Her second husband died as a result of a freak oilfield explosion in 1937. His mother divorced his father for idleness, and remarried. He remained active within the Hmong-American community.īill Lair was born in Hilton, Oklahoma on 4 July 1924 he moved to Borger, Texas at the age of three. Upon his return to the United States, Lair became a long haul trucker. Just before Lair's retirement from the CIA, he was honored with a private audience with Thai King Bhumibol. He would score one last military intelligence coup, when his Thai brother-in-law visited the dying Mao Zedong and brought back information about the political maneuvering of potential successors. After attendance at the Army War College, Lair returned to a desk job in Bangkok. Sullivan, Bill Lair left Laos in August 1968. Increasingly estranged from Shackley, as well as from Ambassador William H. The use of airpower as mobile artillery to clear the path for guerrillas was successful in the short run however, Lair believed it would lead to ultimate defeat for the Hmong, as they were used as light infantry in fixed positions. A new covert unit, the Raven Forward Air Controllers, was formed to guide the air strikes. The Royal Lao Air Force began its struggle to become an effective close air support force. In mid-1966, the new CIA Chief of Station Ted Shackley promulgated increased operations against the Ho Chi Minh Trail and commitment of more troops to the fight for northern Laos. The Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, followed by the first American combat troops landing in Vietnam in May 1965, escalated the war. With Lair's aid, Vang Pao raised an army of 30,000 guerrilla warriors to fight in the Laotian Civil War. Once established within Laos, Lair promptly searched out Vang Pao. Acting in response to the Kong Le coup of 9 August 1960, Lair's unit secretively supplied the communications liaisons needed for the successful counter-coup of 14 December 1960. Originally established with an aim of opposing the invasion of Thailand by the People's Liberation Army of China, the new unit policed the Thai border areas until hostilities broke out in the neighboring Kingdom of Laos. In his senior year, he was recruited by the CIA.Īssigned to the Kingdom of Thailand on 1 March 1951, Lair found himself training Border Patrol Police to Special Forces standards. He joined the CIA after serving in a combat unit in Europe during World War II, followed by a geology degree from Texas A&M. He was a native Texan, raised in a broken family, but a good student. James William Lair (often referred to as Bill Lair) (4 July 1924 – October 28, 2014) was an influential Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary officer from the Special Activities Division. Special Warfare Advisor and founder of Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit Lair in Royal Thai Police uniform rank Police Major
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