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..
James Stockdale – Vietnam War P.O.W. Medal of Honor Hero
MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION PLACE: HOA LO PRISON, HANOI, NORTH VIETNAM MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION DATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 1969 RANK: REAR ADMIRAL (RANK AT TIME OF ACTION: CAPTAIN) CONFLICT/ERA: VIETNAM WAR – U.S. NAVY UNIT/COMMAND: ATTACK CARRIER AIR WING 16, U.S.S. ORISKANY MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION DATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 1969 For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while senior naval officer in the prisoner-of-war
