<SANITIZED> LPLA AND PAVN USE OF POISON CHEMICALS IN NORTHERN LPDR, INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION OF OPERATING PROCEDURES

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06156944
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2017
• Case Number: F-2012-01432
• Publication Date: May 21, 1980

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SUPDATA
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REPORT CLASS SECRET/WNINTEL--NOFORN--NOCONTRACT
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
SOURCE
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LAOS/VIETNAM
LPLA AND PAVN USE OF
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POISON CHEMICALS IN NORTHERN LPDR, INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION
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OF OPERATING PROCEDURES (DOI: LATE APRIL 1976 - OCTOBER
1978)
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SUMMARY: FROM LATE 1976 TO OCTOBER 1978, THE LPLA, IN COOPERATION
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WITH THE PAVN, BEGAN FLYING CHEMICAL WARFARE OPERATIONS AGAINST
HMONG RESISTANCE STRONGHOLDS IN NORTHERN LPDR.
THE ROCKETS WERE ORDINARY
U.S. MANUFACTURED SMOKE-ROCKETS WHICH HAD BEEN STORED AT LONG TIENG
AND REMOVED TO PHONSAVAN FOR MODIFICATION FOR USE
AS "POISON" ROCKETS. THE CW MISSIONS WERE
CARRIED OUT BY L-19 AIRCRAFT FLOWN BY AN LPLA PILOT, BUT WITH EITHER
A SENIOR LPLA OR PAVN STAFF OFFICER DIRECTING THE MISSION FROM THE
REAR SEAT. THESE OPERATIONS WERE KNOWN AS "EXTINCT DESTRUCTION
OPERATIONS." THE CW ROCKETS DETONATED IN THE AIR AND PRODUCED WHITE
AND BLUE OR RED AND YELLOW SMOKE. USE OF THE L-19 CEASED IN OCTOBER
1978 WHEN SOVIET MIG-21 AIRCRAFT WAS USED IN COMBAT MISSIONS.
END SUMMARY.
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MISSIONS IN THE LAO PEOPLE'S DEMO-
CRATIC REPUBLIC (LPDR) WHICH WERE SPECIFICALLY INTENDED TO DISPENSE
TOXIC CHEMICAL AGENTS ON HMONG VILLAGERS IN THE PHOU BIA AREA
(VICINITY UF0690) OF NORTHERN LPDR. THE LPLA, (b)(1)
IN COOPERATION WITH THE PEOPLE'S ARMY OF VIETNAM (PAVN), WAS INVOLVED (b)(3)
IN CONDUCTING CHEMICAL WARFARE (CW) OPERATIONS IN THE LPDR SINCE
APRIL OR EARLY MAY 1976. AT THAT TIME, TWO LPLA H-34 HELICOPTERS
WERE FLOWN FROM THE PHONSAVAN AIRFIELD (UG1452), XIENG KHOUANG
PROVINCE, TO LONG TIENG (UG8113), XIENG KHOUNG PROVINCE, ON A
SERIES OF FLIGHTS THAT TRANSPORTED ROCKETS BACK TO PHONSAVAN FOR
STORAGE. (b)(1)
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2. BETWEEN JUNE AND AUGUST 1976, THE LPLA LAUNCHED ATTACKS IN
THE AREA OF BOUAMLONG (UG2686), XIENG KHOUANG PROVINCE, WHICH WAS A
STRONGHOLD FOR REMNANTS OF FORMER HMONG GENERAL VANG PAO. DURING
MILITARY ACTIVITIES IN THE BOUAMLONG AREA, THE LPLA UTILIZED L-19
AIRCRAFT TO CONDUCT ROCKET ATTACKS ON THE HMONG RESISTANCE IN AN
EFFORT TO ELIMINATE THEM. HOWEVER, LPLA CREWS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOAD-
ING ROCKETS ON THE ATTACK AIRCRAFT NOTED THAT THE ROCKETS THAT HAD
BEEN MOVED FROM LONG TIENG TO PHONSAVAN WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BE USED,
EVEN THOUGH THE ROCKETS STORED AT PHONSAVAN WERE MUCH CLOSER TO THE
BOUAMLONG TARGET .AREA THAN LONG TIENG WHERE LPLA AIRCRAFT WERE
REQUIRED TO RE-ARM.
