James William Lair

1020: 1050: 1039: 1031: 28: 536:. The approximately 4,300 Hmong who had accompanied him at Tha Vieng indicated that Vang Pao already had a sizable following. Although Lair did not know it at first, he was about to inherit a tradition of resistance to the Vietnamese. In the late-1800s the Hmong had founded zones of resistance under the command of local village chiefs. Now, many of their descendants would join the CIA effort. Lair saw the Hmong guerrillas as a valuable supplement to the Royal Lao Army's regular forces. His seniors agreed. 849:, running his paramilitary operations with a relatively paltry annual budget of US$ 20 million. The money came directly from CIA headquarters, with offers of more funding available. Lair declined the extra money, and never requested a transfer from his assignment. For 15 years, he had encouraged and nurtured native martial talent, believing the covert operation was best done with the fewest Americans possible. As a result of his influence, there were fewer than 100 Americans working in northern Laos. 651:. Co-located with it was the Thai covert operations for Laos, Headquarters 333, often referred to by its Thai nickname, "Kaw Taw". With the move came a promotion. Lair was now Chief of Base, in charge of all paramilitary operations in northern Laos. He and Pat Landry, sitting at facing desks, monitored message and radio traffic from the 20 PARU teams and made their tactical and logistical decisions. At times, Lair flew into Laos for a day. Once a month, he visited his wife and child in Bangkok. 1007: 610:. On the heels of the incoming case agents were the Green Berets sent as training instructors. While Lair accepted the new helpers individually, he believed that Caucasians who did not speak a local language were both too visible and too linguistically handicapped for useful secret work. Nor did they possess any military skills in short supply, as the PARU troopers had mastered the same parachute and training courses as the Green Berets 400:. Later renamed to their more familiar cognomen, Police Aerial Resupply Unit, or PARU. They were under the hidden patronage of the king even though they had been split away from the Royal Guards. They were deployed into mountainous northern Thailand to police the hill tribes there. They surreptitiously arrested bandits and opium smugglers while establishing ties to the tribesmen whom were despised by most Thais. During this time, many 856:. The new Chief of Station was appointed to deal with the increasing communist infiltration of supplies along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His solution was to advocate more American involvement in Laos, whether in the Laotian panhandle against the Ho Chi Minh Trail, or in the north around the Plain of Jars. He was credited with finding the equivalent of an old-fashioned general store and turning it into a modern supermarket. 393:

PARU members had ethnic and clan ties. And where, as an integral part of the plan, CIA and PARU members delved into gold, drugs (Opium), arms and artifact trafficking. All this was well known to the FBN (Federal Bureau of Narcotics), which by 1954 had investigated CAT (Civil Air Transport) after a large stock of opium Li Mi was arranging to sell to CAT pilot Dutch Brongersma came to the attention of US officials.

886:. Lair's opinion of the installation was asked, as he was the local expert, and he was being charged with its defense. He predicted that the Vietnamese would build a road toward the radar site until they could attack it. When asked if LS 85 could be defended, Lair pointed out that guerrilla forces were not equipped or trained for fixed defensive battles. He recommended the use of 683:. When questions arose concerning the significance of Vang Pao's leadership of his clandestine army, Lair was asked to give his opinion as the officer attached to it. Lair stated that if Vang Pao should become a casualty, there were a number of competent subordinates who could take charge. McCone later thanked Lair for his apposite answer. 867:, sprang into being to direct the increasing bombing raids. The increased CIA effort demanded greater staffing. A new enlarged headquarters building replaced AB-1 to accommodate the increase in newly assigned CIA staff. As the war escalated, there were turf conflicts within the US effort because it lacked a unified command structure. 927:, and was then stationed in Bangkok. Having concluded that he would never be promoted to chief of station anywhere, and knowing he was tagged as a Thai/Lao specialist within the CIA, he settled into bureaucracy in his wife's hometown. His title was assistant chief of station, and special operations naturally became his beat. When 932:

skepticism about banning drugs, and that he would not retaliate on them. They also knew the king favored him, and that Lair's in-laws were politically influential. Lair would simply ask these officers for needed information, bypassing all the rigamarole of tasking undercover agents to spy upon the drug trade.

