Dieter dengler, shipmate and friend bruce henderson. Riveting, astounding, a profile of courage and mental agility. Dieter dengler, a pow who escaped a laotian torture camp during the vietnam war and chronicled his experience in the book escape from laos, has died. He did not know his father, who was forced to join the german army when he was an infant and. In the 1990s, with both of us living in the san francisco area, we became friends.
While i tend to avoid real lifethemed works in fiction, i do enjoy reading history books, biographies and memoirs. When navy bomber pilot dieter dengler turned up alive, six months after. Dengler documented his experience in the book escape from laos. Dieter denglers great escape from laotian pow camp historynet.
Dieter dengler biography facts, childhood, family life. Dieter dengler, who was shot down in 1966 during a topsecret mission to destroy viet cong strongholds in laos. Comparing the movie, rescue dawn, with the real life story. The story is revolved around the vietnam veteran and a navy pilot, dieter dengler, with whom herzog could identify and relate to. Dieter dengler is the subject of the book, hero found by bruce henderson. Buy escape from laos book club bcebomc by dengler, dieter isbn. What happened to gene debruin how hollywood robbed an. Dieter dengler may 22, 1938 february 7, 2001 was a germanborn united states navy naval aviator and pilot during the vietnam war and later a private aircraft test pilot and commercial airline pilot. Dieter dengler interview the truth about rescue dawn youtube. Lieutenant dengler, played by actor christian bale, was captured and subjected to brutal torture. The author did a tremendous job in writing the book. There may be underlining, highlighting, and or writing. Dieter cares especially about functionality and specifically asks for his equipment to be customised in order to improve the efficiency. If herzog was so intent on twisting events and characters for dramatic purposes, he.
Dieter dengler in a 2000 interview on the real gene debruin. Diagnosed with lou gehrigs disease als in 2000, dieter died on february 7, 2001. The batman begins star was shopping for snacks late one night at a whole foods supermarket when rolf dengler, the son of real life prisoner of war dieter dengler, approached him in the aisle. I met dieter dengler when i was 14 and he was a guest in our home. Rescue dawn, eugene debruin and dieter dengler june 3, 2010 by bruce henderson 2 comments hollywood has long taken liberties when it comes to telling true stories and depicting real lives, but in werner herzogs film, rescue dawn, his overthetop depiction of a wisconsinbred american pow held captive in laos was egregious. Behind enemy lines was an inspiring book filled with true stories of brave americans who demonstrated strong acts of courage and patriotism. He was rescued after 23 days on the run 1 following six.
The ranger and its warplanes, including the skyraiders of va145, had just repositioned from dixie to yankee station following a short workup off the waters of south vietnam in the. Sense of history drives writer to tell pow tale sfgate. After months of imprisonment and torture he escapes. Bruce henderson served with dengler aboard uss ranger in 1966. Dieter dengler s escape from the pow camp and survival in the laotian jungle is certainly still heroic. Dengler was shot down over laos, and held captive until his escape. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Escape from laos livros na amazon brasil 97808217112. Based on herzogs 1997 documentary little dieter needs to fly, which told the story of dieter dengler, a germanamerican pilot who was shot down over laos during the vietnam war and held captive in a prison camp, rescue dawn reimagines dengler s tale as a strange, survivalist adventure, replete with wondrous shots of nature and. Rescue dawn, eugene debruin and dieter dengler bruce. He was buried with full military honors at arlington national cemetery. He was one of two survivors, the other being phisit intharathat, out of seven prisoners of war who escaped from a pathet lao prison camp in laos.
German born pilot dieter dengler was shot down in laos. Most of all, we miss the living presence of dieter dengler, who died five years ago. Dengler and a small band of his fellow captives stage a deathdefying escape. Dieter dengler may 22, 1938 february 7, 2001 was a germanborn united states navy aviator during the vietnam war and later a private aircraft test pilot and commercial airline pilot. If thats true, then the only reason for this book is that dengler was the first prisoner to escape from southeast. An american pilot shot down over laos in 1966 tells of his inhuman. Rescue dawn dvd king county library system bibliocommons. He is taken captive by the vietnamese army and is forced to endure a harrowing stint in a vietnamese prison camp. Best book i read in 2007 and im squeamish about war narratives. The real dieter dengler had a very thick german accent, and christian and i were quite clear. Herzog, werner, the making of a true story, documentary feature on the.
