Normally, I would be witty, make a few strong points, and add graphics to enhance my writing. Today, being Memorial Day, 2021, I will tell you without my usual style the only story my dad has told me which included the death of US troops.
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When Hugh was in Vietnam, his assignment was not flying. Aviators must keep up their flight hours in order to keep their wings. So he did what many other aviators did; he hung around the bars that Air America used to recruit pilots. In the Vietnam era, Air America was the not so secret "company" that was really the CIA.
Hugh took an assignment with Air America to fly two guys to one of the US fire bases north of Saigon at night.
Because our fire bases were in hostile territory, the landing strips were off the base and not secure. The proper protocol was to call in to the base when the plane was 10-15 minutes out, the troops would then leave the base, secure the airfield, and when the plane left, they would all go back to the base with the men who had been dropped off.
On this occasion when they were 10-15 minutes out from the base, the two men told him not to bother calling in. They would make their way to the base on their own.
It was a fatal decision.
Even as he was landing the plane, they started to take enemy fire. He dropped the two off and immediately took off again. He continued to take fire and called the base to tell them that the two guys were already on the ground and taking fire.
As he rose in the air, he got a good perspective on what was happening on the ground. Unfortunately, what he saw was muzzle flashes surrounding the area he had dropped the two men off. He is convinced to this day that those men did not survive, could not have survived their decision to land on their own.
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I looked online to see if CIA officers KIA were on the Vietnam wall. The CIA has their own memorial, so the answer is "no." Below is a picture of a page from the CIA memorial. You will notice that instead of names, there are stars for when the operative could not be identified, even in death.
Remember, Memorial Day is to honor those who gave their lives for our freedom, the last full measure of devotion.
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