474:, was a first cousin to General Sarit. The prospect of his rival Phao losing influence as casualties sapped the PARU seems to have been another reason for Sarit's acquiescence. And even as Sarit supported intervention by the PARU, Lair briefed his CIA superiors. Lair's main selling points for leading his 791:

Douglas Blaufarb, who was Lair's superior, backed Lair. This incident was not the only one concerning unauthorized air strikes. Ambassador Sullivan insisted on his authority to order and approve all air strikes within Laos. However, innocent civilians were being accidentally bombed. And American air

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per team joined Phoumi's troops, where they blended into headquarters units. By late-November, Lair had set up his headquarters in Savannakhet, complete with a radio network. The radio net allowed him contact with his teams when they joined the move northward to Vientiane to unseat Kong Le. The five

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into Laos was the sheer secretiveness possible because his troopers could blend seamlessly into the Lao population. It was a demographic oddity that the majority of lowland Lao actually lived south of the Lao-Thai border. Most of Lair's PARU recruits were thus of Lao origin, though Thai citizens. It

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arrived to buy weaponry, Lair prompted the Thai quashing of the arms deal. Most of Lair's duties, though, required him to keep track of the drug trade in the area. For the most part, the Thai senior officers involved in the opium trade had been trained by Lair. They knew him well enough to know his

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made a state visit to Long Tieng. This trip served as a seal of approval on the Hmong as Lao, and on their martial efforts. His official visit made it clear that the Hmong were accepted in Lao society, and assuaged Lair's worries that the hill tribesmen and lowland Lao might start fighting with one

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Through his marriage, Lair acquired Thai citizenship and a commission in the Royal Thai Police, within which in 1954 he organized the elite Parachute Aerial Resupply Unit (PARU) from selected BPP recruits. Lair would use the PARU as a private army for missions inside Burma, Cambodia and Laos, where

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As a fifth-generation Texan, Lair never lost his childhood accent. He was raised as an only child, although eventually he would come to have two younger sisters, and he grew up poor, quiet, and shy. His imagination sparked by his reading, he dreamt of becoming a pilot. He was a seventeen-year-old

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Once Phoumi's counter-coup succeeded on 14 December 1960, Lair moved his headquarters to Vientiane. Fitzgerald promptly joined him there. Fitzgerald saw that the PARU's flawless performance in the counter-coup was based on reliable inside information, and decided that Lair and his special forces

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began showing up unexpectedly and unannounced for assignment in Laos. To cope with this, Lair preferred rookie agents whom he could inculcate with his philosophy of covert operations. In quiet discursive low-key fashion that modeled the behavior needed to impress Thai or Lao, he briefed the new

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for radio relay duties, and US-piloted T-28s for firepower. Ambassador Leonard Unger had previously granted Lair the authority to commandeer air assets and order air strikes in emergencies. As the Air America helo landed on the strip, for the first time ever, Lair directed strafing runs of the

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were thus made privy to details of the maneuvering of possible successors to the Great Helmsman. Despite this, CIA management told Lair they had no domestic assignment for him after Bangkok. Lair decided to retire. He was honored by King Bhumipol with a private audience before he departed.

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at the age of three. His mother divorced his father for idleness, and remarried. Her second husband died as a result of a freak oilfield explosion in 1937. However, Lair's grandfather, an old-time cowboy, was an important influence in young Bill's life. Lair lived in and around Borger and

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and further into northern Vietnam. In an escalation of hostilities in Laos, US Air Force jets soon began "armed reconnaissance" missions. The Tonkin Gulf incident, as well as the expanding Ho Chi Minh Trail, moved the focus of US military action away from Laos and toward Vietnam.

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in each of 120 demolition pits they dug, and exfiltrated. When the explosions blew in the middle of the night, two sections of clifftop road migrated downwards. Once again, Lair let Pop Buell claim credit. The Route 7 communist supply line would remain cut until November.

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troops still threatened to cross the Burmese and Lao borders into mainland China, and in turn the Chinese Communists seemed likely to retaliate with a preemptive incursion. The new training camp offered ample opportunity for the trainees to learn to live off the jungle.

349:, a CIA front usually referred to as "Sea Supply". When the training program was threatened with cancellation due to an apparently dwindling invasion threat, Lair convinced his boss it was worth continuing due to its low cost. With this support, Thai Police General 342:, and quiet courteous demeanor were so congruent with ideal Thai manners that his policemen bonded with him, even though he spoke broken Thai with a Texas twang. He trained with them, and underwent survival exercises with them. He even married a Thai socialite. 754:

special-operations pilot Jim Rhyne's flight that documented the expansion and improvement of the Ho Chi Minh Trail network. It became evident the trail was a growing chain of logistical links approximately 30-40 kilometers long, with porters and chauffeurs as

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At odds with both his station chief and Ambassador Sullivan, tagged with the loss of Lima Site 85, and diminished by the expanding American operations of the Laotian war, Bill Lair departed Laos in August 1968. He declined a possible assignment to the

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and the Vietnamese border. After Lair's training, PARU troopers, accompanying and directing 12 platoons of Hmong from their Special Guerrilla Units, infiltrated to a portion of Route 7 that ran along steep cliffs. The saboteurs planted double

