MasterBates
Well-Known Member
A4s, where is that pic from? center-deck elevator (WWII style)?
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POWs Tell Their Tales (Pensacola)
- Thread starter ea6bflyr
- Start date
+1 for calling a spade a spade.
It was. But he still had some hoops to jump through to finally get an up-chit, after many months of recovery in Balboa Naval Hospital....... One of the more amazing parts I found was that one of the POW's had his thumb cut off by the North Vietnamese doctors but when he returned home he was still allowed to go on to fly F-14's later in his career. I thought that was first class of the Navy and DOD.
As might have been mentioned in the symposium, without an opposing thumb that the Gomers hacked off, he had difficulty pulling CB's on one side of the cockpit. It was a requirement. So he went to a hardware store and got one of these little grabbers....
.... and proved he could pull any circuit breaker in the cockpit. The rest is history.
Incidentally, he was recently featured and interviewed on the History Channel's Dogfight series (downing two MiGs). And after an impressive Navy career, he now works for Major League Baseball in public relations and in promoting the military. They don't come any better than him.
What was the general content of said ass-chewing? Asking a hard question?
The major could have said something like,"I believed that wounded soldiers deserved the best care possible and it was my duty to provide that care..." Not the best answer, but a decent one.
The major could have said something like,"I believed that wounded soldiers deserved the best care possible and it was my duty to provide that care..." Not the best answer, but a decent one.
without an opposing thumb that the Gomers hacked off, he had difficulty pulling CB's on one side of the cockpit. It was a requirement. So he went to a hardware store and got one of these little grabbers....
.... and proved he could pull any circuit breaker in the cockpit.
Now if only MB could fit into the cockpit.......no time in captivity required.
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
Are there any books written about the POWs who came home early/collaberated/didn't adhere to the Code Of Conduct? I saw some footage of some of the early releases giving a press conference (surrounding Doug Hegdhal, who obviously had approval) but they didn't say much.
I have no intention of honoring these people, but their story would be interesting. Call it morbid curiosity.
I have no intention of honoring these people, but their story would be interesting. Call it morbid curiosity.
Not that I'm aware of -- the Navy and most other "official" sources probably don't like to talk about it. There are some internet sites that have a glimmer of truth, but take those with a grain of salt as many times the author has an ax to grind ...
Wow, did I just get 3 clichés into one sentence ???
Hegdhal -- I met him in Coronado shortly after he was repatriated. He got "approval" because of his age and relative lack of knowing anything. He was a very junior E-Man. He spoke to a group of us and the NAV was using him as a "consultant" before the term had been coined.
The "rumor" was that Hegdhal got thrown overboard -- we'll never know the truth. He ain't tellin' and neither are the guys (if any) who did it.
Not that I'm aware of -- the Navy and most other "official" sources probably don't like to talk about it. There are some internet sites that have a glimmer of truth, but take those with a grain of salt as many times the author has an ax to grind ...
Wow, did I just get 3 clichés into one sentence ???
Hegdhal -- I met him in Coronado shortly after he was repatriated. He got "approval" because of his age and relative lack of knowing anything. He was a very junior E-Man. He spoke to a group of us and the NAV was using him as a "consultant" before the term had been coined.
The "rumor" was that Hegdhal got thrown overboard -- we'll never know the truth. He ain't tellin' and neither are the guys (if any) who did it.
Truth. There are clearly some bad apples that have been documented. Some good guys have been slammed by those with axes to grind, most notably some whackos who claim that John McCain is a real-life Manchurian Candidate.
Hegdahl has a prominent role in certain military training videos about the POW experience, so I assume the DON holds him in some regard as not being a d-bag.
Recommend the movie The Hanoi Hilton for a fictionalized account of the experience. If you're familiar with history, you can pick out a lot of the people the characters are based on, e.g. John McCain, Fred Cherry, Hegdahl, Everett Alvarez, etc.
I believe Mr. Hegdahl spoke to my class at SERE school NASNI/Warner Springs.