INITIALLY, H-34
HELICOPTERS WERE USED TO TRANSPORT THE ROCKETS FROM PHONSAVAN TO A
DEPOT NEAR THE BAN XON AIRFIELD (TF6094), VIENTIANE PROVINCE, WHERE
THEY WERE FITTED ONTO RACKS OF THE L-19 AIRCRAFT FOR MISSIONS IN THE
PHOU BIA AREA. LATER, THE ROM PHONSAVAN WERE TRANSPORTED
TO BAN XON BY LPLA TRUCKS. COMMENT:
THE ORIGINAL U.S.-MANUFACTURED ROCKETS
TRANSPORTED FROM LONG TIENG AROUND APRIL OR MAY 1976 TO PHONSAVAN
HAD BEEN MOVED WITH THE INTENTION OF MODIFYING THEM FROM ORDINARY
SMOKE ROCKETS TO THE SO CALLED "POISON ROCKETS" FOR COMBAT USE IN
BIA AREA AND OTHER NEARBY HMONG RESISTANCE AREAS.
LPLA COMMANDERS REFERRED TO THESE MISSIONS AS "EXTINCT
DESTRUCTION OPERATIONS.") ALL U.S.-MANU-
FACTURED ROCKETS WERE STORED WITH THE TIP AND CANISTER KEPT APART;
IN OTHER WORDS, THE TWO PARTS HAD TO BE JOINED TOGETHER BEFORE ,
FITTING THEM TO THE RACKS ON THE AIRCRAFT. HOWEVER, ALL THE ROCKETS
TRANSPORTED FROM PHONSAVAN TO BAN XON WERE ALREADY FITTED TOGETHER.
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THE MAJORITY OF THOSE
ROCKETS, WHICH HAD BEEN TRANSPORTED FROM PHONSAVAN, APPEARED "LOOSE"
IN THE PORTION WHERE THE TIP AND CANISTER JOINED. THE
ORDINARY EXPLOSIVE-TYPE ROCKETS AT LONG TIENG WERE NOTICEABLY MORE
TIGHTLY CONNECTED - THE TIP AND CANISTER.
4. IN LATE 1976,, IN PREPARATION FOR AIRSTRIKES IN NEW AREAS OF
PHOU BIA AND KASY (TG1128), LOUANG PRABANG PROVINCE,
TWO OR THREE PAVN STAFF OFFICERS, SOMETIMES
ACCOMPANIED BY ONE LPLA STAFF OFFICER, ON T-41 AIRCRAFT OVER THE
TARGET AREAS. THE PAVN OFFICERS WERE CONDUCTING A RECONNAISSANCE OF
THE AREAS IN ANTICIPATION OF LAUNCHING AIRSTRIKES. INITIALLY, THE
L-19 AIRCRAFT WAS FLOWN ON THE AIRSTRIKE MISSION WITH A PILOT AND
AN LPLA STAFF OFFICER SITTING IN THE REAR SEAT. HOWEVER, AFTER
ABOUT TWO-THREE WEEKS, PAVN STAFF OFFICERS BEGAN RIDING IN THE REAR
SEATS OF THE L-19 AIRCRAFT AND ALTERNATING MISSIONS WITH THE .LPLA
OFFICERS. THE PAVN OFFICERS WHO FLEW THESE MISSIONS SPOKE EXCELLENT
LAO. BEFORE EACH MISSION, THE PAVN OR LPLA STAFF OFFICER ASSIGNED
TO THE MISSION WOULD GO OVER TARGET AREAS OUTLINED ON SITUATION MAPS
TAKEN ALONG HE WOULD POINT OUT THE TARGETS TO BE ATTACKED
AT NO TIME DID THE PAVN STAFF OFFICER
COMMUNICATE WITH LPLA OFFIC
DID THE LPLA STAFF OFFICERS COMMENT:
PAVN OFFICERS ON T-41 RECONNAIS-
SANCE AND L-19 AIRSTRIKE MISSIONS IN THE HMONG AREAS WERE SWITCHED
AROUND SO THAT A NEW PAVN OFFICER WAS USED ON EACH MISSION. THE
AVERAGE AGE OF THESE PAVN STAFF OFFICERS WAS MID-40'S.)
