Eugene DeBruin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eugene Henry DeBruin (1933-04-01)April 1, 1933 Kaukauna, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Disappeared | June 29, 1966(1966-06-29) (aged 33) Near Hoi Het,Laos |
| Status | Missing in action |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1952–1956 |
| Rank |  Staff sergeant,USAFU.S. Civilian,Air America |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War Laotian Civil War |
Eugene Henry DeBruin (April 1, 1933 – c. 1968) was a formerU.S. Air Forcestaff sergeant who disappeared after an escape attempt from a prison camp inLaos during theVietnam War. In 1963, while working forAir America, DeBruin'sC-46 was shot down and he was taken to aPathet Lao prison camp. In 1966, he and six other prisoners, includingDieter Dengler andPhisit Intharathat, attempted to escape.[1] DeBruin's date of death is disputed and he remains classified as missing in action.[2]
In 2017, his name, alongside fellow prisoners Dengler andDuane W. Martin, and two others, was added to a permanent exhibit on theUSS Turner Joy, now housed in aBremerton, Washington museum.[3] His name also appears on a brick in the Veterans Memorial Park's Ring of Honor in his hometown ofKaukauna, Wisconsin.[4][5][6]
Eugene DeBruin was born April 1, 1933, inKaukauna, Wisconsin,[7][8] the second eldest of ten children.[9] He grew up on a farm and became interested in outdoor activities such ashunting,fishing, andskiing.[citation needed] After graduating fromKaukauna High School in 1952,[citation needed] he joined theU.S. Air Force and served as an aircraft mechanic for four years in the US and Japan.[7] During this time, he obtained aprivate pilot license, learnedjudo, and reached the rank ofstaff sergeant.[citation needed]
After being discharged from the Air Force, DeBruin enrolled at theUniversity of Montana, where he earned abachelor's degree inforestry. He trained as asmokejumper with theU.S. Forest Service and theBureau of Land Management, then worked as a smokejumper in Alaska.[7] He then worked as asmokejumper[1] for three years before moving toMexico to learnSpanish with the intent of becoming a writer.[citation needed] After declining to join thePeace Corps,[citation needed] DeBruin joinedAir America in July 1963 as a kicker.[7][10] His job was to kick the pallets of rice and other food out of an airplane to aid Laotian refugees.[11] According to his brother, he had plans of joining thePeace Corps after he finished his stint withAir America.[citation needed]
On September 5, 1963, during one of his flights over Laos with Air America, DeBruin'sC-46 cargo airliner was shot down by ground fire[1][12][13][7] during a transportation mission with Americans Joseph C. Cheney II, Charles G. Herrick; Thai citizensPhisit Intharathat, Prasit Promsuwan, and Prasit Thanee; and Chinese national To Yick Chiu. The crash occurred about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) fromTchepone.[14][15] Cheney and Herrick were killed[citation needed] and DeBruin, To, Intharathat, Promsuwan, and Thanee were captured by thePathet Lao. The group of five were moved to four different prisons before an escape attempt in May 1964, which was successful for three days before they were caught at a watering hole.[15][10] The Pathet Lao announced that prisoners, including DeBruin, would be released but did not follow through.[16]
DeBruin's second escape attempt occurred on June 29, 1966 along with his Air America colleagues, US Air Force pilotDuane W. Martin, andDieter Dengler,[7][15] who the group initially suspected to be an informant due to his German accent.[17] While the guards were eating, the prisoners slipped out of their restraints and seized the guards' unattended weapons. They encountered at least five guards upon escaping the cell and split into three groups: Dengler and Martin, DeBruin and To, and Intharathat, Promsuwan, and Thanee. To was initially meant to travel with the Thai men but was very ill, and DeBruin chose to remain with him.[18][1][19]
Of the seven prisoners, only Dengler and Intharathat survived. Reports about DeBruin's death vary; one report[by whom?] stated he was killed during the escape attempt but Intharathat said during his debrief that he saw DeBruin attempting to "reach high ground in a classified location."[citation needed] A 1971reconnaissance by aCIA caseworker showed that DeBruin was held atMuong Phine after the escape attempt and moved toMuong Nong in early 1967, where he was strictly guarded.[10][20] He and eight other prisoners were reportedly taken away by Vietnamese officials in January 1968[10][21] and DeBruin was never seen again. Both the CIA and theDefense Intelligence Agency dismissed this finding.[20] DeBruin's brother Jerome traveled to Laos in 1972 in search of information but was told that the Pathet Lao would only negotiate with the US government.[citation needed] In 1993, an editor from theTampa Bay Times wrote that theUS Department of State told her Laotian government officials claimed DeBruin was killed in 1982 during another escape attempt.[22]
DeBruin was portrayed byJeremy Davies inWerner Herzog's 2007 filmRescue Dawn,[23] which focused mainly on Dengler's life. DeBruin was depicted as selfish, unstable, and ready to betray his fellow prisoners at any time.[19] The film received criticism from members of DeBruin's family and fromPhisit Intharathat.[24][9][10] Accounts from Dengler's 1979 autobiographyEscape from Laos described DeBruin as kind, inventive, and intelligent, and wrote that he was integral to planning their escape.[19][10] Herzog later acknowledged that DeBruin acted heroically during his imprisonment but defended his choices, saying he took "artistic liberty" based in part on conversations with Dengler years before about the "antagonistic relationships among the prisoners when under extreme duress."[9][25]