This archive is a critical, though often overlooked, primary source for military historians, genealogists, and researchers studying the experience of capture, collaboration, and survival. The acronym stands for American Ex-Prisoners of War Voluntary Surrenders . The phrase “Voluntary Surrenders” is historically charged and requires careful unpacking. It does not imply treason or cowardice in the common sense. Instead, it refers to the official U.S. military designation for soldiers who, facing imminent death from starvation, disease, or combat, made the conscious decision to surrender to the enemy when further resistance was impossible or futile.