Two and a half minutes. It’s June 29th, 1966 and for months
the prisoners have watched the guards. They have noted details, memorized routines and made maps of
the POW camp using pebbles. Now it’s all down to Dieter. Two and a half minutes is all the time he
has before the guards return from retrieving their evening meal from the kitchen hut.
A prisoner acting as lookout flashes Dieter the go signal. He yanks the pre-loosened logs
up from the floor of his hut and squeezes through a small opening. He crawls through
the secret tunnel under the fence surrounding the prisoner huts. He sneaks into a guard shack where
he quickly snatchs up a couple of rifles. By now other prisoners are escaping. Dieter
hands out the rifles and the prisoners scatter. Angry yells from the direction of the kitchen
hut. The guards have realized that an escape is underway. They scramble towards Dieter.
One shoots, sending a bullet whizzing just over Dieter’s head. He fires back and drops the guard.
But he’s out numbered, the swarm of enraged guards is closing in. No way can Dieter shoot them all.
As a young boy in Germany, Dieter Dengler witnessed Allied bombings of his village
and decided that he was going to be a fighter pilot when he grew up.
After a long slough of immigrating to the US, enduring a stint in the US Air Force,
college, and graduating from the US Navy aviation cadet program, Dieter finally became a pilot. He
then underwent further instruction, training as an attack pilot to fly the Douglas AD Skyraider.
After training, Dieter was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Ranger off
the coast of Vietnam. It was here that he joined an ill-fated secret operation that
would result in him becoming a POW. On February 1, 1966 just after 9 am,
4 Skyraiders take off from the USS Ranger. They fly in formation at 10,000 feet on a classified
mission to bomb targets in North Vietnam. When Dieter reaches the target,
an anti-aircraft battery, he drops ordinance. The air defence system fires back, blasting the right
wing of his plane with a 75 mm shell. A second shell hits his engine--it sputters and dies.
‘Mayday! Mayday!” Dieter shouts into his radio as he begins to fall out of the sky.
He makes a split second decision not to parachute, worrying that he’ll be an easy target for hostiles
to shoot down. Thankfully Dieter is able to guide his damaged plane towards a clearing
in the jungle. As he plummets, he tosses flight charts, authenticator codes, and other classified
materials out of the cockpit so they won’t be found. The plane hits a couple of trees and breaks
apart. Dieter tumbles about the cockpit as the fuselage cartwheels several times. His helmet is
yanked from his head and a large piece of broken glass from the windscreen slams into his skull.
Dieter wakes up in his cockpit about 100 feet (30.5 meters) from the rest of the wreckage.
His head’s bleeding; he has a concussion, he’s banged up and a huge purple bruise is
blooming on his left knee. However, he still has on his survival vest and waist pack.
Dieter starts to crawl. The crash made a thunderous racket. He knows he has to get away
before anyone shows up. Eventually he gets to his feet. He stumbles through the jungle until he’s
maybe half a mile (.8 km) from the crash site. Dieter then inspects his wounds. He bandages
his knee and cleans his bleeding head as best he can, removing a large shard of glass. He inspects
his compass and considers heading west towards Thailand which is a US ally. But then again,
that’s what the enemy would expect him to do. Dieter decides to go north towards the
Meekong River which he estimates is some 30 miles (48 km) away. If he isn't rescued
after a few days, he’ll head towards Thailand. For the next several hours Dieter wanders through
the jungle, evading other humans. At night he tries to bunk down in his sleeping bag,
but hardly gets any rest as he is attacked by countless mosquitoes and other insects.
The next day Dieter tries to signal planes flying overhead, but they don’t see him.
Dieter continues his march through the jungle, but makes a huge error. He ignores the traditional
survival advice to avoid trails and watering holes because that’s where he’d be most likely to run
into other humans. Exhausted from hacking through the brush, Dieter walks on an established path.
