Peace with Honor? Air America and the Paris Peace Accords
No one can fully understand the Paris Peace Accords of 1973 and the Allied withdrawal from South Vietnam without first examining events that unfolded several years earlier in Laos and the strategic thinking of President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger. Nixon promised "Peace with Honor" through Vietnamization, assuring Americans that South Vietnam could defend itself after the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Yet documents released in later years, including the Nixon tapes, have prompted historians to question the relationship between the administration's public assurances and its private assessments.
Nixon's China opinion didn't begin when he became President, but the presidency allowed him to merge those opinions, and Kissinger assisted with his secret negotiating style while keeping his actions confidential from Congress.
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma had agreed in 1962 to let the Chinese construct a road from Mengla in China to Pak Beng on the Mekong River.
American intelligence analysts were puzzled over the Chinese objectives. Pathet Lao used the road, and the Thai government was worried about a Chinese road coming through Laos directly into Thailand. At first, Laotian and U.S. aircraft bombed the road, and the Chinese stationed antiaircraft weapons along the route, making bombing hazardous.
Shortly after President Nixon took office, he barred the USAF from bombing the road or conducting reconnaissance flights except with high-flying U2 aircraft. Why did Nixon take this action?
Nixon made this statement in 1967 in an article he wrote. "Taking the long view, we simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations… There is no place on this small planet for a billion of its potentially most able people to live in angry isolation."
By late 1971, international politics intruded on the Chinese Road. President Nixon intended to capitalize on friction between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. Nixon halted the cross-border intelligence missions out of northern Laos to cozy up to the Chinese leadership. He also barred any USAF flights within 11 kilometers of Route 46. When aircraft impinged on the construction and came under fire, he ignored the incidents.
The war in Vietnam may have ended in 1968, and in Laos in 1972. There were accusations that Nixon scuttled the Paris peace talks in 1968. However, there is also a question of whether the North Vietnamese were ready to end the war without unifying Vietnam.
In retrospect, one could question Nixon's logic in 1967 and he and Kissinger's actions in 1972 and 1973. To an extent, recognizing a billion people in China is understandable, and perhaps one could rationalize the collateral damage by seeking peace in the region. However, did Nixon recognize a billion people or a minute portion of China's population, called the Communist Party? Furthermore, looking at what China is doing today, would Nixon and Kissinger have the same mindset? The Nixon tapes reveal that there was more to Nixon's strategy than China and Kissinger's bombing of Cambodia, which he kept secret from Congress.
The more important question, however, is how this strategic mindset affected the employees of Air America.
The answer lies in a series of political and military decisions that transformed Air America from a logistical support organization into an indispensable participant in the final years of the Secret War.
Historian James Parker described the 1971 campaign in northern Laos this way:
"In late 1971, the People's Army of Vietnam launched Campaign "Z" into northern Laos, escalating the war in Laos to defeat the last Royal Lao Army troops. The NVA troops numbered 27,000 and brought 130mm field guns and T-34 tanks, while the North Vietnamese air force launched MiG-21s into Lao air space. General Giap's specific orders to this task force were to kill the CIA army under the command of the Hmong warlord Vang Pao and occupy its field headquarters in the Long Tieng valley of northeast Laos.
They faced the rag-tag army of Vang Pao, fewer than 6,000 strong and mostly Thai irregulars, recruited by the Thai army to fight for the CIA in Laos. By the time the NVA launched their first attack, 4,000 Tahan Sua Pran had been drafted, armed, trained, and rushed to Laos to defend against the impending NVA invasion. They reinforced Vang Pao's indigenous army of 1,800 Lao hill tribe guerrillas.
Despite the odds being overwhelmingly in the NVA's favor, the battle did not turn out as planned. It raged for over 100 days, the longest in the Vietnam War, and it all came down to Skyline Ridge. As at Dien Bien Phu, whoever won Skyline won Laos.
Against all odds, against all WDC expectations, the NVA lost, their 27,000-man invasion force decimated."
The Hmong, Thai irregulars, USAF, and Air America stopped the NVA at 20 Alternate and ended the war in Laos in 1973, but it was a secret that no one wanted to talk about, and the participants were cautioned to keep their mouths shut. Air America crews working special projects were warned not to do anything without Kissinger's approval. America did not negotiate with Laos during the Paris Peace Accords. Those assigned to these highly classified missions understood that approval ultimately rested with Kissinger, underscoring how closely the operations were tied to national policy.
Nixon and Kissinger were working diligently to end the war in Vietnam, but Kissinger needed intelligence information. Air America took on a different role. Tapping a military phone line near Vinh, North Vietnam, was required. An antenna that looked like a spider web was designed to be placed in a tree near the tap and broadcast the phone conversations to Kissinger in Paris.
Two Hughes 500P helicopters had an extra main blade and a four-blade tail rotor to quiet their inherent noise. A muffler was attached to the engine outlet, and a forward-looking-inferred radar system was installed to allow flight at low levels at night. There are several articles about the effort, but here is some additional information I was aware of because I trained in the H-500P at Edwards AFB.
The FLIR had problems. It would pick up inversions that appeared as clouds when no clouds existed. The Hughes 500P was underpowered and had a tiny cabin made even smaller by other fuel cells.
Air America pilots suggested using their Sikorsky S-58T with two turbine engines. It was not as quiet, but it was quiet enough, and it had a more extended range and larger payload capacity. The CIA turned down the suggestion, and the S-58T was used as a rescue standby for the H-500P. I trained in the S-58T for the tap mission.
