THE AIR EVACUATION OF LIMA SITE 20A - LONG TIENG, LAOS-THE DAY THE HMONG LEFT LAOS FOR THE USA

MAY 1975

Although my pages have been dedicated for the most part to the CAT and Air America crews, operations and maintenance personnel and their families, there were many other agencies that played major roles in the effort in Southeast Asia and especially within the country of Laos. .

The photographs shown on this page, taken May 12th and May 13th 1975, are from a collection gathered by Les Strouse, a long time and very dear friend, whose service in Southeast Asia spanned over 40 years.  Now retired in Thailand, Les was first introduced to Southeast Asia while on active duty with the Air Force as an Air Commando.  He joined Air America as a fixed wing pilot and later went on to fly for Continental Air Services (CASI).  Les was one of the last civilian pilots to leave Laos. These photos capture a lot of the details of those final days that he and the others spent involved with refugee evacuations.

The photos were taken at LS20A, also known as Long Tieng, the headquarters of the infamous General Vang Pao.  The landing strip has been described by most who know it as one of the most treacherous in Laos.  Skyline ridge on one side, mountains on the other and a large karst at the end of the runway made the valley a difficult target to navigate in and out of even under the best of conditions for anything larger than a Pilatus Porter or other STOL (short take off and landing) aircraft.  And although larger aircraft made the trips in daily for years it was routine for them to go in loaded and come out empty since a heavy load made clearing the gap on take off even more hazardous.

As Les said when he sent the photos, the C-46s into LS20A were routine but when they ran the numbers in the book during the evacuations they came up with a maximum passenger load of 35 refugees and their meager belongings.  As he put it, "If an engine so much as farted there was a good possibility we would not clear the gap."  Overcast skies helped to keep the  temperatures down but they still had to contend with high humidity which seriously hampered aircraft performance.

For the first couple of days the evacuation was orderly and the refugees were sorted into groups, ready for loading, before the planes landed.  After that the crowd control was lost .  On his last flight out of Long Tieng his C-46 was mobbed and the crowds attempted to throw the kicker (loadmaster) out of the plane when he attempted to stop the crowds.  The flight was carrying over 60 passengers! 

This photo above is taken looking towards the southeast.  The C-46 (right) landed and taxied to the center ramp to avoid the crowds.

Getting ready for take off.  Note the crowds lined up behind the plane waiting for their turn.

Above - Loading the refugees.

Getting ready to taxi for take off.  Note the T-28 in the background behind the crowd of refugees.

Parked On the center ramp trying to avoid the crowds while being loaded.  The refugees soon caught on and crowded that ramp too.

Getting Ready for take off.  Note helicopter to the left rear of plane.

When crowd control became a safety issue in Long Tieng the planes were ordered to fly out of alternate sites in the refugee transports. They removed all of the seats and tied ropes across the planes at intervals to keep everyone from sliding into the tail.  Two C-46s and a C-130 moved approximately 12,000 people. Three trips - refuel - wash out of the planes - then do it again - 14 hours a day.