811:. Moreover, he could see the utility of pilots and infantry sharing a common language. Vang Pao had already requested training slots for Hmong cadets at Project Waterpump at Udorn, and had been refused. Lair quietly scrounged a couple of 184:, was formed to guide the air strikes. The use of airpower as mobile artillery to clear the path for guerrillas was successful in the short run; however, Lair believed it would lead to ultimate defeat for the Hmong, as they were used as 746:

to win the war. He also believed that US troops would move from training into combat operations, and that the increasing US role would sap the fighting spirit of the South Vietnamese forces. About the same time, Lair prompted

636:, the Americans in country drew down to two CIA agents left in Laos after evacuation—Tony Poe and Vint Lawrence. However, 100 PARU troopers also remained, still engaged in training the Hmong. Lair and Landry withdrew to 531:

rule. "Either we fight or we leave. If you give me weapons, we fight," he told Lair. He promised he could call up 10,000 tribesmen for military training. They would follow him, he promised, and he pledged loyalty to the

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occurred. Anxious to defend his nation, he applied for naval pilot's training, but was rejected because of substandard eyesight. He then convinced his mother to cosign his enlistment papers into the U.S. Army as a

376:'s palace. This elite group would undergo a further eight months of intensive military training before turning about and schooling a further 300 recruits. One of the first visitors to the new training center was 594:

agents with information on the local situation even as he steered his listeners toward inevitable conclusions about the subject. However, not all the new agents were rookies. Experienced hands arriving included

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James William Lair continued to be prominent in Hmong-American affairs. On 4 July 2013, he was honored with an 89th birthday celebration by the Hmong-American community, including a reunion with the Hmong

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was in the throes of a postwar rapprochement between the two nations. Agreements between the two countries led to the beginning of the American buildup in Thailand. The aim was to help the Thais block any

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remained on the mountain. Shackley had predicted in a cable to headquarters that the site could not hold out beyond 10 March. The accuracy of Shackley's estimate burnished his reputation in the agency.

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coup of 9 August 1960, Lair's unit secretively supplied the communications liaisons needed for the successful counter-coup of 14 December 1960. Once established within Laos, Lair promptly searched out

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southward into Thailand. Although he suggested planning such a route, the complications of arranging agreement between Thailand, Laos, and the American embassy kept it from becoming a written plan.

987:. His past Asian expertise would be called upon only once more, in 1992, when he was again asked about the chances of setting up a paramilitary network in Cambodia. He again deemed it impossible. 368:

Earlier, in April 1953, Bill Lair was appointed a captain in the Royal Thai Police. He then selected 100 out of 2,000 previous trainees for advanced instruction in unconventional warfare in

562:. Fitzgerald was a supporter of PARU. Lair convinced Fitzgerald, who was his boss's boss, that the agency should support Vang Pao's proposed guerrilla army. Funding was allocated via the 504:

to pay the dissident troops that had joined the Lao general. It was the first payment of the CIA's million dollar investment in a counter-coup. A few days later, five PARU teams of five

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and began training Hmong pilots at Nong Khai. A PARU pilot, Somboun Sithoon, served as the first instructor. The instructional staff would come to include two pilots on loan from the

648: 431:, which was closer to their area of operations. In 1958, they became involved in the CIA's international operations. They rigged parachutes for dropping weapons to insurgents in 346: 890:

or other trained infantry for defense, but his request was rejected. In January 1968, North Vietnamese forces bypassed the site temporarily to attack royalist positions at the

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Lair had reservations about increased use of US air power in Laos, fearing that the Hmong and other Lao forces would become too dependent upon it. However, in the wake of the

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http://gotocinemass.com/Entertainment/YtVideo/Index?videoId=jUw1ZIajYWA&name=Suab%20Hmong%20News:%20Exclusive%20covered%20Hmong%20SGU%20basi%20for%20Col.%20Bill%20Lair

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reported for duty. He joined forces with Lair and Landry, and managed air operations in Laos. Lair now routinely scheduled targets for air strikes. A new covert unit, the

640:, Thailand, just across the Mekong River from Vientiane. In turn, the Vietnamese Communists officially withdrew 40 soldiers, with at least 5,000 others remaining in Laos. 787:

fighter-bombers. Sullivan was unaware of Unger's prior permission, and was angered by Lair's impromptu one-time use of air power. Sullivan demanded Lair be reprimanded.

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leaned toward a militarized police force; in this, he was building himself a counter-force to troops loyal to the other two strongmen in the government, Field Marshal

114:. He was a native Texan, raised in a broken family, but a good student. He joined the CIA after serving in a combat unit in Europe during World War II, followed by a 1211:

Jonathan Marshall, "Cooking the Books: The Federal Bureau of Narcotics, The China Lobby and Cold War Propaganda, 1950-1962," Asia-Pacific Journal, 14 September 2013.

