Journalist and historian Marc Leepson will discuss the Vietnam War story of Doug Hegdahl, the youngest and lowest-ranking prisoner of war (POW), at a virtual event on Dec. 3.
Leepson is the author of “The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resilience in Hanoi.”
The book dives into Hegdahl’s story as a Vietnam War POW — a journey that started when the 20-year-old seaman apprentice fell off the deck of the USS Canberra in 1967, bringing him face-to-face with a Vietnamese fishing boat after a few hours of trying to stay afloat.
He was then placed at the prisoner camp American’s referred to as the Hanoi Hilton, where he was held for over two years.
Leepson’s lecture will take place over zoom on Dec. 3 at 11 a.m.
The event is hosted by the Coronado Public Library and Coronado Historical Association and registration is required at coronado.librarycalendar.com to receive the Zoom link.
Leepson graduated from George Washington University in 1967. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969, including a year in the Vietnam War, he received his honorable discharge and went on to earn a master’s degree in history in 1971.
He is the author of eleven books, including four biographies. A former staff writer for Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C., he has written for many newspapers and magazines, along with the Encyclopedia Britannica.
