| The Incident
For three months in early 1968,
a steady stream of intelligence was received which indicated that
communist troops were about to launch a major attack on Lima 85.
Intelligence watched as enemy troops even built a road to the
area to facilitate moving heavy weapons, but the site was so
important that William H. Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to Laos, made
the decision to leave the men in place.
When the attack finally came 11
March, some were rescued by helicopter, but eleven men were
missing. The President announced a halt in the bombing of North
Vietnam.
Donald Westbrook was flying one
of four A1Es orbiting on stand-by to search for survivors of the
attack at Phou Pha Thi when his plane was shot down 13 March.
Westbrook was never found. Finding no survivors, the Air Force
destroyed Lima 85 to prevent the equipment from falling into the
hands of the enemy.
In mid-March, Edna Calfee was
notified that Lima Site 85 had been overrun by enemy forces, and
that her husband and the others who had not escaped had been
killed. Many years later, she learned that was not the whole
truth.
Two separate reports indicate
that all the men missing at Phou Pha Thi did not die. One report
suggests that at least one of the 11 was captured, and another
indicates that 3 were captured; another that 6 were captured.
Information has been hard to get. The fact that Lima Site 85
existed was only declassified in 1983, and finally the wives
could be believed when they said their husbands were missing in
Laos. Some of the men's files were shown to their families for
the first time in 1985.
Edna Calfee and the other wives
have talked and compared notes. They still feel there is a lot of
information to be had. They believe someone survived the attack
on Lima Site 85 that day in March 1968. They wonder if their
country will ever bring those men home.
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