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11 December 2001 oral interview of Bill Lair, Vietnam Archive at Texas Technical University; pp. 66–70, 75–77, 83–85; Steve Maxner, interviewer.

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As Kong Le consolidated his position in the northern capital of Vientiane, Phoumi's opposition to the coup began to coalesce around the southern panhandle town of

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11 December 2001 oral interview of Bill Lair, Vietnam Archive at Texas Technical University; pp. 1–3, 7–10, 16–17; Steve Maxner, interviewer.

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in August 1964, followed by the first American combat troops landing in Vietnam in May 1965, escalated the war. In mid-1966, the new CIA Chief of Station

983:, but no means of cashing in on his life experience except a return to Thailand. Refusing to trade on his old friendships overseas, he instead became a 559: 310: 633: 939:, Montana. Lair wished the Hmong general good luck. At about the same time, Lair was consulted about the possibility of paramilitary operations in 277:, facing a Russian unit on the far bank. It was there that Lair became convinced the American army should have continued the war, and defeated the 647:. The CIA building there, called AB-1, became the nerve center of secret operations in Laos. It was hidden in plain sight, under the designation, 702:

to spy on the nascent logistics route between North and South Vietnam. Air attacks seemed the only method of cutting the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The

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command of the unit. Lair was content with that setup, as it had led to their present success. However, additional CIA case officers such as

894:. Despite the PAVN's delay of the battle, Lair's prediction of Lima Site 85's fall was prophetic. The radar site was captured by Vietnamese 1618: 338:, including parachuting. In the process, Lair discovered he had a knack for getting along with the Thais. His bashfulness, his aversion to 1727: 380:

then Associate Director of the CIA. He would later prevent the camp from being closed. At that time, the unit's focus was repelling a

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to the Lao village of Tha Vieng to meet the Hmong leader on 19 January 1961. Vang Pao told Lair that his people could not live under

427:, General Sarit. In early 1958, they were renamed with the PARU designation. They began to shift their training base from Hua Hin to 1747: 446:

Early in 1960, PARU's Pathfinder Company took up three posts along the Thai-Lao border. Each of the three stations was across the

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Lair was still working in Bangkok when the Vietnam War ended. On 18 June 1975, Vang Pao visited Bangkok on his way into exile in

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coup in Vientiane. Lair and the PARU would intrude into Laos in the wake of this coup, under complex circumstances. One was that

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11 December 2001 oral interview of Bill Lair, Vietnam Archive at Texas Technical University; p. 62; Steve Maxner, interviewer.

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standards. In September 1957, the PARU narrowly escaped disbandment when General Phao was forced into exile by the head of the

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teams' distribution throughout the column of march was crucial to the success of the 400 kilometer thrust north to Vientiane.

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to lead a rescue effort. Once in flight, he rounded up an improvised force of an Air America helicopter for the rescue, a

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landed on a dirt landing strip in Laos that had just been overrun by the communists. He was promptly captured. Ambassador

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company personally commanded by Lair. Although dubbed "police", the extensively cross-trained PARU agents were trained to

1732: 823:. Three classes of Hmong pilots would graduate by mid-1967, including the pilot who would become the star of the RLAF, 1674: 1104:

20 August 2010 oral interview of Bill Lair, Library of Congress Veterans History Project; Eileen Hurst, interviewer.

779: 574:. The eventual result of Lair's initiative was a clandestine army of 30,000 hill tribesmen under Vang Pao's command. 632:

be the public face of refugee relief, as a means of hiding CIA involvement. In October 1962, in accordance with the

807:. His proposal to place Lao interpreters with US fighter pilots in light aircraft to direct air strikes became the 555: 644: 1689: 1024: 1019: 924: 585:. In reality, Lair's control over supplies and his personal influence with Pranet and the PARU troops equalled 193: 859:

The swelling tide of American air power brought drastic changes to the war in Laos, and to Lair's life. Major

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Upon returning to Laos, Lair found that enemy activities were spreading outwards from their supply center at

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was also apparent to the agency's apparatus, which had been blindsided by the coup, that it lacked reliable

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and commitment of more troops to the fight for northern Laos. U.S. air power began to be used in Laos. The

607: 289: 273:. His armored unit fought its way across Europe for the next year. Lair's unit ended World War II on the 138: 111: 107: 69: 878:, Laos. This clandestine guidance radar facility was proposed at a mid-1967 meeting chaired by General 563: 622:

air drops of food, medicine, and other essentials to Hmong uprooted by the growing war. In June, when

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of China, the new unit policed the Thai border areas until hostilities broke out in the neighboring

