Smokejumpers and the cia book

Now that they are no longer required to remain quiet about their ties with the cia, smokejumpers are. A number of books over the last two decades talk about jerrys spectacular cia career in laos after 1965. Quick response times, initialattack training, and 48 hour crew sustainability, make smokejumping one of the most costeffective wildland fire fighting methods in canada today. The work of a smokejumper is often difficult and dangerous, but invaluable to the world s forests. They were smokejumpers when the cia sent them to laos. Beginning in the spring of 1951, the cia sent two agents to the smokejumper base at nine mile, montana, to be trained to parachute into mountainous and isolated terrain. Gup caused controversy by allegedly naming nearly all of the previously unnamed stars. There are 3 stars carved into the white alabama marble wall, each one representing an employee who died in the line of service. Smokejumper history the selected few and the list cia smokejumpers by chuck sheley cave junction 59 posted. The memorial wall is located in the original headquarters building lobby on the north wall. Smokejumper magazine, october 2017 ewu digital commons. Smokejumpers have had a special working relationship with the cia for over 35. Officers in the cia see this as a perfect skillset as part of americas undeclared war in. A core of steel hal aldridge has always hidden more.

New bases were opened in grangeville, idaho, and west yellowstone. Letter from bear bryant to charley moseley, bruce eggercitizen soldier, good sam fund and the chung family, cia honors three former smokejumpers, they came home in caskets wash. Smokejumpers skip to main search results amazon prime. Welcome to the official ebay store of the national smokejumper association. Bevan, a smokejumper turned cia operative, was one of five men killed in an air america plane crash on.

Hogs exit instantly vaults into the top five books on the cias covert war in laos. In 1946, the missoula region had 164 smokejumpers, many of them recent military veterans, college students, or recent college graduates. Amnesia to anamnesis commemoration of the dead at cia cia official website. This book explains what smokejumpers do and gives information on the training and skills needed for this extreme career. The circumstances of his death add an odd finale that. They were recruited because they could go anywhere, anytime, and do a tough, confusing job and then keep our mouths shut. Starting in 1951 the cia and smokejumpers has a unique and littleknow working arrangement the peaked in 1975. For more on tibet, including many smokejumper names, see the cias secret war in tibet by kenneth conboy and james morrison, a 2002 book too late for my bibliography article last year.

Cia ties to forest service smokejumpers documented in new account. The last cps smokejumper left the service in january 1946. Raw footage includes interviews with smokejumpers and video logs include complete. In the article, sheley quoted former smokejumper jim vetch, who worked with many of the people on that list. Smokejumpers worked for the cia agency over a 25plus year period. Theres a painting hanging in the central intelligence agency s langley, virginia, headquarters called khampa airlift to tibet. The cia operatives died, along with air americas two pilots. His latest issue includes a list of 96 smokejumpers who had cia experience. The smokejumpers program was created in 1939, 2 years after a wildfire in. Jerry hog danielss skills as an outdoorsman and smokejumper in montana made. Beginning in the spring of 1951, the cia sent two agents to the smokejumper base at nine mile, mont. As noted in the july 2002 article smokejumpers and the cia. The c46 cartwheeled into little pieces, according to the book, smokejumpers and the cia, published by the national smokejumpers.

Theres a painting hanging in the central intelligence agency s. A crowd gathers during the 2014 edition of stories and stones to hear the story of jerrold daniels, the youngest smokejumper in missoula history and a cia operative. This issue of the national smokejumper association nsa smokejumper magazine contains the following articles. Paramilitary officers of the cias special activities division compose the majority of those memorialized a black moroccan goatskinbound book, called the book. Firefighters from the sky also called the history of smokejumping. Payette bids adieu to smokejumper, cia operative news. This book is a great tribute to jerry daniels and those who served with him during the secret war of laos. Smokejumping is one of several methods used to protect persons, property and forested lands from wildfires. Hogs exit instantly vaults into the top five books on the cias covert war in. Smokejumpers are firefighters that jump from a plane into remote areas to fight fires. We talked to a team of smokejumpers who go into the front lines of forest fires. A bibliography by this author, the book mentions jumpers from intermountain aviation in marana, arizona relative to one event.

