The Rest of the Story

(page 3 of 5)

Captain Jack Ensch, USN (retired)
POW 1972-1973

This Midwesterner lost a thumb when he was shot down over Vietnam, but the injury, captivity and, eventually, a battle with what he calls his “macho fighter pilot mentality” produced the easygoing man whose Navy career included regaining jet flight status and eventually running the Naval Training Center in San Diego. Currently, Ensch is director of military marketing for the San Diego Padres. He’s still called easygoing and is proud of the integrity and teamwork that also have rewarded him with a 37-year marriage to Kathy, and the children and grandchildren of whom he is most proud.

Douglas Hegdahl, USN (retired)
POW 1967-1969

Douglas Hegdahl was an E-2, just a young sailor, when he was blown overboard off the U.S.S. Canberra into the Gulf of Tonkin in 1967. But he was the one the Vietnamese released early—and he came home with 250 names memorized to let others know their loved ones were alive. After 30 years teaching POW survival training for the Navy, he’s now retired, still single and living in Ocean Beach.

Hegdahl tells Kiland he wonders why there’s still so much interest in his POW experience.

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