All of these were taken when we had
the team at Detachment 1, 56th Special Operations Wing, Udorn RTAFB,
Thailand. I was there from November 1972 until June 1975... Rex
Picture
of the UASF 'Raven' FAC's at one of our going away (Sawa-dee) parties.
Standing L to R: Capt. Jim Roper / Capt. "Big" Al Galante / Capt. Dave
Drier, who was killed in an F-4 crash at Nellis in the mid 70s/ Capt.
Harold H. Owby, now a lawyer in Plano, Tx. / (in flight suit) Maj don't
remember name / Capt.
don't remember name. They are singing one of their songs that they made
up. Sitting L to R: Two guys with heavy 'stashes' on the left
edge were loadmaster-kickers for Air America on the Gray Ghost C-130.
Guy in red shirt was another Raven, don't remember name. Guy in
immediate front was an AT-28D pilot. Guy in wine colored t-shirt on the
right edge was CWO 2 or 3 Phillip Lee. He would take his Huey and we
would go out and make jumps. Great guy.
Above
Left; Rex Evitts coming off the DZ in Thailand. Center - One of
the FDC's that General Van Pao's Hmong Army (funded by the Agency) had
on Skyline Ridge, that protected the northern approach to Long Chen,
20A, the big Agency base in northern Laos that we worked out of.
Right; a Cambodia officer directing an AT-28D in for close air
support at our live fire training range. Rex Evitts is on the right.
The Cambodian officer was executed by the Khmer Rouge on his return to
Cambodia after the country fell. Picture taken first part of 1975
when they were in training. Cambodia fell the first part of April
75. Below Left; The photo of the F-11 strike was taken in '74 at
a firepower demo at Nightmare Range. Mike Lampe and I came out of
Thailand to ROK with the F-111 boys for a couple of weeks to put on the
demo.
Above
Left at a Sawa-dee Party, 73-74 timeframe. Det 1 Medic Joe Doyle on the
left with glasses. 'Junkyard" Agency field operator with beard in the
center, Rex Evitts to the right wearing the CCT party suit. Above
Right - Up in Northern Laos. TSgt Bill Fitzgerald with our Foward Air
Guides in Laos and the little guy to the far right 'Cowboy' was one
of the Thai Merc's that we had trained, holding the fabled HT-2 radio I
believe. This was taken a couple of months before I arrived.
Detachment 1, 56th Special Operations Wing, Udorn RTAFB, Thailand
One of the few team photos, but not
everyone is there. Probably 74 time frame. Left to Right: John Koren /
Capt. T.C. Doring, AT-28D pilot instructor / Dick Brawley / George Crouse
/ Mike Lampe sitting in the jeep / Rex Evitts with beret on / TSgt
Riggles, close friend from the Det 1 sheet metal fabrication shop / Stu
Pressey. Photo taken in front of 1510, the CCT hooch next to the F4
Alert Pad, Udorn RTAFB, Thailand.
First
part of 75. FAG Instructors at range with Cambodian FAG's. Standing far left,
Harold 'Pepper' Adams. Kneeling in center, Rex Evitts.
Note; All the Cambodians returned
to Cambodia after it fell and all were executed.
The Cambodian Killing Fields - 3 years-8 months-20 days
On April 17, 1975, Phnom Penh fell under the control of the Khmer
Rouge, the communist guerilla group led by Pol Pot. They forced all
city residents into the countryside and to labor camps. During the
three years, eight months, and 20 days of Pol Pot’s rule,
Cambodia faced its darkest days, an estimated 2 million Cambodians or
30% of the country’s population died by starvation, torture or
execution. Almost every Cambodian family has lost at least one relative
during this most gruesome holocaust.
On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese invaded and freed the Cambodian people
from Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror. 600,000 Cambodians fled to
Thai border refugee camps. Fearful to return back to Cambodia, many
Cambodians had no choice but to emigrate to the United States, France,
or Australia.
Today, many people and organizations are educating the world about the
Cambodian Killing Fields. Only through awareness will the world
remember the lessons of the genocide, honor the memories of the 2
million killed, and promote peace and tolerance so as not to relive the
same dark days