Pachyderm Payload #580: Franklin Judson Papers

Published February 24, 2026 at 6:00 AM MST

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Map showing the route traveled by the elephants of Operation Bahroom and a photograph of the helicopter used to airlift the elephants to the village of Tra Bong, 1968. Box 1, Franklin Judson papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Photograph of Captain George McCahan, Jr. as he prepares to shoot a tranquilizer dart into one of the elephants of Operation Bahroom, 1968. Box 1, Franklin Judson papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Photograph of one of the elephants of Operation Bahroom, from The Green Beret magazine, May 1968. Box 1, Franklin Judson papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Photograph of Clyde, one of the elephants of Operation Bahroom, being lifted by forklift for transport onto an Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane, from The Airman magazine, September 1968. Box 1, Franklin Judson papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Flying just above the jungle of Vietnam, an Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane carried an unusual load – Clyde – a three-ton elephant. It was 1968. Clyde was destined for the little Vietnamese village of Tra Bong.

Tra Bong was struggling to survive. An Army Special Forces team had helped the village to secure a sawmill. But the villagers lacked a way to haul timber from the surrounding jungle to the mill. The local terrain was too rugged for heavy equipment. Elephants, the villagers said, were the solution.

Green Beret Captain John Gantt and his men went to work. Before long the Air Force and Marines were involved. Clyde and a second elephant named Bonnie were airlifted from their home village more than 170 miles away. Tranquilizer strong enough to immobilize the elephants had to be shipped in from England. The last leg of the journey was made by helicopter.

See the Franklin Judson papers at UW’s American Heritage Center to learn more about “Operation Bahroom” and the flying elephants of the Vietnam War.