Larry Slawson - Dieter Dengler: A Brief History

Birth Name: Dieter Dengler

Date of Birth: 22 May 1938

Place of Birth: Wildberg, Baden-Wurttemberg, Nazi Germany

Date of Death: 7 February 2001 (Sixty-Two Years of Age)

Place of Death: Mill Valley, California

Cause of Death: Suicide

Place of Burial: Arlington National Cemetery

Spouse(s): Marina Adamich (Married in 1966; Divorced in 1970); Irene Lam (Married in 1980; Divorced in 1984); Yukiko Dengler (Married in 1998)

Children: Alexander Dengler (Son); Rolf Dengler (Son)

Father: Reinhold Dengler

Mother: Maria Dengler

Siblings: Martin Dengler (Brother); Klaus Dengler (Brother)

Occupation: Fighter Pilot; Aircraft Pilot (Private and Commercial)

Military Service: Part of the 145th Attack Squadron (United States Navy); Stationed on USS-Ranger (CV-61)

Highest Rank Achieved: Lieutenant

Awards/Honors: Navy Cross; Distinguished Flying Cross; Bronze Star; Purple Heart; Air Medal

Best Known For: Successfully escaped from a Pathet Lao Prison-camp in Laos; First U.S. Airman to escape enemy captivity during the Vietnam War.

Quick Fact #1: Dieter Dengler was born on 22 May 1928 in Wildberg, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany to Maria and Reinhold Dengler. Dieter never had an opportunity to know his father who was killed during World War Two along the Eastern Front. However, he became quite close to his mother, brothers, and grandparents. The Dengler family was quite poor during Dieters early years, forcing the family to resort to scavenging in their pursuit of food during the war.

Quick Fact #2: By the age of fourteen, Dieter began an apprenticeship under a blacksmith in Germany, and helped in the repair of clocks and watches. Although the blacksmith regularly beat young Dieter for the slightest mistakes, Dieter was later thankful for the strict training as it helped him to survive difficult situations in Vietnam.

Quick Fact #3: At the age of eighteen, young Dieter decided to travel to the United States after seeing an American magazine with a recruitment ad for military pilots. To make the journey, Dieter salvaged brass and various metals to raise the required sum of money for boat tickets. After hitchhiking to Hamburg and spending nearly two weeks on the citys streets, Dieter set sail for New York City carrying few clothes and only a handful of fruit and sandwiches for the long journey ahead. After arriving in New York City, Dieter quickly sought out an Air Force recruiter, where he enlisted and was quickly sent to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Quick Fact #4: After making it through basic training, Dengler spent two years in the Air Force peeling potatoes before transferring to the motor pool to work as a mechanic. Due to his experience as a machinist, he was later assigned as a gunsmith. Although Dengler later passed the aviation test required for pilots, he was barred from pilot-selection due to the fact that he did not have a college degree. He was later discharged from the Air Force where he joined his brother as a baker at a bakery shop in San Francisco. While working with his brother, Dengler pursued his education at San Francisco City College, and later transferred to the College of San Mateo where he completed two years of college, studying aeronautics. Using his newfound college experience to his advantage, young Dengler reapplied to the U.S. Navys Aviation Cadet Program and was accepted. His dream of becoming a pilot was finally becoming a reality.

Quick Fact #5: After completing flight training, Dengler was assigned to the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas for training as a fighter pilot. Dengler trained with the Douglas AD Skyraider, and was later assigned to the VA-145 squadron at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California. It wasnt long before Dengler and his squadron were reassigned to join the Carrier USS Ranger, which had been assigned to patrol the coast of Vietnam.

Quick Fact #6: After arriving in Vietnamese waters, Dengler and his squadron were assigned to an interdiction mission to destroy a North Vietnamese truck convoy. Their primary target was a roadway located just west of Mu Gia Pass in Laos. After flying for nearly two and a half hours non-stop to the target, Dengler and his squadron engaged the target area. Unfortunately for Dengler, however, his Skyraider was struck by anti-aircraft fire, destroying his right wing and forcing Dengler to make a crash landing in a clearing nearby. After making contact with the ground, Dengler was thrown approximately 100 feet from his plane, rendering him momentarily unconscious. Miraculously, Dengler was able to regain consciousness long enough to run toward the nearby jungle, and evaded capture for the time being.

Quick Fact #7: Relying on his survival skills learned during flight training, Dengler immediately destroyed his survival radio (to keep enemy patrols from picking up on his emergency frequency), and hid his survival pack. Despite evading enemy forces for more than a day, however, Dengler was later apprehended by Pathet troops from Laos. In their march back to camp, Dengler was tortured relentlessly, undergoing extreme physical and mental duress from his captors. This included being hung upside down over a nest of ants, submersion into water, and being dragged behind a water buffalo. Although Pathet officials offered him decent treatment (and possible release) if he would sign a document condemning the United States in the war against Vietnam, Dengler refused to sign and was subjected to additional tortures. These included having bamboo spikes inserted under his fingernails, as well as being cut mercilessly across his body. At one point, one of his captors even twisted a piece of rope around his hand so tightly that he was unable to use his hand for nearly six months.

Quick Fact #8: Dengler was later handed over to the North Vietnamese, and was brought to a POW camp near Par Kung. Here, Dengler was introduced to six additional prisoners that included two Americans, Duane W. Martin and Euguene DeBruin. Upon arrival, Dengler immediately began to work out plans for escape, inviting the others to join him in the planning. Understanding the dangers of the jungle that surrounded them, however, Denglers fellow prisoners advised him to await the arrival of monsoon season in order to have plenty of drinking water during the escape. After being moved to another camp at Hoi Het, the group began preparations for their escape.

Quick Fact #9: Despite poor treatment and a lack of food, a strong debate emerged between the prisoners, as a few of the POWs felt it was best to stay (rather than escape). As food began to run out in the camp, however, their situation grew worse and worse, as the prisoners were forced to eat snakes and rats found around their prison-hut for nourishment (due to dwindling supplies in the area from American bombing). Once it became clear that the guards planned to kill all of the prisoners, all talk of staying in the camp ceased, as each of the prisoners determined it was time to leave immediately. On 29 June 1966, the group made their move during lunch as each of the guards were eating. Slipping out of their prison-hut and handcuffs, Dengler and the prisoners captured the guards unattended weapons, killing at least four. Splitting up into groups, Dengler and Martin escaped by themselves, heading toward the Mekong River which led to Thailand. Due to harsh conditions, the pair never made it more than a few miles from the camp though. Out of the seven prisoners that escaped, only Phisit and Dengler managed to live through the ordeal; with Phisit being recaptured by the Vietnamese and later freed by Laotian troops.