The Green Berets in the Land of a Million Elephants: U.S. Army Special Warfare and the Secret War in Laos 1959-74

The first full history of the U.S. Army Special Forces who served and fought in the Secret War in Laos. The Secret War in Laos was one of the first Long Wars for special operations, spanning a period of about thirteen years. It was one of the largest CIA paramilitary operations of the time, kept out of the view of the American public until now. Between 1959 and 1974, Green Berets were covertly deployed to Laos to prevent a communist take-over or at least preserve the kingdom’s neutrality. Clouded in secrecy until the 1990s, this story is comprehensively told for the first time using official archival documents and interviews with veterans. AUTHOR: Joseph Celeski served for thirty years in the U.S. Army, twenty-three of them in Special Forces. He retired in 2004 after commanding the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). He served as commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force for two tours in Operation Enduring Freedom. He has published several works on special forces and counterinsurgency. 100 images, 10 maps and charts