THE GROUND AS
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THESE LPLA STAFF
OFFICERS HELD CONCURRENT POSITIONS IN VARIOUS LPLA BATTALIONS OF
XIENG KHOUANG MILITARY REGION. WHEN MILITARY OPERATIONS WERE
PLANNED IN A CERTAIN AREA, THESE SENIOR LPLA OFFICERS WERE REASSIGNED
TO SPECIAL COMBAT HEADQUARTERS SUCH AS THE LONG TIENG HEADQUARTERS
WHICH CONTROLLED OPERATIONS IN THE PHOU BIA AREA OR THE BAN_XON
HEADQUARTERS AT TF6094 WHICH CONTROLLED GROUND AND AIR OPERATIONS TO
AREAS EAST OF THE HEADQUARTERS. EACH LPLA STAFF OFFICER WHO FLEW
AN AIRSTRIKE MISSION CARRIED WITH HIM AN AK-47 RIFLE, A SOVIET-MADE
AUTOMATIC PISTOL, AND USED AN FM-25 RADIO TRANSCEIVER TO COMMUNICATE
FROM THE AIRPLANE TO THE LPLA COMMANDER ON THE GROUND; THERE WERE
OCCASIONS WHEN RADIO CONTACT BECAME DIFFICULT AND THE AIRCRAFT RADIO
WAS USED TO COMMUNICATE. COMMUNICATIONS
BETWEEN THE STAFF OFFICER AND FIELD COMMANDER WAS CARRIED OUT IN A
VOICE USING A CODE BASED ON SIX NUMBERS WHICH COULD NOT BE UNDERSTOOD
WITHOUT KNOWING THE CODE. THERE WERE OTHER TIMES WHEN THE STAFF
OFFICER COMMUNICATED IN LAO LANGUAGE, BUT IN THIS INSTANCE TOO THE
WORDS USED HAD A PARTICULAR MEANING KNOWN ONLY BETWEEN THE STAFF
OFFICER AND THE FIELD COMMANDER. FOR EXAMPLE., THE STAFF OFFICER
WOULD SAY, "I AM GOING TO THE RICE FIELD, THE DOG IS EATING RICE, THE
HUMAN BEING IS TO DIE OF A DEADLY DISEASE (HAO CHA PAI NA, MAH CHA
KIN KHAO, KHON CHA TAI HA)."
FLY AT ABOVE NORMAL ALTITUDES WHEN FIRING
ROCKETS, OTHERWISE, IT COULD BE HAZARDOUS TO THE PILOT AND THE
ACCOMPANYING STAFF OFFICER. BECAUSE OF THIS CONTINUED CAUTIONING
ABOUT NOT FLYING AT TOO LOW AN ALTITUDE,
THE SMOKE ROCKETS FIRED AT THE HMONG PEOPLE WERE UNUSUAL.
THE SMOKE ROCKETS DETONATED
IN THE AIR AND SOME PRODUCED WHITE SMOKE WITH A MIXTURE OF BLUE
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SMOKE WHILE OTHERS PRODUCED RED SMOKE WITH A MIXTURE OF YELLOW. THE
ORDINARY EXPLOSIVE-TYPE ROCKETS DETONATED ON IMPACT. THIEP OR HIS
THE TYPE OF OPERATION WAS TO "WIPE OUT" THE
REACTIONARY HMONG PEOPLE. THE PURPOSE OF FIRING THE ROCKETS WAS TO
CAUSE THE HMONG PEOPLE TO DIE OUT COMPLETELY.
THERE WERE TWO TYPES OF ROCKETS. THE FIRST, MOSTLY SMOKE
ROCKETS, WERE TO BE FIRED AT TARGETS FAR AWAY FROM COMBINED LPLA
AND PAVN TROOPS. THIS WAS TO PREVENT THE FRIENDLY TROOPS FROM BEING
EXPOSED TO THE POISON SMOKE. THE SECOND TYPE OF ROCKET WAS THE
ORDINARY EXPLOSIVE-TYPE WHICH WAS CONSIDERED A "CLOSE SUPPORT"
ROCKET THAT COULD BE FIRED NEAR LPLA AND/OR PAVN TROOP POSITIONS.
INITIALLY, THE L-19 AIRCRAFT CARRIED EIGHT ROCKETS - FIVE CLOSE
SUPPORT AND THREE SMOKE ROCKETS. LATER, ONLY FOUR ROCKETS WERE
CARRIED AND THESE WERE MAINLY SMOKE TYPE.
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THOSE L-19 AIRCRAFT PILOTS WHO WERE ASSIGNED TO MISSIONS
UTILIZING SMOKE ROCKETS HAD SPECIAL PRIVILEGES. NORMALLY, ALL
PILOTS RECEIVED A MONTHLY SALARY OF LAO CURRENCY 12,500 KIP; HOWEVER,
L-19 PILOTS FLYING MISSIONS WITH SMOKE ROCKETS RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL
FLIGHT PAY OF LAO CURRENCY 3,700 KIP EXTRA PER DAY. ALSO, THESE
PILOTS COULD EAT AT THE PHONSAVAN CAFETERIA WITHOUT PAYING. IN
OCTOBER 1978, THE LPLA CEASED USING L-19 AIRCRAFT ON COMBAT MISSIONS,
AND BEGAN USING SOVIET MIG-21 AIRCRAFT IN THE PHOU BIA AREAS.
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