| Date: 1 February 1966 |
| Aircraft type: A-1J Skyraider |
| Serial Number: 142031 |
| Military Unit: VA-145 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ranger |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Dieter Dengler (POW (escaped)) |
| About an hour after Lt Eakin was shot down, another flight of four Skyraiders attacked a target deeper into Laos, near Ban Phathoung. Lt Dengler was the last to dive on the target when his aircraft (call sign Electron 504) was hit by ground fire. He crash-landed the aircraft a few miles from the target but both wings were ripped off when the aircraft struck some trees. Despite a SAR attempt in which a USAF helicopter crew spotted and photographed his wrecked aircraft, Dengler was nowhere to be seen. He had moved away from the wreck and evaded for several hours but was then captured by Pathet Lao troops. He escaped eight days after his capture but he was soon recaptured and tortured for his attempt. He was marched to a new camp at Houei Het and imprisoned with Eugene De Bruin and other members of an Air America C-46 crew who had been shot down on 5 September 1963. Also imprisoned with them was 1Lt Duane Martin who had been shot down in a HH-43 during a SAR mission on 20 September 1965. Fearing that they were about to be killed the prisoners decided to make an all-out escape attempt. On 29 June Dengler and the others escaped from their hut and broke into the camp’s armoury and a firefight broke out during which several guards were killed. Most of the prisoners escaped and Dengler and Martin stayed together as they travelled through the jungle. Eighteen days after the escape Martin was killed by a Laotian villager leaving Dieter Dengler to travel on alone. After an epic struggle for survival Dieter Dengler was eventually spotted by an A-1 pilot and rescued by a HH-3E from Udorn flown by Capt Howell on 20 July. Lt Dengler was one of the few Americans ever to escape from Laos. He was on the verge of death from starvation and exhaustion when he was found and weighed just 98lbs compared to the 157lbs he had weighed before he was shot down. Dieter Dengler, who was a German who had emigrated to the USA in his teens, was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during captivity. In 1979 he wrote a classic book, Escape from Laos, about his experiences and he has also been the subject of a television documentary. |
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