REDACTED VERSION - SIGHTINGS OF TWO U.S. PILOTS CAPTURED BY PATHET LAO FORCES IN SAM NEUA, PROVINCE

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00466150
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: January 27, 2021
• Case Number: F-2018-01147
• Publication Date: December 4, 1971

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CONTROLLED AMERICAN SOURCE
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'4 DEC 71
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DOI 1 4 MAY 1965
.SUBJECT SIGHTINGS OF TWO U.S. PILOTS CAPTURED BY PATHET LAO
FORCES IN SAM NEUA PROVINCE ' e-
AC0 z LAOS, VIENTIANE (26 NOVEMBER 1971).410 NO. FOV7.24,535
SOURCE :' A RELIABLE SOURCE FROM THE DEBRIEFING OF PATHET LAO
CPU RALLIER (NANG) SO(ILC 1 FROM IgKI TO
JANUARY 1970
5gg
SHE OBSERVED THE U.S. PILOT WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT
TO THE CAVE. Sc_ RALLIED TO A ROYAL LAO GOVERNMENT.
INFANTRY BATTALION ON 5 OCTOBER 1971. (SEE PARAGRAPH
6 FOR ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHIC DETAILS.) SHE WAS VERY
COOPERATIVE THROUGHOUT HER DEBRIEFING. SHE IS ,
INTELLIGENT AND HAS GOOD RECALL OF DATES AND EVENTS.
� SHE WAS NOT A NEMBER OF THE LAO PEOPLE'S PARTY. HER
REPORTING RELIABILITY HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED.
SUMMARY. QN OR ABOUT 4 MAY j965 A U.S. PILOT. WAS cAprdRin
BY PATHET LAO 'CPU TROOPS NEAR THE PL SUPREME COMMAND HEAD...
QUARTERS CAVE. HE WS I _ a:0c AND THEN DETAINED AT
N NOWN k WWI ifill434WIRI444 ANOTHER U.S. PILOT
AS LATER CAPTURED IN THE VICINITY oF MUONG POUA AND BROUGHT '
0 THE SAME DETENTION AREA: END SUMMARY.
1. ON OR ABOUT 4 MAY 1965 A U.S. PILOT WAS CAPTURED BY
PAT HET LAO (PO TROOPS ON THE THIRD DAY OF A BOMBING ATTACK-,
IN AN AREA APPROXIMATELY ONE KILOMETER NORTH OF THE PL SUPREME
COMMAND HEADQUARTERS (RS) CAVE. WHILE APPROXIMATELY TEN
U.S. JET AIRCRAFT CIRCLED OVER THE AREA WHERE THE PILOT HAD
LANDED- AFTER PARACHUTING FROM HIS BURNING AIRCRAFT, A U.S.
HELICOPTER ATTEMPTED TO RESCUE HIM. PL SOLDIERS eligjaux,
CA PT Uh ED THE PILOT BEEORLIBE-111.440=R-AR:R-1443&M. THE PILOT
WAS OVER 68 INCHES TALJ.,MEDIUM BUILD AND CLEAN SHAVEN.
)tE HAD A SIDERTTETGHT�COLORED -HA IR. ftrirAS
BR-OUGHT TO THE ft SU REPIE COMMAND HQS CAVE AND THEN TAKEN TO
AN UNKNOWN LOCATION FOR INTERROGATION. THE INTERROGATION WAS
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CONDUCTED BY A LAO WHO USED AS AN INTERPRETER A FOREIGN STUDENT
WHO SPOKE ENGLISH AND WHO WAS BORROWED FROM THE NLHS CENTER.
AFTER THE INTERROGATION THE MOT WAS DETAINED AT AN UNKNOWN
LOCATION IN SAK JJEUA PRONINCEM
-
sib,t
2. (FIELD =vim: RALLIER S1C.
A , $(16GUA-r-g; DINTA
u)N111141). THE LOCATION OF THE
6049PREMEk..CONMAND,SAVE*All 045611 FROM AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS,
ANALYSIS OF PHOTO RAP IND 10 SEPTEMBER 1971 HAS REVEALED
A tig I, 1'! HIS HIS CAVE HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY
IDENTIFIED AS THE BEA I QUARTERS.)