Unfortunately he runs right into some Pathet Lao troops — pro-communist Laotians. They immediately
take him hostage. They tie Dieter’s hands with rope and search him, taking his watch, compass and
going through his rucksack. He chatters at them in German hoping to convince them that he’s a German,
not a US soldier, but they just seem confused. That night the guards drive big stakes into the
ground and spread-eagle Dieter between them. Tied up, Dieter can’t prevent leeches crawling
up his legs. The next few days are a blur, Dieter is marched through the jungle at a punishing pace
and tied up every night. His guards feed him poorly cooked sticky rice and he drinks unfiltered
river water. Eventually, Dieter’s original captors hand him off to a guerrilla group
and he ends up in a village where a province chief speaks fluent French.
Dieter speaks some French and is glad to be able to communicate. The chief spends hours talking to
Dieter about places he’s visited in Europe. He makes sure that Dieter is treated well.
For the first time in about a week, Dieter gets a full meal, he’s allowed to bathe and
his various injuries are treated. At night he’s allowed to sleep on a mat without being tied up.
But then the chief demands that Dieter sign a document stating that the US
is deliberately bombing women and children and although Dieter disagrees with the policy,
he is forced to fly on these missions by the U.S. government. When Dieter refuses to sign,
the chief turns him over to some guards. They beat Dieter until he blacks out. Dieter
is revived when the guards splash water on him. They tie him to a water buffalo
and whip it into a trot. Dieter is dragged throughout the village much to the merriment
of a crowd. His clothes and skin shred. Dieter’s given a second chance to sign
the document condemning the US’s actions, but still refuses. At dawn, the guerillas leave,
taking Dieter with them. Again Dieter spends a long day marching through the jungle.
At night Dieter manages to escape and hides on a hilltop. But as the sun rises,
Dieter becomes extremely thirsty. He cuts up a succulent and tries drinking the liquid,
but the plant is poisonous. Dieter’s cheeks go numb and his throat swells shut. Desperate,
Dieter stumbles down the cliff. He’s drinking at a watering hole when the Pathet Lao catch him.
Angry that he escaped, the guerillas torture him. They twist his arms and hang him upside down from
a tree. They beat him. They smear honey on Dieter’s face and position a nest of black
stinging ants under him. Dieter drifts in and out of consciousness. At night, Dieter is lowered into
a small cave full of water. He spends the night numb, shivering in the cold. The guerillas hand
Dieter over to some North Vietnamese soldiers who march him to a POW camp. It’s Feb 14th,
it’s only been 14 days since Dieter crashed. The primitive POW camp is run by a different
group of Pathet Lao. The guards imprison Dieter in a tiny, rickety prisoner hut filled with spider’s
nests. The hut is dark and hot. Light gets in through cracks and a few slats in the door. After
the guards leave, prisoners in the hut next door whisper to Dieter. There are six other prisoners:
pilot Duane Martin, aircrew Gene DeBruin, Chinese radio operator To Yick Chiu, nicknamed ‘YC’ and
three Thai cargo shippers, Prasit Thanee, Prasit Promsuwan and Pisidhi Indradat.
Dieter is stunned to learn that 2 of the prisoners had been imprisoned for over 2 years.
Some of the POWS have tried to escape before, but were recaptured and severely punished.
Dieter tells them that he is going to escape as soon as possible, but the others advise Dieter
to wait for the monsoon season, which generally starts in May. He will be harder to track in the
rain and fresh water will be easier to come by. Dieter soon settles into a grim routine. Days are
spent mainly in the fetid huts. Prisoners are briefly let out to use the latrine and have a
little fresh air. Periodically the guards take a prisoner to the North Vietnamese soldiers for
interrogation. Prasit Thanee who speaks Laotian, Vietnemese and English acts as translator.
The guards use any pretext to viciously beat the prisoners. They often play cruel mind
games such as suddenly firing guns without ammo at the prisoners to see them flinch.
The POWs keep their spirits up by having discussions at night regarding history, religion,
etc. Dieter makes a chess set out of bamboo and rocks and teaches the other prisoners how to play.
Each evening, the guards lock each prisoner into wooden foot blocks so they can’t escape while the
guards are asleep. The prisoners fashion makeshift keys which they keep hidden in their underwear,
knowing that the guards won’t search there. Every night, they secretly
unlock themselves and only get back into their restraints at dawn before the guards wake up.
