Captured and at the mercy of an increasingly cruel enemy, German-born US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler was left with no choice but to attempt a daring escape from the Pathet Lao prison camp in which he was being held during the Vietnam War. The fateful decision was made only after he and six other POWs had overheard plans to get rid of them as soon as the guards ran out of food. Dieter would choose to take matters into his own hands – deciding that he would be [QUOTE] “alive and free—or dead.” After twenty-three days on the run through the dense Laos jungle, he was the only one of the group to successfully return to his home country from the camp after the ordeal, making him the first POW airman to escape in the Vietnam War..
P.O.W.: Passing on Wisdom
Vietnam Prisoners of War recall their experiences and the inspirational story of how they not only survived their imprisonment, but found growth and gratitude afterwards. Their stories are juxtaposed with those of recent Naval Academy Midshipmen who are facing the COVID pandemic and applying those same foundational values to their own experiences.
