Dieter Dengler
Dieter Dengler was a Germanborn United States Navy aviator during the Vietnam War and later a private aircraft test pilot and commercial airline pilot. 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. He was rescued afterdays on the run following six months of torture and imprisonment and was the first captured U.S. airman to escape enemy captivity during the Vietnam war.
Dieter Dengler was born and raised in the small town of Wildberg, in the Black Forest region of the German state of BadenWrttemberg. He grew up not knowing his father, who had been drafted into the German army in 1939 and was killed during World War II on the Eastern Front during the winter of 194344. Dieter became very close to his mother and brothers. Denglers maternal grandfather, Hermann Schnuerle, refused to vote for Adolf Hitler in the 1934 elections . Subsequently he was paraded around town with a placard around his neck, was spat upon and was then sent to labor in a rock mine for a year. Dengler credited his grandfathers resolve as a major inspiration during his time in Laos. His grandfathers steadfastness despite the great risks was one reason Dengler refused a North Vietnamese demand that he sign a document condemning alleged American aggression in Southeast Asia.
Source: Wikipedia