The prisoners’ meals are small portions of rice. Dieter secretly begins to dry out and
hide rice to prepare for escape. Not longer after Dieter arrives,
the prisoners are moved to a newly built POW compound several miles from the old
one. The new compound is hidden deeper in the jungle and is even harder to see from the air.
A fifteen-foot (4.6 meter) woven bamboo fence encircles the camp. There’s a single guarded
gate which opens to a dirt path. Outside the fence at both ends of the compound are
thirty-foot (9.1 meters) guard towers that overlook the yard. Also outside the fence
are several guard huts and a kitchen hut as well as camp latrine. A small stream trickles nearby.
In the stockade are two elevated log and bamboo prisoner huts with thatched, leaf-covered roofs.
Each is about eighteen feet long (5.5 meters) and six feet wide (1.8 meters). The guards split the
prisoners into two groups. The three Americans in one hut, and the three Thai prisoners and YC
in the other. The arrangement actually helps to lessen tension between the prisoners, as
of late the Americans have been suspicious about Prasit talking to the guards behind their backs.
The prisoners quickly slip back into their normal, monotonous routine Each morning the
prisoners are woken up early and get a trip to the latrine. Around 9 am they are given rice for
a quick breakfast and afterwards return to their huts. In the evening they again are given rice.
Months go by. The rains do not come. By mid June a famine is growing;
the guerrillas are no longer able to get rice from nearby villages. They start catching rats,
tadpoles and wild pig for food. Of course, the prisoners are fed the worst parts of the animals.
Over several days, Dieter secretly weakens the flooring of his hut by pouring water
and urine around the support pole. He also slowly digs a hole under the stockade. He
and the other prisoners note routines and work out the details of an escape plan.
Day by day, the prisoners grow weaker. They endure lack of food, but also suffer from
malaria, parasites, and bouts of dysentery. Ten of the seventeen guards go on a longer
trip to far away villages seeking food. Only seven guards are left at the POW camp. Seven prisoners,
seven guards, it’s the best opportunity they’re going to get.
But there’s a hitch in the plans. YC has fallen extremely ill and can’t
walk. Gene refuses to leave his friend behind. The American POWS decide to take over the camp
and signal a plane instead of escaping. 4 pm. The guards go to get their dinner
from the kitchen hut. When Parsit Thanee who’s acting as lookout gives the signal
Dieter springs into action. He pulls up the loose section of his hut’s floor and squeezes through,
then crawls under the fence. He creeps into the nearest guard hut and grabs three rifles.
By this time, other prisoners have also squeezed through the hut floor and crawled out from under
the fence. Dieter gives two of the Thai prisoners guns, the three of them run into the jungle.
The guards realize that something’s wrong and run out of the kitchen hut. They fire at Dieter, who
shoots back, killing one of them. Another guard runs at Dieter with a machete and Dieter kills
him point blank. Gene’s gotten a machine gun, he helps Dieter drop a third guard. But a few guards
escape into the jungle forcing the POWS to abandon their plan of taking over the camp. If the guards
show up with reinforcements, they’ll be toast. Dieter and Duane say an emotional hasty goodbye to
Gene, who’s decided to stay behind with YC before plunging into the jungle. They hike until they
reach a ridge not far from the stockade. They’re dizzy and vomiting from the sudden exertion,
but they’re free. Exhausted, they make camp. They wake to rain. The monsoons have finally
arrived. Dieter and Duane continue to hike through the jungle for the next few days.
The constant rain makes their travels worse. There are endless mosquitos and thick sticky
mud. The rice they had carefully dried gets moldy from the rain. They eat it anyway.
Their blistered feet grow raw and get infected. They follow a creek. Whenever possible they walk
in the water so they don’t leave footprints. The sun briefly comes out and Dieter is able
to make a quick directional compass. Luckily, the creek they’re following is meandering the
right direction, west towards Thailand. At night they huddle together for warmth.
Reaching a steep mountainous area where the creek turns into a river, Dieter and Duane
decide to build a raft and float down the river. Their raft works and their plan is going well,
that is until they suddenly hear the roar of a waterfall. They abandon the raft and swim for it,
lest they be swept over the falls. They start to run low on rice and have
dizzy spells. They manage to kill a large iguana and gorge themselves on the stringy raw meat.
