Customer Reviews

One Day Too Long

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a extraordinarily powerful, interesting and well written book. It covers the entire history (1965-date) of an obscure (to some) chapter in America's war in Southeast Asia -- the loss of Lima Site 85 in Laos to communist attack. The whole history is fascinating -- from the decision to set up this site, to what it (briefly) did, the decisions from the squad level all the way up to the US Embassy in Vientiane and the President in Washington about its mission, operation and defense, to the current efforts to get the truth out of the Lao and Vietnamese governments about MIAs. The author has the background to write this fascinating history and writes compellingly. He's not afraid, where appropriate, to use blunt language like "shameful toadying" and "fraud". I've been a sceptic in the past of some of the distrust of the US government shown by POW/MIA families and partisans, but this book opened my eyes. Phou Pha Thi should have been better defended or abandoned earlier. A great account of (mostly) good intentions and (too often) flawed execution. The author writes convincingly of 1960's combat and 1990's political maneuvering. The treatment of COL Clayton, the commander of the site when it was overrun, by the current "investigators" was particularly revealing and chilling. I was a US Army Signal Corps officer during the Vietnam war and know all too well what it's like to have to be visible on a mountaintop to perform your mission and the need for good defense. I've spent the last 4 years as a civilian in Cambodia. So I have some parallels with the authors' experiences. A great book no matter what your view on the war.

As one of the pilots of Jolly Green 67 I simply want to thank Dr. Castle for his comprehensive and historical accurate account of the events at Lima Site 85. This is a story that begged to be told; Dr. Castle pulls no punches, providing a riveting and revealing account. His work was a key factor in the eventual recognition of the heroic efforts of Sgt. Etchberger at the Enlisted Hertiage Hall, Maxwell AFB Annex (formally Gunter AFS), Montgomery AL. A great read.

Congratulations to Dr. Castle for this fine book. A meticulously researched historical work of the finest order that reads like a Tom Clancy action novel. A bombshell that exposes one of the most egregious and hitherto publicly undisclosed tragedies of the Vietnam War. In March 1968 an NVA sapper team avoided detection and attacked a top-secret radar bombing facility (code name Jolly Green) which was manned by sixteen "civilianized" Air Force technicians. The site, LS 85, was located on a mountain top in Laos less than twenty-five miles from the North Vietnam border. The attack caught the technicians off guard and resulted in the loss of the site to the communist forces. Two of those dedicated volunteers manning the site were confirmed killed, five were rescued alive (one died on the evacuation flight) and the remaining nine have never been accounted for and their status remains unknown. This incident holds the distinction of being the largest single loss of Air Force ground personnel during the entire Vietnam War. Why did the Air Force continue to operate this site in the face of considerable evidence the site would soon fall under bombardment and attack by large NVA forces gathering in the area? Was it incompetence or was the site considered so essential to the North Vietnam bombing effort that the loss of the men was an acceptable risk? Dr. Castle looks at these questions in detail. One Day Too Long chronicles the history of Site 85 from its initial concept of operations through the tragic consequence of this miscalculation. But the story does not stop there. It also relates the stoic efforts by one widow to find answers to questions about her husbands death at this site the government was unwilling to provide. This book should be mandatory reading for all future military leaders.

Meticulously researched and profusely documented, Dr. Castle has set the standard for all other books on this subject. His skill as a renowned researcher, academic, and archivist has produced the best Vietnam era book written on the subject of POW/MIA's. If you want to know why we have never recovered a living MIA from SE Asia, and never will, read Chapter 14 and the conclusion chapter to understand why. This book exposes the myth of "The Highest National Priority", and shows how the US Government has mismanaged the issue for years. This book took a lot of courage for someone of Dr. Castle's stature and position to write, because it is going to upset a lot of important people with the truth.

I have a very personal reaction to "One Day Too Long" in that Mel and Ann Holland were our military sponsors when my family and I were first assigned to an AC&W squadron in southern Spain in early 1961, and I worked with Mel until he rotated to the States. It is embarrassing and shameful to learn how both the military and civilian authorities were willing to sacrifice those men in order to cover up their own mistakes, but I suppose if ALL the truth were known about SE Asia operations, we would not be able to stand it. Dr. Castle has perfomed an invaluable service for democracy. EVERYBODY should read this book! (Ann, we'd love to hear from you!)

