Here There Are Tigers: The Secret Air War in Laos, 1968-69 (Stackpole Military History Series)

This book written by Reginald Hathorn is a memoir of his Air Force tour in the Vietnam war. He is a pilot (major) flying a Cessna 0-2 Skymaster used in FAC - forward air control. FAC's fly over an assigned area and hunt, then coordinate air support to enemy on the ground, night and day. This book and the author's tour of duty was in Laos-where during the Vietnam war, America wasn't supposed to be. There in Laos, the North Vietnam were streaming in men and supplies over the Laotian boarders to be used against the South Vietnamese and its allies. The authors book details the how America had its hands tied behind its back mentality of congress. With the war lost before it began, the author describes in detail, what it was like flying 0-2 missions.Hathorn's writing style is detailed, descriptive, funny at times but completely gripping and entertaining. I enjoyed his wit, and point of view as a combat veteran. Before he takes you to Vietnam, you get to meet him, know him and understand him before he arrives in Vietnam. This helps as you read and accelerates getting the reader to the tense part of his book, his missions. You feel as if you are there with him as co-pilot and can almost smell the war. Its exciting. In the book, the extreme dangers he faced daily are breath taking. He also does well describing the mechanical aspect of flying his 0-2 Skymaster but its not overwhelming. A lay person can follow without too much complications.I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found myself refusing to put it down. Hathorn has a nice writing style which aids to the impact of the book. He has a good imagination and is very detailed. After reading the book, I couldn't help but feel sorry for all the aviators that were lost. Its a wonder he survived his 229 combat missions. I've read other reviews where some question his accounts and flying. I'm not an aviator, but I believe that the author did survive 229 combat missions and the dangers he faced. As a reader, I fully appreciate what Hathorn did for our country and to me he is a hero. I really enjoyed the book which is why I gave it 5-stars!

This is one of the better memoirs of aerial war. The author says on p. xi:"The war in Southeast Asia was weird and unorthodox. It was a war of shadows, of confused rules, of political bickerings, of secrecy. Decisions about its conduct were often made far removed from the people it affected the most...""The communist masterminds saw them [villagers] as putty to be molded to suit their needs, starting in South Vietnam and spreading to Laos and Cambodia and beyond. Many of these people resisted the communists and joined the efforts of the U.S. in fighting them." Not the first time that the U.S. made strategy based on simplistic assumptions.Adapting the tools available, the Air Force sent pilots to fly slow recon (converted trainer) planes, with radios to vector jet bombers onto troops and trails from North Vietnam. Eventually, the communists crossed into neutral (gasp!) nations.In 1968, Hathorn was rushed down the personnel pipeline to his assigned base, NKP in Thailand. Western Laos needed forward air controllers (FACs). Local checkout in a Cessna O-2 was by an old hand who looked like Yosemite Sam. Soon known as 'Nail31', he dodges AA fire, looking for enemy troops during the day and later, at night.In ten months, he accumulated many riveting stories, 229 missions and a survivor's outlook on life.Extensive appendix on Laotian government, military summary and FAC procedures.

This book is mostly a combat diary, sticking to the day to day events within the author's direct experience. Unlike some diarists, he recreates the feeling of living in the thoughts and experiences of a line combat officer without extended retrospectives on strategy. The prose reveals the author's personality. It is direct without being pedestrian, professional without being obscure, and insightful without editorializing. Pilots will find it interesting as Hathorn fluidly describes sequences of the control inputs as he is manuevering the Cessna O-2 under fire on Forward Air Control missions over Laos. His description of the need to "fly like a drunk" makes sense in the context of the mission.For those interested in the clandestine nature of the war in Laos, Hathorn's book valuably expands several areas including Igloo White/Muscle Shoals, Prarie Fire and Heavy Hook. While no single comprehensive book has yet been written for this theatre and time, Hathorn gives a great account of the air element that had to coordinate the timing and accuracy of combat air missions and should be part of any library of the Southeast Asia War.I should add that I was at NKP for 18 months from 1968-1969 with the 56th ACW/SOW and Task Force Alpha. I flew more than 25 missions as a photographer, many with the author's unit, the 23rd TASS. I found few factual recollections that were different from my own.

This pilot author has the eye of the tiger, as they say. This book gives a "right hand seat" view of the war that the forward air controllers in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand operations. I would like to recommend this book "Here There are Tigers" The secret air war in Laos, by Reginald Hathorn is an outstanding read. Mr. Hathorn has given us the true taste of what it was like in that Secret war during 1968 and 69. This is the real "McCoy" and the battles were real, the personalities of the characters are real and the stories bring the smell of burnt oil, hot vinyl and sweaty flight suits to the reader in every page.The FAC pilots had nerves of steel and many others owe our lives to these wonderful men who flew the unfriendly skies of southeast Asia. Thanks Major Hathorn.The FACs truly were guardian Angels to "zoomie" aviators and the Grunts on the ground. Good Read. No, Great read!! As a author myself I recommend this book with every fiber of my being...

The Secret War , it's only imaginable how many people even to this day never realized or knew about this theater of operations. If you who are reading this review are a pilot you will associate with Reginald's descriptions of pilot flight control inputs , throttle , prop , mixture managements & of course flight attitudes. Although Reginald was actually USAF along with his unit it was not advertised as such for obvious reasons. In some cases this war over-shadowed Vietnam but just like those guys in the Hawaiian shirts with Rolex's on their wrists wearing straw cowboy hats flying Turbo/Porters they weren't there ! This book is a good read , in some cases you almost feel as if your flying right seat with Reginald viewing & smelling the jungle. As an FAC (Forward Air Controller) of course he had to get down low to target mark with Willy-Pete rocket target markers ( White-Phosphorus ) as he called in air or artillery strikes. These FAC's saved a lot of ground-pounder's & downed airmen at a cost of losing a lot of their own. Wicked ground-fire, smoke, bad weather they faced it all & let's face it capture was not an option. The book is a good read but I think there should have been a glossary of military terms for the non-military types such as for one example SOG - Studies & Observation Group,etc. The proof-reading could have been better. And the Skyraider's engine was an R-3350 not a R-4350 (Proof-Reader?) Also the Pilatius Turbo/Porters were built in Switzerland but maybe because the early Turbo/Porters were equipped with French built Turbomeca engines Reg just called them French ? Also I or anyone I know has never heard of reversible props on a Cessna 337(0-2) Skymaster, BUT?.,all in all the book is a good read on the war that never happened. (Well some people would like to believe it never happened, how about you?) - FOUR STARS.

la guerre aérienne au Laos a été longtemps tenu secrete , ce livre donne une idée de ce qu'elle fut, écrite par un pilote FAC qui y a combattu. Très excitant...