What happened to leave no one behind?

During the Revolutionary War, POWs were swapped. During the Civil War, POWs were swapped. It happened after WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

142 Men Seem In Reasonably Good Health

Col. Robinson Risner of the Air Force, senior prisoner on the second plane, said; "It's almost too wonderful to express. On behalf of all the other men who have been prisoners, I would like to thank you all. I would like to thank our President and the American people for bringing us home to freedom again. Thank you ever so much."

And Capt. James A. Mulligan of the Navy, senior officer and spokesman on the third plane from Hanoi, said, "It has been our privilege to serve you Americans these many years and during this time our faith in our God, our country and in our families had never wavered. Today I'd like to thank the President of the United States and our families for maintaining their faith with us and making this wonderful day possible. Thank you."

Roger E. Shields, the Pentagon's prisoner-of-was expert, who also went to Hanoi for the pick-up, said he was satisfied with today's operation even though it was delayed two hours by bad weather in the North and more than 12 hours by disputes in the South. He said the prisoners from Hanoi "said they have some things they want to tell us and they are very concerned about giving us information on other prisoners on our lists." Some 1,300 Americans are listed as missing in action.

On the first flight to the Clark base, Captain Denton said, he told the men that on arrival he intended to salute the flag and fellow officers and to shake hands with military dignitaries there to greet them - Adm. Noel A. M. Gayler, Commander in Chief of United States forces in the Pacific, and Lieut. Gen. William G. Moore Jr., commander of the 13th Air Force. He said that he did not tell the men they also had to do so, but that each did.

When the planeload of 27 prisoners from South Vietnam landed late tonight, completing the pick-up, Col. Leonard W. Johnson Jr., commander of the evacuation mission into Saigon, turned to Roger Shields of the Pentagon and said, "Well, we got them back."

John McCain was a POW. John McCain was released. John McCain turned out to be a politician and forgot about being a veteran a long time ago.

US defends captive swap with Taliban for Bergdahl; critics stir
The Associated Press
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and CALVIN WOODWARD
Published: June 1, 2014

WASHINGTON — Five years a captive from the Afghanistan war, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is back in American hands, freed for five Guantanamo terrorism detainees in a swap stirring sharp debate in Washington over whether the U.S. should have negotiated with the Taliban over prisoners.

U.S. officials said Sunday that Bergdahl's health and safety appeared in jeopardy, prompting rapid action to secure his release. Republicans said the deal could place U.S. troops in danger, especially if the freed detainees return to the fight — one called it "shocking." Another, Arizona Sen. John McCain, said of the five detainees: "These are the hardest of the hard core."

Visiting troops in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Hagel stepped forward at Bagram Air Field to thank the special operations forces that retrieved Bergdahl, who officials said was the only American prisoner of war still held by insurgents in that conflict. Gen. Joseph Dunford spoke of the excitement that spread through U.S. ranks when the sergeant's release was confirmed. "You almost got choked up," he said. "It was pretty extraordinary."
read more here

UPDATE
The day got stranger and stranger so I decided to keep on this topic for a little while more.

Remember the Gulf War? Remember there were POWs held by Saddam? Well, they filed a lawsuit back against Saddam but the case was tossed out.

2005-04-26 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- American pilots and soldiers who were taken prisoner and tortured by the Iraqis during the Persian Gulf War of 1991 have lost their legal bid to hold Iraq liable, as the Supreme Court turned away their final appeal Monday.

The justices heeded the advice of the Bush administration and let stand an appeals court ruling that threw out a nearly $1 billion verdict won by the prisoners of war two years ago.

The high court's refusal to hear the case spares the administration from having to go before the justices to argue against American POWs who were tortured. The 17 former POWs had sued Iraq and the government of Saddam Hussein under the terms of a 1996 anti-terrorism law that opened the courthouse door to claims from Americans who had been injured or tortured at the hands of "state sponsors of terror."

Still Fighting, Senator Pushes Bush To Release Money To POWs From 1st Gulf War

What else happened was there was a prisoner exchange to get back our 35 POWs.

6 March
At D + 49, in a prisoner exchange, 35 released Prisoners of War transit from Baghdad to Riyadh, 294 Iraqi Enemy Prisoners of War transit to Baghdad. U.S. POWs are transferred to USNS MERCY for medical treatment.

DOD announces cease-fire is holding, no incidents. Information exchange on location of land and sea mines continues. Mine clearing and equipment-collecting sweeps continue. To-date. 3.700 Iragi tanks. 2.400+ armored personnel carriers. and 2.600+ artillery pieces have been destroyed. damaged or captured.

Elements of 1st Marine Division withdraw from Kuwait to defensive positions in Saudi Arabia, 2d Marine Division shifts into 1st Marine Division's former positions.

Naval forces continue to conduct defensive counter-air operations to protect U.S. fleet, combat air patrols, maritime interceptions and minesweeping to clear A1 Ashwaba and other mined Kuwaiti ports. USS NEW ORLEANS (LPH 11), an embarked mine countermeasures squadron and four mine countermeasures ships, are leading minesweeping activities, aided by ships from UK, Holland and Belgium.