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Lance Sijan was always a special kind of person: as a kid growing up in the Midwest; as a cadet who made his mark in the Air Force Academy. But it took Vietnam to show how special he was—in an epic of jungle survival and prison-camp defiance. On the night of November 9, 1967, Sijan was ejected from his crippled fighter-bomber over the steep mountains of Laos. Although critically injured and virtually without supplies, he evaded capture in savage terrain for six weeks. Finally caught and placed in a holding camp, he overpowered his guards and escaped, only to be captured again. He resisted his interrogators to the end, and he died two weeks later in Hanoi. His courage was an inspiration to other American prisoners of war, and he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Customer Review: Inspiring
I read this story years ago and remember being inspired by the courage of this young man. One reviewer stated that his plane was shot down, I thought that the bombs he was dropping detonated prematurely and caused the crash. Regardless, it's a great story about a guy who never gave up.
Customer Review: Conflicted:
While I am inclined to agree with the title of a previous review "great story, terrible book", I would not go so far as to say it was a "terrible" book. However, for some reason (I am just a reader) McConnells writing did not pull me in and hold me. Further, while Sijan's story is incredible and moving, (crawling on his back in a severely injured condition for 45 days and some 5-6 miles to reach an enemy transport road) I still have not justified in my own mind why he persisted in tactics that ensured his death. I did not want him to escape, I wanted him to survive (as did his fellow prisoners.) I can only consider that in his condition he was unable to think clearly/rationally. Which lends itself not so much to bravery as it does to insanity. i.e. he considered allowing capture by the enemy while still in the jungle in order to procure life sustaining food and water but decided against it for surely he would be killed. Yet, once captured (the first time) and given some care, he persisted in escaping before he was in any condition to do so with a reasonable chance of survival, even if he wasn't recaptured.


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