The mission was successful initially in December, but the crew was trained to work with a wooden telephone pole. As it turned out, the pole was cement, and the electrical taped fixture did not last long. The cement pole was not detected during photoreconnaissance before the flight, and the error is not understood or explained.
Kissinger still needed intelligence, and Air America's S-58T fleet was placed into operation in 1973 as per the original suggestion. It was a hazardous and challenging mission requiring dedication and resourcefulness. A successful tap was conducted further to the North. Placing the spider web antennas remained a problem because the North Vietnamese found them in the trees, and it is assumed they destroyed them.
Air America pilots were never told how much information was obtained from the tap, but it was understood that it was substantial. Years later, I asked Dr. Kissinger to support Air America's bid for veteran recognition. In a paraphrased response, Kissinger wrote that he appreciated what Air America employees did in Southeast Asia but had a strict policy not to interfere with decisions made by other departments.
Kissinger's refusal was bitter because no one knew more than he who we were and what we did. His endorsement as a former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor would have added the same leverage as General Hap Arnold's support for the WASP and Senator Goldwater for the Flying Tigers. His refusal was a slap in the face and harmed our legacy because those conducting special project missions knew Kissinger was in charge, and he ensured we knew it.
The CIA and the USAF also refused our request for assistance and even went so far as to state in writing that we were undeserving of the honor and recognition. Air Americans disputed the claims made, but the absence of leverage made it impossible to continue seeking approval, and the Civilian/Military Service Review Board turned down Air America employees for veteran recognition.
A portion of the armistice stated that America would support South Vietnam if the North attacked the South. The Church Committee, Congress, and most of America were tired of the war that killed thousands on both sides. American POWs in Hanoi were released. Article 16 of the Paris Agreement discusses Laos, but no one followed up. The Hmong and Royal Lao soldiers who fought and died bravely for many years were left twisting in an ill wind. There were indications that several American POWs, including Air America employees, were left in Laos.
At the time, no serious effort appeared to be made to determine their fate.
The comment, "permitting a bloodless takeover by the Laotian communists in mid-1975," is typical of the political ability of North Vietnam to win a war or battle they lost. The American public accepted the North Vietnamese version, proclaiming that America lost the war in Laos even though there were no American troops in Laos after the Vientiane Treaty was signed in 1973.
I interviewed a royal family member imprisoned in a so-called reeducation camp in Northern Laos. She asked that her name be withheld. She said the king died of starvation. The communist captors killed her husband. She escaped with her children after 12 years in prison to Thailand, and Senator Allen Simpson assisted her and her remaining family to immigrate to the United States. Her crime was that she was a member of the royal family
.
The misery the people endured in these camps in Laos is heartbreaking. In another interview, a Lao lady who worked with the Americans said, "It is only fair for our audience to hear a balanced two-sided story, as it is the norm of journalism."
She went on to say, "I appreciate your insights, frankness, and interest in the people of Laos and their country, which has never found true peace for the past three-quarters of the century, though there has been no war in the traditional sense since 1975."
As a Lao American, she wanted to share her views and what she said epitomized the thoughts of every Air America employee
"The Geneva Accords of 1954 and 1962 on the neutrality of Laos and the Paris Peace Agreement of 1973 are poignant examples. If there were no Ho Chi Minh trail in the southern part of Laos to facilitate the transportation of war supplies from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam, there would be no bombing. If North Vietnam had not deployed heavy troops to attack the northern province of Xiangkhouang in Laos, the Lao government would not have asked for help defending itself. However, it begs the question, whose fault is this, and who caused it to happen in the first place? The people of Laos continue to struggle for survival, genuine independence, and self-determination. However, sadly, tiny land-locked Laos has become a part of the Vietnamese sphere of influence deeper and deeper. The memories of war are not pretty. Its legacy is even more tragic. On the other hand, freedom is not free. We owe our freedom to its brave defenders. Lesson learned: Communist (North) Vietnam was, is, and will never be trusted!"
Whether or not America intended to go back to Vietnam to fight against a North Vietnam invasion is unclear. However, America looked the other way when the North invaded the South. It is difficult to conclude that America lost the war in Vietnam in 1975. America was not in Vietnam in 1975. The only sizable force in Vietnam in 1975 was Air America, and they assisted in a massive evacuation called Operation Frequent Wind. It was a dangerous mission, and it was carried out from the heart because there was nothing in the plan that included Air America.
Every video taken during that event included blue and white Air America helicopters, but reporters barely mentioned them. Ultimately, the Air America employees who took part were unceremoniously dropped in Hong Kong and told to go home. The war ended abruptly without accolades and fanfare, as if Air America had never existed. Rudyard Kipling said it best in a portion of a poem he wrote in 1897. "The tumult and the shouting dies; The Captains and the Kings depart: Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, A humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. Lest we forget—lest we forget!
There is solace. Air America rescued several military crewmembers who might have died in Laos had they not been plucked from harm's way. Thousands of Lao refugees made their way to America with Air America's help, and hundreds of Vietnamese refugees were rescued in Operation Frequent Wind. Despite the actions of Johnson, Nixon, and Kissinger who may have extended the war unnecessarily and likely sparked the rise of China on the world stage, these positive outcomes represent the character Americans can embrace.
Allen Cates
Former Air America Pilot
Author
Honor Denied
Above the Rice
The Girl with a Silver Necklace
Integrity’s Conundrum
The Uncertainty protocol
Copyright © 2026 Allen Cates. All Rights Reserved.
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