RIPPLE SALVO… #159…  FIVE THUNDERBIRDS DOWNED IN ONE DAY… but first…

Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE of American aviators carrying the Vietnam War to the heartland of the enemy…

7 AUGUST 1966…PAGE ONE OF THE HOME TOWN PAPERS… New York Times… A great Sunday for a cruise around Manhattan Island…

Page 1: “Fresh U.S. Troops Are sent To Zone Of Major Battles”…”A fleet of troop transports lifted troops of the United States Fourth Infantry Division into Pleiku in the Central Highlands today. More than 3,000 members of the division’s Second Brigade landed at the Port City of Quinhon just after dawn, debarking from the troop ship General Walker. Their arrival brought the number of American troops in South Vietnam to 285,000. The rest of the members of what is known as the Ivy Division are expected to come here as part of the continuing build-up designed to raise U.S. troop levels to at least 350,000 by 31 December 1966.”… Page 1: “Buddhists Appeal To U.N. for Help against Saigon”…”The Unified Buddhist Church called today for foreign intervention to save the people of South Vietnam from what they said was the religious persecution by Cao Ky’s military junta…the statement by the militant church which recently led an unsuccessful attempt to oust the military regime, accused the United States of responsibility for South Vietnam’s internal troubles as a result of mistaken policy supporting unpopular governments.”…

Page 1: “Thousands In Nation March To Protest War and Hiroshima”…”Thousands of demonstrators paraded throughout the nation yesterday to protest the war and to mark the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima 21 years ago. In New York more than 5,000 persons marched on Times Square from rallying points around the city. They ringed the area from 40th to 47th Street for an hour before moving to a rally at 48th Street and Park avenue. Despite the angry shouts of 100 pickets favoring the war, policemen kept the peace…A small group of pickets demonstrated in Washington.”… Page 1: “Lucy Johnson Wed to Patrick Nugent”…”Lucy Baines Johnson was married to Patrick John Nugent today in a ceremony unmatched in size, splendor and ritual by any other Presidential daughter in American history…Mr. Johnson escorted his youngest daughter, who became 19-years old on July 2, down the aisle of the largest Catholic Church in the United States, the domed hilltop Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.”... Page 1: “Clay Knocks Out London In Third”…”Cassius Clay of Louisville, Kentucky retained his world heavyweight boxing championship by knocking out Brian London of Blackpool, England in one minute and 40 seconds of the third round in London yesterday. The 24-year old Clay backed the British fighter into a corner with a flurry of punches, then dropped him with a right to the jaw for his 25th straight victory and 5th defense of his title.”…

Page 2: “Asian Land War Forseen By Morse”…”Senator Wayne Morse warned here tonight that every sign points to an increasing escalation ‘of the Vietnamese war that will start to involve 3 million and more American troops in a land war in Asia. In a speech to the New England-New York Conference of New Politics, the Oregon democrat said: ‘The President ought to recognize what his military advisors on occasion have briefed us–and it is public knowledge, that China cannot be defeated by bombing, nuclear or conventional. If we continue to let the little tyrant Ky egg us on into more and more military operations in North Vietnam and the sending of an American Army into North Vietnam, it will not be long before that army will be involved with Chinese soldiers on the other side.”… Page 5: “North Vietnamese Are Attacked”…”United States aircraft have directly attacked soldiers in North Vietnam for the first time. The aircraft dropped napalm and strafed about 20 North Vietnamese soldiers who were spotted by United States pilots heading north of the border separating North and South.”…

Page 5: “Hanoi Issues Anti-War Plea Attributed To U.S. Fliers”…”Hanoi issued today another statement said to have been made by captured American fliers pleading with the United States airmen to refuse to take part in the Vietnam War. The Hanoi radio said the statements were made by LCDR James Huttons, who flew from the carrier Independence, and Major James Young, stationed at Udorn, Thailand, before his capture. The statement: ‘We are among a number of U.S. pilots who have intruded into the airspace over the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and have committed crimes against the Vietnamese people and have been captured. We appeal to you pilots who are still flying and have not yet been captured to help keep us from getting involved in this war, since there is no possibility of an advantage to you, only the good chance of death or capture.’…”… Page 7: The entire page (2000 words) devoted to an interview with Major James Kasler, USAF, who led the Air Force strikes on the Hanoi oil target complex on June 29. Interview was conducted in Saigon on about August 5…