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American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan

1622: 943:. He recommended against the attempt because the communists already controlled the countryside. 836: 558:, head of the CIA's Far East Division, was on an official visit to the Station Chief for Laos, 979:. He was 53 years old, with two grown children in college. He had a ranch to retire to, near 748: 675:

In 1964, Lair returned to the United States on home leave. While he was there, he attended a

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Just before Lair's retirement from the CIA, he was honored with a private audience with Thai

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demanded information on Brace's status from the CIA station. Meanwhile, Lair commandeered a

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To support the new effort, Lair brought in more PARU teams. By now, he had been promoted to

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degree from Texas A&M in expectation of working in the petroleum industry. However, the

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standards. Originally established with an aim of opposing the invasion of Thailand by the

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http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.76724/transcript?ID=mv0001

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and brought back information about the political maneuvering of potential successors.

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in fixed positions. Increasingly estranged from Shackley, as well as from Ambassador

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in the Thai police, and was outranked only by the PARU commanding officer, Colonel

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Lair foresaw a possible future need for the Hmong to retreat from battle through

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for his first assignment, arriving on 1 March 1951. U.S. Ambassador to Thailand

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An example of the difficulties inherent in the enlarged war was the siting of

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Nong Khai being unsuitable as a headquarters, Lair moved his operation to the

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police should remain in Laos. This series of events marked the start of the

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Bill Lair would pull off one more intelligence coup before his retirement.

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Back Fire: The CIA's Secret War in Laos and Its Link to the War in Vietnam

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power arrived according to the military's schedule, not the ambassador's.

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as light strike aircraft. A pilot training program for Lao pilots dubbed

707: 680: 629: 505: 497: 428: 339: 248:, at age 16. He took some post-high school courses while working for the 1643: 554:

Lair took Vang Pao's offer back to Vientiane with him. By coincidence,

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Special Warfare Advisor and founder of Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit

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News video from Suab Hmong News; Richard Wanglue Vang, interviewer.

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forests on either side of the runway—first the T-28s, then US

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In August 1963, Lair received an order to cut Route 7 between the

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of about 45 men each had been trained by Lair for Phao's command.

196:, Lair returned to a desk job in Bangkok. He would score one last 1184:

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http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/oh/oh0200/OH0200-part1.pdf

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http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/oh/oh0200/OH0200-part1.pdf

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veterans with whom he had served. Lair died on October 28, 2014.

824: 763: 501: 500:. On 19 October 1960, Bill Lair flew in the first installment of 463: 369: 362: 331: 285: 146: 115: 895: 739: 459: 436: 1699:. Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBNs 0684802929, 9780684802923. 192:, Bill Lair left Laos in August 1968. After attendance at the 883: 743: 699: 619: 440: 106:) (4 July 1924 – October 28, 2014) was an influential 980: 784: 241: 717: 450:

from an important Lao town. The stations were sited near

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ran an article on this program, Lair was content to let

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mentioned a promising young Hmong warrior in Laos named

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on 11 March 1968 even though Hmong guerrillas and Thai

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Lair was dismayed when he learned on 8 March 1965 that

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By mid-1966, Lair had worked successfully under three

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for organizing the first 2,000 recruits into 100 man

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coup, when his Thai brother-in-law visited the dying

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Undercover Armies: CIA and Surrogate Warfare in Laos

435:. They packed pallets of weaponry for shipment from 570:. The operation was classified under the code name 122:. In his senior year, he was recruited by the CIA. 32:

