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In 1978, California Congressman Leo Ryan’s constituents asked him to check in on their family members who had moved with a religious cult to Guyana, South America. In November, he travelled to the village named Jonestown after the cult leader, Reverand Jim Jones. Following his visit, members of the cult shot and killed him at the airport before he could leave to return to California. Fully aware of the inevitable consequences, Reverend Jim Jones convinced his 900 followers to commit mass suicide. Upon news of Ryan’s murder, the State Department immediately called in the Department of Defense. Sadly, by the time the DOD became involved, the mission became one to repatriate the bodies. The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army were intimately involved in the grueling work which required large amounts of rapid and efficient coordination. DISA’s predecessor, the Defense Communications Agency provided cutting edge support and, for the first time, provided real time communications via a series of interconnected computers on a connection called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or TCP/IP. As always, the DCA could be relied upon to provide support to the warfighter even in the most remote, hard environments.
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.20.2026 06:51 |
| Category: | Series |
| Video ID: | 993125 |
| VIRIN: | 260114-O-WH300-5352 |
| Filename: | DOD_111482429 |
| Length: | 00:00:59 |
| Location: | US |
| Downloads: | 1 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 1 |
This work, DISA History Minute - Jonestown Recovery Mission, by Nicholas Kurtz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
