POW’s get new honor aboard USS Turner Joy (William J. Metzger)

Tayden and Crixus Dengler never met their legendary grandfather, a Navy pilot captured as a prisoner of war in Laos who escaped his captors. But at a ceremony aboard the USS Turner Joy on Monday, the children witnessed firsthand Dieter Dengler’s lasting legacy. 

Dengler’s name was added, along with four other men, to a permanent exhibit onboard the Bremerton museum ship dedicated to more than 700 POWs of the Vietnam era. It’s the first time any of the service members captured in Laos have been added. 

“It’s nice to have these moments that they can be a part of,” said the children’s mother, Jennifer. 

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