Hero Found

by Henderson, Bruce

• ISBN13: 9780061571367
• ISBN10: 0061571369
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-29
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

In February 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over neutral Laos in territory controlled by Pathet Lao guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars. After his capture, the German-born Dengler proved to be no ordinary prisoner. Already a legend in the navy for his unique escape skills, which he had demonstrated during survival training in the California desert, he found himself caught in a desperate situation, imprisoned by the enemy and by the jungle itself. Dengler's heroic impulse was to free not only himself but also other POWs-American, Thai, and Chinese-some of whom had been held for years. In a surreal scene of brotherhood and celebration, Dengler, nearly six months after being shot down, returned to his ship in the Gulf of Tonkin-emaciated and ravaged with tropical maladies, but alive and free.Bruce Henderson served with Dengler aboard USS Ranger. In this gripping book, he tells the complete story for the first time, drawing on personal interviews with the intrepid pilot, his squadron mates, and his friends and family, as well as military archival materials-some never before made public-and letters and journals. Henderson's riveting account demonstrates why Dengler's story of unending optimism, innate courage, loyalty, and survival against overwhelming odds remains for his fellow flyers and shipmates the best and brightest memory of their generation's war.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. xi
"Born a Gypsy"	p. 1
America	p. 16
Training for Flight	p. 31
The Swordsmen	p. 54
Gray Eagle goes to War	p. 75
Shootdown	p. 99
Will to Survive	p. 124
"We'll Run out of Pilots"	p. 150
Prisoners of War	p. 157
South China Sea	p. 181
Escape	p. 194
To the Rescue	p. 225
Returning Hero	p. 233
Alive and Free	p. 241
Epilogue	p. 251
Postscript	p. 257
Dramatis Personae	p. 259
Source Notes	p. 263
Bibliography	p. 281
Index	p. 285
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