Frustration Near the Front

Few correspondents covering the war in Indochina have been so completely frustrated as the group of 50-odd camped at Quang Tri in northwestern South Viet Nam. They have been virtually stymied in their efforts to report major South Vietnamese operations in Laos. Officially, their only source of information is briefings by U.S. and South Vietnamese officers. U.S. helicopter pilots have been forbidden to carry correspondents into Laos. And when some American flyers leaked word to newsmen last week about an embattled South Vietnamese Ranger battalion, they were promptly prevented from having further conversations with correspondents. The pilots' operations center at Khe Sanh is now ringed with barbed wire and guarded by gruff MPs, who are under strict orders to keep all civilians out.

The need for firsthand reporting from Laos is pressing--especially in light of the longstanding unreliability of South Vietnamese military communiques. Last week the Ranger battalion's losses were classified as "light," only to be revealed three days later as 100 killed, 145 wounded and 78 missing. South Viet Nam claimed a victory nonetheless, citing 623 North Vietnamese killed. U.S. reports were also suspect, and some information officers were openly scornful of what was being pumped out to the press. "There can't be a credibility gap," scoffed one, "when there's no credibility."

Helicopter Hazards. As they search for the story of the Laos campaign, correspondents have had little choice but to ride to the front in Viet Nam air force (VNAF) helicopters--high risk transportation at best. Comparatively inexperienced, VNAF pilots fly well enough but are poor map readers--a potentially fatal failing in an area where pinpoint accuracy is essential. Three weeks ago, four civilian photographers, including LIFE'S Larry Burrows, were presumably killed when a VNAF helicopter got lost over Laos and was shot down. Staffers of A.P., U.P.I., the New York Times and Washington Post have simply stopped riding with South Vietnamese pilots.

Last week, a VNAF chopper, carrying Newsweek Correspondent Franc,ois Sully, General Do Cao Tri and eight others to a staging area in Cambodia, exploded shortly after takeoff and crashed in flames. All were killed. The urbane, Paris-born Sully, 43, was a bon vivant with a penchant for tailored shirts and vintage wine. He first came to Indochina in the mid-1940s, and, as a combat correspondent for TIME, was one of the last newsmen to leave Dienbienphu before it fell in 1954. He was the 34th journalist to be killed in Indochina since 1965 (another 17 are missing).

Reading Disability. Sully's death underscored the danger of flying in VNAF helicopters. Though General Tri had a South Vietnamese pilot for his fatal flight, most other Vietnamese generals now travel in U.S. Army choppers, fearful that VNAF pilots may lose their way. Fortnight ago a VNAF helicopter carrying U.S. newsmen got temporarily but totally lost over unfamiliar terrain in South Viet Nam. In another case, a VNAF pilot casually chalked map coordinates to his destination on the outside of his chopper windshield, only to find himself forced to try to read them backwards from the inside of his ship during flight.

Last week, obviously concerned at the "bad press" the Laos operation is getting, the U.S. Command modified its ban and authorized one U.S. and one VNAF helicopter to carry correspondents across the border to the front.

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