This image is the cover for the book Battle for Skyline Ridge

Battle for Skyline Ridge

“An incredibly powerful account of a little-known chapter in the Vietnam War saga” written by a CIA veteran who fought in the Secret War (Booklist, starred review).

In the 1960s and ’70s, the Laotian Civil War became a covert theater for the conflict in Vietnam, with the US paramilitary backing the Royal Lao government in what came to be known among the CIA as the Secret War. In late 1971, the North Vietnamese Army launched Campaign Z, invading northern Laos on a mission to defeat the Royal Lao Army. General Giap had specifically ordered the NVA troops to kill the CIA army and occupy its field headquarters in the Long Tieng valley.

The NVA faced the small rag-tag army of Vang Pao, mostly Thai irregulars recruited to fight for the CIA. But thousands more were quickly recruited, trained, and rushed into position in Laos to defend against the impending NVA invasion. Despite overwhelming odds in the NVA’s favor, the battle raged for more than one hundred days—the longest battle in the Vietnam War. In the end, it all came down to Skyline Ridge. Whoever won Skyline, won Laos.

Historian James E. Parker Jr. served as a CIA paramilitary officer in Laos. In this authoritative and personal account, Parker draws from his own firsthand experience as well as extensive research into CIA files and North Vietnamese after-action reports in order to tell the full story of the battle of Skyline Ridge.

James E. Parker

James E. Parker Jr. was one of the first American soldiers into Vietnam, and he was the last to leave in 1975. In between he married, graduated from UNC, and joined the CIA. His first CIA assignment was upcountry Laos where he led Hmong hillstribe guerrillas against two divisions of North Vietnamese soldiers. After paramilitary work in Laos/Vietnam, Parker went on to serve undercover in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, retiring in 1992. His books include Last Man Out: A Personal Account of the Vietnam War and Covert Ops: The CIA’s Secret War in Laos. Parker spent years researching the battle of Skyline Ridge and working on this book; he sadly died while it was in production.
 

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