Home to some of the most powerful nuclear missile systems in the world, Montana played an indispensable role in the war against Communism. Utilizing the Lend-Lease pipeline, Soviet spies ferried stolen nuclear and industrial secrets, loaded in diplomatic pouches, from Great Falls to the Soviet Union. Army nurse Lieutenant Diane Carlson served as “an angel of mercy” at the Pleiku Evacuation Hospital in the Central Highlands in Vietnam. Young Montana smokejumper “Hog” Daniels joined the CIA’s secret war in Southeast Asia, becoming the principal advisor to General Vang Pao in his desperate fight against Communists. Captain Ken Robison (U.S. Navy, Ret.), award-winning author and Cold Warrior, reveals tales of Montanans who made their mark on this titanic struggle.

About the Author:

Ken is an historian and preservationist and a chronicler of neglected Montana history at the Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton and the Great Falls/Cascade County Historic Preservation Commission. He is a board member and historian with the Upper Missouri River Heritage Area Planning Group, the River and Plains Society in Fort Benton, and the Sun River Valley Historical Society. Ken was born and educated in Montana, graduating from the University of Montana, later adding an M.A. in Colonial History at George Mason University.

Captain Ken Robison, USN (retired) served in Naval Intelligence for thirty years with eleven years of sea duty in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during the Vietnam War and Cold War contingency operations. During Operation Homecoming he served as escort and debriefer for senior Navy Prisoner of War James Bond Stockdale.