Keith william nolans into laos, a nonfiction work set during the tail end of the vietnam war, is a deeply detailed and finely written account of the lam son 719 incursion into laos in early 1971. At least one other book manuscript is in existence. Operation lam son 719, was the last major military operation in the vietnam war. Lam son 719 south vietnam invades laos, 1971 historynet.
Willbanks effectively, the objective of occupying enemy base areas in laos had been abandoned in favor of a largely meaningless effort to get south vietnamese forces into tchepone, for political. Read lam son 719 illustrated edition online by majorgeneral. This is an excellent account of operation lam son 719 using both american and north vietnamese sources. This section is to honor and recognize our brothers who fought in country in 1971 and especially those who participated in operation dewey canyon ll. He retired from cgsc in april 2018 after fortynine years of combined federal service. Lam son 719 was a key battle as the us began to hand over the war to the republic of viet. Robert sander has done a truly superb job of telling what really happened in lam son 719. Author robert sander, a helicopter pilot in lam son 719, explores why an. The campaign was carried out by the armed forces of the republic of vietnamsouth vietnam between 8 february and 25 march 1971, during the vietnam war. The operation, dubbed lam son 719, went very well for the first few days, but as movement became bogged down the nva rushed reinforcements to the battle and the arvn forces found themselves under heavy attack. The invasion, operation lam son 719, was intended to test arvns ability as u. Lam son 719 was doomed in both the planning and executiona casualty of domestic and. This unit was most active inside laos during this period. The significance of operation lam son 719 has often been overshadowed by the horrific events in vietnam, but this essay will show that not only was the country of laos greatly and adversely affected by this operation, but also the vietnam war as a whole.
World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most. The book itself is an interesting study of lam son 719 and provides a good overview especially for someone with little knowledge of the operation like me. Ltc jim fulbrook, phd had a series of articles printed about the operation lam son 719 in army aviation magazine. Despite the term invasion in the books title, lam son 719 was designed as a. In the final days of the operation, i watched at khe sanh as every uh1. Airmobile operations in support of operation lam son 719, vol. A baptism by fire for modern army aviation article by dr. My only observation is that the author spends too much time on the air component often down to individual flights and crews and not enough time on the ground operations at a similar level.
A101 ahb comancheros were one of the aviation units in this operation, along withbeing the sole 101stairborne aviation unit supporting the specialoperations group in i corp during the month of february 1971. Sander for his accomplishments in invasion of laos 1971. As willbanks rightly points out, lam son 719 was the crucial test of americas vietnamization program. The united states provided logistical, aerial, and artillery. Operation lam son 719 project gutenberg selfpublishing. The operation, dubbed lam son 719, went very well for the first few days, but as movement became bogged down the nva rushed reinforcements to the battle and. Currently, there are two active and three inactivate battalions in. The regiment has been involved with american conflicts dating back to then us involvement in the mexican civil war and more recently with the war on terrorism. In 1971, larry burrows was killed while documenting operation lam son 719, along with three of his fellow photojournalists henri huet, kent potter, and keisaburo shimamoto when their helicopter transport was shot down over laos. The united states provided air and artillery support for 16,000 elite troops from army of the republic of vietnam arvn who crossed the border into laos and raided the ho chi minh trail. The book is a historical look at operation lam son 719 during the vietnam war. Sloniker has coauthored andor assisted on the following books. Lam son 719 ts banking group iowa illinois north dakota. This video is the first of two with sanders point of view of the.
Operation lam son 719, was the last major military operation in the vietnam. The most stunning evidence of vietnamizations failure came when saigons best troops were dealt a shattering defeat in their extensive lam son 719. He has researched his subject diligently and presents it well in this book. As a test of vietnamization, this operation was to demonstrate also the progress achieved in combat effectiveness by the republic of vietnam armed forces. Read the fulltext online edition of a raid too far. Sander served during the vietnam war as a helicopter pilot assigned to the 101st airborne division, and was part of. Lam son 719 was amajor operation of the army of the republic of south vietnam, arvn, into laosfrom 30 jan 24 mar 1971. Lam son 719 was designed as a test of the army of the republic of vietnams ability to carry on the war despite the us drawdown. Additionally, the newest release is a book titled rattlers and firebirds, by chuck carlock and ron seabolt. American losses are harder to estimate but were at least 250 americans died in support of the operation. Lam son 719 was one of the bloodiest battles of the vietnam war. Operation lam son 719or 9th route southern laos campaignvietnamese.
Sander, a helicopter pilot who took part in the invasion of laos, offers his thoughts on why this operation was an epic failure. The campaign famously known as operation lam son 719, was a disaster for the arvn. Operation lam son 719 was conducted by i corps with substantial u. A good book on operation lam son 719 my salute and congratulations to author robert d. Charles holleymike sloniker, primer of the helicopter war. For its part, the government of saigon had been planning an operation into. The raid into laos, codenamed lam son 719, is the subject of robert sanders recent book invasion of laos, 1971.
The primary objective of the operation, named lam son 719, was to destroy. Sander served during the vietnam war as a helicopter pilot assigned to the 101st airborne division, and was part of the air support for the battle itself. In february 1971, the army of the republic of vietnam arvn launched an incursion into laos in an attempt to cut the ho chi minh trail and destroy north vietnamese army nva base areas along the border. Perhaps this is because it involved primarily soldiers of the army of the republic of vietnam arvn, with the united states providing only air and logistical support. After a short stand down at bronco, at 0912 on the morning of february 8, 1971,cs were loaded and a combat assault was in progress with a. Lam son 719 at the rockpile and carried the colors of the 11th light infantry brigade 43 into battle. Army command and general staff college, fort leavenworth, kansas.
Colonel sloniker has collected volumes of records, interviews, audiotapes, photographs and other information on lam son 719. Patch from the period, march 1972 through to october 1972 operational period of task force 1. The 1971 invasion of laos is one of the forgotten episodes of the vietnam war. Willbanks is professor emeritus of military history at the u. Operation lam son 719 or 9th route southern laos campaign was a limitedobjective offensive campaign conducted in the southeastern portion of the. A raid too far operation lam son 719 and vietnamization in laos james h. During this two month invasion into laos there was a more concentrated loss of aircraft crews in the sixty day window of lam son 719. What makes this account important is that robert d. Operation lam son 719 was a crucial test of vietnamization that began on 8 february 1971.
This book is an excellent read for someone who is also interested in it was easy to read and flowed in a logical sequence to where it built into the battle. It proved disastrous, with southern troops fleeing in panic. The operation, dubbed lam son 719, went very well for the first few days, but as movement became bogged down the nva. Lam son 719 was designed as a test of the army of the republic of vietnams ability. You can find more information on lam son 719 from mike sloniker o n the 48th ahc web site. He would go on to serve a total of four tours in vietnam returning in 1971 to cover operation lam son 719, in 1973 for the release of the pows, and in 1975 for the fall of cambodia and. Read lam son 719 illustrated edition by majorgeneral nguyen duy hinh for free with a 30 day free trial. Operation lam son 719 and vietnamization in laos 2014. At last, a comprehensive, narrative history of operation lam son 719 is written. In short lam son 719 fills a huge gap in our historiographical understanding of the vietnam war. A monument standing at one of ts banking groups locations in council bluffs, iowa serves as a reminder of operation lam son 719.
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