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On July 20, 1966, after 23 days in the jungle, Dengler managed to catch the attention of a US Air Force pilot by using a parachute from one of the flares. Eugene Peyton Deatrick, the pilot of the lead plane and commander of the 1st Air Commando Squadron, spotted a flash of white while making a turn at the river's bend and backtracked. Deatrick and his wingman contacted rescue forces, but were told to ignore the sighting, as no airmen were known to be down in the area. He persisted and eventually managed to convince the command and control center to dispatch a rescue force.
Dengler was restrained by the helicopter crew as a precaution and strip searched to ensure he wasn't armed or in possession of a hand grenade. Deatrick reported Dengler's claim to be a POW and his identity was confirmed when they reached a hospital in Da Nang. There, a conflict developed between the Air Force and Navy over who would control his debriefing and recovery. The Navy sent a team of SEALs to steal Dengler from the Air Force recovery ward. A fight ensued between the SEALs and Air Force security police in which numerous air force personnel, including several patients, were badly beaten and injured. The SEAL team escaped unscathed and rushed Dengler to the air field on a gurney. He was returned to the USS Ranger and eventually airlifted to the US for medical treatment.[citation needed] At the time of his rescue, he stood at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) and weighed 98 pounds (44 kg).[13]
