intelligence – usually reserved for higher ranking officers, (2) slave labor – e.g., the Japanese during World War II and (3) propaganda (in Korea, everyone was involved, officers and men alike). At Camp 5, for example, there were over 1,500 men in this camp alone and each and every one of them, without exception, signed various anti-American propaganda documents. The disgrace in this was that the officers let down their men. Their was no leadership and it was dog eat dog. This is one of the key points in this seminar. Without leadership stems chaos and chaos reined supreme in Korea. We can’t allow that to happen again.
One final topic must be squeezed into this seminar and that is the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, (July 27, 1929). This surreal document will be reviewed and a discussion concerning this convention will be interwoven with various behavior patterns encountered in Korea and possibly to be employed by POWs in the future.
A possible concern may be that this seminar will trash the Code of Conduct but it certainly will not because the code is used as a foundation and anything else is a supplement to it. The code is an essential tool to guide one through the ordeal of being a POW. That said, it will be explained that one can, indeed, go a little beyond the code. If you want to know my wife’s name, you got it. Kids? You got it. Relatives and friends? Got it again. If my men need food, water, medical attention, I will get into a conversation with my captors to obtain these items. It is impossible to go through years as a POW without some intercourse with the enemy. Give them what they want without giving away the farm and you may survive the end of the war.
But, do not collaborate. Collaboration with the enemy is treason, a distinction without a difference. Collaboration at a military trial carries the death penalty.
All of this has been tried and tested in Korea. The soldiers did not come home to military bands, ticker-tape parades and/or medals. In fact, many men were court-martialed, including two lieutenant colonels, for collaboration and concluded with some stiff penalties. This, too, will be discussed. One can only go so far but Korea proved that if all the men, led by competent officers, stuck together, the captors would relent. This has been exhibited over and over again. Leadership by example is the key.

If you desire to have a two-hour seminar conducted by Raymond Lech, author of Broken Soldiers (University of Illinois Press), please feel free to get in touch with him by visiting

www.authorlech.com

Broken Soldiers

All the drowned sailors

RBL Literary Services

2006-11-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Turning Writers Into Authors

2006-11-03T12:18:00.000-08:00

An accomplished author, Raymond has learned the process of being published first hand. This seminar is put together to assist writers in their attempt to be published authors. In the past, these seminars have been well attended and well received.

Seminar Summary

Turning Writers Into Authors

In their attempt to be published for the first time, most authors don’t know what to expect and therefor tend to make mistakes that can cost them the success of their work.

Of the many topics covered in this seminar the main focus will be on being “read” by publishers, how to no longer have your work returned with the notation, “We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts”, and the benefits of having an editor.

This seminar is for writers who already have a complete manuscript or at least the majority of a manuscript completed. All attendees should feel free to bring their manuscripts with them to the workshop.

If you desire to have a two-hour seminar conducted by Raymond Lech, please feel free to get in touch with him by visiting

www.authorlech.com

Broken Soldiers

All the drowned sailors

Military Seminar on POW's

2006-11-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Seminar Summary

CODE OF CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOR OF PRISONERS OF WAR WHILE IN CAPTIVITY

Since writing his second book “Broken Soldiers” (University of Illinois Press), Raymond has become one of the foremost experts on POW’s and the behavior of soldiers in captivity. He literally “wrote the book” on the subject and his lectures on this topic have been well received.

Discussing the military’s code of conduct, Raymond goes into more detail with a supplemental explanation of this code and information on how to survive capture without committing treason.

If you desire to have a two-hour seminar conducted by Raymond Lech, please feel free to get in touch with him by visiting

www.authorlech.com

Purchase: Broken Soldiers

Raymond now LINKED IN

2006-10-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Raymond B. Lech now has a profile on Linked In. Check it out here.

Calling All Writers

2006-10-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

DO YOU NEED AN EDITOR?

Are you being rejected by publishers?
Are your business proposals being ignored or rejected?

If you answered yes to either of these questions,
YES, you need an editor.

Raymond B. Lech Literary services provides line and content editing for manuscripts both fiction and non-fiction, as well as business plans and other documents.

