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    OPERATION MILLPOND: U.S. Marines In Thailand, 1961 [Illustrated Edition]
    OPERATION MILLPOND: U.S. Marines In Thailand, 1961 [Illustrated Edition]
    OPERATION MILLPOND: U.S. Marines In Thailand, 1961 [Illustrated Edition]
    Ebook70 pages36 minutes

    OPERATION MILLPOND: U.S. Marines In Thailand, 1961 [Illustrated Edition]

    By Colonel George R. Hofmann Jr. USMC

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    Includes over 15 illustrations

    This operation highlights the role that the small country of Laos played in the foreign policy calculations of the newly elected U.S. president, John F. Kennedy. Gravely concerned that the Laotian government was in danger of being overwhelmed by a growing Communist insurgency known as the Pathet Lao, President Kennedy took the bold step of deploying Marine Air Base Squadron-16 (MABS-16) to nearby Thailand for the purpose of supporting a collection of helicopters piloted by an organization called Air America. Hollywood later made a movie about Air America, and it is now widely known that it was linked to the Central Intelligence Agency. The Marines of MABS-16 received no such fanfare. Working behind the scenes in austere conditions, MABS-16 gave new meaning to the phrase “in any clime and place.” While Operation Millpond may seem like a small thing in comparison with much larger operations that were soon to be conducted by Marines in the Republic of South Vietnam, it nonetheless represents a clear beginning to a growing U.S. military commitment to the region as a whole, one that did not end until the last Marine left the roof of the American embassy in Saigon in 1975.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNormanby Press
    Release dateNov 6, 2015
    ISBN9781786251398
    OPERATION MILLPOND: U.S. Marines In Thailand, 1961 [Illustrated Edition]
    Author

    Colonel George R. Hofmann Jr. USMC

    See Book Description

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      Book preview

      OPERATION MILLPOND - Colonel George R. Hofmann Jr. USMC

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 2009 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      OPERATION MILLPOND

      U.S. Marines in Thailand, 1961

      by

      Colonel George R. Hofmann Jr. U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

      Cover: An Air America helicopter (with Marines painted over), part of a 20-aircraft fleet that arrived in Udorn, Thailand, in 1961. At this base, U.S. Marines provided ground support for civilian pilots and crews that flew missions in support of Royal Laotian troops who were fighting against the Communist Pathet Lao. Photograph provided by the author.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 6

      Foreword 7

      Preface 8

      Introduction 9

      Laos in the Years Following World War II 10

      The Situation in Laos Deteriorates, 1960-61 12

      President Kennedy Commits U.S. Forces 13

      The Order to Deploy Marine Corps Forces is Issued 15

      MABS-16 is Task Organized for its Mission 16

      The Execute Order 16

      The MABS-16 Mission 17

      The Early Days of Operation Millpond 17

      Your Only Comment Will Be No Comment 19

      Aircraft Maintenance and Line Maintenance Operations—The First Weeks 21

      Camp Construction 22

      Logistics 25

      Medical Support 27

      Communications 28

      Morale, Welfare, and People-to-People Programs 31

      Aircraft and Line Maintenance Operations 33

      Epilogue 38

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 39

      Appendix 40

      Foreword

      George R. Hofmann Jr. experienced Operation Millpond first-hand as a young enlisted Marine. He is now a colonel on the retired list and an instructor at George Washington University, and we are indebted to him for this account of a little-known aspect of U.S. Marine Corps history in Southeast Asia.

      This operation highlights the role that the small country of Laos played in the foreign policy calculations of the newly elected U.S. president, John F. Kennedy. Gravely concerned that the Laotian government was in danger of being overwhelmed by a growing Communist insurgency known as the Pathet Lao, President Kennedy took the bold step of deploying Marine Air Base Squadron-16 (MABS-16) to nearby Thailand for the purpose of supporting a collection of helicopters piloted by an organization called Air America. Hollywood later made a movie about Air America, and it is now widely known that it was linked to the Central Intelligence Agency. The Marines of MABS-16 received no such

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