The Boss Gets Bombed and then Bombed

submitted by: Alva Leon Matheson

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A lot of Internet chatter about bombs reminds me of an incident I had with Tony Poe (CIA) up in Laos 1966. After completing the morning strike missions, I dropped back to the home site and flew with Tony to Udorn. He needed to pickup the payroll for his local troops.
On the way back we dropped into Vientiane loaded up with 100 pound HE and WP bombs. The Pilatus Porter could handle about seven in the back without the seats installed. We used the bombs in various configurations when we couldn’t get fighter support.
Since I was not a pilot, I got to ride in the back on top of these loose bombs. Anyway, Tony decided to drop into Alternate and visit with General Vang Pao. After landing he handed me the bag with the payroll to watch. A few rounds of White Horse and lau lao later, we again took off for Lima 118A.
On the way Tony again decided to drop in on his in-laws at this remote strip to tip some more lau lao. This caused a fight in front with the pilot and Tony each trying to get control of the aircraft, which was now rolling around the sky with me on top of these loose bombs. I proceeded to place a bump on Tony’s head with the butt of my trusty revolver. After landing the troops carried Tony up to bed.
The next morning, sporting a terrific headache, Tony asked me what happened and where the payroll was. I told him the bombs were rolling around during the fight and one of them hit him on the head and another bomb broke the door open and the payroll fell out of the aircraft.
I let him stew for a while and then told him the payroll was under his bed.