Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War

by Bruce Henderson

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sons and Soldiers comes the incredible but true story of Dieter Dengler, the only pilot to escape captivity from a POW camp in the Laotian jungle during the Vietnam War.

In February 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over "neutral" Laos in jungle territory controlled by Pathet Lao guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars, who captured and held him in a fortified prisoner-of-war camp. Already a legend in the navy for his unique escape skills, the German-born Dengler proved to be no ordinary prisoner. Caught in a desperate situation, imprisoned by the enemy and by the jungle itself, Dengler set out to free not only himself but also other POWs—American, Thai, and Chinese—some of whom had been held for years.

This amazing story of triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds has been filmed by Werner Herzog as both a documentary (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) and a motion picture (Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale). Now Bruce Henderson, who served with Dengler aboard USS Ranger, tells the complete story of Dengler's captivity and remarkable escape—based on in-depth personal interviews as well as military archival materials, some never before made public—in this riveting account of unending optimism, courage, loyalty, and survival against overwhelming odds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061571374
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/24/2011
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	518,951
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Bruce Henderson has written more than twenty books, including the national bestseller Hero Found and Rescue at Los Baños. Henderson served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CVA-61) during the Vietnam War. He lives in Menlo Park, California.

Table of Contents

Author's Note xi

1 "Born A Gypsy" 1

2 America 16

3 Training for Flight 31

4 The Swordsmen 54

5 Gray Eagle Goes to War 75

6 Shootdown 99

7 Will to Survive 124

8 "We'll Run out Of Pilots" 150

9 Prisoners of War 157

10 South China Sea 181

11 Escape 194

12 To the Rescue 225

13 Returning Hero 233

14 Alive and Free 241

Epilogue 251

Postscript 257

Dramatis personae 259

Source notes 263

Bibliography 281

Index 285

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[McLaren's] animated involvement adds a special spark to a work already compelling from beginning to end." —-AudioFile

Editorial Reviews

Dengler’s actual POW experiences are the centerpiece of the book, and, thanks to Henderson’s storytelling skill, these scenes often read like a first-rate suspense novel...poignant in its details. An engaging tale of a harrowing POW experience.” — Kirkus Reviews

"Hero Found is a dramatic and powerful page-turner about the inspirational and action-packed story of U.S. Navy carrier pilot Dieter Dengler. Any American who has ever gone to war, or has known those who have, will be deeply moved by this unforgettable story of escape and survival—against all odds." — A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Know-It-All

“In Hero Found, Bruce Henderson’s writing is meticulous and compassionate, the kind of writing that comes from observing a moment in history up close, wondering about it for decades, and then returning to the scene to understand it once and for all.” — Amanda Ripley, contributing writer at Time and author of The Unthinkable

“This account of one of the most remarkable and thrilling episodes of the Vietnam War has been written with the understanding and feel of a shipmate of Dengler’s aboard the carrier Ranger. But there is no gold plating or false heroics. In his tough and gritty narrative, Henderson has deftly captured the pungent environment of the navy’s carrier pilots at war. Among the very best of its genre.” — A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Know-It-All

“Bruce Henderson has done it again: vividly portraying young men at war and showing us the stuff from which Homeric heroes are made. Absorbing and thrilling.” — Vincent Bugliosi, author of Reclaiming History and Helter Skelter

From the Publisher

"Hero Found is a dramatic and powerful page-turner about the inspirational and action-packed story of U.S. Navy carrier pilot Dieter Dengler. Any American who has ever gone to war, or has known those who have, will be deeply moved by this unforgettable story of escape and survival—against all odds."

A.J. Jacobs

Bruce Henderson has done it again: vividly portraying young men at war and showing us the stuff from which Homeric heroes are made. Absorbing and thrilling.

Vincent Bugliosi

In Hero Found, Bruce Henderson’s writing is meticulous and compassionate, the kind of writing that comes from observing a moment in history up close, wondering about it for decades, and then returning to the scene to understand it once and for all.

Amanda Ripley

Only a handful of Vietnam War POWs escaped captivity. One of those was Dieter Dengler, a German-born navy Skyraider pilot shot down on his first mission over Laos in 1966 and taken prisoner by the Pathet Lao in a remote jungle camp. Tortured and nearly starved to death, Dengler led his fellow prisoners in a daring escape, and he miraculously survived 23 days in the jungle before an inexperienced pilot spotted him frantically signaling from the dense jungle just over the border in North Vietnam. Dengler's harrowing and amazing story has been told before : in his 1978 memoir, Escape from Laos, and in two films, Werner Herzog's documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly and a feature film, Rescue Dawn. Henderson, who served as a navy weatherman aboard Dengler's aircraft carrier, has crafted a worthy narrative that adds new material based on interviews with Dengler (who died in 2001) and his navy comrades, friends. and family, along with newly unearthed archival records. These include the official 78-page military “Dengler Debriefing,” which Henderson (coauthor, And the Sea Will Tell) obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. This often riveting account sheds new light on an oft-told true story. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Listeners may recognize the story of captured Vietnam War pilot Dieter Dengler from the 2006 film RESCUE DAWN. Dengler’s 1978 memoir, ESCAPE FROM LAOS, forms the basis of Henderson’s book, to which he has added information supplied by fellow pilots, friends, and family. The German-American Dengler led a lifestyle of derring-do typical of military pilots, always pushing the edge with alcohol, society’s rules, and women. As becomes apparent, his survival in post-WWII Germany prepared him well for a Laotian POW camp, where he ate maggots, live snakes, and raw fish eyes. Narrator Todd McLaren delivers the many scenes of aerial action and combat with enthusiasm and excitement. His animated involvement adds a special spark to a work already compelling from beginning to end. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2010 - AudioFile

Vietnam veteran Henderson (Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II, 2007, etc.) tells the story of Navy pilot Dieter Dengler and his escape from a Laos prison camp during the war. When Dengler's plane was shot down in February 1966, his chances for survival were slim. Quickly captured, he endured torture, starvation and beatings from Pathet Lao guerrillas and North Vietnamese soldiers before eventually escaping from a POW camp. Dengler's story has been told before, most notably in the 2007 film Rescue Dawn, a fictionalized account by Werner Herzog, who also directed a 1997 documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly. But Henderson has his own connection to the material. He and Dengler both served on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger during the war, and the author personally conducted interviews with Dengler in 1997 and 1998. (Dengler died in 2001.) Henderson provides an account of the German-born Dengler's prewar years, including a memorable moment when a very young Dengler was enthralled by the sight of a low-flying American fighter plane during World War II, and vowed that he would one day fly such planes. During his Navy training, he escaped a simulated POW camp-twice-experiences that served him well in Laos. Dengler's actual POW experiences are the centerpiece of the book, and, thanks to Henderson's storytelling skill, these scenes often read like a first-rate suspense novel, particularly after Dengler meets a group of other POWs and they formulate plans for a daring escape. The author's portrayal of Dengler's post-rescue life, though brief, is poignant in its details. He bought his own restaurant in San Francisco, following through on a desire to "never be hungry again" after the starvation he had endured. Later, suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease, he e-mailed a friend, "I have looked death in the eye, so it is easier for me to handle."A short but engaging tale of a harrowing POW experience.

Kirkus Reviews