Duane W. Martin
Encyclopedia
Duane Whitney Martin was an American
Air Force
officer and prisoner of war
during the Vietnam War
.
Martin was assigned to Detachment 1 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron
(38th ARRS), based at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base
, Thailand. On September 20, 1965, Captain Thomas J. Curtis, Martin, Sergeant William A. Robinson, and Crew chief Arthur Black took off in their Kaman
HH-43 Huskie BuNo 62-4510, callsign Dutchy 41 on a CSAR for Essex 04, an F-105D piloted by Capt Willis E. Forby, over North Vietnam
. The HH-43 was hit by ground fire and crashed in the jungle.
Curtis, Robinson, and Black were all captured by the North Vietnamese Army
and taken to a POW camp in North Vietnam. They were later released during Operation Homecoming
. Martin, on the other hand was captured by the Pathet Lao
and taken to a POW camp in Laos
. There, he joined fellow prisoners Eugene DeBruin
(American), Pisidhi Indradat
, Prasit Promsuwan, Prasit Dhanee (all Thai
), and Y.C. To (Chinese). They were joined in February 1966 by Dieter Dengler
.
On June 29, 1966, while the guards were eating, the group slipped out of their hand and foot restraints and grabbed the guard's unattended weapons. The Pathet Lao guards spotted some of the other prisoners trying to escape. A shootout between the two sides ensued and Dengler killed at least three of the guards. The seven prisoners split into three groups: Indradat, and the other Thai prisoners; DeBruin stayed with To, who had been too ill to continue with the escape; Dengler and Martin headed for the Mekong River to escape to Thailand.
Several days after the escape, Martin and Dengler were hiding out near an Akha village. Martin had a bout with malaria and was severely weakened. He was further demoralized when an attempt to signal a C-130
flareship that came over them produced no results. He told Dengler that he was going to die. Later that day he told Dengler that he was going to try to steal some food from the village. Dengler told him it would be suicide but accompanied him on the venture. As they neared the village, they encountered a boy playing with a dog. The boy alerted the village of their presence and a villager came running toward them with a machete
. Martin knelt down on the trail with his hands clasped before him in supplication, but the man swung at Martin, first hitting him in the leg. His second swing struck Martin in the back of the neck, killing him. Dengler managed to escape back into the jungle and was rescued several weeks later. Other than Dengler, Indradat was the only known survivor. The rest of the prisoners are still unaccounted for.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer and prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Martin was assigned to Detachment 1 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron
38th Rescue Squadron
The 38th Rescue Squadron is part of the 347th Rescue Group at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. It operates various fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft conducting search and rescue missions.-Mission:...
(38th ARRS), based at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base
Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base
Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base , formerly Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, is a Royal Thai Navy facility used for riverine patrols along the Mekong River. It is located approximately 365 miles northeast of Bangkok, 9 miles west of Nakhon Phanom city in Nakhon Phanom Province in the...
, Thailand. On September 20, 1965, Captain Thomas J. Curtis, Martin, Sergeant William A. Robinson, and Crew chief Arthur Black took off in their Kaman
Kaman Aircraft
Kaman Aircraft is a U.S. aerospace company, with headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1945 by Charles Kaman. During the first ten years the company operated exclusively as a designer and manufacturer of several helicopters that set world records and achieved many aviation...
HH-43 Huskie BuNo 62-4510, callsign Dutchy 41 on a CSAR for Essex 04, an F-105D piloted by Capt Willis E. Forby, over North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
. The HH-43 was hit by ground fire and crashed in the jungle.
Curtis, Robinson, and Black were all captured by the North Vietnamese Army
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and taken to a POW camp in North Vietnam. They were later released during Operation Homecoming
Operation Homecoming
Operation Homecoming was a series of diplomatic negotiations that in January 1973 made possible the return of 591 American prisoners of war held by North Vietnam. On Feb. 12, 1973, three C-141 transports flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick...
. Martin, on the other hand was captured by the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
and taken to a POW camp in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. There, he joined fellow prisoners Eugene DeBruin
Eugene DeBruin
Eugene Henry DeBruin was a US Air Force staff sergeant, and a member of Air America serving in Laos during the Second Indochina War. "Gene" DeBruin was working as a "kicker" for Air America in 1963 when his C-46 was shot down. He was a POW at a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos until he and other...
(American), Pisidhi Indradat
Pisidhi Indradat
Pisidhi Indradat is a Thai civilian who worked as a "kicker" with Air America during the Vietnam War. His job was to kick the pallets of food and supplies down the plane to aid the refugees of the war....
, Prasit Promsuwan, Prasit Dhanee (all Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
), and Y.C. To (Chinese). They were joined in February 1966 by Dieter Dengler
Dieter Dengler
Dieter Dengler was a United States Navy Naval aviator during the Vietnam War. He was one of the two survivors , out of seven, to escape from a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos. He was rescued after 23 days on the run, and was the first captured U.S...
.
On June 29, 1966, while the guards were eating, the group slipped out of their hand and foot restraints and grabbed the guard's unattended weapons. The Pathet Lao guards spotted some of the other prisoners trying to escape. A shootout between the two sides ensued and Dengler killed at least three of the guards. The seven prisoners split into three groups: Indradat, and the other Thai prisoners; DeBruin stayed with To, who had been too ill to continue with the escape; Dengler and Martin headed for the Mekong River to escape to Thailand.
Several days after the escape, Martin and Dengler were hiding out near an Akha village. Martin had a bout with malaria and was severely weakened. He was further demoralized when an attempt to signal a C-130
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
flareship that came over them produced no results. He told Dengler that he was going to die. Later that day he told Dengler that he was going to try to steal some food from the village. Dengler told him it would be suicide but accompanied him on the venture. As they neared the village, they encountered a boy playing with a dog. The boy alerted the village of their presence and a villager came running toward them with a machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
. Martin knelt down on the trail with his hands clasped before him in supplication, but the man swung at Martin, first hitting him in the leg. His second swing struck Martin in the back of the neck, killing him. Dengler managed to escape back into the jungle and was rescued several weeks later. Other than Dengler, Indradat was the only known survivor. The rest of the prisoners are still unaccounted for.