History 10.03 (Winter 2025): The Dartmouth Vietnam Project: Learning Oral History in a Digital Age

The U.S. government had two main objectives in Laos. First, it sought to disrupt the North Vietnamese supply lines running through eastern Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, strengthening the U.S. war effort in Vietnam. Second, it aimed to support the Royal Lao Government (RLG) against North Vietnamese incursions, preventing the spread of communist influence into Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia. U.S. intervention was organized along strategic and geographical lines: Operations Steel Tiger and Rolling Thunder targeted North Vietnamese supply routes in the southern Laotian Panhandle, while Operation Barrel Roll provided air support to the RLG in northern Laos and the central Plain of Jars region (Davies). These Operations were interconnected, as supporting the Royal Lao Government in Operation Barrel Roll was seen as “the price of admission” for conducting airstrikes against North Vietnamese supply routes in the U.S. Operations Steel Tiger and Rolling Thunder (Lamy).

The U.S. was legally bound to keep the war “secret” due to the 1962 Geneva Agreements, which declared Laos a neutral state and banned foreign military presence. While the U.S. withdrew its troops and abided by these restrictions, it maintained that North Vietnam had already violated the agreement by keeping tens of thousands of troops in Laos to support the Pathet Lao communist insurgency and transport supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail (CIA 1971). Arguing that these violations justified U.S. intervention, the U.S. government circumvented the agreements by conducting covert operations through the CIA (who became the primary vehicle in the war), partnering with the Royal Lao Government, and using Thai infrastructure and air bases. By keeping the war in the air and their bases in neighboring Thailand, the U.S. could feasibly maintain on the broader international stage that it had no true military presence.

American and Hmong Involvement

Broadly, Americans were involved in the Operation Barrel Roll campaign of the Secret War in three different capacities: high-level CIA personnel, U.S. Air Force officers (like Michael Beahan, who served as an intelligence officer for an airborne command post) and “Ravens,” an all-volunteer group of forward air controllers. These pilots, like Mike Cavanaugh, had previously flown in Vietnam but operated in Laos under civilian cover due to international treaties prohibiting direct U.S. military involvement.

Hmong pilots were a critical part of the U.S. campaign Operation Barrel Roll. As the U.S. expanded its operations in Laos and its connections with the Lao government, the CIA recruited and trained Hmong forces to serve both as ground troops and pilots in the Royal Lao Air Force, as part of Project Water Pump. Under the command of General Vang Pao, select Hmong soldiers underwent flight training in Udorn, Thailand and Long Tieng, Laos, learning to pilot T-28 aircraft for missions such as close air support and supply drops. Despite high risks and many Americans’ limited confidence in what they stereotyped as “illiterate hill tribesmen,” Hmong pilots became an essential part of U.S. air operations, frequently flying dangerous low-altitude missions to support both their own communities and the Royal Lao Government’s forces.