'Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.'

- Pericles

The raid force approached the hamlet of Son Tay in North Vietnam at 0230 hours on 21 November 1970. Flying over the hills at treetop level, the helicopters and their escorts could see the yellow lights of Hanoi winking in the cool night air. Suddenly, they were over the camp at Son Tay and the sky, which had been bathed in the pale light of a waning moon, exploded in brilliant light as flares and muzzle flashes filled the night sky. The escort aircraft fired on pre-selected targets and dropped fire-fight simulators in several locations near the camp. Simultaneously, the lead helicopter passed over the camp and destroyed two guard towers with a laser beam like stream of bullets. Seconds later, another helicopter executed a planned crash-landing into the middle of the camp as its blades chewed into a high tree. The helicopter hit the ground with a thud and fourteen heavily armed raiders burst from the crippled machine with chainsaws, axes, and bolt cutters in tow. The fourteen liberators began fighting their way to the prisoners' cells. Amid the confusion of combat a blaring bullhorn announced that Americans had landed and were here to rescue POWs. The prison came alive, cracking with fire of automatic weapons. A large explosion blew a hole in the prison wall as the raiders from a third

helicopter which landed outside of the camp made their entrance. Meanwhile, another helicopter landed at a location that looked very similar to the Son Tay POW camp. Within seconds of touchdown, the disembarked raiders found themselves in a huge fire-fight unfolding all around them. Four violent ground battles were now raging within the Son Tay area: one at the prison, another at an undisclosed location, and two faked by air delivered fire-fight simulators. However, before the helicopter could get back to pick up the force deposited by mistake, the raiders had killed approximately 150 enemy soldiers without any raider casualties, while the location burned like a roman candle. Back at the prison camp, nearly 60 enemy guards lay dead or wounded as the raiders swarmed over and through the camp like robots. As the raiders broke into one cell after another, they were reporting 'negative items' (no prisoners). After the last cell was opened and the other cells checked again, the mission commander was informed that the search was complete with no items. The raiders were stunned to find that the prison was totally empty of POWs. The raid force departure was as quick and ghost-like as their arrival, leaving behind a wake of death and destruction as their calling card. However, they left empty-handed. The Son Tay Raid was over. What had gone wrong? Had the mission been compromised? Had the raiders fought their way out of a poorly executed trap? Was the mission really designed to rescue POWs or was there some other motive? What political intentions and ramifications did the current Administration seek? Was the war in Vietnam about to take a dramatic turn from the stated policy of Vietnamization? In an attempt to answer these questions, this paper will examine the political/strategic goals and intentions of the Administration's policies regarding the war in Vietnam. More specifically, was the policy reflected in the actions taken at Son Tay?