Section I

Kingdom of Laos

Historical retrospective of Laos
Laos was originally neutral in the Communist conflict, but the Communist North Vietnamese moved troops through the country and supported a communist insurgency. 
In 1962, the United States, both Vietnams, and several other nations agreed to respect the neutrality of and not interfere in the affairs of Laos, which borders Vietnam to the west. North Vietnam immediately broke the accord, however, moving troops and supplies through Laos rather than traversing the heavily guarded demilitarized zone that separated it from South Vietnam. 
The North Vietnamese also came to dominate a communist insurgency against the royalist government of Prince Souvanna Phouma, relegating the local Laotian Communists to what Moise describes as “junior partners.” 
In response to these North Vietnamese transgressions, the Americans covertly rained down billions of pounds of bombs on Laos. The nine-year campaign was so intense that, on average, a planeload of explosives fell every eight minutes, making Laos, per capita, the most heavily bombed nation on earth. Unexploded munitions from the Vietnam War-era continue to kill Laotians (and Vietnamese and Cambodians) to this day. https://www.history.com/news/vietnam-war-combatants#section_7
The Secret War or CIA's Secret War in Laos was a clandestine anti-communist effort to prevent communist domination in Southeast Asia with special emphasis on Laos. 
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/loas-secret-war-cia-most-bombed-country-per-capita.html
The Royal Lao Armed Foeces & Special Guerrilla Units - The Secret War in Laos.
​A Film by Khao Insixiegmay -One of the most respected combat leaders of the war from Savannakhet, Laos, Military Region III along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
 "Royal Lao Armed Forces & The Secret War in Laos".
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkdnR6KzFr0&t=14s
Susan Caolo interviews Royal Lao Officers from Military Regions I, III, IV & V.​ https://scaolo.com/laos-secret-war
"The Secret War & Story Wall - Remembering the Hmong", by TPT Television & Minnesota Remembers Vietnam - including interview with Hmong from Military Region II.
​https://www.mnvietnam.org/about/
Commonwealth Club of California - Unexploded Ordinance Program - featuring CL Insixiegmay Khao, Thomas Leo Briggs, Sera Koulabdara & David Phommavong hosted by Michelle Meow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p76jrdzBW_c
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Ho Chi Minh Trail
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Five Military Regions of Laos
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Operation Barrel Roll & Steel Tiger Targets

Section II

Timeline Laos

Timeline Hmong, Minnesota History Center

Section III

Military Regions in Laos

Section IV 

Hi Chi Minh Trail

Section V

Historical Retrospectives

Texas Tech University - The Vietnam Center
Intelligence in the Vietnam War Conference,  October 20-21, 2006

Session 6 –The Secret War in Laos
Chair: Tom Ahern (CSI)
♦  Bill Lair: The Thai PARU and the War in Laos
♦  Hugh Tovar: The War in Laos
♦  Tom Briggs: Special Operations in Laos:
​ Are there lesson to be learned applicable to the Global War on Terrorism?

Central Intelligence Agency | Center for the Study of Intelligence,
U.S. Intelligence Activity in Laos - CSPAN, April 20, 1996
   Panelists include:
       LTG Richard Trefry (RET)
       Former Ambassador Charles Whitehouse, 
       Timothy Castle, Author
       Richard Holm, CIA Station Chief in Laos
       Hugh Tovar, CIA Chief of Station in Laos
Participants discussed the unique aspects, including the political and cultural environment, of the U.S. intelligence activities against communists in Laos...

Section VI

Post War Issues - Omission, Embelishments and Controversies

This section highlights the issues the Lao and the United States has and continues to face in our Allies struggle to assimilate.

