Barnes and Nobel review
ABOUT THE BOOK
From The Publisher
One Legacy of the Vietnam War is a painful lesson in how not to wage war. The
incident at the heart of One Day Too Long reveals in microcosm what went wrong
in Vietnam, from the highest policy-making levels down the chain of command to
what actually transpired on the field. On March 10, 1968, at the height of the
war, eleven U.S. servicemen disappeared from a top secret radar base in Laos,
their loss never fully explained by the American government. What happened that
fateful night, and why were American airmen stationed at "Lima Site
85"? Because of the covert nature of the mission at Lima Site 85 -
providing bombing instructions to U.S. Air Force tactical aircraft from the
"safe harbor" of a nation that was supposedly neutral - the wives of
the eleven servicemen were warned never to discuss the truth about their
husbands' assignment. But one, Ann Holland, refused to remain silent. Timothy
Castle draws on her personal records and recollections and upon a wealth of
interviews with surviving servicemen and recently declassified information to
tell the full story. Castle reveals how the program, code-named "Heavy
Green," was conceived and approved at the highest levels of the U.S.
government. He describes the selection of the men and the construction and
operation of the radar facility on a mile-high cliff in neutral Laos, even as
the North Vietnamese Army began encircling the mountain. He chronicles the
Communist air attack on Site 85, the only such aerial bombing of the entire
Vietnam War, and further details the successful ground assault and current U.S.
and Vietnamese efforts to explain away the missing men. A saga of courage
subterfuge, and intrigue, One Day Too Long reveals a shocking betrayal of trust:
for thirty years the U.S. government has sought to hide the facts and now seeks
to acquiesce to ever-changing Vietnamese explanations for the disappearance of
eleven good men.
Reviews
From Booknews
Investigates the disappearance of 11 American servicemen from a top- secret
American radar installation in Laos during the Vietnam war. The author explores
the decision to place the installation in a neutral country at the highest
levels of the U.S. government and examines the shifting official explanations of
what happened put forth by both combatants. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc.,
Portland, Or.
From Library Journal
Castle, who served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War,
teaches national security studies at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and is a
frequent MIA investigator for the Department of Defense. His book concerns the
deployment of a radar site (code-named "Heavy Green") in the
supposedly neutral country of Laos. In theory, the site was to provide
round-the-clock bombing capability to planes attacking North Vietnam. In fact,
the site had hardly been operational before the North Vietnam forces knew of it
and took steps to eliminate it. It thus became "bait" to lure the
enemy forces where they could be attacked--albeit in a neutral country. The men
who volunteered to man the site gave up their military commissions, becoming
employees of a private military contractor, and were exposed to great
danger--all for a mission that could not even be acknowledged. Castle does an
excellent job of telling the stories of the doomed radar personnel, using
interviews with their widows and with surviving servicemen. This is a story that
has waited 30 years to be told. Recommended for public and academic
libraries.--Mark E. Ellis, Albany State Univ., GA
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Number of Reviews:
2 Average Rating: 
A reviewer (verna@calmharbor.com), June 12, 1999,
Sisters want meeting
I am one of the sisters of James H. Calfee of whom the author wrote about. I am
the one that wrote the letter to the President. Unhappy, yes, lied to yes, We
would very much like to talk with the author!!!
Dennis X. McCormack (dxmccor@email.msn.com), April 5, 1999,
Best Research to Date on Vietnam Era POW/MIA's
After years of hearsay and innuendo on the POW/MIA issue, it is refreshing to
finally read a book on the matter that draws its conclusions based on in-depth
research by a qualified researcher, archivist, and academic. Drawing on his
several decades of experience as a soldier, government POW/MIA investigator, and
journalist, Dr. Castle brings his considerable skills to bear to create the
first in-depth analysis of what happened at Site 85 in 1968. If you want to know
why the US Government has failed to recover a single missing American soldier
since the end of the Vietnam war, read this book, especially Chapter 14 and the
Conclusion Chapter, to understand why. It took considerable courage for someone
of Dr. Castle's stature and position to write this book, as he does not hesitate
to place the blame where it belongs. This book is going to upset a lot of
important people, as the truth often does. If you are only going to read one
book on the POW/MIA issue, this is it.
Reviews
Amazon.com
From October 1967 to March 1968, the United States operated a top-secret
radar system in Laos near that country's border with North Vietnam. This was a
provocative move: Laos was a neutral country. Yet the air force desperately
needed all-weather bombing capability in the region, and so the Pentagon decided
to take a chance. When Communist troops learned of Site 85, they hit it hard.
The result: "The largest single ground combat loss of U.S. Air Force
personnel in the history of the Vietnam War."
The public still does not know what happened to nine of the men posted at
Site 85. They may have been killed or captured, or perhaps fell victim to
"some atrocity" perpetrated by the Communists. The military
establishment isn't talking, and neither are knowledgeable sources in Laos and
Vietnam. One Day Too Long combines scholarship, journalism, and detective
work to learn all that can be known. Apparently there is plenty to hide.
