Allen Cates Books
RECENTLY REPUBLISHED
NEW FORMAT & NEW INFORMATION
Air America flight crews, hired as civilians but castigated as mercenaries, malcontents, and psychopaths, operated military aircraft and performed yeoman service for twenty-five years until the war in Southeast Asia ended on a rooftop in downtown Saigon. Author and former Air America pilot Allen Cates cuts through the myths and deception surrounding this elite stealth Air Force used by the United States government to fight a secret war in Honor Denied. The culmination of Cates's years as a pilot and his in-depth research into Air America's murky past follows his escape from rural, small-town America to the U.S. Marines, as well as his time as an officer and pilot flying combat operations in Vietnam and rescue missions for Air America. Peppering the narrative with personal details, Cates describes the background and purpose of this unique organization and then discloses the startling casualties-both those killed in action and those wounded and injured with a permanent disability. He shines the light on their cause, long hidden from the general public, and reveals how U.S. Presidents, various Secretaries of State and Defense, and even the Director of the CIA, knowing the truth, secretly denied these brave men recognition and benefits generally provided to federal employees. Proud, yet never boastful, Honor Denied tells a story that needs telling.
If you're looking for an insider book on the CIA secret war in Laos, this is your book. Or, if you're looking for a short, fun, kick-ass biography, this is your book. Or if you want to know what it's like landing on a hilltop pad held by friendly hill tribe members while enemy mortar rounds are bracketing the landing area. Then here is your book. Or see by reading what it's like to dash in, deliver needed ammunition, pick up seriously wounded in between rounds, and then get out without getting killed; this is your book.
"I knew Allen Cates as a kick-ass, ballsy combat pilot who took calculated risks daily in Laos and Vietnam doing things most people never could. It's the real thing. It is an essential addition to the limited literature on Air America Air Services, especially its role in the secret war in Laos. "- James E. Parker-CIA case officer LS-20 Alternate Laos.
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"I could not put the book down. Of the many tales relating to Air America, this one compiles them all in this one book. This book will tell you if you have ever wondered about Air America and its missions. Great writing! You feel like you are there."
-William Sumrall U.S.
Navy Pilot
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Air America was U.S. Government-owned, just like they own the United States Post Office, The Tennessee Valley Authority, Radio Free Europe, and numerous other corporations. But there was a distinct difference. They shot at Air America.
Five presidents needed Air America and used the company and personnel for twenty-five years. The need for Air America to go where the military could not- whether due to public opinion or treaty restraint - was evident. But actual ownership of Air America was considered classified.
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The U.S. Government felt it necessary to fool the public about Air America, but they also tricked the employees who thought they worked for a free enterprise.
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​Honor Denied separates the kernel from the shell and reveals the actual owner of the company. When the war in Southeast Asia was over, the U.S. Government unceremoniously sent the employees home with no fare-the-well. Government-owned corporations are generally not directly involved in combat operations, regularly wounded by enemy combatants, or killed in combat action. These things repeatedly happened to Air America's pilots and crew members, and the label 'The World's most Shot at Airline' is appropriate.
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Civilian aviation companies often have contracts with the U.S. Government, as did Air America, and the motive is profit. But Air America turned all proceeds back to the owner, the U.S. Government, which meant the contracts with all its twists and turns represented implausible undeniability. Honor Denied provides unmistaken proof of who Air America was and what they did in Southeast Asia.
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Honor Denied took five years of research and seven years to write. Told from the eyes of Allen Cates, it chronicles his experiences as an Air America pilot. It contains information about Air America that most people have never seen before and explains why people still claim the false urban legend 'CIA bred and born.'
ALLEN CATES interview with JR Hafer at Sun n Fun 2013
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