Lair in Royal Thai Police uniform rank Police Major

920:of Laos, left behind a 30,000 man guerrilla army. 222: 634:International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos 1704: 882:. Its purpose was radar directed air raids into 396:By 1955, the new unit was ready for duty as the 1505:Warner, 192–194, 197–199, 203, 241. 546: 830: 1684:. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010. 613: 244:. He graduated from 11 years of schooling at 168:promulgated increased operations against the 129:on 1 March 1951, Lair found himself training 1723:United States Army personnel of World War II 1483: 1481: 1202:Douglas Valentine: Pisces Moon, pg. 148-149 439:to the anti-Chinese Communist resistance in 1273: 1271: 1196: 1169: 1167: 1157: 1155: 1116: 1114: 305:After training, Lair was forwarded to the 176:began its struggle to become an effective 26: 1553: 1478: 345:Assistance to the effort was supplied by 334:to train a select crew of Thai police in 300: 1667:Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos 1268: 1250: 1232: 1205: 722:In late-August 1964, in the wake of the 491: 1164: 1152: 1111: 1053:25th Buddhist Century Celebration Medal 718:Washington's attention shifts from Laos 679:meeting under the auspices of CIA head 284:Once discharged postwar, Lair earned a 1705: 906: 799:, he could see the need for organized 292:recruited him just before graduation. 1644:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454911/ 916:in Vietnam. Lair, who had become the 1665:Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison, 975:, the civil service equivalent of a 971:Bill Lair retired from the CIA as a 929:Leka, the exiled monarch of Albania 318:incursions through the neighboring 13: 1728:People from Creek County, Oklahoma 1229:Conboy, Morrison, pp. 58–59. 1098: 1059: 966: 606:, Joe Hudachek, Jack Shirley, and 14: 1774: 1286:Warner, pp. 33–34, 45, 117. 486: 269:. He saw his first combat in the 1758:American expatriates in Thailand 1753:People from Carson County, Texas 1743:CIA personnel of the Vietnam War 1048: 1037: 1029: 1018: 1005: 215:. He remained active within the 1748:People of the Laotian Civil War 1738:Texas A&M University alumni 1636: 1611: 1598: 1589: 1580: 1571: 1562: 1550:Conboy, Morrison, pp. 199, 205. 1544: 1541:Warner, pp. 246, 331–333. 1535: 1526: 1517: 1508: 1499: 1490: 1469: 1460: 1451: 1442: 1433: 1424: 1415: 1406: 1397: 1388: 1379: 1370: 1361: 1352: 1343: 1334: 1325: 1316: 1307: 1298: 1289: 1280: 1259: 1241: 1223: 1214: 649:4802nd Joint Liaison Detachment 645:Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base 411:By 1957, PARU consisted of two 223:Early life and military service 51:Hilton, Oklahoma, United States 1176: 1132: 1123: 1078: 1025:Order of the Crown of Thailand 618:In summer 1962, Lair arranged 180:force. A new covert unit, the 110:paramilitary officer from the 1: 1652: 865:Raven Forward Air Controllers 821:Continental Air Services, Inc 809:Raven Forward Air Controllers 347:Southeast Asia Supply Company 295: 240:until 1940, when he moved to 182:Raven Forward Air Controllers 1763:American expatriates in Laos 1646:Retrieved 30 September 2014. 1608:Retrieved 30 September 2014. 1193:Retrieved 30 September 2014. 1149:Retrieved 30 September 2014. 1108:Retrieved 28 September 2014. 1095:Retrieved 30 September 2014. 231:on 4 July 1924; he moved to 145:. Acting in response to the 7: 1066:Once Upon A Time in the CIA 290:Central Intelligence Agency 112:Special Activities Division 108:Central Intelligence Agency 70:Central Intelligence Agency 10: 1779: 1595:Warner, pp. 375–377. 1586:Warner, pp. 333–357. 1568:Warner, pp. 351–352. 1532:Warner, pp. 226–234. 1523:Warner, pp. 208–210. 1487:Warner, pp. 180–184. 1448:Warner, pp. 156–157. 1439:Warner, pp. 163–164. 1430:Warner, pp. 159–162. 1412:Warner, pp. 131–137. 1403:Warner, pp. 128–129. 1394:Warner, pp. 117–118. 1376:Warner, pp. 100–101. 