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  • Sanctuaries and Bombing Halts

    To avoid the possible entrance of Chinese or Soviet forces into the conflict, Washington tightly controlled these bombing operations. Limitations imposed included no bombing in the "sanctuaries" around Hanoi (the capital of North Vietnam), Haiphong (North Vietnam's main port), and a buffer zone

  • North Vietnam: Rolling Thunder

    GOING NORTHAlthough the U.S. Air Force began sending advisory personnel to South Vietnam in 1961, and carried out combat missions in South Vietnam shortly thereafter, US forces did not initially strike North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Navy attack in the Tonkin Gulf in August 1964, however, led to

  • South Vietnam: The Easter Offensive

    COMMUNIST GAMBLE With the majority of U.S. troops out of South Vietnam, the North Vietnamese sensed an opportunity to end the war with a conventional invasion. On March 30, 1972, North Vietnam launched the Easter Offensive -- a large, three-pronged drive into South Vietnam using heavy tanks and

  • Hitting Sanctuaries: Cambodia

    During the 1960s, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong enjoyed sanctuaries in Cambodia, crossing the border for attacks into South Vietnam and then fleeing back across the border to safety. Moreover, the North Vietnamese, with permission of the "neutral" Cambodian government, used Cambodian ports and

  • Secret War: Green Hornets, Dust Devils and Blackbirds

    To supply their forces in South Vietnam, the North Vietnamese built a secret road system through neutral Laos and Cambodia. This supply line, named the Truong Son Road but called the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" by Americans, consisted of a network of roads and hiding places concealed by jungle. In an effort

  • Igloo White

    Using the cover of darkness, dense jungle and bad weather, North Vietnamese trucks carried critical supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail nearly undetected. Since large numbers of American ground troops were not permitted into neutral Laos to stop the trucks, the U.S. Air Force deployed a system of

  • Misty FACs

    Misty FACs (forward air controllers) flew at low altitude, spotting and marking enemy targets in heavily-defended areas in Laos and North Vietnam. This all-volunteer group had a quarter of their number shot down during these extremely hazardous missions. U.S. Air Force FACs normally flew slow,

  • Col. George “Bud” Day: Misty 01

    A veteran of three wars and the first commander of the Misty FACs, Col. George "Bud" Day is one of the most highly-decorated Airmen in USAF history. After being shot down in 1967, Day persistently defied his captors, for which he was mercilessly tortured. Day received the Medal of Honor and Air

  • Laos: The Panhandle and the Ho Chi Minh Trail

    THE TRAILThe confused situation caused by the civil war in Laos permitted North Vietnam to use southern Laos -- known as the "Panhandle" -- to move troops and supplies to South Vietnam. In 1959 the communists began traveling along the same network of paths through the Panhandle's mountains and

  • Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger: Belated Medal of Honor

    Through the long night, Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger repulsed enemy assaults. He saved the lives of others by sacrificing his own. Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger was one of the most highly trained radar technicians in the U.S. Air Force. A highly-effective and well-liked leader, he was