Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape Of The Vietnam War (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Whenever any of you couch-potato civilians get to feeling sorry for yourself and how bad your lot in life is, you need to sit down and read a book like "Hero Found" to be reminded what suffering and survival are really like, and how American servicemen and servicewomen put themselves in harm’s way for your freedoms.This is the story of a Vietnam-era Navy pilot who became a hero. Dieter Dengler survived beatings and starvation at the hands of the enemy, but was still able to lead a daring escape from a jungle prison camp. Finding his way through the dense jungle to freedom proved to be extremely difficult, almost more daunting than the escape itself.His plane crippled during a secret bombing mission over Laos, Dengler was forced to crash-land in hostile territory. The brutal Pathet Lao, who captured him, beat him severely and imprisoned him in a jungle prison along with several other American, Thai and Chinese prisoners. They were starved and beaten so severely that during the six months of captivity, Dengler had lost about 90 pounds. He weighed 98 pounds when rescued.When the prisoners did get to eat, their meals were atrocious – usually moldy rice infested with insects. Once, when the captors killed a deer, they ate most of it themselves and shared it with the villagers; the scraps they gave to the prisoners. The prisoners got to chow-down on the have-digested contents of the deer’s stomach.Dengler began preparing for his ordeal when he was a young boy growing up in war-torn Germany. His fascination with airplanes was sparked when American bombers would fly low over his village to attack targets at nearby factories. Later, they bombed his village, too. His father had been killed fighting the Russians and his mother had vowed to teach her sons to survive on their own.Dengler became a scavenger and survivor. He learned to make what he needed from discarded scraps and he learned how to survive in the forest for hours or days when necessary.After the war, Dengler emigrated to the United States and worked hard to get an education and become a pilot. He first enlisted in the Air Force, but with no advanced degree was not eligible for flight training. After his Air Force enlistment, he earned a degree and joined the Navy to become a pilot.Dengler became a legend during SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape) training, when he escaped three times in twelve hours from the simulated prison camp.Intertwined within Dengler’s story are many interesting sub-stories about life on a carrier and the interaction between the pilots, commanders and crew. For instance, there was speculation that the search for Dengler and his downed plane was called off early because of a confrontation he had had days earlier with his squadron leader.Dengler almost didn’t get rescued, because the pilot who spotted him, waving his arms standing near the bank of a stream, at first thought the disheveled, gaunt, raggedly-dressed individual could have been a native fisherman.A compelling read. Beyond the military hubris which i do not care for is a clear picture of a uniquely potent individual. Raised to survive in war torn Germany Dengler developed an iron will and the knowledge of how to subsist on very little. He seemed destined to put his acquired skills to the ultimate test. Miraculously he survived in the dense thorny jungles filled with malarial mosquitoes, slippery leeches, deadly snakes and the Pathet Lao keenly observing any trace left behind.
What do You think about Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape Of The Vietnam War (2010)?
I couldn't put this down today.......should be a required "history" reading for students.
—Jessica
Recommended to me by my dad, who flew helicopters in Vietnam. Exciting story. Well told.
—samclaug
This is an astounding story of perseverence and bravery. Highly recommended.
—joanndl
If you like war history and biographies, this is a great read.
—Kaspjr09
