Air America®'s tenure in Asia began when Civil Air Transport (CAT) crossed the river into Shanghai in 1946. It ended on a rooftop in downtown Saigon in 1975. First in, last out. That was Air America® Air America was a proprietary airline owned and operated by the CIA during the Cold War that provided covert air transport and support in Southeast Asia, including the Vietnam War. It flew a variety of missions ranging from "soft rice" (food) and "hard rice" (ammunition) deliveries to special forces insertions and refugee evacuations. While presented as a civilian company, it supported US intelligence and military efforts, often in dangerous conditions, and its pilots flew missions in places where official US military involvement was not public.