TAI MO SHAN: Mountain in the Clouds

By Paul Nemeth PhD Major U.S.A.F. Retired

This book is a compilation of events that occurred to Paul Nemeth during his four-year classified assignment with a British Air Force Intelligence Signals Unit in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong.

These events include being bitten by the Hong Kong governor’s guard dog, various visits to Vietnam, and many encounters with high-ranking members of the defense department and members of the United States Armed Forces Committee.

The book was written in a humorous vein to instill some humor for the reader about a conflict that was very unpopular and deeply divided the American people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781662412752

Book preview

cover.jpg

TAI MO SHAN

Mountain in the Clouds

Paul Nemeth, PhD, Major U.S.A.F. Retired

Copyright © 2020 Paul Nemeth, PhD, Major U.S.A.F. Retired

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-66241-274-5 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-66241-276-9 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-66241-275-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

How It Began

The Recall

Getting to Know the Players

The Final Touches

Consulate Contacts

Family Planning and Arrival

Settling In

The Earthquake and Flying Roaches

The Canine Incident

Vietnam Calling

The Colonel Appleton Affair

The General Arrives

The Knee Injury

Visitors from Washington, DC

The Japan Adventure

The Blake Blackmail

The Nipa Hut

Winds of Change

The Rent Raise

The Elephant Run

The Overflight

Departure Time

Preface

This is the story of another side of a very unpopular war that divided the nation. That war took place in a small south Asian country called Vietnam. The world was in a global Cold War conflict with Communism. Vietnam had been a French territory for many years. However, the country became divided; north was Communist, and south was democratic. The north’s invasion of the south was thwarted for many years by the French military. However, they seemed to abandon the south, and the US was invited into the fray to protect democracy in Vietnam. The entry of the US into this war created severe conflict at home, protests, riots, shootings on college campuses, and even the fleeing of its citizens to other countries to avoid being drafted into the Army and sent to fight a war that they did not believe in.

This book, then, is dedicated to provide recognition to the men and women of the uniformed and non-uniformed services, army, navy, air force, marine corps, coast guard, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who served their country unhesitatingly when they were called.

This book is also dedicated to my family who constantly provided support for the long years that needed to be wasted in order for it to no longer be classified (over forty years).

Introduction

Hi, my name is Paul Nemeth, and I am a retired US air force officer with a story to tell about an era when the United States was embroiled in a very unpopular war or conflict (Vietnam). My involvement provides insight into another aspect of the Vietnam War that was so secretive that few were aware of its existence. The purpose of this book is to inform and make it known that a different perspective of the Vietnam conflict existed and to inform how it played a part in the overall picture of the US involvement in that conflict.

In order to understand this other aspect and how the Vietnam War came to be, it is necessary to digress in time to show how I got to this alternative perspective. At the end of World War II, a global threat to freedom and to the democratic way of life of the world emerged (Communism). The US, the leader of the free world at that time, was placed in the forefront of thwarting this global threat to our precious freedoms and democratic way of life.

The United States’ efforts in defeating this Communist threat had not always been successful, as seen in the countries that had succumbed to Communism (China, North Korea, Cuba, and eventually, Vietnam).

Vietnam, to most Americans, was a faraway place. It was a protectorate of the French, who, in their frustration, unilaterally walked away from this faraway country due to heavy financial costs and heavy casualties to its military. The exiting of the French from Vietnam left a vacuum and an opening for Communism to take a foothold in that part of the world. It was because of the United States’ leadership in fighting Communism that prompted the South Vietnamese government to invite the US to come to its aid and replace the French as its protector to preserve their democratic way of life.

In the beginning of our involvement in Vietnam (late 1950s to early 1960s), we sent military observers. Over time, this increased, and we started sending more military personnel, not only as observers but as participants against their Communist aggressors from the north.

