Hero: Seaman Doug Hegdahl
[October 15, 2026] Douglas Brent “Doug” Hegdahl III is a former U.S. Navy sailor and Vietnam War POW known for an extraordinary act of intelligence gathering while imprisoned at the Hỏa Lò Prison (the “Hanoi Hilton”). Today, I’m calling him a hero.
He enlisted in the Navy in 1966 after high school. On the night of April 6, 1967, while serving as a Seaman Apprentice aboard the USS Canberra in the Gulf of Tonkin, the 20-year-old was knocked overboard (reportedly by the blast of a 5-inch gun mount while watching the guns fire).
He survived hours in the water before Vietnamese fishermen picked him up; they turned him over to North Vietnamese forces, and he was taken to the Hanoi Hilton. It was one of the more unusual captures of the war; he later called it “probably the most embarrassing capture in the entire Vietnam War.”
At the camp, Hegdahl (the youngest and lowest-ranking American POW there) pretended to be illiterate and of low intelligence. His captors nicknamed him “The Incredibly Stupid One” (Kẻ Ngu Ngốc Tột Đỉnh) and gave him relative freedom of movement. He used this to:
- Help with communications among prisoners (including via tap codes).
- Sabotage five North Vietnamese trucks by putting dirt in their fuel tanks.
- Memorize the names, capture dates, methods of capture, and personal details of roughly 256 fellow POWs (sources vary slightly between 254–256). With help from fellow prisoner Joseph Crecca, he committed the information to memory by setting it to the tune of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” which he hummed repeatedly.
American POWs had generally agreed not to accept early release. Senior officers made an exception for Hegdahl and ordered him to accept one so he could deliver the intelligence. He was released on August 5, 1969 (along with two other POWs) as part of a North Vietnamese propaganda effort.
Upon return, he provided the full list and detailed accounts of the harsh conditions and torture. This allowed the U.S. to reclassify dozens of men previously listed as missing in action (around 63 in some accounts) as confirmed POWs, giving families answers and increasing pressure on North Vietnam regarding prisoner treatment.
After his service (he reached Petty Officer Second Class and was discharged in 1970),
Hero: Seaman Doug Hegdahl
Hegdahl worked for many years as a SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) instructor at the Navy’s school in San Diego, sharing lessons from his experience.
In late 1970, Ross Perot arranged for him to confront North Vietnamese representatives at the Paris Peace Talks with his firsthand knowledge of POW mistreatment. He has kept a low profile in later years and lives privately in the San Diego area. A 2024 biography, The Unlikely War Hero by Marc Leepson, details his story.
He received the Prisoner of War Medal; other higher awards he was nominated for were not
approved by the Navy. His actions are widely regarded among veterans and former POWs as one of the more remarkable non-combat contributions of the war.
And besides, a medal does not a hero make.
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As the article by Gen. Satterfield concludes, his quiet resourcefulness and obedience under extreme conditions illustrate that “a medal does not a hero make.” Sir, please continue your long-running works on showing us “heroes” that are often just ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The story here today, one of Navyman Doug Hegdahl is one of the Vietnam War. To him, I say, “Welcome Home.” We cannot say that often enough, and with enough truth in it. I’m proud to be an American who can say that we have people like Doug Hegdahl, and we need more like him.
MORE HEROES THANK YOU GEN SATTERFIELD
I learned about Navy Seaman Doug Hegdahl while I was at sea. One of the Petty Officers had served with him.