�
3. COLONEL CH A NH*K OR, AT THAT TIME DEPUTY
CHIEF OF THE POLITICAL OFFICE OF THE SUPREME COMMAND HQS AND
CHIEF OF THAT OFFICE'S PERSONNEL SECTION, SAID IN A CASUAL%
CONVERSATION THAT WHEN THE PILOT WAS ASKED ABOUT TACTICAL !
MILITARY INFORMATION, HE SAID HE KNEW NOTHING. HE. TOLD THE
INTERROGATOR TO ASK THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR THE ANSWERS TO
THOSE QUESTIONS. WHEN ASKED. WHAT HE WAS THINKING � ABOUT WITH
REGARD .TO HIS CAPTURE, THE PILOT SAD THOUGHT MOSTLY
ABOUT HIS WIFE AND. SON. HE GAVE HIS raillIMIXTV, ,SAID THAT �
HIS SON WAS 15 LE
IgAits,OLD. (FIELD COMMENTS 'A R. IS
PROBABLY IDENTIFIAB WITH MAJOR (CHAN) KOR WHO, . IDENTIFIED
BY"A RALLIER IN SEPTEMBER 1968 AS THE THIRD DEPUTY IN CHARGE
OF PERSONNEL OF THE POLITICAL � DIVISION AT SAM NEUAO
4. TWO OR THREE MONTHS LATER ANOTHER U.S. PILOT WAS
CAPTURED IN THE VICINITY OF MUONG POUA. (FIELD COMMENT: A vn-
1.111ONG POUA IS LOCATED AT VH 2264.) COLONEL CHANH...KOR SAID
THAT I HIS PILOT HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO 1H. SAME DENTENTION AREA
AS THE FIRST PILOT. (FIELD COMMENT: 5c- WAS SHOWN PHOTO-
GRAPHS � OF APPROXIMATELY 30 AMERICANS IN THE OFFICIAL POW
PHOTOGRAPH BOOK, INCLUDING CAYTIAN DAVID LOUIS
RDL ICY A_ WHO CRASHED M AN F105 ON 18 MAY 1545 IN
HE V C TY OF VII 200339 A : � CHARLES F.,HEL T *N
WHO CRASHED � I AN RF101C ATFG.,99163g ON 29 MAY 1965t SHE
COULD IDENTIFY NO PHO OaRAP AS THE P LOT SHE SAW IN 1965.
W WHEN ASKED IF ANY OF THE FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE PAGE WITH
HRDLICKA'S PHOTOGRAPH LOOKED SIMILAR 70 THE PILOT SHE SAW, .
SHE GAVE A NEGATIVE REPLY. WHEN ASKED IF ANY PHOTOGRAPHS. ON
THE PAGE WITH SHELTON'S PHOTOGRAPH RESEMBLED THE PILOT, SHE
POINTED TO SHELTON BUT SAID THAT THE MAN SHE SAW HAD A VERY
FLAT �NOSE BRIDGE AND THAT WHILE SHELTON'S HAIR AND FACE SHAPE
WERE SIMILAR, HE WAS NOT THE PILOT SHE REMEMBEREDO-
�5. ABOUT ONE MONTH AFTER THE SECOND PILOT WAS CAPTURED,
PL CAPTAIN KU *THON 0, WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
IMPRISONED PILOTS, CANE TO THE SUPREME COMMAND HQS CAVE
.,,AND WAS OVERHEARD TO TELL SAHA N, WHO AT THAT TIME WAS �
1ST DEPUTY SUPREME COMMANDER OF PL FORCES AM CHIEF OF THE
SUPREME COMMAND POLITICAL OFFICER, THAT THE PILOTS WERE HAVING
DIFFICULTY ADJUSTING TO A DIET OF LAO FOOD. SAMAN TOLD
KU-THONG TO TRY DIFFERENT FOODS IN ORDER TO FIND OUT WHAT
THE PILOTS COULD EAT. qiineEsip C GAR AND MILK.