Omissions
​

Embelished roles during the war.
​

Contriversies 

Definitions and Descriptions

Project Hotfoot, Laos -  (also known as Operation Hotfoot, originally known as Operation Ambidextrous)[1]was a secretive military training mission from the United States in support of the Kingdom of Laos. It ran from 22 January 1959 through 19 April 1961. Working in civilian clothing in conjunction with a French military mission, it concentrated on technical training of the Royal Lao Army.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hotfoot_(Laos).
​https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/1945-1964_the_road_to_war/U-S-Army-Special-Forces-Begins-Operation-HOTFOOT/
Operation White Star, Laos - 
WHITE STAR was a clandestine operation under the auspices of the CIA carried out thru the auspices of the U.S. Ambassador to Laos inorder to assist the sovereign country of Laos in fighting the communists.
WILLIAM G. BOWLES: https://the-wanderling.com/white_star.html
John Friberg, Sofrep.com:   https://sofrep.com/news/58394white-star/
 77th Special Forces Group, Laos -
The 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated at Fort Bragg, NC on 10 November 1953 under command of Lieutenant Colonel Jack T. Shannon. Its motto was "Any Thing, Any Time, Any Place, Any How." The group built rapidly from an initial strength of only 200 soldiers. The 77th Group wore their famous Green Beret headgear for the first time in a retirement parade for XVIII Airborne Corps commander MG Joseph P. Cleland in June, 1955. In the fall of 1955 it deployed into OPERATION SAGEBRUSH in Louisiana, the largest military exercise in the US since World War II. The 77th carried out unconventional warfare operations, the first time this had been employed in a US military exercise. In 1955-56, 77th Group conducted two cycles of mountain warfare training at Camp Hale, Colorado known as EXERCISE LODESTAR ABLE and LODESTAR BAKER. In April 1956 the 77th Special Forces Group transferred four detachments to the Pacific theater to serve as the cadre for the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), which activated at Okinawa in June 1957. In 1959, teams from the 77th Special Forces Group began to deploy to Laos under Project Hotfoot in an effort to forestall Communist encroachment in that kingdom. The group also deployed teams to South Vietnam in 1960 to train Vietnamese ranger and special forces personnel.
Reorganization as 7th Group
In 1960, the 77th was reorganized and redesignated as the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. In the 1960s, the need for mobile training teams exceeded the capability of the US military, so the 7th Group provided the cadre for the 3rd Special Forces Group and the 6th Special Forces Group.VietnamThe 7th Group was active early in the Vietnam War, first operating in Laos (Operation White Star), and later in other global Cold War operations in addition to Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, and South Vietnam). 7th Group was the first unit in South Vietnam to have a member earn a Medal of Honor, Captain Roger Donlon.[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Special_Forces_Group_(United_States)
https://www.specialforceshistory.info/groups/77sfga.html
History of Special Forces. https://www.specialforceshistory.info/default.html
CAT & Air America - were an American passenger and cargo airlines established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1950 to 1976. It supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, in Laos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America_(airline)
OTher Ethnic Allies - who contributd to the Secret War in Laos
Vietnam, Thailand, Khmer, Taiwan, Philipines & Montagnard.
Strategic Technical Directorate/ OPLAN 34A 
https://historystd.blogspot.com/2009/10/ltc-nguyen-van-vinh.html
List of Lima Sites in Laos
Covert sites of the Laotian Civil War were clandestine U.S. military installations for conducting covert paramilitary and combat operations in the Kingdom of Laos. Airstrips within the Kingdom of Laos were originally designated by Air America as "Site XX" (with XX being a number). In September 1961, the designation changed to "VS XX", meaning "Victor Site XX". On 16 May 1964, the airstrips received their final designation; the site names then used the abbreviation "LS"—Lima Site—for unimproved strips, or "L"—Lima—for paved runways. The terms "Victor" and "Lima" were taken from the existing military phonetic code.
These sites typically were centered on a dirt landing strip for STOL aircraft such as the Air America Helio Courier or Pilatus Porter. These strips were often carved out along ridge lines, and were seldom flat, straight, or of sufficient length. However, they were crucial for resupply and personnel transport, including medical evacuations. To quote one source: "Some of these defied all the safety rules even of military aviation."[2] A U.S. Air Force inspection team noted that even the best of the Lima strips was inferior to any air strips in Vietnam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_covert_sites_of_the_Laotian_Civil_War
Ethnic Divisions of Lao Society; 
SGU - Special Guerrilla Units were comprised of Royal Lao Armed Forces from all 5 military regions of Laos. These units were trained by US CIA and Special Forces. (See map of military regions below)
Hmong - Ethnic group of Chinese decent occupying the Central highlands of Laos in Military Region 2. Group was divided by pro democracy supporters and Communist supporters. The Hmong are comprised of 18 clans including;  Fa, Hang ,Her, Khang, Kong, Kue, Lo, Lee, Moua, Pha, Thao, Cha, Cheng, Tchue, Vang, Vue, Xiong, and Yang.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_customs_and_culture
Montagnards
Who are the Montagnard
Current plight of the Montagards in the central highlands of Vietnam

Thai PARU, Opperation Momentum and Bill Lair: https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/books-monographs/an-excellent-idea-leading-surrogate-warfare-in-southeast-asia-1951-1970-a-personal-account/

CIA - Central Inteligence Agency (United States)
Royal Lao Armed Forces, ( Kingdom of Laos pro democracy Armed Forces) 
Pathet Lao, (Communist)
Vietcong - (Communist)
NVA - North Vietnamese Army (Communist)
Montagnard - Ethnic groups occupying the central highlands of Vietnam and parts of the highlands of southern Laos.

Ho Chi Minh Trail
Laos During the Veitnam War
Figure 5. A CIA image of Laos illustrating the different military regions (MR) with an enlargement of MR II where the ground war involving the “secret army” under General Vang Pao’s command operated. Several important landmarks for the ground war and key features in Hmong refugee stories are indicated in the enlargement, including Long Cheng (the “secret” military base), Sam Thong, Pa Dong, and the Plain of Jars. Source: Thomas L. Ahern, Undercover Armies: CIA and Surrogate Warfare in Laos, 1961-1973 (Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2006). Source: FOIA, accessed October 1, 2010. (C05303949) http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB284/index.htm.

Notable Battles during the Secret War

Campaign 74B - Plain of Jars 
​(2 February–30 April 1971)

Campaign Z - Xiangkhoang Province, Laos 
​(17 December 1971 – 30 January 1972) 

Battle for Skyline Ridge - Long Tieng. Laos

Hmong Veterans who served in the "Secret War" in Laos along side the United States

Veterans from Laos: War, Remembrance, Ritual, Rank, Racism, and the Making of Hmong and Lao America.

By Ian Baird, Ph.D. and Paul Hillmer, Ph.D. Hong Studies Journal

Legislative Initiative; history and controversy

Hmong Burial Benifits - Controversy
​Public Law 115-141

Hmong Gold Medal - Controversy
Congressional legislation;   S.3271 - H.F.2427. 

Minnesota Hmong & Irregular Veterans - Recieve benifits under new Veteran, defined law in Minnesota 

Section VII

Recommended Reading

The Coalition of Allied Vietnam War Veterans is a former 501(c)3 non profit which ceased operating under that IRS status at the end of 2025 which was the 50th anniversary year of the ending of the Vietnam War.
It now operates as a Veteran Fellowship located in the State of Minnesota