Undercover Armies - CIA FOIA - Central Intelligence Agency

C05303949
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ON THE FRONTLINE IN SAM NEVA D
the area, and Doffered him all the kip in his pocket, maybe a hundred
dollars' worth, to look for the body of the missingfarang (foreigner).D
Early the next morning, the Hmong retumed with an exhausted but not
severely injured George Raynor," who had somehow escaped, perhaps
through the severed tail section, then either passed out or was knocked unconscious
by the concussion as a fuel tank exploded. He said he had not seen or
heard the rescue helicopter clattering overhead; it was only later that he
regained consciousness and started down the rough trail on which his Hmong
rescuer later found him. The initialsc=Jandl Ihad seen on the ring
were CR, not GR, andthey amended their report accordingly.D
The discovery ofl Ibody just outside the aircraft led his colleagues
and friends---C American, and Lao-to credit him with having tried to
save the men trapped in the wreckage. No one could be sure, of course, that he
hadn't been thrown clear and was lying helpless when the wreck turnedinto a
fireball. But it was so characteristic of this extraordinarily brave and dedicated
man to risk himself for others that this became.part of his legend. With his
death, Vang Pao andl
IBill Lair lost a friend and trusted colleague,
and the advisory cadre one of its best officers.39D
Taking Muong Son and Na KhangD
The route from the staging area to Muong Son had seen little military
action, and the risk of encountering booby traps and antipersonnel mines was
correspondingly small. Vientiane allowedD and I Ito walk there
with their troops, and once in possession of the old fort, they set out to prepare
the airstrip for the first Caribou landing.""D .
Compared to Muong Hiem and Na Khang, Muong Son turned out to be as
much vacation idyll as guerrilla command post: no land mines, no enemy
ground attacks except a few tentative probing actions,' and duties largely
confined to refueling the Jolly Green Giants. It offered a river for bathing
and swimming (neither Muong Hiem nor Na Khang boasted even a shower)
and also for fishing (if only with hand grenades). And then there were the
quiet nights: when the last aircraft left Muong Son at dusk-unlike at Na
Khang, no aircraft was allowed to stay overnight-the advisers could relax
until dawn. 41D
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