Chapter 4

The following character appear in this chapter:

Tom O’Brien

SFC, Chiang Rai Team S-2, 6’-0’’ tall, 185 pounds, 34 years old, gray eyes, short dark blond hair

Mike has the Narrative

The train was scheduled to depart at 1630 hrs. that afternoon, but not all of the passengers were loaded or ready to leave by then, and the train didn’t depart until 1700 hrs.

The afternoon train, Train #9, which we were taking, is the most popular one with tourists, as it leaves in the afternoon and arrives in Chiang Mai early in the morning. We would be leaving it at the stop in Lampang and taking a local train to Chiang Rai, which was our current destination.

The train arrived in Lampang a bit after 0630 hrs. the following morning. The first class, air conditioned coaches are composed of small private compartments. There are bunk beds and a storage space for luggage in each compartment. The large window in the compartment provides a good view of the areas that you pass through. Since most of the trip would be during the hours of darkness, the window could be covered with a curtain to preserve your privacy. There was also a dining car on the train as it only made a limited number of stops. That night Chanthra and I slept on the lower bunk and Yuang slept on the upper one. The station in Lampang was very similar to the one in Korat. On arriving there, Chanthra purchased our tickets for the local train to Chiang Rai before we went to have some breakfast in a nearby restaurant.

The train to Chiang Rai was not like the new modern train that we had taken from Bangkok. It was a much older and well used train and had been in service for a long time. While it consisted of only three cars, it wasn’t overly crowded this morning. Again, departure was delayed for about a half an hour. We only saw the first part of the two hour ride, as the sound of the wheels on the track soon put us to sleep again. We arrived at the Chiang Rai station shortly after 1030 hrs. that morning. This station was also very similar to the one in Korat.

Outside the station, there were a good number of tuk tuks and a few samlors. The drivers were all anxious to get a fare from the arriving passengers.

“You G.I. Go G.I. Hotel,” one shouted at me on noticing that I appeared to be military. Chanthra bypassed most of them before stopping in front of one older man. She spoke to him for a minute or so, telling him what hotel we wanted to go to.

“The Amulets told me what hotel the Teams stayed at previously, and that we should stay there also,” she had told me earlier. (see Amulets IV for more about the hotel)

She quickly arranged for two tuk tuks to take us to that hotel. She and Yuang rode in the first one, and I rode in the second one with the backpacks.

We were greeted warmly on arriving at the Saeh Phu Hotel. The manager’s wife was a member of the Wat, and she had been alerted by the Amulets to expect us. Following signing in, we were assigned two adjacent rooms on the second floor. After getting settled, we took Yuang with us to check out the area for restaurants and to look at the market area. Later, we had lunch at an open-air restaurant near the hotel.

I was anxious to go to the Team House here to see if I could get an update on what was going on in the area. Chanthra wouldn’t be able to go with me, and I didn’t know she intended to do.

“Do you have anything else planned for today?” I asked her, as we finished our meal.

“There is a Wat here, Wat Phra Songh, that the Amulets told me about yesterday. It is a very old and holy Wat. I would like to visit it today. The manager’s wife also mentioned it to me when we checked in. It isn’t far from here on Singhaklai Road. Yuang will go with me. Would you like to go with us?” she asked.

“I would but perhaps later. I want to check on the Team house up the street and see if anyone that I know is working there and see what I can learn about the situation here,” I told her to a smile from her.

“Yes, we both have business to attend to,” she agreed before we left the restaurant and headed in different directions.

The Chiang Rai Team House was just a short walk up the street from our hotel. It was still being guarded by soldiers from the local Thai Army garrison. I was having a bit of trouble being admitted to their compound even with my retired ID card as the Thai guards weren’t used to seeing them when someone called my name from behind me.

“Mike Barnett!” I heard in a surprised voice. Turning, I saw that I had been joined by SFC Tom O’Brien. We had served on a Team together previously.

“We heard that you had resurfaced a couple of months ago,” he continued as we shook hands. The Thai guards were looking at us with puzzled expressions.

“We are visiting here, and I thought I would drop in to get the latest scoop on the area, but the guards weren’t anxious to admit me,” I told him. Tom laughed good-naturedly.

“Yes, security is a lot tighter than it has been in the past,” he told me with a grin, before turning to the Sergeant of the Guard who had just arrived.

“It’s okay to allow Master Sergeant Barnett into the compound. He’s just visiting,” Tom told the Thai Sergeant, and we were both allowed into the compound.

“So, who is this ‘WE’?” Tom asked having picked up on what I had said, as we walked towards the headquarters building.

“We are myself, my Wife, and our house-girl. We are on vacation and visiting the lovely north,” I told him.

“We heard in Chiang Mai that you had returned from a hush-hush assignment after four years. Did you meet this lady on that assignment?” Ton asked, curious.

“Yes, we met on the assignment but couldn’t get married until we returned,” I told him but didn’t mention why.

“That’s a long time to be away. Everyone thought you had died in an auto accident,” he said.

“That was the cover story,” I admitted but again went no further, as we entered the headquarters building.

“My office is this way,” he told me and led the way down the hall to a door with a sign that read ‘S-2’, the intelligence section.

“So, how did you wind up here? You mentioned Chiang Mai,” I asked after he had opened the door, and we were both seated. It appeared that I had run into just the right guy.

“Initially, I was assigned to the Chiang Mai Team House but had only been there for ten days or so before being transferred here. The previous Intel guy was a Staff Sergeant, but he had received orders to attend one of the High Level Intelligence Schools. The problem was the orders were late, and he needed to leave immediately. Fortunately, he had kept good records, so I wasn’t at a total loss as to what had been going on here, even though we only had two days together before he left. This area had been a pretty hot one for about six months or so previously. It’s still a pretty busy area,” he told me as we had both taken seats on the available chairs.

