For a very good history of the trail read "The Blood Road" by John Prados (Wiley Press). Prados also co-authored an excellent history of the seige of Khe Sanh, "Valley of Decision".
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The infamous Ho Chi Minh trail from an RU-8D flying near Tchepone, Laos.
This was taken during operation Lam Son 719. The visible portion of the
trail is pretty bombed out. It's the part we can't see --- under the jungle
canopy --- where most of the traffic and the way stations are. Don't think
that these open portions of the trail weren't used though. An uncle of mine
got a DFC for tanks he destroyed on an open stretch of the trail in broad
daylight from an F-4 during a Lam Son 719 mission.
For a very good history of the trail read "The Blood Road" by John Prados (Wiley Press). Prados also co-authored an excellent history of the seige of Khe Sanh, "Valley of Decision". |