Van Anh

A soldier in the North Vietnamese Army, Van Anh tells of how the unit he was with in the jungles of Vietnam shot down an American airplane. He and his fellow soldiers captured the pilot and using his uniform and supplies, set a trap to shoot down more Americans who would be coming to search for him the next morning. Despite an unexpected reaction by the rescuers, the Vietnamese were successful in their plan. Van is very proud of how his unit managed to trick the Americans and shoot down the rescue helicopter.

Anh's account appeared in A Vietcong Memoir and Vietnam: A Portrait of Its People at War, by David Chanoff and Doan Van Toai.

In June 1964 fleets of American jet planes started appearing in the Laotian skies. Often they'd come twice a day, at about nine in the morning...