In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

|| xvii Chronology June 11, 1941: Jerrold Barker Daniels is the fourth son born to Ronald L. “Bob” and Louise Daniels in Palo Alto, California. The Daniels family moves to Montana when Jerry is ten years old. 1959: Jerry Daniels graduates from Missoula County High School in Missoula, Montana. From 1958–60 he is a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service. In fall 1960 Daniels enrolls as a freshman at the University of Montana in Missoula. 1961: John F. Kennedy takes office as U.S. president. Bill Lair, a paramilitary officer working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), makes covert contact in Laos with anticommunist leader Lieutenant Colonel Vang Pao of the Royal Lao Army (FAR); Lair is the founder and architect of paramilitary operations in northern Laos [“Project Momentum”]. Shortly thereafter Jerry Daniels is hired to work as a cargo kicker for Air America, a CIA proprietary airline contracted to drop arms and supplies to Vang Pao’s tribal soldiers in Laos. In Marana, Arizona , Gar Thorsrud establishes Intermountain Aviation, a fledgling CIA proprietary. 1962: Geneva Accords affirm Laos is a neutral state, prohibiting foreign military intervention. All but a few American military and CIA personnel are withdrawn from Laos. North Vietnam ignores the agreement and a substantial number of communist North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops remain there. 1962: After air dropping cargo over Laos and Tibet, Daniels returns to the United States to work for Intermountain Aviation. In May and June Daniels participates in CIA’s “Operation Coldfeet,” a Skyhook operation contracted to Intermountain . In northern Laos, CIA constructs a secret airstrip in the remote Long Cheng valley. November 1963: Lyndon B. Johnson assumes the office of U.S. president after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 1960–64: Daniels and other former smokejumpers work alternately for Air America as cargo kickers over Laos, and for Intermountain Aviation in Arizona. Between fall 1960 and summer 1964 Daniels completes eight quarters of college at the University of Montana. 1964: In August Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which effectively declares war on North Vietnam. In December the air war in northern Laos begins with “Operation Barrel Roll.” CIA’s “secret war” in Laos is under the direct control of William Sullivan, U.S. ambassador to Laos. The most important military headquarters in Laos is at Long Cheng in Military Region 2, the stronghold of Hmong leader General Vang Pao. Daniels quits Intermountain and attends winter quarter at the University of Montana. xviii || Chronology 1965: In March, “Rolling Thunder” air strikes begin in North Vietnam. In October, the CIA’s Far East chief Bill Colby visits Long Cheng. In December, Daniels returns to Laos as an air operations “Customer” assigned to Lima Site 36, Na Khang, in Military Region 2. He remains there until April 1968. 1966: In February there is a major attack on Na Khang by communist troops; Daniels and all defenders are forced to evacuate for several months. In June Richard Helms is sworn in as Director, CIA. The Joint Chiefs of Staff implement “Project 404,” assigning 117 American military advisors and five Department of Defense civilians to Laos. In October, U.S. Air Force pilots volunteer for the classified “Steve Canyon” program, flying small 0–1 light spotter airplanes in Laos; these pilots are called Ravens. 1967: In January there is a second major attack on Na Khang; this time the site is successfully defended. The American air war in Laos and North Vietnam expands. 1968: There are 110,000 communist troops in Laos—both Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese Army. Vang Pao’s Hmong Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU) army takes heavy casualties. In March the top-secret American radar bombing installation on Phou Pha Thi in northern Laos is overrun by North Vietnamese troops; twelve of the nineteen Americans on the mountain are dead or declared missing . Loss of this site is a major factor in President Johnson declaring a bombing halt over North Vietnam. Also in March, the My Lai massacre in South Vietnam shocks Americans, increasing antiwar sentiment and prompting student strikes in the United States. In April, Daniels takes an extended leave of absence from Laos to return to the University of Montana. 1969: In January, Richard M. Nixon takes office as U.S. president. Daniels graduates from the University of Montana in June. In July, NASA’s Apollo 11 is the first U.S. manned moon landing. Half a million “hippies” converge at the Woodstock Festival in late summer...

Share