I served as a Senior Director in the Tactical Air Control Center-North Sector, Monkey Mountain, Da Nang, RVN. We provided a direct support function regarding Frag Orders, BDA and other matters to LS 85 SKYSPOT ops. I began working with Col Clayton and a few members of the Commando Club crew on our secure voice link in late 1967, and that continued until the last hours during the firefight. Dr. Castle's book is riveting. The facts are laid out in a way that any reader can understand what happened and why. Col Clayton and I still communicate and we still seek some answers. Most of us agree that the policy for POWs in Laos was brutally simple: take no prisoners, so those who did not return were executed on the spot and disposed of over the cliff. Some very few artifact remains verify this. After LS 85, as 1968 evolved, it appears the North Vietnamese changed their policy and practice and took prisoners. In any case, Dr Castle has been able to penetrate the veil of secrecy that is essential to extant covert operations and transform confusion into a first class historical record. I personally think the U.S. Senate is a shameless producer of false and inadequate reports when it comes to POW/MIA matters. Read all you can and come to your own decisions.

I was unaware of this book when it was published a dozen years ago, but recently it came to my attention through a newspaper article about the Medal of Honor being awarded posthumously to Richard Etchberger in September 2010, combined with a number of e-mail messages that I have received from former Air America pilots about Lima Site 85. Some of those messages mentioned this book. This is the story of a radar station surreptitiously installed atop a mile-high mountain in Laos, near the border of North Vietnam in the fall of 1967. Operated by a team of about 19 men, the radar site provided direction to United States aircraft, enabling all-weather bombing strikes on targets in North Vietnam and Laos. Secrecy was necessary because combat operations in Laos were a clear violation of the United States' treaty obligations.

In March 1968, Lima Site 85 was attacked by a North Vietnamese commando unit, and 11 men were missing and presumed dead. The book covers much more than the commando attack. It reviews the establishment of a covert program that involved not only the U.S. Air Force, but also the army, the State Department, and the CIA. It reviews the reactions of each of those entities to the loss of the site. It reviews the government's dealings with the families of the deceased Air Force technicians. It reviews the efforts of MIA organizations that tried to verify the status of the missing men, including the obfuscation of the Vietnamese and Laotian governments. Similarly, it reviews the reactions of members of Congress to requests of the families for assistance in determining the truth. It is a story of self-serving obfuscation and deception at all levels of government. It is a fascinating story.

That said, I have two problems with this book.

The first problem is the unbridled use of adjectival characterizations in a book purports to be factual. Apparently recognizing that the story involves the death of just 12 persons in a war that resulted in 58,000 deaths, the book repeatedly refers to this incident as "the largest single ground combat loss of the U.S. Air Force personnel in the history of the Vietnam war." "Catastrophic" and "a terrible human toll" are also used, apparently to make the reader aware that this is not a matter of quantitative determination. The book would be better if these characterizations were eliminated - except for the last chapter which sets forth the conclusions of the author.

Second, the book missed the opportunity to discuss the dangers inherent in situations where there are overlapping responsibilities of executive agencies and the military. In an era of limited military engagements, specificity of responsibility is essential. History repeated itself in Beirut in October 1983.

Hopefully, the award of the Medal of Honor to the Etchberger family today will be viewed as an award to all of the members of Lima Site 85.

This is a book well worth reading.

This is a great book. Very well written and maticulously researched. I was flying for Air America when all of this happened. Tim Castle has captured it all. It tells a lot about our involvement in Laos, far beyond just the events at Lima Site 85. Thanks, Tim.

Being one of the excavation team in late 94, I found this book to be especially interesting. Dr. Castle brought to full light a story I only new bits and pieces of. The book is wronderfully written and keeps the readers interest. Dr. Castle has gone to great length to make this book as factual, if not more, than any official report ever written. This event should not be allowed to fade into the past lest we forget our fallen who shall never return.

I've long heard about Lima Site 85 and what has happened there. I've put off for years picking up this book. I was greatly impressed by what I read. First off, I would like to acknowledge the great deal of research Mr. Castle has put into this book. It is obvious he has put a great deal of time into studying each report, eye witness, and testimony.

Though he does not provide a clear answer to what happened to the missing crew (which American, Laos, and Vietnamese Government will not provide accurate information), he gives the reader a good idea of the events that happened before, durring, and after the assault onto Lima Site 85. This book is very well written with great research. I can only hope that one day we find out what truly happened to those brave men who have yet to be accounted for.