Do you think that if you're in the US Army and for some reason you get held hostage and are tortured and starved and beaten, but then somehow how saved by US forces, the US government sets you up for life? Here you are, defending your country (or, more likely, your country's overseas interests) and you get hell wacked out of you by some "enemy" and are deprived of even the most life-essentials like water and a bandage for that head wound you sustained from the business end of an AK-47. It seems that the least the government could do was give you free insurance and handsome salary (say $100K) for the rest of your sleepless days. I may have to look into this further.

I Looked Into It
VA Benefits for Former Prisoners of War: "The amount that is paid to a former POW who has qualified at the full 100% rating is $2,287.00 (tax-free) per month."

This is not exactly the same as being held hostage, I don't think. It's about POWs and MIAs.

Scroll down; from Chapter 9: "Approved 1970 . . . payments to former POWs of the Vietname era. Compansation was payable at the rate of $5.00 per day -- $2.00 per day for each day of inadequate rations and $3.00 per day for each day of inhumane treatment."