Asia: Rice in the Sky

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Though Laos has been relatively peaceful for the past two years, Air America has continued to drop hundreds of tons of rice to the displaced Meo tribesmen. Says one pilot: "There is a whole generation of Meos who are going to be damn surprised when someone tells them that rice doesn't grow in the sky."

Part of Air America's functions in Laos and Thailand have now been taken over by Continental Airlines, but Air America has stepped up its activities in Thailand, where it ferries supplies and ammunition to remote government outposts in the troublesome northeast. From Thailand, Air America also operates a helicopter rescue service that plucks downed U.S. flyers out of North Viet Nam and whisks them to safety. In South Viet Nam, Air America has become the aerial backbone of both the U.S. AID mission and the Vietnamese rural reconstruction program, ferrying as much as 6.2 million tons of cargo into isolated areas within a single month. At least 50 Air America air craft are regularly based at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport.

So far, Air America has lost to enemy action more than 20 aircraft and 50 flyers, including a pilot and copilot who were shot down last January in the Mekong Delta and then were executed by the Viet Cong. For Air America's men there still are no public awards. But for their heroism a number of Air America flyers have been awarded U.S. decorations in private ceremonies.