with their pilots, ground crews, and maintenance equipment and delivered them intact to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base. This operation marked a historical milestone as it was the first time that a complete operational Air Force squadron was airlifted in a single-package operation. Congo Crisis During the Congo Crisis in 1962, the 63d TCW deployed C-124s to fly United Nations troops and their equipment to central Africa. In addition to the troops, the aircraft also airlifted badly needed food to the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville). In the initial phase of the airlift, MATS C-124s carried more than 4,000 troops from five different nations, in addition to thousands of tons of food and equipment. Included in these shipments flown in by MATS were such items as communications facilities, maintenance equipment, helicopters, liaison planes, and even complete mess halls. At some points the airlift was a two-way shuttle − ferrying in UN soldiers and flying out returning Belgian troops, or UN troops that had been replaced, to their homelands. MATS also made emergency trips, flying the from Leopoldville to Stanleyville, and back, to rescue threatened refugees. C-124s flying to and from utilized the USAFE base at Châteauroux, France as a transshipment point for cargo arriving from the United States. Laotian Civil War In 1962, communist guerrillas in Laos had driven the Royal Lao Army before them and had captured two important cities. Now they were pushing toward the Mekong River which separates Laos from Thailand. The United States, under the terms of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, was meeting its defense obligations to Thailand. MATS C-124s were deployed to Don Muang Airport near Bangkok. 63d TCW heavy air transports were taking off every fifteen minutes from Don Muang to Udon RTAFB carrying Thai and United States Marines with their equipment some to the northeast to "show the flag", as well as put an armed force along the Mekong River. The Communist guerrilla forces did not cross the Mekong. This was the first large-scale landing of US combat troops and the first in Southeast Asia since the Korean War, and foreshadowed the large United States presence in Southeast Asia in the coming years during the Vietnam War. Closure In December 1962, the Air Force announced plans to close the base permanently due to budget reductions. Donaldson AFB was declared surplus in 1963 and steps were taken to deed the property back to