Palace Dog - Background For Palace Dog

Background For Palace Dog

The Geneva Accords of 1962 had established the neutrality of Laos; the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam were both signators. The United States honored its agreement and removed its military personnel from Laos. However, Prince Souvanna Phouma, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos, requested military assistance from the United States when the North Vietnamese violated the Geneva Accords by not terminating their invasion of Laos by removing their troops. The United States Air Force response was twofold: Operation Barrel Roll, air strikes from outside Laos; and air control specialists, who would operate inside Laos.

The immediate response was the dispatch of four United States Air Force sergeants from Combat Control Teams; these men were specifically trained to direct tactical air strikes. They surrendered their military identification and entered the country in civilian clothing—a process known as "sheepdipping". This was done so the United States could claim it was observing the Geneva Accord. The North Vietnamese equivalent was bland denial that it had any troops in Laos. The mutual denials led to the fighting in Laos being dubbed "The Secret War."

Operating under the radio call sign "Butterfly", the air control sergeants flew as observers with Air America pilots to mark enemy targets for air attack by USAF aircraft. They marked the targets by dropping smoke grenades on them.

This effort, which increased to six sergeants, ran from 1963 until 1966, when General William Momyer terminated it on the grounds that non-rated men were not qualified for the task, despite their having done so quite successfully for three years.