In the meantime, the US citizenry was becoming increasingly angry at our country’s involvement in fighting Communist aggression and becoming the policemen of the world. Many protests erupted in various place throughout the US. Information about high casualties to our military in Vietnam and its financial burden on us started to filter back from the front lines. More and louder protests were held in the US, and in one instance, college students were killed by soldiers of the Ohio National Guard, who were called out to maintain order during one of their protests. During this period of time, reports of atrocities by American soldiers were being reported. The killing of women and children in various villages in Vietnam (My Lai Massacre) occurred.

In addition to all the above mentioned, another threat was perceived by the Pentagon that could put our existing men and women in uniform in extreme harm’s way. It was this outside threat, which had happened once before in our war against Communism, that allowed me to get involved in the Vietnam War. I was to provide for the security and safety of those military men and women who were already participating in this unpopular war. Thus was created a highly secretive mission, that was known by very few, to parallel the Vietnam conflict in a noncombative role.

This, then, is the story of how I became involved in the Vietnam conflict from a noncombative role to help protect those military personnel involved in the fighting.

The telling of my story didn’t actually start until many years after the abrupt end of the Vietnam conflict in 1973, when then president Richard M. Nixon declared victory and pulled all our troops out of Vietnam and let it fall into the Communist sphere of influence. The highly classified nature of my mission precluded my being able to write about it sooner.

The beginning of my story started many years after the war, with a planned vacation with me and my wife, Ellen (who played a valuable role in allowing me to perform my mission), to revisit our home, where we lived during my tour in the Far East (Hong Kong).

I have taken a series of events that occurred to me and have woven them into a story that I hope allows you, the reader, to be informed and to gain insight into how our government handled this perceived threat to our military personnel in Vietnam.

All the incidents reported in this book are true, and only the names of the individuals in my story have been changed.

1

How It Began

Ellen and I arrived at Los Angeles Airport international terminal with plenty of time for our 7:00 p.m. flight to China. Our final destination on this trip would be Hong Kong. We had promised ourselves that we’d return to Hong Kong one day, and we used our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary to fulfill that wish.

Going back after twenty-five years was quite a thrill for both of us. It conjured up many memories for us when we lived there during the height of the Vietnam War. As a captain in the US Air Force, I was assigned to Hong Kong as a liaison officer to the Royal Air Force, in the British Crown Colony.

My thoughts were interrupted by Ellen motioning me over to the Japan Airline check-in counter. The hostess was very courteous, asking the routine questions about not having our luggage out of our sight prior to arrival at the terminal. We assured her it never left our sight. We showed our passports and were shown where to assemble prior to our departure. Like a couple of kids, we held hands all the way to the security X-ray machines. By the time we got to the departure gate, the plane was boarding. We entered the plane, found our seats, and buckled our seat belts. It wasn’t long before the intercom came on, welcoming us aboard. There was something about the length of our flight and who the captain and copilot was. However, we were so excited about our journey to China, with its last stop in Hong Kong, that we really didn’t pay much attention to what was said. We were too busy going through our travel brochures to notice other things going on in the plane.

The next thing I knew, the engines seemed to spring to life with a roar. We were pushed back into our seats as the plane began to accelerate down the runway.

Ellen had never liked flying, even though we were seasoned air travelers. She squeezed my hand as the plane became airborne. After takeoff, the intercom came alive with instructions about what to do in an emergency. The captain’s voice also came on to welcome us aboard and to ensure us that although our flight path would take us into the area of some thunderstorms, our flight would be smooth, and that if we encountered some turbulence, we should return to our seats and stay buckled up until the all clear was given.

Ellen and I were seated in front of the wings, and the roar of the engines were down to a low droning vibration. The plane quickly reached its assigned altitude. I settled into my seat and looked out of the window. The sky had already gotten dark, and I could see some lightning strikes, from cloud to ground, off in the distance. The lightning in the distance reminded me of the humid nights Ellen and I spent in Hong Kong. I started to think about what it was like back then when I first arrived.

2

The