Alive and Free – Or Dead – Dieter Dengler – The First POW Pilot to Escape the Vietnam War

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..

Other Videos You Might Be Interested In

Admiral Jeremiah Denton Blinks T-O-R-T-U-R-E using Morse Code as P.O.W.

Admiral Jeremiah Denton Jr. used his eyes to blink the word “TORTURE” using Morse Code during his captivity in Vietnam. He was being filmed for propaganda purposes and this video was broadcast around the world. Naval Intelligence was able to decipher his “strange” blinking. He was awarded the Navy Cross, our Nation’s 2nd highest military honor for his heroism as a P.O.W.

Read More »

50th Anniversary of Operation Homecoming at Travis AFB

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard “Dog” Brenneman, pilot and Vietnam POW, shares his experience of being captured, kept prisoner and released from the Hanoi Hilton. Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John F. Gonge, commander and pilot, shares how the 22d Air Force executed Operation Homecoming in 1973. Kathy Freeberg, daughter of retired U.S. Air Force Col. Alan Leslie Brunstrom, pilot and Vietnam POW, shares stories of her father and his return. Operation

Read More »

The Code

Profile of retired Col. Carlyle Harris, a former POW in Vietnam who is credited with introducing the tap code, which the prisoners used to communicate

Read More »

PRISONER IN VIETNAM. The Dewey Wayne Waddell Story | F-105 Thunderchief and the Hanoi Hilton

Prisoner in Vietnam. The Dewey Wayne Waddell story of how he ended up being a prisoner at the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Dewey Wayne Waddell was taken captive after his F-105 Thunderchief was shot down by Vietnamese communist fighters in 1967, and he was released many years later, in 1973. North Vietnam’s treatment of American airmen shot down and captured over North Vietnam was a subject of controversy and concern throughout the Vietnam War. From the

Read More »

Contact Us