On May 10, 1972, USAF Captain Roger Locher and his front seater Major Bob Lodge were shot down over North Vietnam in 1972 shortly after they downed their third MiG-21. Bob Lodge elected not to eject and went down with the F-4D. Roger Locher ejected and survived, but knew not to get on the radio because it would tip off the North Vietnamese that he was alive and where he was located.
During the intelligence briefing before the mission that day the aircrews were told that their mission over North Vietnam that day would to too far inside of North Vietnam so helicopter rescue would be impossible. Roger knew his only chance to avoid capture or death was to walk west until he arrived at a location where he could be rescued.
Roger spent a record 23 hair-raising days evading capture and walking west before he was rescued and returned to Udorn Air Base, Thailand. In this video from October of 2015 Roger Locher describes the mission that day, getting shot down, evading and being rescued.
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