The East End of the Hub
This segment of Route 911 was a
little ways south of The Chokes in Central Laos. Probably 80% or more of the southbound traffic in 1967 passed
over this road. In early 1967,
analysts recognized that no close bypasses existed around the half-mile
segment, or so, of Route 911 from the fork north and west to the left side of
the picture and to another fork just off the picture.
The main alternative was Route 23, which paralleled Route 911 about 20
miles to the west and eventually connected back to Route 911 using Route 91
that intersected just above Foxtrot.
The bomb craters and all the
secondary roads and trails are a testament to this being an important part of
the Trail. This frame of photography is marked as coming from the 460th
Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, USAF, 12 Jan 1968, so it likely was taken by an
RF-101 or an RF-4. Since this
photo was taken well before the 1 November 1968 Bombing Halt over North
Vietnam (A tactic by President Johnson to try to save the November 1968
presidential elections for the Democrats), the number of bomb craters
undoubtedly grew considerably after the Out-Country War moved in earnest from
North Vietnam into Laos up through the North Vietnamese Spring Invasion in
1972.
