Eugene DeBruin

Eugene Henry DeBruin (April 1, 1933 – c. 1968) was a former U.S. Air Force staff sergeant who disappeared after an escape attempt from a prison camp in Laos during the Vietnam War. In 1963, while working for Air America, DeBruin's C-46 was shot down and he was taken to a Pathet Lao prison camp. In 1966, he and six other prisoners, including Dieter Dengler and Phisit Intharathat, attempted to escape.

In 2017, his name, alongside fellow prisoners Dengler and Duane W. Martin, and two others, was added to a permanent exhibit on the USS Turner Joy, now housed in a Bremerton, Washington museum. His name also appears on a brick in the Veterans Memorial Park's Ring of Honor in his hometown of Kaukauna, Wisconsin.

Early life and education Eugene DeBruin was born April 1, 1933, in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, the second eldest of ten children. for three years before moving to Mexico to learn Spanish with the intent of becoming a writer. After declining to join the Peace Corps, DeBruin joined Air America in July 1963 as a kicker. According to his brother, he had plans of joining the Peace Corps after he finished his stint with Air America.

Capture and disappearance On September 5, 1963, during one of his flights over Laos with Air America, DeBruin's C-46 cargo airliner was shot down by ground fire Cheney and Herrick were killed and DeBruin, To, Intharathat, Promsuwan, and Thanee were captured by the Pathet 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. The Pathet Lao announced that prisoners, including DeBruin, would be released but did not follow through.

DeBruin's second escape attempt occurred on June 29, 1966 along with his Air America colleagues, US Air Force pilot Duane W. Martin, and Dieter Dengler, 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. and DeBruin was never seen again. Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency dismissed this finding. 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. In 1993, an editor from the Tampa Bay Times wrote that the US Department of State told her Laotian government officials claimed DeBruin was killed in 1982 during another escape attempt.

Rescue Dawn portrayal DeBruin was portrayed by Jeremy Davies in Werner Herzog's 2007 film Rescue Dawn, which focused mainly on Dengler's life. DeBruin was depicted as selfish, unstable, and ready to betray his fellow prisoners at any time. The film received criticism from members of DeBruin's family and from Phisit Intharathat.