That's CIA ops for ya. Most of the time, you go in knowing that if the shit hits the fan, you're going to be left hanging out to dry. This instance doubly so - the guys were "separated" from the service so they could be "hired" by the CIA, and that just plain screams "plausible deniability".
There are still some guys alive today who are under 50 and 70 year gag orders not to speak of what they did or saw. Some times, that plausible deniability has a long, long reach.
What I don't understand is sending them in entirely unarmed. Even rinky-dink fly by night companies will usually send you into Indian country with SOME kind of personal defense weaponry. It might not be the best - it might be 60 years old and sourced from the cheapest seller. like M3 grease guns or Stens, often AK's because they are found everywhere, but usually SOMETHING.
And everyone knew the NVA wouldn't respect Laotian neutrality. They never had, and never would. The entire Ho Chi Minh trail ( not really "A" trail, but a network of trails and dirt roads) ran nearly the entire length of Laos. Stuff would get fed into it from North Vietnam, then filter down all the way through Laos and back into South Vietnam to the VC. So, they didn't respect Laotian neutrality, but they DID bank on the US respecting it and not hitting their supply lines because they were in Laos. I guess they lost that bet.
If one thinks it through, then he doesn't go into these sorts of schemes for recognition, glory, or medals. he goes in to get a job done, knowing that he'll never be lauded for it. That's just the way the die rolls if you're doing Secret Squirrel stuff. I'm surprised they ever got recognition. Someone must have lit a fire under someone's ass to get that. Most guys never, ever, see it, nor do their children or grandchildren.
That's just the way the pipe smokes.
.
There are still some guys alive today who are under 50 and 70 year gag orders not to speak of what they did or saw. Some times, that plausible deniability has a long, long reach.
What I don't understand is sending them in entirely unarmed. Even rinky-dink fly by night companies will usually send you into Indian country with SOME kind of personal defense weaponry. It might not be the best - it might be 60 years old and sourced from the cheapest seller. like M3 grease guns or Stens, often AK's because they are found everywhere, but usually SOMETHING.
And everyone knew the NVA wouldn't respect Laotian neutrality. They never had, and never would. The entire Ho Chi Minh trail ( not really "A" trail, but a network of trails and dirt roads) ran nearly the entire length of Laos. Stuff would get fed into it from North Vietnam, then filter down all the way through Laos and back into South Vietnam to the VC. So, they didn't respect Laotian neutrality, but they DID bank on the US respecting it and not hitting their supply lines because they were in Laos. I guess they lost that bet.
If one thinks it through, then he doesn't go into these sorts of schemes for recognition, glory, or medals. he goes in to get a job done, knowing that he'll never be lauded for it. That's just the way the die rolls if you're doing Secret Squirrel stuff. I'm surprised they ever got recognition. Someone must have lit a fire under someone's ass to get that. Most guys never, ever, see it, nor do their children or grandchildren.
That's just the way the pipe smokes.
.
“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books. For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned with the flick of a finger.”
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake