Hogs exit by Gayle Morrison

"Hogs Exit" by Gayle Morrison is an awesome book about a cool American that was an operator in the secret war in Laos. Jerry Daniels AKA "Hog" - his chosen call sign. was a Montana smoke jumper hired by the CIA to train Hmong as Jumpers and to work as a "kicker" on certain operations.
Having lived the life as an operator, parachute rigger and "Kicker" all across south east Asia, Central Asia and the middle east I can certainly relate to this story. Especially the part about friends who died suddenly or under mysterious circumstances....Government shit runs deep especially in the alphabet agencies like the CIA.

This book examines the unique personality and reported death of a man who was a pivotal agent in U.S./Hmong history. Friends and family share their memories of Daniels growing up in Montana, cheating death in Laos, and carousing in the bars and brothels of Thailand. First-person accounts from Americans and Hmong, ranchers and refugees, State Department officials and smoke jumpers capture both human and historical stories about the life of this dedicated and irreverent individual and offer speculation on the unsettling circumstances of his death. Equally important, Hog’s Exit is the first complete account in English to document the drama and beauty of the Hmong funeral process.
Hog’s Exit provides a fascinating view of a man and the two very different cultures in which he lived.

Excerpt:
It just didn’t sit right. The American Embassy had reported the accidental death of Jerry “Hog” Daniels by carbon monoxide poisoning. Three decades later, his family, friends, and coworkers remain unconvinced that the U.S. government told them the truth. A former CIA case officer during the “secret war” in Laos, Jerry Daniels was experienced, smart, and careful.

Raising even more doubts, his casket was “Permanently Sealed” before being shipped home to Missoula, Montana, where he was honored with a three-day funeral ceremony organized by his former comrades-in-arms, the Hmong hilltribe warriors from Laos.

First-person accounts from Americans and Hmong, ranchers and refugees, State Department officials and smoke jumpers capture the life of “Hog” Daniels and offer speculation on the unsettling circumstances of his death. Equally important, Hog’s Exit is the first complete account in English to document the drama and beauty of the Hmong funeral process.