Between 1961 and 1975, approximately 250,000 to 300,000 Air Force personnel were stationed at seven bases in Thailand -- the "Land of Smiles."

The Secret Vietnam War: The United States Air Force in Thailand, 1961-1975 is a book dealing with an underrepresented aspect of the air war in Southeast Asia. It contains data from unit histories (many of which were classified), personal narratives of the men who flew the missions, technical data about the hardware, methodologies, and targets throughout SEA, plus maps, photos, tables, and diagrams. It is currently out of print because I am currently working on a revised, expanded edition. I hope to have it back on shelves by 2006.

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Author Jeff Glasser was stationed at Takhli in 1972 and Korat in 1972-1973, and worked as an ECM repairman.

Chapter Synopsis

NOTE: This is the old list. The revised edition will contain all of this -- and much more.

Front Matter

Forewords by Gen. William Westmoreland and Jeff Ethell; Preface, Introduction

Chapter 1 Vietnam and the Roots of American Involvement

The Cold War era; Geneva Accords of 1954; beginning of the Vietnam war.

Chapter 2 The Buildup to a Limited War

1961-1964 (summer); Intro to the Thai bases; the first USAF units in Thailand; multi-national exercises; developing the infrastructure for war; Geneva Accords of 1962.

Chapter 3 The War Goes Public

(August) 1964-1965; Gulf of Tonkin incident; the air war over North Vietnam begins; air-to-air combat; the war in South Vietnam escalates; Search and Rescue; Wild Weasels.

Chapter 4 The Entwining of Man, Machine, and War

1966; subversive activities (in Thailand); Electronic Countermeasures; top-level policies; unconventional aircraft and operations (A-26, gunships, FACs); Laos.

Chapter 5 Foreign Battlefields All

1967; Operation Bolo; "United States" bases in Thailand; the Turkestan incident; public relations and civic action; new targets.

Chapter 6 The Meridian

1968-1969; the Tet offensive; bombing halt; a forward leap in technology (Igloo White, F-111, AC-130); Udorn is attacked; Commando Hunt; the B-52 and KC-135.

Chapter 7 New Decade, New Directions

1970-1971; the Cambodian incursion; Search and Rescue operations; Takhli closes; the Son Tay raid; Laos; the LaVelle incident.

Chapter 8 Hanoi's Costly Mistakes

1972-(March) 1973; the Spring Invasion; Linebacker I; the F-111 returns; the A-7D; B-52 losses/operations; Linebacker II; unconventional operations; Paris Peace Accords.

Chapter 9 The War That Followed the Peace

(April) 1973-(May) 1975; Laos; Cambodia; assessments; world events; life in Thailand after the war; the Mayaguez incident; Palace Lightning (going home); lessons learned; Southeast Asia today.

Appendix