Fri, Apr 17, 2009
Former Pilots Say Misunderstandings Still Linger
The University of Texas at Dallas is
hosting a symposium this weekend to mark receipt of 10,000
formerly-classified Central Intelligence Agency documents dealing
with Air America. The airline, operated as a civilian service in
Asia following World War II, was also a front for covert CIA
operations in the region.
Former naval aviator Don Boecker, now a 71-year-old retired rear
admiral, will speak at the university Saturday night. He plans to
recall his rescue after bailing out of a stricken plane over dense
jungle in Laos in July of 1965. He says he evaded armed enemy
soldiers through the night, and finally escaped, hanging terrified
from the skid of an Air America helicopter. The civilians rescued
him, because the military could not be caught operating in
Laos.
Boecker tells The Associated Press the work of Air America's
civilian pilots and crews has gone unappreciated.
"Most people don't even know it occurred. It was a secret
society," he said. "They flew in all sorts of danger... flying
every day in terrible wartime conditions. They did a beautiful
job."
The documents released to the university by the CIA came through
a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the school. They
reportedly include firsthand accounts of Air America missions,
commendations, and even the evacuation of the American Embassy
after Saigon feel in 1975.
Brian Johnson is a former Air America helicopter pilot who says
the public misunderstandings about the company are gradually being
turned around. He says the 1990 movie, "Air America," starring Mel
Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr., painted a picture of corruption and
drug-running. The liberal Air America talk radio network added to
the confusion, he adds.
UT-Dallas is getting more than the documents and participation
in its symposium. The school was also chosen by the Air America
alumni group as the site for a plaque listing about 240 names of
fallen fellow employees.
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