Attack on Site 85 information
for AIR AMERICA
USAF
For date 680312
AIR AMERICA was a Air America unit
USAF was a US Air Force unit
South Vietnam
Location, LS-85
Description: Phou Pha Thi, LS-85, was one of four USAF TACAN sites in Laos and possibly held the most sophisticated intelligence gathering as well as radar/navigational systems outside of South Vietnam. Since their attack on 12 Jan, the NVA had completely surrounded the mountain and had completed elaborate preparations, including the building of roads, to make a ground assault against the site. On the night of 11 March, they engaged a Hmong unit at the base of the mountain.
Early on the morning of 12 March, NVA LT Truong Muc lead a 26 man sapper unit and scaled the sheer cliff previously thought unscaleable and attacked the radar site. In the heavy fighting, the USAF technicians were overwhelmed. The NVA were still on the site, when at first light the Air Force lifted off the few American survivors by helicopter and then began pounding the hill with withering air strikes to destroy the valuable equipment and all evidence of the American presence.
The 11 American MIAs were quietly declared dead. Neither the North Vietnamese nor the Pathet Lao ever created any political furor over this event. Code-Name Bright Light contains a summary of several war time and post war time activities that relate to the site and the MIAs.
The attack come on the night of 10 March 1968. We were airlifted off at daylight the morning of 11 March 1968. From John G. Daniel, USAF retired E-6
The source for this information was Code-Name BRIGHT LIGHT P:191+
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Last updated
10/19/2008
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023