For a price quote e-mail us at...
Ray@authorlech.com

Please include:
How many pages?
Is the work fiction, non-fiction, or a business document?
Have you previously attempted to have your work published?
Are you a student?

Please Note:
Raymond B. Lech Literary Services does not guarantee that any author will be published as a result of our editing and therefore are not responsible for any manuscript being rejected by a publisher. We do not accept all manuscripts for editing.

Military Lectures

2006-10-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

We are anouncing that Raymond B. Lech will be touring colleges throughout New England speaking to ROTC groups and other military related organizations. His lectures discuss topics like being captured in combat and acting under pressure. These lectures will recount stories from POWs in Korea about their experiences.

We will be posting more information in the coming days.

If you would like Mr. Lech to visit your school or group, please contact us:

Ray@authorlech.com

Gift Ideas

2006-10-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Awesome Gift Ideas for Dad or Grandpa.

Raymond B. Lech, notable author of military history, has written "All
the Drowned Sailors" and "Broken Soldiers". Both would make the
perfect gift for those men who are so hard to shop for.

Here is where you can find them.

Broken
Soldiers

All
the drowned sailors

Official Website of Raymond
B. Lech

Raymond Now On Facebook

2006-10-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, So I am now on facebook. It is funny to me how many networking sites there are out there and how many people only like the one they use. So for that reason I am available on Facebook.

A BIG THANKS!

2006-10-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

I just have to take a second to thank my new manager and marketing guy Isaac. He has been the one behind the new website, the Myspace profile, and the posting of the book promos. If anyone has any questions for me, Isaac is the one to answer them. He is the one who keeps this blog up to date. So if anyone needs anything, Just Ask Isaac.

Thanks again.

Anyone Need An Editor?

2006-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Are you being rejected by publishers?
Are your business proposals being ignored or rejected?

If you answered yes to either of these questions,
YES, you need an editor.

Raymond B. Lech Literary services provides line and content editing for manuscripts both fiction and non-fiction, as well as business plans and other documents.

For a price quote e-mail us at...
ray@authorlech.com

Please include:
How many pages?
Is the work fiction, non-fiction, or a business document?
Have you previously attempted to have your work published?
Are you a student?

Please Note:
Raymond B. Lech Literary Services does not guarantee that any author will be published as a result of our editing and therefore are not responsible for any manuscript being rejected by a publisher. We do not accept all manuscripts for editing.

Conspiracy Files Clip

2006-10-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have posted a clip of me (Raymond Lech), on NBC Conspiracy Files where I am a guest expert on POWs and "Brainwashing". You can view the clip in several places.

Youtube.com
Google Video
authorlech.com

Raymond on Myspace

2006-10-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who like to stay connected, I now have a profile on Myspace. Please Visit.

Authorlech Myspace

I will continue to mostly post my blog here and not on myspace.

New Book Coming Soon.

2006-10-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

A new manuscript has been completed and it is now being shoped out to publishers by a literary agent from New York Literary Agency.

DESTROYED DIGNITY

THE COLLAPSE OF FREE WILL WITHIN THE MIND OF COL. FRANK H. SCHWABLE, USMC, PRISONER OF WAR

See the advance reviews:

Advance Reviews for DESTROYED DIGNITY

About Raymond B. Lech

2006-10-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Raymond B. Lech, noted author, editor, and independent scholar, has been published by Stein and Day (becoming a Main Selection of the Military Book Club and Featured Alternate of both the Doubleday Book Club and The Literary Guild); Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group; and the University of Illinois Press. Ray is a past national director of the Navy League of the United States, Former Director of the New York Council of the Navy League and a life member of the league.

Books By Raymond B. Lech

All the Drowned Sailors
Released in Paperback under the name
The Tragic Fate of the U.S.S Indianapolis
The Cover-up of America's greatest wartimes disaster at sea; the sinking of the INDIANAPOLIS with the loss of 880 lives because of the incompetence of admirals, officers, and gentlemen.

Broken Soldiers
The immensely popular and whistle-blowing book indicts the U.S. military for sending troops into the Korean War unprepared for capture and the horrific mind-bending techniques of the North Koreans, and for attempting to cover up that failure at the end of the conflict.

Purchase: All The Drowned Sailors

Purchase: Broken Soldiers