"It was criminal to leave the technicians and the other Americans and their
security forces stranded [at Site 85]," writes Castle. Yet one conclusion
is certain, he says: there is "an unseemly pattern of U.S. government
duplicity" surrounding this forgotten incident. --John J. Miller
H.R. McMaster author of Dereliction of Duty
Castles meticulous research has penetrated a veil of secrecy
surrounding a fascinating, sad, and disappointing story. . . . The implications
of this book transcend the experience of Site 85 and highlight the danger of
those far removed from the scene making decisions that place people in harms
way. Castle illuminates the price of obsessive secrecy; in this case, a price
paid in blood and sorrow by a small group of men and their families.
General Ronald R. Fogleman U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Castle has done a superb job of researching and writing about a time, place,
and unit which is little-known and even less well understood. The gripping
manner in which Castle recreates the unfolding events and the ensuing drama and
bravery makes for great reading.
Robert D. Schulzinger University of Colorado at Boulder
A gripping story. . . . Castle is able to put a human face on the war, tell
a story of a real battle and place that battle in the context of military
history, while at the same time illuminating the vexing POW issue.
Anthony Day Los Angeles Times
One Day Too Long is an invaluable book about one important incident in the
secret war in Laos in 1968 that appears at a most opportune time.
Roland Green
An almost perfect example of investigative history not falling over into
'gotcha' journalism.
The VVA Veteran
A combination of history, analysis, investigative journalism, and personal
crusade focusing on the fate of nine U.S. Air Force personnel missing in action
in Laos.
Luke Stronach
Timothy N. Castle proves capable of intertwining academic writing with the
grit of a soldier's experience.
Steve Weinberg
Part of the fascination of Castle's book comes from the odyssey he and the
families [of the missing men] took inside the ludicrous world of top-secret
military information.
From the Publisher
Castle has done a superb job of researching and writing about a time, place,
and unit which is little-known and even less well understood. The gripping
manner in which Castle recreates the unfolding events and the ensuing drama and
bravery makes for great reading. (General Ronald R. Fogleman U.S. Air Force
(Ret.))
H.R. McMaster author of Dereliction of Duty
Castle's meticulous research has penetrated a veil of secrecy surrounding a
fascinating, sad, and disappointing story. . . . The implications of this book
transcend the experience of Site 85 and highlight the danger of those far
removed from the scene making decisions that place people in harm's way. Castle
illuminates the price of obsessive secrecy; in this case, a price paid in blood
and sorrow by a small group of men and their families.
Book Description
One of the Vietnam Wars most closely guarded secretsa highly classified U.S.
radar base in the mountains of neutral Laosled to the disappearance of a small
group of elite military personnel, a loss never fully acknowledged by the
American government. Now, thirty years later, one book recounts the harrowing
storyand offers some measure of closure on this decades-old mystery. Because of
the covert nature of the mission at Lima Site 85providing bombing instructions
to U.S. Air Force tactical aircraft from the safe harbor of a nation that was
supposedly neutralthe wives of the eleven servicemen were warned in no uncertain
terms never to discuss the truth about their husbands. But one wife, Ann
Holland, refused to remain silent. Timothy Castle draws on her personal records
and recollections as well as upon a wealth of interviews with surviving
servicemen and recently declassified information to tell the full story. The
result is a tale worthy of Tom Clancy but told by a scholar with meticulous
attention to historical accuracy. More than just an account of government
deception, One Day Too Long is the story of the courageous men who agreed to put
their lives in danger to perform a critical mission in which they could not be
officially acknowledged. Indeed the personnel at Site 85 agreed to be sheep-dippedremoved
from their military status and technically placed in the employ of a civilian
company. Castle reveals how the program, code-named Heavy Green, was conceived
and approved at the highest levels of the U.S. government. In spine tingling
detail, he describes the selection of the men and the construction and operation
of the radar facility on a mile-high cliff in neutral Laos, even as the North
Vietnamese Army began encircling the mountain. He chronicles the communist air
attack on Site 85, the only such aerial bombing of the entire Vietnam War. A
saga of courage, cover-up, and intrigue One Day Too Long tells how, in a
shocking betrayal of trust, for thirty years the U.S. government has sought to
hide the facts and now seeks to acquiesce to perfidious Vietnamese explanations
for the disappearance of eleven good men.
About the Author
Timothy N. Castle served two tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War,
flying over Laos from Nakhon Phanom Air Force Base on thirty-eight combat
support missions. Since 1990, he has traveled to Laos frequently as a researcher
and senior Department of Defense POW/MIA investigator for Laos, and as a
consultant for NBC News. He is an Associate Professor of National Security
Studies at Air University, teaching courses at the Air War and Command and Staff
Colleges at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He is also the author of At War
in the Shadow of Vietnam (Columbia).
