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Dieter Dengler (May 22, 1938 – February 7, 2001) was a German-born 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 (POWs) who escaped from a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos. He was rescued after 23 days on the run[1] following six months of torture and imprisonment and was the first captured U.S. airman to escape enemy captivity during the Vietnam war.[2][3]

Flying low over the dangerous and impenetrable Laotian jungle on a bombing mission against the Viet Cong, U.S. Air Force Colonel Eugene Deatrick saw a lone figure waving to him from a clearing below. He continued on his flight path, but ten minutes later - puzzled that a native in this hostile terrain would try to attract his attention - he decided to turn back for another recce. This time, he saw the letters SOS spelt out on a rock. Beside them stood an emaciated man dressed in rags, waving the remains of a parachute over his head and signalling...

Every American needs to see "Rescue Dawn," in theaters nationwide today. If it's the only movie you see this year, you've done yourself a service at the box office. It is the best movie of the year. The silver screen story of Dieter Dengler--a Navy pilot shot down over Laos and imprisoned in a Vietcong POW camp--is not only a great movie. It is patriotic and uplifting. It is the story of survival against all odds, and the story of a man who refused to denounce his adopted country, the United States of America. And it is the story of...

Cannot post due to Navy Times copyright whining. Story deals with new movie dramatizing the story of LTJG Dieter Dengler, one of just a few to escape from a Communist POW camp. Critics of movie claim it is dishonest and distorted. Link