Dan Doughty: An Unsung Hero

WEAU-TV 13 - Eau Claire, WI, USA

Posted: 5:28 PM Mar 25, 2009
Last Updated: 9:45 PM Mar 25, 2009
Reporter: Meghan Kulig
Email Address: meghan.kulig@weau.com

You could call this month’s Unsung Hero an inspiration. He’s a man who gave up years of his life for his country.

Ladysmith-native Dan Doughty served with the Air Force and went to Vietnam in the mid-1960’s. The now 75-year-old flew about 170 missions – before spending nearly 7 years as a prisoner of war.

During that time, he says his wife and four children were left wondering when they’d see him again.

He recounts his experience as a POW:

"I had always wanted to be a pilot from when I was a little kid during World War II. I went to Vietnam as a technical recon pilot flying the RF 101,” he said.

"I was shot down April 2nd of 1966. I was going quite fast and quite low to the ground when I was hit. The aircraft exploded and I had to eject. I was captured almost immediately after I hit the ground. I was in North Vietnam and captured by a local militia group. It was several days then before I was turned over to the regular Army. It was over a month after I was captured before I finally made it to Hanoi, the main prison system."

"Some of it was just downright miserable,” he said. “Once they started formal interrogations then it turned to brutal torture that lasted for days on end. Spent the first 13 months in solitary confinement. I guess I weighed 185 lbs. when I got captured and I got down to around 115 or 20 lbs."

"I didn't see that I was doing anything heroic, I was trying to keep myself alive and defend my country even though in captivity. We still had a job to do. I never lost hope. I was born an optimist and I always knew we were gonna' get out of there quite soon. The quite soon just kept getting longer and longer. I had a guy tell me one time, Dan, we're gonna' go home soon. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but we're gonna go home soon."

In 1973 – nearly 7 years after his capture – Doughty did go home to a hero’s welcome in Ladysmith.

He says he was in the same prisoner camp as John McCain. But, he never met him until a couple weeks before he went home.