These extraordinary Super 8mm home movies from the Vietnam War, come from a member of the “Ravens”. The Raven Forward Air Controllers, also known simply as The Ravens, were fighter pilots used for forward air control in a covert operation in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States in Laos during America’s Vietnam War. The Ravens provided direction for most of the air strikes against communist Pathet Lao targets and People’s Army of Vietnam’s infiltrators in support of the Laotian Hmong guerrilla army. If you see aircraft in the film they are most likely Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog liaison and observation aircraft, as well as Pilatus Porters.
Scene #1: Refugees walking on road out of Saravane in 1970 following the burning of Saravane. They walked 90 miles to Pakse to get away from the N. Vietnamese Army.
Scene #2: Road leading from the AIRA compound where the Ravens and crew lived. This is during the rainy season when the roads are flooded. Here the Lao children are playing in the water. Some Lao soldiers are seen getting in boat to get across the flooded road. One of the Raven pilots (unknown) is seen walking into a compound carrying a CAR-15 (a sawed-off M-16). Then the AIRA truck is seen going through the water.
Scene #3: This is a Vietnamese school in Pakse, Laos. Raven-58 had taken a vacation to the States and had gotten school supplies to take to the school children in Pakse. The man coming out of the classroom is the teacher. And, other children can be seen still in the classroom looking out the window which is not covered with glass or screen. Raven-58 and the teacher are handing out school supplies to the children. The blue shirt and black slacks are what I wore when I flew my combat missions. All Ravens were undercover and we wore civilian clothes. The motorcycle at the left belongs to the teacher and is how he gets to school and home every day. All school children wear the white and blue uniforms. The children not in uniform will sit outside the classroom to learn since their parents cannot afford the tuition.
Scene #4: Target being bombed on Bolavens Plateau. Appears to be an F-4 dropping bombs.
Scene #5: Flooding from Mekong on road going to AIRA house in Pakse. Notice that homes are built on stilts just to protect them from such flooding. However, most homes in Laos are built on stilts, even in the jungles. In fact that is how the demarcation line was drawn between Laos and Viet-Nam. Those villages that built their homes on stilts were considered to be in Laos, and those that built homes on the ground were considered to be in Viet-Nam, and the boundary between them demarcated Laos and Viet-Nam. The Mekong overflows every year during the rainy season. The Pakse airfield can be seen at the top in some of the frames. This flooding was in 1969 and was worse than normal.
Scene #6: Back to the school children receiving school supplies.
Scene #7: Raven jeep coming from the AIRA house during flood. The crew chief is seen walking toward jeep. One of the Lao soldiers runs to get in the movie.
Scene #8: F-4 coming in for airstrike. Airstrike is on a mountain ridge on Bolavens Plateau. Good picture of F-4 flying past Raven-58’s O-1. Also, a T-28 is shown flying in on target. F-4 dropped 500# bombs, and the T-28 dropped napalm. T-28 coming in on target toward Raven-58 is shooting 50-cal machine gun.
Scene #9: PS-26 on the eastern edge of the Bolavens Plateau. The families of the soldiers lived with them at these forward locations. These are the homes where they lived.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
