CAVWV releases valor record for Secret War airmen

By AI, Created 1:23 PM UTC, May 16, 2026, /AGP/ – The Coalition of Allied Afghan & Vietnam War Veterans says it has completed a public accounting of valor recognition and suppression for the 56th Special Operations Wing and covert airmen who flew missions over Laos. The record argues that medal citations were altered or downgraded because the United States denied the war was happening.

Why it matters: - The new record argues that Air Force valor awards for Laos missions were systematically muted to match official U.S. denials of the war. - The accounting could push renewed scrutiny of long-sealed records, medal decisions, and how covert operations were publicly recognized. - CAVWV says the issue affects hundreds of airmen, plus families who were told inaccurate accounts of how some service members died.

What happened: - The Coalition of Allied Afghan & Vietnam War Veterans said it completed a public review of valor recognition and suppression tied to the 56th Special Operations Wing and America’s Secret War in Laos. - The research is posted at the full accounting. - CAVWV says the 56th Special Operations Wing operated from Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base and brought together Ravens, Sandys, Hobos, Knives, Nimrods, Green Hornets, Spookys, Stingers and Spectres. - The organization says those crews flew covert missions into Laos while the U.S. officially denied such operations were taking place. - CAVWV says decorated airmen often received citations with “Laos” removed before presentation.

The details: - Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger was at Lima Site 85 in Laos on March 11, 1968, where he held off a North Vietnamese assault while evacuating wounded crew members. - Etchberger received the Medal of Honor in 2010, 42 years after the action, and his sons were told he died in a helicopter accident. - Colonel Philip J. Conran, 21st SOS, 56th SOW, crash-landed under fire at Moung Phine, Laos, on Oct. 6, 1969, organized the defense of the crash site while wounded and held the perimeter for six hours until 54 survivors were extracted. - CAVWV says Conran’s commanding officer recommended him for the Medal of Honor, but the award was downgraded after the vice commander of Pacific Air Forces acted because President Nixon had publicly said no U.S. military operations were underway in Laos. - Conran’s citation reads “classified location in Southeast Asia.” - First Lieutenant Charles “Chuck” Engle, Raven 26, was hit by ground fire over Laos on June 20, 1970, continued directing air strikes after fuel drenched his aircraft, and positioned his plane to shield a rescue helicopter. - Engle received the Air Force Cross posthumously after being killed on Feb. 22, 1971, and his citation reads “Southeast Asia.” - Captain Jackson L. Hudson, 602nd SOS, directed the air campaign that extracted the 54 survivors from Moung Phine and received the Air Force Cross; his citation also reads “Southeast Asia.” - Captain John E. Lackey, 1st SOS, received the Air Force Cross for a multi-day search-and-rescue mission over Laos, with a citation that reads “Southeast Asia.” - Major James C. Harding received the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism near Tchepone, Laos, in April 1972. - Harding’s record also includes five Distinguished Flying Crosses, and those citations read “Southeast Asia” for missions over the same area in the same period. - Major John Leonard Carroll, Raven 20, was shot down over the Plain of Jars in Xiangkhoang Province, Laos, on Nov. 7, 1972. - Carroll fought two North Vietnamese companies on foot with a rifle, a revolver and hand grenades, received the Air Force Cross posthumously and was missing in action for 35 years. - CAVWV says Carroll’s citation is one of the few Raven valor citations that explicitly names Laos. - The broader record cited by CAVWV includes 22 Ravens killed in action out of 161 who served. - The record also cites 12 Americans killed at Lima Site 85, which CAVWV describes as the Air Force’s largest single ground combat loss of the war. - CAVWV says seven Raven forward air controllers were captured by the Pathet Lao and none of those American prisoners were released. - The organization says hundreds of 56th SOW airmen received citations with the country’s name removed. - CAVWV says the full evidentiary record exists in sealed files at the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base. - The group says the files were sealed, not destroyed. - CAVWV points to the Etchberger award upgrade as evidence that political classification, not merit, drove the original downgrade decisions. - Colonel Craig Duehring, a former assistant secretary of the Air Force and Raven 27, reviewed and validated the research. - Sergeant Major Justin D. LeHew, past national commander of the Legion of Valor, endorsed the campaign. - Thomas Leo Briggs, CAVWV president and a former CIA paramilitary case officer in Pakse, Laos, said the 56th Special Operations Wing flew the covert air war in Laos for 12 years and deserves an accounting equal to its service.

Between the lines: - CAVWV is framing this as both a historical record and a corrective action effort. - The core argument is that medal language and award levels were shaped by secrecy and politics, not by battlefield performance. - The sealed-file claim suggests the underlying evidence may already exist inside the Air Force system, which could make formal review harder to dismiss.

What’s next: - CAVWV is directing readers to its documentation, unit histories, award records and media materials at the full accounting. - The group is also seeking interviews with Conran, Duehring and CAVWV leadership through Tom Briggs at cavwv.president@gmail.com. - CAVWV says it will continue seeking broader recognition for American veterans and Southeast Asian allies who fought alongside them.

The bottom line: - CAVWV is trying to turn a hidden air war into a public record, and to show that the men who flew it were honored less fully than their missions deserved.