They spend a single night in an abandoned village, though the place is dry, they dare not
stay longer. They keep hiking mainly through sheer force of will. A few times they see planes and try
to signal them. They criss cross the river a few times, to avoid steep spots or impenetrable brush.
Duane however is getting weaker and weaker. While he rests in a hidden, makeshift camp,
Dieter climbs to the top of a nearby ridge. When he has a vantage point, he realizes a
horrible truth. They’ve been walking in a circle. Nearby is the river and he can see the abandoned
village where they spent the night a few days ago. Duane and Deiter are demoralized. That night Duane
begins to shiver violently. He’s experiencing a bad malaria attack. While Duane tries to rest,
Ditter takes apart some of the ammo from his rifle and manages to build a fire.
He signals a helicopter and it seems to circle before flying away.
Deiter’s elated. Someone will be back to rescue them shortly. But the helicopter never returns.
Sick and starving, Duane and Dieter cautiously approach a nearby village for help,
holding out their hands to show that they are empty. But a villager brandishing a
machete attacks them. He decapitates Duane. Horrified, Dieter manages to escape and
hide in the jungle. The villagers spend a few hours hunting him before most of them give up.
Dieter goes to the abandoned village and sets it on fire. He doesn’t care if it alerts the Pathet
Lao or villagers, he just wants a plane to see. The pilot of a C-10 does see it and curiously
circles, but Dieter realizes they have no way to know that an American set the blaze.
The plane drops some aerial flares and something attached to a small white parachute. Dieter finds
the parachute canopy, but not what was attached to it. On a hill near the burnt out village,
Dieter uses the parachute to make an SOS. The next day a troop of Pathet Lao track Dieter
via his footprints. Dieter follows them unseen at a safe distance. He’s able to glean a little food
from the campsite where they stop for lunch. Dizzy, Dieter hunkers down in some bushes and
sleeps. The next morning Dieter has trouble walking and fades in and out of consciousness.
A black bear begins to follow Dieter, not attacking, but just waiting...
Dieter crosses the river to evade the bear and sees a snake sunning itself on a rock.
Without wondering if it’s poisonous, Dieter catches the snake. Holding it taut between his
two hands he bites into it while it’s still alive. Dieter’s digesting his meal and falling asleep
in the sun when he hears the sound of a Skyraider flying low.
He leaps up and waves some cloth. The plane circles and the pilot sees Dieter’s SOS sign.
It’s July 20th, 1966. Dieter has been missing nearly 6 months. He’s rescued just about 100
miles (161 km) from where he originally crashed. Dieter has two types of malaria, intestinal worms,
fungus, jaundice and hepatitis. He’s incredibly malnourished and weighs only 98
pounds (44.4 kg). Eventually, after over 2 months in the hospital, Deiter makes a full recovery.
It takes him much longer to stop having flashback nightmares about the prison camp.
Sadly, out of the seven prisoners only Dieter and one other are definitively known to have survived.
Once in the jungle, Phisit splits from the Prasits. 32 days of wandering through the
jungle later, due to hunger, Phisit faints on a road. He wakes up in captivity. A Lao villager
found him while he was unconscious. Phisit ends up in Ban Naden Prison, which is later raided by
the US on January 7, 1967. In fact, it’s the only successful rescue of POWs during the Vietnam war.
The two Prasits are never heard from again. Neither are Gene and YC. However,
in the spring of 1971, there’s a CIA report with testimony from villagers claiming that Gene was
again captured, and sent to a camp where he was interrogated by English speaking high level North
Vietnamnese Army generals. Gene was last seen in January 1968, nearly 2 years after the escape.
Upper level CIA are skeptical of the report, but Gene’s brother travels to
Laos in 1972 seeking further information. Unfortunately, his trip isn’t successful.
Dieter’s rescue is kept secret until he’s fully debriefed and it’s understood that he
never signed any confessions. He receives the Navy Cross, one of America’s highest military honors.
Once word gets out, Deiter’s a national hero. He’s surprised by all the attention he receives,
he thinks anyone would have tried that hard to return home.
And now that you've reached the end of our video, why not keep the watch party going?
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