“Initially, this Team House was set up to support the two A-Teams assigned to operate in the Shan States. One was American and the other Thai. They each had a Thai Ranger Company assigned to them. They established camps along the Salween River. They were supported by two helicopter companies, the Black Horse and the Red Tigers. During the six months they were here, a lot happened. Most of it involved the Chinese. Nearly all of it is highly classified. We really only know what my predecessor was able to learn from some of those in the helicopter companies. (See Amulets IV for all of these occurrences.)

“After six months, they were replaced by two reinforced Thai A-Teams of eighteen men each,” he continued. “They took over their camps at Nawng-awm and Nawngh Kan. They each have a company of what the Thais are calling ‘Aero Rifles’. They are modeled on the 1st Cav but are a much smaller organizations with fewer helicopters,” he continued. I was surprised by the size of the two Thai A-Teams but didn’t say anything just then.

“There is also now a U.S. Advisory Team in Lashio who advise the Thai A-Teams,” he was saying, so I needed to pay attention. “They are supported by the the Black Horse, a CH-47 unit. The Thai A-Teams are also supported by a Company from the 815th Engineer Battalion, which is constructing permanent buildings in the two base camps as well as their two outposts at Man-Namlet and Hlkanbon. All four locations monitor the river traffic for signs of renewed Chinese smuggling,” he continued, but I now realized why the two A-Teams were so large.

“There is also a part of the Red Tigers, a Huey Unit, still here. The pilots are advisors to the Thai helicopter units. Their other personnel help them with maintenance and obtaining parts. We are responsible for assisting all of the American units with their personnel and pay problems,” Tom finished.

“Seems like you have your hands full,” I told him with a smile.

“Oh, that’s not all of it,” he added with a smile. “There is also a team from the Army CID (Criminal Investigation Division) up here helping to investigate the death of the Thai Major who commanded the two Thai A-Teams and the two Aero Rifle Companies. He was said to have the ‘Bangkok complex’ and looked down on the locals. This caused more than a little trouble, and he wasn’t popular, even with his own men. He also apparently liked the ladies, and the younger the better. He was found dead with his body mutilated about ten days ago or so. The rumor is that relatives of some of the ‘girls’ he had visited took exception to his use of them. However, he was so unpopular that any number of others could have removed him. Neither the Thai CID or their American assistants have made any progress in their investigation,” he finished, but still had a question.

“Exactly what are you doing up here, Mike?” he asked. I exhaled heavily before answering him. I wasn’t sure what to tell him. He had been very friendly explaining what had gone on in the Shan States, and what continued to happen there. Taking a deep breath, I started to explain.

“I dropped in hoping to find someone who I knew who could fill me in on recent developments in the Golden Triangle,” I told him. Tom seemed surprised on hearing this.

“You’re going to take your wife and house-girl to the Golden Triangle? Are you crazy?” he demanded in shock after a second or so. “That is no place for a combat veteran, let alone a couple of civilians,” he added and was quiet for several seconds.

“Do you think that is a vacation spot?” he demanded following that in an incredulous voice.

“No, it’s not a vacation site. It’s a nasty, dangerous place full of people who will kill you for no reason at all. Still, WE are going there,” I told him, as a look of amazement appeared on his face.

“Are you on assignment?” he asked very quietly following that. “Is the CIA or one of the other spook agencies sending you there?” followed just as quickly. I smiled, as how to answer him had just occurred to me, perhaps with a little help.

“Yes, WE are on assignment. We are working for the same organization that our previous assignment was for. Hopefully, this one will be a lot shorter,” I told him with a smile.

“Jeez, don’t tell me any more. I don’t want to know who you are working for, or what you are going to do. Didn’t they brief you on the situation there?” he finished with a scowl.

“Yes, they did, but it was a bit sketchy. I was hoping to get a more recent update on what was going on there,” I told him honestly. Tom exhaled heavily and sat there in silence for a number of seconds before saying anything.

“I can give you what we get from the Thai Army here. It’s just general information and not classified. We don’t normally get anything classified from them, especially since the Golden Triangle isn’t in our bailiwick, but things that happen there can affect our area of operations,” he told me and paused.

“In general,” he started, “the KMT (Kuomintang) has been losing power for the past several years to a number of local warlords. The KMT are the remains of the defeated troops of Chiang Kai-Shek that fled into the border regions of Burma, Thailand, and the Northern or the Thai part of Laos after being defeated in the Chinese Civil War. Many of them are rather old now, especially the leaders. They have been recruiting heavily from the local Chinese population as well as from some of the hill tribes to fill out their ranks.

“A number of the local warlords have been supported by the Burmese government for some time. They have allowed them to use their land and roads to grow and trade in opium and heroin in the hope that their militias would help in fighting the local Shan rebel units who are opposed to the present government. This has allowed the warlords to use their profits to buy supplies of military arms and equipment from the black-market in Laos and Thailand. Many of them are now better equipped than the Burmese army.

“One of the most prominent warlords is a guy named Zhang Qifu. He was born in the Shan States and is part Chinese. As far as we can tell, he was trained at various times by both the Kuomintang and the Burmese army. By 1960, he was one of Burma’s most notorious drug traffickers. He challenged the local dominance of the MKT but was defeated a couple of years ago in a battle with them and the Thai Army in Northern Laos. Last year he met with those from a local rebel group, the Shan States Army. They wanted him to join forces with them. The Burmese government learned about that and arrested him in late 1969. He is currently in prison in Mandalay, but his followers are trying to get him released, without any luck so far. There are still a number of other warlords in the drug trade. They are exporting huge amounts of opium and heroin all over the world, not just to Asia and Southeast Asia as previously,” Tom told me. “And that is why it is dangerous to go to the Golden Triangle,” he finished.