1304:Warner, pp. 297–298. 714:was established at Udorn. 667:On 10 December 1963, King 614:Lao neutrality established 564:Programs Evaluation Office 1733:People from Borger, Texas 1577:Conboy, Morrison, p. 423. 1475:Conboy, Morrison, p. 170. 998: 677:National Security Council 625:The Saturday Evening Post 361:. By the end of 1953, 94 83: 75: 63: 59:28 October 2014 (aged 90) 55: 45: 37: 25: 18: 1367:Warner, pp. 86–87. 1358:Conboy, Morrison, p. 99. 1349:Warner, pp. 83–85. 1331:Warner, pp. 51–54. 1277:Conboy, Morrison, p. 61. 1238:Conboy, Morrison, p. 59. 1173:Conboy, Morrison, p. 58. 1161:Conboy, Morrison, p. 57. 1129:Warner, pp. 31–32. 1072: 415:companies, as well as a 258:Texas A&M University 139:People's Liberation Army 1669:. Paladin Press, 1995, 958:and Secretary of State 759:assigned to each link. 738:infantry had landed at 470:, who was then the Lao 462:. On 9 August came the 162:Gulf of Tonkin incident 91:(Rank: Police Colonel) 1658:Ahern, Thomas L. Jr., 837:Battle of Lima Site 85 726:, the RLAF struck the 694:. Lair countered with 301:Assignment to Thailand 227:Bill Lair was born in 102:(often referred to as 1421:Warner, pp. 137, 141. 492:Coup and counter-coup 483:sources within Laos. 481:military intelligence 355:Plaek Phibunsongkhram 252:and a grocery store. 198:military intelligence 1642:Internet Data Base, 1559:Warner, pp. 331-333. 1034:Border Service Medal 874:on a mountaintop at 817:Royal Thai Air Force 724:Tonkin Gulf incident 271:invasion of Normandy 131:Border Patrol Police 1680:Scott, Peter Dale, 907:Departure from Laos 801:forward air control 772:William H. Sullivan 712:Operation Waterpump 706:received its first 704:Royal Lao Air Force 549:L'Armée Clandestine 541:Sainyabuli Province 386:Nationalist Chinese 307:Kingdom of Thailand 260:when the attack on 190:William H. Sullivan 174:Royal Lao Air Force 127:Kingdom of Thailand 1189:2013-07-25 at the 1145:2013-07-25 at the 1091:2013-07-25 at the 1045:Royal Cypher Medal 918:Lawrence of Arabia 819:and six more from 583:Pranet Ritileuchai 579:lieutenant colonel 572:Operation Momentum 556:Desmond Fitzgerald 100:James William Lair 20:James William Lair 1295:Ahern, pp. 36-37. 993:Laotian Civil War 985:long haul trucker 977:brigadier general 892:Battle of Nam Bac 847:Chiefs of station 831:"Supermarket war" 805:close air support 797:Battle of Nam Bac 692:Ho Chi Minh Trail 669:Sisavang Vatthana 661:cratering charges 515:Laotian Civil War 382:Chinese Communist 336:guerrilla warfare 330:training camp in 328:Imperial Japanese 326:. He used an old 324:Royal Thai Police 316:Communist Chinese 213:long haul trucker 178:close air support 170:Ho Chi Minh Trail 155:Laotian Civil War 97: 96: 88:Royal Thai Police 1770: 1692:, 9781442205895. 1647: 1640: 1634: 1633: 1631: 1630: 1621:. 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Stanton 250:Panhandle Herald 246:Waco High School 238:Panhandle, Texas 229:Hilton, Oklahoma 194:Army War College 125:Assigned to the 65: 30: 16: 15: 1778: 1777: 1773: 1772: 1771: 1769: 1768: 1767: 1703: 1702: 1695:Warner, Roger. 1655: 1650: 1641: 1637: 1628: 1626: 1619:"James W. Lair" 1617: 1616: 1612: 1603: 1599: 1594: 1590: 1585: 1581: 1576: 1572: 1567: 1563: 1558: 1554: 1549: 1545: 1540: 1536: 1531: 1527: 1522: 1518: 1514:Warner, p. 205. 1513: 1509: 1504: 1500: 1496:Warner, p. 187. 1495: 1491: 1486: 1479: 1474: 1470: 1466:Warner, p. 166. 1465: 1461: 1457:Warner, p. 241. 1456: 1452: 1447: 1443: 1438: 1434: 1429: 1425: 1420: 1416: 1411: 1407: 1402: 1398: 1393: 1389: 1385:Warner, p. 111. 