In 1968, Chief Master Sergeant Richard “Dick Etchberger was part of a covert CIA and USAF team working out of a small radar site on a remote mountain in Laos called Lima Site 85. He was part of a highly-classified operation called “Project Heavy Green.” At this time, Laos was a neutral country, so it was illegal for either the United States or North Vietnam to have military forces in the country, so, Chief Etchberger and his team had to “voluntarily” resign from the Air Force and become civilians. As “employees” of the Lockheed Corporation, the Lima Site 85 crew directed USAF bombers to their targets in North Vietnam using mobile, computer-linked radar. However, what started as a mission to link bombers to targets in North Vietnam, soon moved closer to “home”, as Lima Site 85 started directing strikes in Laos as the People’s Republic of Vietnam Army moved closer and closer to their position. With the enemy at their doorstep, top brass considered evacuating Lima Site 85, but they were a day late and a dollar short as a group of specially-trained North Vietnamese Dac Cong sappers attacked the site on the evening of March 10, 1968. And the only thing between the Dac Cong and the crew of Lima Site 85 was Chief Dick Etchberger. This is his story.
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Notes:
The CMSgt Richard L. Etchberger Foundation
http://www.chiefetchbergerfoundation.org/
Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Richard L. Etchberger
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/richard-l-etchberger
CMSgt Richard L. Etchberger: Top Secret Air Force Cross Recipient (The Airman Heritage Series)
https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=80127
On A CIA Mission In Laos This Airman Held Off An Assault For Hours With Just A Radio And An M-16
https://taskandpurpose.com/unsung-heroes/richard-etchberger-medal-of-honor
LS 85: In the Jaws of the Enemy
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195953/ls-85-in-the-jaws-of-the-enemy/
The Fall of Lima Site 85
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/95unclass/Linder.html
Lima Site 85 Commando Club
https://www.limasite85.com/
NETFLIX Series: Medal of Honor. Episode 7 is about Chief Etchberger
https://www.netflix.com/title/80169786
Book: “One Day Too Long: Top Secret Site 85 and the Bombing of North Vietnam” by Timothy Castle
https://www.amazon.com/One-Day-Too-Long-Bombing/dp/0231103174
Book: “At All Costs: The True Story of Vietnam War Hero Chief Master Sgt Dick Etchberger” by Matt Proietti
http://www.atallcosts.org/
Antonov AN 2 Tisted 2011 Short Take Off, Slow flight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3tpV9vUTPo
