Tag Archives: Mu Gia Pass

Sidebar 4 – A Bad Day at Mu Gia

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On 6 Feb 67, another O-1F was shot down over the Mu Gia Pass. The low and slow O-1F Forward Air Controller (FAC) aircraft had been restricted from flying in the area for almost 10 months. With all the Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) massed there, the little O-1s didn’t stand a chance of surviving the NVA gunners.

I don’t know why Capt. Lucius L. Heiskell and another O-1 as his wingman (both from the 23rd TASS at NKP) flew into the area that day. I suspect they saw targets and were trying their best to do the job of interdicting the traffic on the HCMT. They likely saw targets and were determined to “take them out.” Whatever the case, Capt Haskell was shot down and managed to bail out. His wingman saw a good ‘chute, and he reached the ground safely.

But they were in bad guy country. Continue reading →

Places to go – Mu Gia Pass Part 1

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The Mu Gia pass will probably be our first area to explore on our trip down the Ho Chi Minh Trail (HCMT). There’s so much to talk about that I decided to break this into three parts rather than one very long posting.

The Mu Gia Pass enters Laos through a gap in the Annamite Mountains. In this area, this mountain range forms the border between North Vietnam and Laos. The pass sits in the bottom of a canyon with 3,000-foot ridges on either side. As it enters Laos, elevation at the bottom of the canyon is about 1275 feet and is only about 1/3 mile wide.

Party suit patch. Not really any snow there, but the “100 Exciting Trails” part is true.

The HCMT (Route 12) winds its way through the canyon as it drops down out of the mountains until it enters Continue reading →