And in Laos while flying missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This is a photo I took while flying an ECW mission just inside Laos during Lam Son 719 in February 1971. It has been scanned, sharpened, enlarged .. etc .. so it has lost that original Pentax SLR clarity.
But the amazing thing is the 1968 map table. I saw the map table in the LBJ Presidential Library on a visit a couple of years ago and said, "Whoaa!!! That's exactly where I was flying in 1971!" My missions were always TOP SECRET/CRYPTO/SI, so the sight of the map marked SECRET gave me pause.
The labels on the map are my quick additions, not to scale, and just general info. Map and photo are oriented north up. The bare sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in photo are bombed out and not in use, and these sections are close to the Tchepone River. By 1971 the HCM trail had shifted a little bit west, keeping ever out of our sight under jungle canopy where available.
Aerial Photo: © 2024 Bo Zarts Studio
Map Photo: Public Domain - 1968, from the LBJ Presidential Library
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