HE TOLD KU-THONG TO ASK THE PILOTS WHY THEY WOULD LIKE TO
EAT AND THEN TO REQUISITION THE FOOD FROM THE QUARTERMASTER
OFFICE. (SOURCE COMMENT: 5(. HAD NO FURTHER INFORMATION
ON THE PILOTS.) (FIELD COMMENT: KU-THONG MAY BE IDENTICAL
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WITH THONGKHAN WHO IS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN POLICE CHIEF IN
XIENG KHOUANG PROVINCE AND WHO .AS TRANSFERRED TO HOUA PHAN
PROVINCE IN LATE 1968. IN LATE 1971 THONGKHAM REPORTEDLY
WAS CHIEF OF THE SECURITY OFFICE IN THE NAKAY AREA OH 1865).
SARAN HAY BE SARAN VIRAKHET WHO IS CONFIRMED AS SUPREME
COMMANDER OF THE SOUTH LAOS REGION (SLR) HQS AND WHO
SUCCEEDED GENERAL PHOMMA DOUANGMALA IN PROBABLY. MAY
1971. SARAN VIRAKHET FORMERLY WAS DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE
HQS OF THE LAD PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY AND CHIEF OF POLITICAL
.AFFAIRS OF THE XIENG KHOUANG REGIONAL HQS.)
�
6. (F/ELDCOMMENT:
SOUR ccbAl
IN SEPTEMBER 1953 SHE WAS
SENT TO A SCHOOL AT THAN}( HOA CITY, NORTH VIETNAM (NVN), WVRE
SHE STUDIED NURSING AND THE LAO AND VIETNAMESE LANGUAGES. 1:
SHE ATTENDED THIS SCHOOL FROM JANUARY 1954 UNTIL JUNE. 1955.
SHE REMAINED UNASSIGNED AT THANH HOA UNTIL DECEMBER 4955 WHEN
SHE WAS TRANSFERRED TO A PL HOSPITAL IN SAM NEUA PROVINCE,
LAOS. IN JANUARY 1958 SHE WAS REASSIGNED AS A NURSE-WITH
THE PL 2ND BATTALIONIN XIENG KHOUANG PROVINCE. AWAY 1959
SHE ACCOMPANIED THE PL 2ND BATTALION TO NGHE AN . INCE.
NVN, WHEN IT WITHDREW FROM XIENG.KHOUANG.
Souare
BocrA
'REGION. FROM JUNE UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMRER 1970 SHE TRAVELED
ASAMEDIC WITH QHANSAPHILOM (ALSO KNOWN AS
KASEN), DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE SOUTH LAOS REGION.
AFTER CHANSAPHILOM WAS KILLED BY A BOOBYTRAP NEAR BAN SOT
(XA 2252), SHE TRAVELED TO THE PL PROVINCE HQS IN SITHANDONE
TO REPORT TO PHOMMA, WHO HAD LEFT THE SLR HQS AT THE SAME
TIME AS CHANSAPHILOM. UPON ARRIVING THERE SHE LEARNED THAT
:PHOMMA.HAD BEEN KILLED BY A, NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY (NVA) � �
MEDIC. SHE THEN RETURNED TO SARAVANE PROVINCE, ARRIVING
THERE IN NOVEMBER 1970. IN JUNE 1971 SHE WAS WARNED BY
KHANCHANH, STAFF MEMBER OF THE SLR HQS, THAT THE NVA
� INTENDED TO KILL HER AND OTHERS, APPARENTLY BECAUSE OF THEIR
PREVIOUS ASSOCIATION WITH PHOMMA.
scoote DATA
. PHOM. SAID SHE RALLIED BECAUSE
OF HER FEAR OF THE NVA AND BECAUSE SHE WAS TIRED OF THE CON-
TINUING SHORTAGE OF FOOD AND THE RIGORS OF LIFE WITH THE PL.)
7. FIELD DISSEM: STATE ARMY AIR CINCPAC ARPAC PACAF
PACFLT MACV 7TH AF 7/13TH AF TFA/NKP (ALSO SENT BANGKOK
SAIGON PHNOM PENH PARIS).
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