Hero Found

The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War

By: Bruce Henderson

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

In February 1966, U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over "neutral Laos". He crashed deep in territory controlled by North Vietnamese army regulars and the communist Pathet Lao, who would eventually capture him and hold him prisoner in a fortified jungle prisoner-of-war camp.

But German-born Dengler was no ordinary prisoner. Already a legend in the Navy for his escape and evasion skills - amply demonstrated during training in the California desert - he would initiate, plan, and lead an organized escape from the POW camp, becoming the longest-held American to escape captivity during the Vietnam War.

Caught in a most desperate situation, imprisoned not only by the enemy but by the jungle itself, Dengler's heroic impulse was to not only get himself out but to free all the other POWs - Americans, Thai, and Chinese - some of whom had been held for years. In a surreal scene of brotherhood and celebration, Dengler returned to his aircraft carrier, the USS Ranger, six months after being shot down - emaciated and ravaged with strange tropical illnesses, but very much alive and joyous to be so - only two weeks before the ship was due to leave the Gulf of Tonkin and return home.

Bruce Henderson served with Dengler aboard Ranger off the coast of Vietnam and here tells Dengler's complete story for the first time, drawing on extensive interviews with the intrepid pilot, his squadron mates, friends, and family, as well as declassified military archival materials, some now available for the first time, and personal letters and journals.

Henderson's riveting account amply demonstrates why Dengler's story of unending optimism, innate courage, loyalty, and survival against overwhelming odds remains for his fellow flyers and shipmates the best and brightest memory of their generation's war.

©2010 Bruce Henderson (P)2010 Tantor

Incredible story....After you read the story he realize that he was one of God’s miracles that he survived!

Absolutely fabulous… Very difficult to turn off.... I am a Vietnam veteran and the story to me was almost unbelievable that this man could survive ...!! Only by the grace of God!

Captivating story.

Where does Hero Found rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was among the top of my list of captivating books that I have listened too. I found myself sitting in my car longer than necessary just to find out what happened next.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dieter Dengle, whom the book is about was my favorite. He was the kind of guy that people wish they were.

What does Todd McLaren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Todd was an excellent narrator that was able to have distinctive accents for the various characters and pronounce the Laotian and Vietnamese cities correctly.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It did make me a little misty eyed at the end.

Any additional comments?

This was a well written and well narrated book. It described Dieter Dengle's history very well and told about what happened to the other people involved at the end. This book left me wanting to read about other POWs during the Vietnam war.

the will to live

If you like stories about American servicemen being captured, tortured, surviving aginst all odds, and the strength of the human spirit, then you'll like this story. Much like "Unbroker" that's popular now, this is about VietNam. It was a good story.

Absolutely exceptional

This book should be on the syllabus of every school in the nation. It is extraordinarily uplifting and yet brought tears to my eyes when I put in down.

A second chance at life wasted?

While in general the story is quite engaging and the narration is good, I found two flaws with this book. On the first hand, locational he details were provided which were not necessary to the story or pulled us into side stories of lesser interest. Secondly, the main character himself provides a sad story. Without a doubt he lived a very difficult life, but the author sometimes seems to justify his theft, using and manipulating other people, infidelity, divorce, and suicide in a cavalier manner. At the end of the story, I found myself wondering what his second chance at life could've been.

Hero Found

A great story, Deter has a zest for life and no one is stopping that. Narrator does a great job.

Super

I really enjoyed this book - reader was easy to listen to and I liked the story line - a great book!

Adventure of a lifetime!!

Very exciting and adventurous!!! Denglers story is one of a kind :) It has changed the way I think :)

Extremely interesting and well-written!

The author's a good writer, and the hero is a fascinating guy. Draws you right into what it must have felt like to be escaping through the jungle in Vietnam.

Incredible determination and will to survive

Fascinating account of US Navy aviator Dieter Dengler and his experiences as a POW and how is was able to escape, several times, from his captors.
The book lays the ground work for Dieter's amazing ability to survive and endure by relaying his childhood in WWII Germany and how he was able to immigrate to the US and eventually join the US Navy and learn to fly.
The, sometimes graphic, account of his escape through Laos and Vietnam is gruesome to imagine, making his feat all the more impressive

My only knock would be the lengthy back-story from his childhood in Germany, though important to set the stage I think it could have been shortened a bit without taking away from the story.