1384: 1380: 1375: 1371: 1366: 1362: 1357: 1353: 1348: 1344: 1339: 1335: 1330: 1326: 1321: 1317: 1312: 1308: 1303: 1299: 1294: 1290: 1285: 1281: 1276: 1269: 1264: 1260: 1255: 1251: 1246: 1242: 1237: 1233: 1228: 1224: 1219: 1215: 1210: 1206: 1201: 1197: 1191:Wayback Machine 1181: 1177: 1172: 1165: 1160: 1153: 1147:Wayback Machine 1137: 1133: 1128: 1124: 1119: 1112: 1103: 1099: 1093:Wayback Machine 1083: 1079: 1075: 1062: 1060:Further reading 1006: 1004: 1001: 969: 967:Post CIA career 960:Henry Kissinger 914:Phoenix Program 909: 833: 768:Ernest C. Brace 757:permanent party 736:US Marine Corps 720: 616: 552: 494: 489: 425:Royal Thai Army 372:, next to King 320:Kingdom of Laos 303: 298: 225: 143:Kingdom of Laos 84:Other work 50: 33: 21: 12: 11: 5: 1776: 1766: 1765: 1760: 1755: 1750: 1745: 1740: 1735: 1730: 1725: 1720: 1715: 1701: 1700: 1693: 1678: 1663: 1654: 1651: 1649: 1648: 1635: 1610: 1597: 1588: 1579: 1570: 1561: 1552: 1543: 1534: 1525: 1516: 1507: 1498: 1489: 1477: 1468: 1459: 1450: 1441: 1432: 1423: 1414: 1405: 1396: 1387: 1378: 1369: 1360: 1351: 1342: 1340:Warner, p. 83. 1333: 1324: 1322:Warner, p. 78. 1315: 1313:Scott, p. 101. 1306: 1297: 1288: 1279: 1267: 1258: 1256:Warner, p. 33. 1249: 1247:Warner, p. 21. 1240: 1231: 1222: 1220:Warner, p. 32. 1213: 1204: 1195: 1175: 1163: 1151: 1131: 1122: 1120:Warner, p. 31. 1110: 1097: 1076: 1074: 1071: 1070: 1069: 1061: 1058: 1057: 1056: 1055: 1054: 1046: 1035: 1027: 1023:Member of the 1000: 997: 968: 965: 908: 905: 888:special forces 861:Richard Secord 832: 829: 719: 716: 615: 612: 596:Thomas Fosmire 551: 545: 493: 490: 488: 487:Move into Laos 485: 476:paramilitaries 468:Phoumi Nosavan 421:special forces 413:light infantry 359:Sarit Thanarat 351:Phao Sriyanond 302: 299: 297: 294: 224: 221: 217:Hmong-American 186:light infantry 135:Special Forces 95: 94: 85: 81: 80: 77: 73: 72: 67: 61: 60: 57: 53: 52: 47: 43: 42: 39: 35: 34: 31: 23: 22: 19: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1775: 1764: 1761: 1759: 1756: 1754: 1751: 1749: 1746: 1744: 1741: 1739: 1736: 1734: 1731: 1729: 1726: 1724: 1721: 1719: 1716: 1714: 1711: 1710: 1708: 1698: 1694: 1691: 1687: 1683: 1679: 1676: 1675:0-87364-825-0 1672: 1668: 1664: 1661: 1657: 1656: 1645: 1639: 1625:on 2014-11-12 1624: 1620: 1614: 1607: 1601: 1592: 1583: 1574: 1565: 1556: 1547: 1538: 1529: 1520: 1511: 1502: 1493: 1484: 1482: 1472: 1463: 1454: 1445: 1436: 1427: 1418: 1409: 1400: 1391: 1382: 1373: 1364: 1355: 1346: 1337: 1328: 1319: 1310: 1301: 1292: 1283: 1274: 1272: 1265:Warner 26-29. 1262: 1253: 1244: 1235: 1226: 1217: 1208: 1199: 1192: 1188: 1185: 1179: 1170: 1168: 1158: 1156: 1148: 1144: 1141: 1135: 1126: 1117: 1115: 1107: 1101: 1094: 1090: 1087: 1081: 1077: 1067: 1064: 1063: 1051: 1047: 1044: 1040: 1036: 1032: 1028: 1026: 1021: 1017: 1016: 1014: 1003: 1002: 996: 994: 988: 986: 982: 978: 974: 964: 961: 957: 953: 949: 944: 942: 938: 933: 930: 926: 921: 919: 915: 904: 901: 897: 893: 889: 885: 881: 880:Hunter Harris 877: 873: 868: 866: 862: 857: 855: 850: 848: 843: 842: 841:Commando Club 838: 828: 826: 822: 818: 814: 810: 806: 802: 798: 793: 790: 789:Station Chief 786: 781: 777: 773: 769: 765: 760: 758: 753: 752:Helio Courier 750: 745: 741: 737: 732: 729: 725: 715: 713: 709: 705: 701: 697: 693: 689: 684: 682: 678: 673: 670: 665: 662: 657: 656:Plain of Jars 652: 650: 646: 641: 639: 635: 631: 627: 626: 621: 611: 609: 608:William Young 605: 601: 597: 592: 591:Vint Lawrence 588: 584: 580: 575: 573: 569: 565: 561: 557: 550: 544: 542: 537: 535: 530: 527: 523: 522:Sikorsky H-34 520: 516: 510: 507: 503: 499: 484: 482: 477: 473: 472:head of state 469: 465: 461: 457: 453: 449: 444: 442: 438: 434: 430: 426: 422: 418: 414: 409: 407: 403: 399: 394: 390: 387: 383: 379: 375: 371: 366: 364: 360: 356: 352: 348: 343: 341: 337: 333: 329: 325: 321: 317: 312: 308: 293: 291: 287: 282: 280: 276: 272: 268: 263: 259: 253: 251: 247: 243: 239: 234: 233:Borger, Texas 230: 220: 218: 214: 210: 209:King Bhumibol 205: 203: 199: 195: 191: 187: 183: 179: 175: 171: 167: 163: 158: 156: 152: 148: 144: 140: 136: 132: 128: 123: 121: 120:Texas A&M 117: 113: 109: 105: 101: 92: 89: 86: 82: 78: 74: 71: 68: 62: 58: 54: 48: 44: 40: 36: 29: 24: 17: 1696: 1681: 1666: 1659: 1638: 1627:. 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