He also told me many stories that are not in the book. Dieter dengler was born on may 22, 1938 in wildberg, in the black forest region of badenwurttemberg, germany and was raised by his mother alongside his brothers. I saw miss saigon the musical this afternoon, and tears were running down my face, because it was so real to me what happened to the gis, and the girls and the children who. This feature has been long on the mind of herzog, who film for film is the most original and challenging of directors. Escape from laos on february 2nd of 1966, us navy lieutenant dieter dengler was flying his first combat mission over north vietnam from the carrier u. I always felt that one day i would write more of dieter s story.
Dengler returned to california, and has written a book, escape from laos. The book then covers dengler s return to civilian life briefly and his love, loss and sad ending. Comparing the movie, rescue dawn, with the real life story of dieter dengler please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. Buy escape from laos book online at low prices in india. In 2000, dieter dengler was diagnosed with als, known by many as lou gehrigs disease. He refuses the idea of sitting idle in the laotian camp, and. Dengler, however, adopts a lighthearted perspective on these events, leaving the impression that his laotian travails did not fundamentally change his life. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. During the vietnam war, skyraider dieter denglerwho had learned survival skills as a youth in germany and who was a navy legend for his extraordinary. It was a portrayal that contradicted the facts presented in the books by dengler and henderson. Read about bruce henderson and his quest to write full story of dieter dengler s life. Dieter dengler, a pow who escaped a laotian torture camp during the vietnam war and chronicled his experience in the book escape from.
I shudder to think what details were edited out of this book. Navy pilot, dieter dengler, and his escape from a north vietnamese pow camp in 1966. Dieter dengler interview the truth about rescue dawn. It showed dengler lived life to the fullest and bravely chose when to end it. Shot down over laos, dieter dengler crawled out of the twisted wreckage of his skyraider and into an epic struggle for survival that would tap all his resources of strength, courage, and will to live. When we met him in little dieter, he was driving in a solid car, living in a stolid middle class house, having spent the rest of his life as a test pilot he managed to survive four more. It was like steve mcqueen in the great escape for real, and i had. Escape from laos by dieter dengler 1979, hardcover for. I also recommend the film little dieter needs to fly where dengler himself takes one back to the scene of these. Rescue dawn tells true story of vietnam pow rescue u. We decided to do a book together about dieter s life before and during vietnam, and pitched the idea to several publishers. Escape from laos is dieter dengler s account of the time he spent as a pow in laos, including his escape. Escape from laos is dieter dengler s account of the time he spent as a pow in.
This book is an amazing story and excellently portrays the life of a brave american. Dieter dengler and duane martin arrived at the prison about two. In 2001, dieter lost the ability to eat or speak coherently. This book is filled with eight real life stories about spies and undercover workers in war from significant wars in our history including the american revolution, the civil war, wwii and the war in iraq. He was rescued after 23 days on the run following six months. He was one of two survivors the other being pisidhi indradat, out of seven prisoners of war s, to escape from a pathet lao prison camp in laos. This book compares the 2007 film, rescue dawn, with the real life story of dieter dengler. The life of dengler is full of hardships, from the childhood in the war devastated germany, to the frustration caused by the struggle for the pilot position in the aviation forces to the crash landing of his plane. Escape from laos by dieter dengler 1996, paperback for. He used the real dieter dengler in a 1997 documentary named little dieter needs to fly, in which he took dengler back to the jungle, and together they recreated his escape while dengler provided a breathlessly intense narration.
By then, i had written nearly twenty nonfiction books. This book explores the life and legacy of former u. Herzogs film is starkly at odds with dieter dengler s own book escape from laos, and dengler s statements in the documentary little dieter needs to fly 1997, when it comes to the character of gene debruin. Dieter dengler may 22, 1938 february 7, 2001 was a germanborn united states navy. May not include supplemental items like discs, access codes, dust jacket, etc. The real dieter dengler story not mooseshits bullshit. The real gene debruin played in the movie by jeremy davies was spoken of highly by dengler. But there was no reason to devalue and defame debruin to tell dengler s story. Learning to fly, dieter dengler speaks about werner herzog.