DENGLER, DIETER

Name: Dieter Dengler
Rank/Branch: 02/US Navy
Unit: Attack Squadron 145, USS Ranger
Date of Birth: (born in Germany - US Citizen)
Home City of Record: Hillsborough CA
Date of Loss: 01 February 1966
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 174200N 1051500E (WE270590)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A1H

Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 1990 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 660720 ESCAPED

SYNOPSIS: The USS RANGER was a seasoned combat veteran, having been deployed to
Vietnam for Flaming Dart I operations. The carrier played a steady role for the
remainder of American involvement in the war. The first fighter jets to bomb
Haiphong in Operation Rolling Thunder came from her decks.

LT Dieter Dengler was a German-born American citizen who advanced from VT30 to
Attack Squadron 122 in late 1964 and then to Attack Squadron 145 onboard the
RANGER. Dengler was known to his shipmates as something of a renegade; the ops
officer was always after him to get a haircut and Dengler was forever in trouble
over his uniform or lack of military manner. In his German accent, he would
protest, "I don't understand." But Dengler was a good pilot, although his flying
career was brief.

On February 1, 1966, U.S. Navy Lt. Dieter Dengler launched from the aircraft
carrier USS RANGER in an A1H Skyraider as part of a four-aircraft interdiction
mission near the border of Laos. Dieter was the last man to roll in on a target
when he was observed by the pilot of one of the other aircraft to start a normal
recover. Due to limited visibility, the flight lost sight of him.

The other aircraft in the flight could not determine what had happened. They
only kne Dengler disappeared. Dengler later stated that ground fire had severely
damaged his aircraft, and he was forced to crash land in Laos. Search continued
all that day and part of the night without success.

The following morning, squadron members again went to search the area where
Dengler disappeared and located the aircraft wreckage. Helicopters were called
in. From the air, it appeared that no one was in the cockpit of the aircraft.
The helicopter crew photographed the area and noted his donut (a round seat
cushion) on the ground by the wing. They hoped he was still alive in the jungle
somewhere.

Dengler had successfully evaded capture through that night, and later said that
he even saw the rescue aircraft as they searched for him. He had tried without
success to raise them on his emergency radio. Dengler was finally captured by
Pathet Lao troops, who tortured him as they force-marched him through several
villages. Eight days later, Dengler escaped, but was recaptured within a short
time.

Ultimately, Dengler found himself in a camp in Laos held with other American
POWs. One of them, 1Lt. Duane W. Martin, had been aboard an HH43B "Huskie"
helicopter operating about 10 miles from the border of Laos in Ha Tinh Province,
North Vietnam, when the HH43B went down near the city of Tan An, and all four
personnel aboard the aircraft were captured. It is not clear if the four were
captured by North Vietnamese or Pathet Lao troops or a combination of the two.
Duane W. Martin was taken to a camp controlled by Pathet Lao. Thomas J. Curtis,
William A. Robinson and Arthur N. Black were released in 1973 by the North
Vietnamese, and were in the Hanoi prison system as early as 1967.

When Duane Martin arrived at the camp, he found himself held with other
Americans. Some of them had been held for more than two years. (Note: This would
indicate that there were Americans in this camp who had been captured in 1964.
The only American officially listed as captured in Laos in 1964 is Navy Lt.
Charles F. Klusmann, who was captured in June 1964 and escaped in August 1964.
Source for the "two years" information is Mersky & Polmer's "The Naval Air War
in Vietnam", and this source does not identify any Americans by name who had
been held "for more than two years." Civilian Eugene DeBruin, an acknowledged
Laos POW who has never been returned, had been captured in the fall of 1963.
Dengler has stated that a red-bearded DeBruin was held in one of the camps in
which he was held. All previous Laos loss incidents occurred in 1961 and 1962.)
              
Throughout the fall of 1965 and into spring and summer of 1966, the group of
Americans suffered regular beatings, torture, harassment, hunger and illness in
the hands of their captors. According to an "American Opinion" special report
entitled "The Code" (June 1973), Dengler witnessed his captors behead an
American Navy pilot and execute six wounded Marines. (Note: no other source
information available at time of writing reveals the names of these seven
Americans.)

On June 29, 1965, after hearing the prisoners were to be killed, Martin and
Dengler and unnamed others (Eugene DeBruin was apparently part of this group,
but was recaptured, and according to information received by his family, was
alive at least until January 1968, when he was taken away with other prisoners
by North Vietnamese regular army troops) decided to make their escape in a hail
of gunfire in which six communist guards were killed. Dengler was seriously ill
with jaundice, and Martin was sick with malaria. Dengler and Martin and the
others made their way through the dense jungle surviving on fruits, berries, and
some rice they had managed to save during their captivity.

They floated down river on a raft they had constructed, eventually coming to an
abandoned village where the men found some corn. After a night's rest, Dengler
and Martin made their way downstream to another village. This settlement was
occupied, however, and the two Americans were suddenly attacked by a villager
with a machete. Dengler managed to escape back into the jungle, but Martin was
beheaded by the assailant. It had been 18 days since their escape.

Dengler made his way alone, and on the 22nd day, with his strength almost gone,
he was able to form an SOS with some rocks, and waited, exausted to be rescued
or die. Luck was with him, for by late morning, an Air Force A1E spotted the
signal and directed a helicopter to pick up Dengler. He weighed 98 pounds. When
he had launched from his aircraft carrier 5 months earlier, he had weighed 157
pounds.

Dengler returned to California, and has written a book, "Escape From Laos" on
his experiences while a POW.

Curtis, Robinson and Black were released from Hanoi on February 12, 1973, over
seven years from the time of their capture. Lt. Duane Martin's fate remains
uncertain. If, as reported, he was killed during the escape attempt, no effort
has been made by the Lao to return his body.

Martin is one of nearly 600 Americans who remain prisoner, missing or otherwise
unaccounted for in Laos. Although the U.S. maintained only a handful of these
men in POW status, over 100 were known to have survived their loss incident. The
Pathet Lao stated during the war that they held "tens of tens" of American
prisoners, but they would be released only from Laos (meaning that the U.S. must
negotiate directly with the Pathet Lao).

The Pathet Lao were not part of the agreements that ended American involvement
in Southeast Asia, and no negotiations have been conducted with them since for
the prisoners they held.

Reports continue to come in related to missing Americans in Southeast Asia. It
does not seem likely that Martin is among the hundreds thought by many
authorities to be still alive, but what would he think of the abandonment of his
fellow Americans. Are we doing enough to bring these men home?

