CW2 Harold Smith - Ghostriders A/158th Aviation Battalion, 19 March 1971

As part of Lam Son 719, the invasion of Laos, while on a mission to extract troops of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Chief Warrant Officer Harold Smith was wounded on 19 March 1971. Here he describes that incident in an interview by Dr. James W. Williams, Army Aviation Branch Historian. During LS 719, Army Aviation had the heaviest encounter with air defenses since World War II. During the course of the operation, over 600 helicopters were damaged or destroyed.