| Lima Site 85 | |
|---|---|
| Houaphanh Province, Laos | |
 The LS-85 mountaintop area included radar shelters ("Operations") with antennas and interior equipment normally in/on mobile AN/MSQ-77 "control and plotting" and radar vans. "TACAN" is the box shelter for the AN/TRN-17 electronics with antenna on top, and "LZ" is for the nearby helicopter Landing Zone. Also not shown are the CIA airstrip and command post. | |
  Lima Site 85 | |
| Coordinates | 20°26′42″N 103°43′05″E / 20.44500°N 103.71806°E [1][2] |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1967 |
| Demolished | 1968 |
Lima Site 85 (LS-85 alphanumeric code of the phonetic 1st letter used to conceal this covert operation[3]) was a clandestine military installation in the Royal Kingdom of Laos guarded by the Hmong "Secret Army", the Central Intelligence Agency, and the United States Air Force used for Vietnam War covert operations against communist targets in ostensibly neutral Laos under attack by the Vietnam People's Army. Initially created for a CIA command post to support a local stronghold, the site was expanded with a 1966 TACAN area excavated on the mountaintop where a 1967 command guidance radar was added for Commando Club bombing of northern areas of North Vietnam. The site ended operations with the Battle of Lima Site 85 when most of the U.S. technicians on the mountaintop were killed, including CMSgt Richard Etchberger. For his heroism and sacrifice, Etchberger received the Air Force Cross posthumously. The operation remained classified, however, and the existence of the award was not publicly acknowledged until 1998. After the declassification of LS 85 and a reevaluation of his actions, Etchberger was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2010.
- ^ Porter. Lima Site 36 (Report). Archived from the original on April 8, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
In late December 1966 and early January 1967, the North Vietnamese troop buildup in the Sam Neue area (VH 0157) had been observed as a potential threat to Lima Site 36 (UH 4113), Lima Site 52 (VH 0581), and Lima Site 85 (UH 6860).
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Vallentinywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Conboy, Kenneth (199). Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos. Paladin Press. ISBN 978-1-58160-535-8.