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‘brainwashed” and cooperating with the enemy, the problem was considered a different one from those of past U.S. conflicts. It required a new means of training the soldier to resist, and the creation of more practical guidelines for that resistance.
    Only a very small percentage of all American POWs captured during the Korean War were U.S. Marines, and out of that number, only one officer cooperated with the enemy. In spite of the relatively few Marine POWs, the Marine Corps was the first U.S. military branch to address captives’ behavior while in enemy hands.
    During the early summer months of 1955, Marine Colonel F. Brooke Nihart set down on paper a series of principles to guide Marine POWs. The articles were intended to formalize a code of honor that each captive Marine could follow. Colonel Nihart had seen combat during World War II, had taken part in the Battle of Okinawa, and fought hard against the North Koreans during the Korean War. He well knew what the American fighting man was capable of, and what could be expected of him. The final Code of Conduct written by Colonel Nihart consisted of six articles and less than three hundred words. But those words held a particular significance to any member of the American military.
    On August 17, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10631, which made the Code of Conduct the official credo for all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and everyone serving in them.
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    ARTICLE I
    I am an American Fighting Man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
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    ARTICLE II
    I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender my men while they still have the means to resist.
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    ARTICLE III
    If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
    ARTICLE IV
    If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
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    ARTICLE V
    When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am bound to give only my name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
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    ARTICLE VI
    I will never forget that I am an American Fighting Man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
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    With the establishment of the order, President Eisenhower had directed that “each member of the Armed Forces liable to capture shall be provided with specific training and instruction designed to better equip him to counter and withstand all enemy efforts against him, and shall be fully instructed as to the behavior and obligations expected of him during combat and captivity.”
    Now, instead of simply receiving survival training, pilots, air crews, and special operations soldiers who went behind enemy lines would also receive training in how to escape and evade the enemy, as well as what they could expect in terms on interrogation and psychological manipulation. Some of the instructors at military survival schools established following the adoption of the Code of Conduct had been POWs under the Japanese in World War II and the Communists during the Korean War. They well knew what could be done to manipulate a soldier, especially one who would already be experiencing the shock of having been taken prisoner.
    The first article of the code was intended in part to fight the shock of being captured. No matter what