This three-year mission was so secret -- managed directly from the White House -- that there are no official records of it. Richard Wood flew as one of the Rustics, a group of forward air controllers (FACs) who provided twenty-four-hour air support to the Cambodian ground commanders by flying low and slow over enemy positions. Wood bases his book on his own experiences and those of the other pilots and Cambodians who took part in the operation. He shows how the Cambodian fighting men welcomed the American pilots like they were the cavalry, and how the Rustics played a major part in the fight against the North Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge guerrilla forces. The Rustic pilots and their enlisted interpreters unequivocally expressed admiration for the courage and dedication of the Cambodian field troops, commanders, and radio operators. They were proud to support the Cambodians, and when all U.S. operations ceased in 1973, many of them were devastated at abandoning their friends.
This covert air war ended on August 15, 1973; the Cambodian radio operators' calls for air support were no longer answered. The Rustics, while in action, played a major part in staving off both the North Vietnamese and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The loss of American air support eventually contributed to the fall of Cambodia and the horribly dark period of Cambodia's historythat will live in infamy as 'the killing fields.'
Call Sign Rustic: The Secret Air War Over Cambodia, 1970-1973 Call Sign Rustic: The Secret Air War Over Cambodia, 1970-1973 |
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