The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resilience in the Hanoi Hilton

Historian and PW reviewer Leepson (Huntland) offers an immersive biography of Doug Hegdahl, “the youngest and lowest-ranking American POW captured in North Vietnam,” who famously recited the names of 254 prisoners of the Hanoi Hilton after his release and alerted the world to the POW camp’s inhumane conditions and torture of prisoners. Drawing on interviews with Hegdahl’s fellow POWs, Leepson presents a complete picture of the extraordinary story, including its unlikely beginnings: Hegdahl, an enlisted seaman, was blown overboard by the concussive force of one of his own ship’s gun blasts and picked up by Vietnamese boaters in 1967. He ended up in the Hilton, which was mostly filled with high-ranking pilots. Under questioning, Hegdahl, already feeling foolish at having gone overboard, fell into a country bumpkin–like affect. The guards quickly dismissed him as “The Incredibly Stupid One” and gave him free rein of the camp. He connected with the interred officers, who, impressed with Hegdahl’s apparently superhuman memorization skills (which he proved by reciting the Gettysburg Address backwards, a feat Leepson reveals was also a bit of chicanery—Hegdahl was reading it off), ordered him to memorize their names and accept the early release that they themselves refused. Leepson paints a striking picture of a canny survivor nonetheless committed to his compatriots. Vietnam War buffs will be riveted. (Dec.)

Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that Doug Hegdahl recited the names of every prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton. There were around 400 POWs held there at the time of his release; he recited the names of 254 of them.