Customer Comments
Average Customer Review: 
Number
of Reviews: 6
Byrne and Wilma Tinney (btinney@m-y.net) from Bakersville, NC , June 26, 1999
An exposure of a shameful episode in US history.
I have a very personal reaction to "One Day Too Long" in that Mel and
Ann Holland were our military sponsors when my family and I were first assigned
to an AC&W squadron in southern Spain in early 1961, and I worked with Mel
until he rotated to the States. It is embarrassing and shameful to learn how
both the military and civilian authorities were willing to sacrifice those men
in order to cover up their own mistakes, but I suppose if ALL the truth were
known about SE Asia operations, we would not be able to stand it. Dr. Castle has
perfomed an invaluable service for democracy. EVERYBODY should read this book!
(Ann, we'd love to hear from you!)
RichArant@aol.com from Indiana , June 10, 1999
Compelling story of a good cause gone bad.
A story of noble sacrifices by military men and their families. Regretfully,
those sacrifices were eventually overlooked by those eager to use the PW-MIA
issue as a convenient political tool -- first those who strove to keep Vietnam
at arm's length, and since 1992 those who set out to use the ploy of alleged
"full faith cooperation" to faciliate ties with Vietnam. One Day Too
Long shows that when the American people seek to measure foreign government
"cooperation" on such humanitarian issues, they must first evaluate
the seriousness and good faith of efforts made by their own government.
cal1@wt.net or Cal Laizure from Houston, Tx , June 8, 1999
Book arrived 6pm, finished 3am. Amazing history.
I was assigned to a electonic surveillance system at NKP Thailand. We went
operational in Nov 1967. During my first days in Thailand, I lived at the Siam
Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok. After office hours and weekends, were spent
poolside at the Siam where we became friends with many of the Airforce Pilots
from various bases. Among them were Col Giraudo and Major Frank Billingsley of
the 355th at Takhli. Our system, Task Force Alpha, used the Dustys and the
Zorros at NKP and RF4's from Korat. What amazes me, as a participant in some of
the high secret operations, is discovering how many other secrets there were
that were unknown to those of us in the field. The Colonel [amazing that he made
general with his outspokenness] has unfortunately passed away. He could handle
one hell of a lot of "Stingers". Does Doctor Castle have an email
address. Would be interested in his comments about Task Force Alpha.
TGA@bigpond.com.kh from Phnom Penh, Cambodia , June 5, 1999
More than 5 stars
This is a extraordinarily powerful, interesting and well written book. It covers
the entire history (1965-date) of an obscure (to some) chapter in America's war
in Southeast Asia -- the loss of Lima Site 85 in Laos to communist attack. The
whole history is fascinating -- from the decision to set up this site, to what
it (briefly) did, the decisions from the squad level all the way up to the US
Embassy in Vientiane and the President in Washington about its mission,
operation and defense, to the current efforts to get the truth out of the Lao
and Vietnamese governments about MIAs. The author has the background to write
this fascinating history and writes compellingly. He's not afraid, where
appropriate, to use blunt language like "shameful toadying" and
"fraud". I've been a sceptic in the past of some of the distrust of
the US government shown by POW/MIA families and partisans, but this book opened
my eyes. Phou Pha Thi should have been better defended or abandoned earlier. A
great account of (mostly) good intentions and (too often) flawed execution. The
author writes convincingly of 1960's combat and 1990's political maneuvering.
The treatment of COL Clayton, the commander of the site when it was overrun, by
the current "investigators" was particularly revealing and chilling. I
was a US Army Signal Corps officer during the Vietnam war and know all too well
what it's like to have to be visible on a mountaintop to perform your mission
and the need for good defense. I've spent the last 4 years as a civilian in
Cambodia. So I have some parallels with the authors' experiences. A great book
no matter what your view on the war.
A reader from Huntsville, AL , June 1, 1999
Gripping and insightful, Hard to put down
Being one of the excavation team in late 94, I found this book to be especially
interesting. Dr. Castle brought to full light a story I only new bits and pieces
of. The book is wronderfully written and keeps the readers interest. Dr. Castle
has gone to great length to make this book as factual, if not more, than any
official report ever written. This event should not be allowed to fade into the
past lest we forget our fallen who shall never return.
Dennis X. McCormack(dxmccor@aol.com) from Colorado Springs, Colorado , March
28, 1999
The classic research book on Vietnam Era POW/MIA's
Meticulously researched and profusely documented, Dr. Castle has set the
standard for all other books on this subject. His skill as a renowned
researcher, academic, and archivist has produced the best Vietnam era book
written on the subject of POW/MIA's. If you want to know why we have never
recovered a living MIA from SE Asia, and never will, read Chapter 14 and the
conclusion chapter to understand why. This book exposes the myth of "The
Highest National Priority", and shows how the US Government has mismanaged
the issue for years. This book took a lot of courage for someone of Dr. Castle's
stature and position to write, because it is going to upset a lot of important
people with the truth.
BACK