Still Untold: The Real Story of Air America in Indochina

As a Vietnam War historian, I had been looking forward to the release of “Air America,” said to be based on the CIA’s airline in Southeast Asia and on the nonfiction book by Christopher Robbins, “Air America--The Story of the CIA’s Secret Airline.”

I know “it’s just a movie” and not a documentary, but screenplay writers John Eskow and Richard Rush missed a golden opportunity to tell the true story of Air America, one of the most important of the Vietnam War: a recounting of men who flew, fought and, at times, died.

* James (Earthquake) McGovern and Wallace Buford, flying supplies for Civil Air Transport (Air America’s predecessor) to the encircled French garrison at Dien Bien Phu, were killed when their craft was hit by communist fire in 1954, becoming the only Americans to die in combat during the French Indochina War.

* George Ritter, Roy Townley and Ed Weiddenback were reported missing in 1971 after their C-123 was believed hit by anti-aircraft fire.

* T.D. Latz piloted the Air America Huey helicopter that was photographed rescuing Americans and South Vietnamese from the rooftop of the U.S. embassy in Saigon on April 29, 1975, the last day of U.S. involvement in South Vietnam and the day before the South Vietnamese government surrendered; the photo became one of the war’s most memorable images.

To this day, most Americans know little of the real history of the Vietnam War or of the Air America crew members who, although killed or missing in action, are not honored with the inscription of their names on the Vietnam War National Monument in Washington because they were contract employees for the CIA.

JOSEPH MONTOYA

South Pasadena