From reading the book, both of these standby bases are not the most pristine facilities. Interviews of surviving smokejumpers about their cia experiences in laos convinced lee their stories needed to be told. As a firefighter myself, ive always been intrigued by smokejumpersthe fittest and most elite of wildland firefighters. This panel contains information and photographs on the use of smokejumpers by the central intelligence committee in covert operations around the world. Here are 10 things the book reveals about the men and women who call themselves smokejumpers. In fact, the russian federation employs more smokejumpers several thousand than any other country. Morrison, 9780896727922, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. This series consists of video components and detailed video logs from the documentary smokejumpers. Vetch told sheley the cia found smokejumpers an ideal fit for the jobs it needed done. After airplanes drop smokejumpers near a fire, firefighting supplies and food and. Ramos and julian smith is a whip fast, fun, and fascinating read. For decades, smokejumpers have described theirs as the greatest job in the world. Missoula man was smokejumper at 17, worked for cia at 20.

Firefighters from the sky produced by stevan smith for the national smokejumper association. Smokejumpers and the cia by national smokejumper association. Better books like gayle morrisons hogs exit about jerry daniels or the university of texasdallas library archives are better sources. Their families didnt know they were in laos, and didnt know that theyd started working for the cia in addition to t they were smokejumpers when the cia sent them to laos. How many more cia secret war books are out there remains to be seen. Cia ties to forest service smokejumpers documented, names. Cia ties to forest service smokejumpers documented in new. Smokejumpers are also used by the russian federation, mongolia, and canada. My introduction came through tall timber pilots, a book about the johnson. In 1960, while daniels was a smokejumper, the cia recruited him as a loadmaster or kicker for air operations based in thailand. The c46 cartwheeled into little pieces, according to the book, smokejumpers and the cia, published by the national smokejumpers association. Washington post june 18 2017 cia honors its fallen in annual memorial ceremony.

There is also a base for the tanker planes and their pilots to stay also. The cias secret war in laos and its link to the war in vietnam by roger warner 1995 covers much of the same story with lots of jerry in it. Smokejumpers these firefighters parachute directly into. Missoula man was smokejumper at 17, worked for cia at 20, died mysteriously in thailand at 40 new book examines mysterious life, death of missoulas jerry daniels. Daniels or jerry daniels june 11, 1941 april 29, 1982 was a cia paramilitary. Six people asked for their names not to be published. Lee pao xiong, director of the center for hmong studies expertly told through the voices of those who knew hog bestfellow montanans, smokejumpers, cia personnel, us embassy officials, and the people of southeast asia jerry worked. Not many know that the central intelligence agency recruited smokejumpers from the u. In late may 2011, for instance, smokejumpers joined more than 4,000 firefighters to put out the massive wallow fire that tore across large swathes of arizona and new mexico, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres, which at that point, was the largest in arizona history source. You look at the canopy of the parachute and you can tell they are smokejumpers, and the suits are smokejumper suits, said retired jump trainer chuck sheley. Smokejumpers worked for the cia the agency over a period of more than 25 years. Today we will start reading the story smokejumpers and discover how people prepare for emergencies when there is a forest fire. Because the smokejumpers represented the most advanced parachute technology in the world at that time, with elite men like jim waite mso40 and frank derry mso40 pushing the state of the art with their innovations, the cia turned to the smokejumpers for help with a secret mission after the war.

Vetch told sheley the cia found smokejumpers an ideal. When their families were told theyd been killed in laos in a plane crash, they were stunned. A jumper told me of accompanying jerry on the first c tibet drop mission. Smoke jumpers, hightech gear, survival tactics, and the extraordinary science of fire. A rare inside look at the thrilling world of smokejumpers, the airborn.