July 20, 1966: Forty-five years ago today, Navy pilot Dieter Dengler was rescued by an Air Force helicopter after a 21-day trek through the jungle following his dramatic escape from a POW camp in the dark heart of Laos. His buddy and fellow escaped POW, Duane Martin, an Air Force pilot, had been attacked and killed days earlier by a machete-wielding villager. Doctors would describe Dieter, badly malnourished and suffering from a host of jungle diseases and parasites, as being within 24 hours of dying. After being lifted by cable into the cabin of the hovering helicopter, Dieter, who weighed 98 pounds, grabbed hold of the crew chief’s leg and cried out, “Oh my God, I’m alive!”
Books by Bruce Henderson
Glad you are enjoying HERO FOUND. I never saw a video of Dieter’s news conference. I did, however, find an official U.S. Navy transcript, which is what I used as source material for that scene in the book. Yes, Dieter was a good guy. Very friendly and open.