Lost Over Laos: A True Story Of Tragedy, Mystery, And Friendship

by Richard Pyle, Horst Faas

In 1971, as American forces hastened their withdrawal from Vietnam, a helicopter was hit by enemy fire over Laos and exploded in a fireball, killing four top combat photographers, Larry Burrows of Life magazine, Henri Huet of Associated Press, Kent Potter of United Press International, and Keisaburo Shimamoto of Newsweek. The Saigon press corps and the American public were stunned, but the remoteness of the location made a recovery attempt impossible. When the war ended four years later in a communist victory, the war zone was sealed off to outsiders, and the helicopter incident faded from most memories. Yet two journalists from the Vietnam press corps -- Richard Pyle, former Saigon Bureau Chief, and Horst Faas, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer in Vietnam-pledged to return some day to Laos, resolve mysteries about the crash, and pay homage to their lost friends. True to their vow, twenty-seven years after the incident the authors joined a U.S. team excavating the hillside where the helicopter crashed. Few human remains were found, but camera parts and bits of film provided eerie proof of what happened there.The narrative of Lost Over Laos is framed in a period that was among the war's bloodiest, for both the military and the media, yet has received relatively little attention from historians. It is rich with behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the Saigon press corps and illustrated with stunning work by the four combat photographers who died and their colleagues.

Genres: Asia, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2003

Reviews

[Steve Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very personal book. It provides insights into 3 of the more prominent journalists who covered the Vietnam War, including the famous Larry Burrows. They were shot down over Laos in 1971 ( remember the incident) while covering the ill fated ARVN invasion of Laos. Had the US forces carried out this invasion in late 1967 the whole course of the war would have been different. Unfortunately American sensibilities made this politically difficult if not impossible.

The book would probably have little interest for anyone other than a person with an interest or background which linked them to the Vietnam war. Some knowledge and understanding of events would be helpful in understanding the motivation of the authors and there were small titbits of information about the conflict that were interesting. I think most people would find the book easy to get through if pretty uninspiring even a little boring in places. A minor piece of detail in a huge and complex mosaic, not unimportant but against the context of the disaster surrounding it (ARVN troops being evacuated from Laos hanging off the skids of helicopters), a blip on the nightly news.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Odd book, 40+ years years ago a chopper went down with some civilian journalists on it.
Book goes back & forth from 40 years ago,
to recent time looking for remains of chopper & passengers.

They found enough stuff so they can say they found the chopper,
but so what?

Best part of the book are the photos,
some good,
some not so good.

Forget about the text.

[Brian Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost over Laos: A True Story of Tragedy, Mystery, and Friendship is an amazing account. It seamlessly rolls together a history of the American war in Vietnam, an insightful account of the Saigon press corps during the war, and the circumstances of the infamous chopper crash of February 10, 1971 which killed photographers Larry Burrows, Henri Huet, Kent Potter, and Keisaburo Shimamoto. Authors Richard Pyle and Horst Faas are nearly legendary in their own right for their work in Vietnam. As Pyle writes, “As friends and former comrades of the four photographers, we were making a pilgrimage of the heart, one that had been a long time coming.” (p. 5) Richard Pyle was AP Saigon Bureau Chief at the time of the crash. The two authors (or collaborators, as Pyle did the writing) bring to this account not only the technical excellence of a great & important story well-told, but also the intensely personal authenticity for what drives photojournalists to expose themselves to such mortal danger in conflict journalism with the certain knowledge that some of their number would not survive. As participants who experienced the same degree of risk as those who lost their lives in Laos, Pyle and Faas add a narrative dimension that could never have been matched by a straight historical accounting of the affair. “Vietnam had been a place where men could learn to love each other in a collegial way, where friendships were formed in the crucible of shared experience.” (p. 174)

Lost over Laos is a can’t-put-it-down page-turner that is equally a fantastic story and a privileged glimpse into the minds of conflict journalists.

[Glen Thickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this in Vietnam and it's been sitting on my shelves for a couple of years. I thought it was older, but copy is just well used.

I learned a lot about the Vietnam war from this. Maybe because it was written by journalists who were there. The events of the story were given solid foundations with the history and strategy of the war. The mini-bios of those involved were well-crafted and thoughtful. The atmosphere of the time, and the details of the work of the journalists gave a rich depth.

I'm glad I persevered. I found the preface slow going, perhaps also repeating what was in the foreword, and I almost abandoned it.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good fast read. learn about vietnam combat photographers, some background of vietnaminization (sp?, don't you just pine for nixon and kissenger?!?) of war by bombing shit out of laos, the usa mia-pow recovery operations (still on-going and fairly successful, archeaos you know), and bonus learn a little about laos today.

[Michael Dundon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing story of the courage of a lost art

Whilst this book speaks to the story of 'finding' the crash site, what it really describes is the courage, doggedness and craft of photographers of a bygone era.

[Denny Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by men who were their friends and were there and could've suffered the same fate.