has been reported as the most intensely bombed country in the history of Air Strike War. More bombs were dropped in the "Plain of Jars" than anywhere else in the world. Before the war started, more than 50 thousand people lived there, many of whom belonged to the Hmong tribe. When fighter jets could not reach their targets, they would unload bombs on Laos because of the inability to land with bombs on board. For a period of nine years, the U.S. Air Force conducted Air Strike missions against Laos every eight minutes. The worst bombings were around Long Cheng and Sam Thong. In 1971 three journalists made it to Laos, uncovered the secret airbase and attempted to expose Long Cheng to the public. Their discovery, however, did not make the front page news. The U.S. military informed U.S. citizens that it was conducting a humanitarian mission in Laos. The media fabricated stories about U.S. building hospitals and providing development aid to Laos. While secret Airstrikes were taking place in other provinces of Laos, Americans in the capital of Laos, Vientiane, were unaware of the situation. The U.S. sent $454 million dollars in aid to Vientiane and built this façade to keep their covert operations in motion. Finally, in 1975, the CIA evacuated Laos after the communist Pathet won the civil war. Laos 1961 In January 1961, John F. Kennedy became president while at the same time the CIA paramilitary forces were deeply involved in making arrangements for the Bay of Pigs in Cuba which was to occur three months later. Thus, the CIA was unable to adequately supply air support for the Air Force Project code-named Mill Pond. The crews were to fly unmarked B-26 bombers on interdiction missions over Laos. The end result was that the Air Force provided crews, disguised as civilians, for the operation. Either the Air Force itself or the CIA created a phony corporation in Thailand as the ostensible employer of these airmen. The episode marked the first direct commitment of U.S. military forces to the Laotian war. This was due to the resources they thought they'd have available not being available as they were being used to deal with the Cuban missile exile. With authorization to arm and train 1,000 Hmong as a test of the concept, Lair again visited Vang Pao and arranged for an arms drop at Pa Dong, a mountaintop