Laos: The MAAG Men

The year-old war in Laos is fought by words and guns, by strange antagonists for curious motives. Many of the Meo people battle the Communist Pathet Lao rebels because the Pathet Lao interfere with their traditional opium trade. Laotian politicians—right, left and neutralist —jabber inconclusively in the hope of forming a coalition government that can unite the country. And in faraway Geneva, Russia, Red China, the U.S. and eleven other nations scrap interminably over a workable arrangement for ending the war. Biggest bone of contention: the withdrawal of foreign troops from Laos, including the 300-man U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG).

MAAG men fight in the sputtering jungle war of Laos to save what is left of $350 million worth of U.S. aid. So far, 24 U.S. military men and civilians have been killed or are missing, and according to the U.S. embassy in Laos, “a considerable number” have been injured. Among the MAAG men who have survived the perils of duty in Laos is U.S. Army Captain Carl J. Nagle, 33, a tough product of U.S. Special Forces (guerrilla warfare) training. Earlier this month, he and his helicopter crew of three were shot down by Pathet Lao gunfire while on a mission to the Meo country. Wasting no time, Nagle and his helicopter crew grabbed a survival kit and headed for the cover of the jungle. Not long ago, another helicopter crew, forced down by gunfire, stuck by their stricken craft to wait for rescue. The men have not been heard from since, and are reported prisoners of the Pathet Lao.

Nagle & Co. hacked their way through the jungle. They avoided all trails for fear of being spotted and captured. Unwittingly, they spent their first night atop a jungle ant heap. “The ants had only one idea,” says Nagle. “They were ferocious. They wanted to eat you alive.” The second night was spent on a coffee-table-sized ledge leaning across a jungle river. Icy water sprayed Nagle all night, and leeches swarmed over him. One leech began crawling up Nagle’s leg. “I knew I had to stop it,” he said. “But I didn’t dare move quickly for fear of falling off the ledge or knocking another man off.”

Four days and 16 jungle miles after the forced landing, Nagle’s survival-kit radio managed to summon a rescue helicopter. “Nobody enjoys an experience like that,” said Captain Nagle, “but that is what you’re trained to meet.” And last week he was right back on the job. He had reached the Meos at last, was teaching the tribesmen new techniques for fighting the Communist Pathet Lao rebels.