Bill Collier, Air America pilot

[@jamespdillon5951]

My friend Tom Wixom was in the Air Force and a electric technician he would keep the radio equipment for Air America working. They showed him how to fly a plane. He has found memories of those days.

[@neilmcmanus3727]

great story, and descriptive details, with different aspects

[@fredfrahm4560]

I was an H-34 pilot with Air America at Udorn, Thailand (October 69 - Oct 72) and can confirm Bill's presentation is an entertaining and truthful summary of the experience. 👍

[@starlordnetzero9633]

Love hearing stories from Vietnam Vets and appreciate them all.

[@Pibatl299]

Wonderful presentation. Could have listened for another hour at least. A remarkable life. Thank you for posting.

[@jafo766]

A time of Adventure & Danger , Sir we salute and admire you.

[@jamesstephenpeyton3305]

I made friends with many air America chopper pilots while flying in northern Quebec during the 70’s. They were fearless and competent and very pissed off that they were not paid as promised.

[@fredfrahm4560]

For the full story, I recommend googling CIA Air Operations in Laos, 1955-1974, Supporting the "Secret War", by William M. Leary

[@DragonPilot]

I flew Cobras and Hueys ‘68-‘69 near Saigon (III Corps). Firefly mission mostly. Took a similar hit one night. AK round came up under my right seat. Lodged inside my white bread can in my C-ration box which we usually stowed under our seats. It was pretty we’ll spent by then so I don’t think it would have gone through the seat bottom armor. 😅

[@lancesay]

Firefly mission, was before the Waterpump.There were a lot of Thai pilot flying the Firefly mission out of Thailand to bomb the HCM Trail then mid-1960, The Waterpump came into training Lao and Hmong pilots out of Udorn and Hua Hin. My uncle was one of the Waterpump and was called back by GVP to fly T-28 out of Long Cheng.

[@ibbylancaster8981]

Thank you for your service. My dad wanted to fly helicopters in Nam, but adolescent asthma sidelined that dream ( he was already a fixed wing private pilot at that time). I live next to Ft Bragg now and a couple of my neighbors are Blackhawk pilots. Excellent presentation.

[@michaeloshea5878]

Thanks for sharing.

[@drillsergeant5338]

It's all in my book, "The Secret War in Laos with General Vang Pao (1958-1975)

[@handsomeman-pm9vy]

I suspect that the YMCA was involved.

[@jeffreypinder9398]

Great story. I worked at Summit Aviation in the mid 90's for a former Flying Tigers/Air America pilot. Def unique.

[@STONEDARTphotos]

My most memorable time flying was with the company.

[@toddbridges7430]

The is one of these colters on display in Thailand at a agriculture exhibit farm,,,,, also a number of American planes fro the era

[@zachjones6944]

I know Bill! He was my neighbor in Sandpoint Idaho!!!!

[@scottwhitmire6613]

🇺🇸 Thank You for your Service.🇺🇸

[@aerotech1bob]

That was great

[@beaniegamer9163]

4:40 It's called "plain of jars". The plain is quite flat land about 3 miles wide and 8 miles long. There were 3 sites of jars scattered throughout the plain. I don't see thousands of jars... but about 200 jars on each site. Some jars weight more than 1 and 1/2 ton. We suspected the jars were placed there during the Angkok era. No one knows how the jars were built. 😅

[@RivetGardener]

These jars are akin to the statues of Easter Island. The jars were carved by Polynesian visitors between 1250 and 1400 (via radiocarbon dating). Similar inscriptions have been found at both sites indicating the artists "mark" or "grafitti" depending on the interpretation.

[@akkseljohansson3601]

Best training helicopter, Hughes 269/Schweitzer 300 has a manual throttle as the H34. Best way to learn for emergencies!

[@blinkybagger8342]

I'm struggling to reconcile the fabulous salary, the monthly R&R, the lifestyle supported by maids & servants, with the notoriety of Air America's operation, which included running drugs and undertaking activities that was considered overreach for the US Military in Vietnam. Am I correct in thinking that Air America sought to provide a firewall of plausible deniability to the US military where they needed to paint outside the lines? I'm grateful that the stories are being told all these years later.

[@danielcotts8673]

No one sentence answer to your question. If you can find a copy I'd suggest "Back Fire - The CIA's Secret War in Laos and Its Link to the War in Vietnam" by Roger Warner. There is at least one book about the Ravens FAC pilots. Special Forces also had a secret presence in Laos.

[@lancesay]

@34:50 he was slightlt off instead of lima site 98 its lima site 85.

[@kmathers101]

Operation mill pond?

[@wallochdm1]

Great story. Anyone on here familiar with another Air America pilot named Bob Heale? Great guy who I got to know when he was flying Caravans for FedEx. Passed away performing at an air show, but was supposedly the pilot who rescued Ted Koppel when things turned to shit. All of those pilots were heroes.

[@fredfrahm4560]

Air America's public image has fared poorly, and the 1990 spoof, Air America, is largely responsible for this. It featured a cynical CIA officer who arranged for the airline to fly opium to the administrative capital of Vientiane for a corrupt Asian general. Ultimately, we learn that the Communist versus anti-Communist war in Laos was merely a facade for the real war, which was fought for control of the area's opium fields. And Air America pilots in this film are portrayed as skilled, but basically, a wildly unprofessional

[@tyesalhus5604]

Good interview but can’t stand the peanut gallery and peanut sized brain on the guy in the audience making comments. It amazes me that people go to speaking engagements to hear someone talk about their experience in Vietnam and then have to out do the speaker and talk and make comments for attention. Just shut up and listen. So annoying.

[@michaelthomas7178]

What about the heroine?

[@RivetGardener]

The heroine of this story is known as Khamphoui, pronounced Camp-Phooie. She was born a poor white girl from a destitute dark Asian family thus being twice outcast. Sisavang Vathana, the King of Laos (also known as Sisy Vath) reportedly fell in love with her during a rest stop during a nationwide goodwill tour where he saw her tending a restroom. Other accounts place her at a checkout counter. Either way they married and had 5 children. She was very fertile even though Sisy Vath was known to be impotent. They were arrested in 1977 by the Communists and sent to re-education camps where they thrived and spent the rest of their years teaching English as a Foreign Language (EAFL).

[@brentdykgraaf184]

C.i.a. declassify this? Lol