7 AUGUST 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (8 August reporting 7 August ops) “SEVEN U.S. PLANES LOST IN NORTH VIETNAM, MOST IN ANY DAY”… “Seven United States warplanes were lost over North Vietnam yesterday, Sunday August 7, a record for American aircraft losses in a single day in the war. The losses brought to a total of 326 the number of American planes that have crashed or been shot down over North Vietnam since that country was first bombed in August 1964. Five Air Force F-105 Thunderchief jet fighter-bombers and one Navy propeller driven A-1E Skyraider were shot down by enemy ground fire. The loss of six was announced yesterday, August 7. This morning a military spokesmen disclosed that another aircraft, an Air Force RF-101 Voodoo photo reconnaissance plane disappeared yesterday on a mission northwest of Hanoi. It was not determined whether the plane had been shot down or had crashed because of a mechanical failure. The previous high record for United States aircraft losses in a single day was six air craft on August 13, 1965. The five Thunderchiefs lost yesterday crashed in the vicinity of Hanoi and Haiphong. The Skyraider went down south of Thanh Hoa in the panhandle region of southern North Vietnam. The pilot and electronics officer of one Thunderchief bailed out and were later rescued from the South China Sea, but the other six airmen were listed as missing in action. No missiles were sighted but AAA was described as ‘moderate to intense flak.’ Two of the F-105s were fitted with elaborate electronic equipment used for locating surface-to-air missiles. Such airplanes are usually assigned to defend other aircraft during bombing and strafing missions. In the rescue yesterday an Air Force HU-16 Albatross amphibian splashed down in three-foot waves under intense ground fire to rescue the two F-105 airmen…”…. “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson)… EIGHT AIRCRAFT LOST ON 7 August 1966 as follows:

(1) CAPTAIN JOHN HENRY WENDELL was flying an F-105D of the 333rd TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on a strike on a POL target 20 miles north of Hanoi and was hit by an SA-2 missile in his dive on the target and ejected immediately as the aircraft disintegrated. He was immediately captured and imprisoned…

(2) MAJOR WILLARD SELLECT GIDEON in the same flight and squadron was hit by intense AAA coming out of his dive delivery. He was forced to to eject 12 miles east of Kep and was captured immediately and joined CAPTAIN WENDELL in prison. Both men were released and returned to America in March 1973.

(3) CAPTAINS EDWARD LARSON and K.A. GILROY were flying an F-105F of the 354th TFS and 355th TFW our of Takhli on their 13th mission when hit and damaged by an SA-2 missile while in an attack on a SAM site 12 miles north of Haiphong. They were able to coax the crippled aircraft to feet-wet and ejected a few miles off-shore. They were rescued by a daring Hu-16 Albatross piloted by MAJOR R.H. ANGSTADT. The rescue was opposed by shore fire but successfully completed, returning the F-105 Wild Weasel crew to continued combat action. CAPTAIN GILROY completed his combat tour with 119 missions… MAJOR ANGSTADT was KIA in October 1966.

(4) CAPTAINS ROBERT JAMES SANDWICK and THOMAS SHAW PYLE of the 354th TFS and 355th TFW were flying an Iron Hand Wild Weasel flight in support of another strike near Kep. The aircraft was hit by 85mm fire and the aircraft became un-flyable in seconds, forcing the two aviators to eject 12 miles southeast of Kep. They were both captured immediately. Both were returned to the States in March 1973. The loss of two Wild Weasel aircraft was a major setback for the wing at Takhli.

(5) LT CHARLES WIGGER FRYER was flying a Navy A-1H of the VA-152 Wild Aces embarked in USS Oriskany on an armed reconnaissance 35 miles north of Vinh and found several trucks on a road. Multiple strafing runs were made before LT FRYER was hit by small arms fire. He turned seward and was forced to ditch the aircraft at sea. The maneuver was unsuccessful and LT FRYER perished and is listed as Killed in Action.

(6) 1LT MICHAEL LEE BRAZELTINE, USAF, was flying an F-105D of the 357th TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on a strike on the POL storage site 5 miles north of Thai Nguyen when hit by 100mm AAA that left his flyable F-105 in flames. He was only able to fly five miles away from his target before he was forced to eject. He was quickly taken prisoner and would be imprisoned until released in March 1973. 1LT BRAZELTINE was on his 111th mission when downed.

(7) LCDR RICHARD ALLEN MORAN was flying an A-4B of the VA-15 Valions embarked in USS Intrepid. The aircraft was observed to enter the carrier landing pattern after a tanker mission and fly into the water wings level with no attempt to eject. The cause of the fatal flight remains undetermined. LCDR MORAN is listed as Killed in Action. This was the only fixed wing aircraft loss of the Intrepid 1966 combat tour.

(8) MAJOR DON DYER was flying an RF-101C of the 20th TRS and 460th TRW out of Tan Son Nhut and after completing a photo reconnaissance mission MAJOR DYER landing at TSN in heavy rain and standing water on the runway. He hydroplaned off the runway and struck a drainage ditch that broke the aircraft in half. He survived the accident…. Here endeth the scorecard for a real bad day for aviators…It went into the journals as “Black Sunday.”

RIPPLE SALVO… #159… BLACK SUNDAY… A day that the Commander of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing and many others, especially the families of CAPTAIN JOHN WENDELL, MAJOR GIDEON, CAPTAIN LARSON, CAPTAIN GILROY, CAPTAIN SANDWICK, CAPTAIN PYLE, and 1LT PYLE from the 355th TFW, and MAJOR DYER, LCDR MORAN, and LT FRYER, will never forget. It was a record setting day, the kind of record you hope will never be tied or broken… Unfortunately, Blue Monday followed Black Sunday… see next post #160…

Lest we forget….    Bear             ……….  –30–  ……….