White metal cup with "Trieu Viet" in red and blue letters on the side. Wire wrapped around cup handle.
Specific History
This cup, given to the North Vietnamese Army by the North Koreans as a "friendship" cup, was given to Commander David "Jack" Rollins, U.S. Navy, a prisoner of war from May 14, 1967, to March 4, 1973. The wire wrapped around the cup's handle was used to make needles. The North Vietnamese Army never figured out where the needles they confiscated from Rollins came from.
General History
A prisoner of war (POW) is someone who is captured and imprisoned by an enemy power during a time of conflict or war. In 1949 the Geneva Convention in 1949 defined who was to be considered a POW and determined how they were to be treated. The policies established by the Geneva Convention were based on the international humanitarian law, or laws of war.