And from Wiki:
"During his prison stay, Hegdahl sabotaged five trucks by putting small amounts of dirt in their gas tanks. After he was through with them, each of the vehicles had to be towed from the compound.
Hegdahl was one of three POWs who were released from Hanoi on 5 August 1969 as a propaganda move for the North Vietnamese. [1] Although the POWs had agreed that none would accept early release — that they would all be released together — the POWs agreed that Hegdahl's.[3] He was ordered by LtCmdr Stratton to accept an early release so that he could provide names of POWs being held by the North Vietnamese and reveal the conditions to which the prisoners were being subjected."
If the above is true, it would seem SN Hegdahl did well in captivity and had an important set of orders from the SRO.
And from Wiki:
"During his prison stay, Hegdahl sabotaged five trucks by putting small amounts of dirt in their gas tanks. After he was through with them, each of the vehicles had to be towed from the compound.
Hegdahl was one of three POWs who were released from Hanoi on 5 August 1969 as a propaganda move for the North Vietnamese. [1] Although the POWs had agreed that none would accept early release — that they would all be released together — the POWs agreed that Hegdahl's.[3] He was ordered by LtCmdr Stratton to accept an early release so that he could provide names of POWs being held by the North Vietnamese and reveal the conditions to which the prisoners were being subjected."
If the above is true, it would seem SN Hegdahl did well in captivity and had an important set of orders from the SRO.
He was hired on to work with SERE training at NASNI or so the interweb "facts" say...
I don't know about him being a d-bag or anything. AFAIK, he did a pretty damn good job.... sabotaging trucks, fvcking with the enemy to get information, snooping around, and memorizing the names, status and circumstances of like 256 prisoners. Seems to me he'd have a fair bit to share with SERE (read: any military member) students based on his experiences...
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to slam Hegdahl. It's just that in the footage they kept talking about him being the only one that was authorized to leave early. He was standing with some other people who had also been released, so I started to wonder what ever happenned to them?
I'm actually surprised that the one A4s knew was allowed to serve again (his gun instructor, not his friend who did 7+ years). I just figured that the services would quietly discipline and/or discharge those who didn't keep the faith.
I'm actually surprised that the one A4s knew was allowed to serve again (his gun instructor, not his friend who did 7+ years). I just figured that the services would quietly discipline and/or discharge those who didn't keep the faith.
For those of you who may not have heard of Hegdhal:
Doug Hegdahl was born in 1948 in Clark, SD. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on October 25, 1966, and was trained as a Postal Clerk. While serving aboard the USS Canberra, Hegdahl was blown overboard off the deck of the ship in the Gulf of Tonkin and was taken as a Prisoner of War by the North Vietnamese on April 6, 1967.
He was later ordered by his Senior Ranking Officer to take an early release in order to report the names of several hundred POWs that the State Department may not have known about, as well as the torture that our POWs were going through in North Vietnam. After spending 852 days as a POW, Douglas Hegdahl was released on August 5, 1969. He was discharged on July 1, 1970, and later served an outstanding career with the U.S. Navy SERE School.
Hegdahl was later recommended for a number of medals by his SRO in the POW Chain of Command, including the Navy/Marine Corps Medal (with Valor Device), Bronze Star (with Valor Device), Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal (with Valor Device), and the Navy Commondation Medal (with Valor Device). These medals were never awarded to him.
Again ... there are two "official" stories @ how he came to end up in the Tonkin Gulf ... one that he was "blown overboard by the blast from a 5" gun (?)" ... and another that he fell overboard during violent maneuvering by the ship while dodging NVA shore batteries. He told us the former.
And then there's the pesky "other rumor" ...
I don't think anyone knew the "truth" at the time ... it was only when the bulk of the POWs came home that some ugly details came out. Like I say ... he just kinda disappeared after that ...
The NAVY, as usual, doesn't like to air out it's dirty laundry for all to see -- hurts the image they like to portray. And in this case, the whole question of Vietnam was highly politicized and some did NOT want to make public any stories of POWs acting less than honorable.
The war -- politicized. Not like it is today, yea-as ???