Across the Wing-Stories of Navy Carrier Combat Squadrons in the Vietnam Theatre



ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED 24 MAY 1967

RIPPLE SALVO… #445… ADVICE FOR LBJ FROM UP THE RIVER — THE CIA AT LANGLEY… but first…

Good Morning: Day FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE of filling in some blanks on the Rolling Thunder journal just for fun…

24 MAY 1967…HEAD LINES AT HOME from The New York Times on a cool and cloudy Wednesday in NYC...

Page 1: “Johnson Calls On Cairo To Abandon Blockade Moves–Says Efforts to Bar Israelis Ships Would be Illegal–Borders Pledge Affirmed; UN Security Council to Meet: Emergency Session Today–Sixth Fleet Ships Sent to Eastern Mediterranean”... “President Johnson urged the United Arab Republic today to avoid an ‘illegal blockade’ on the Gulf of Aqaba and asserted that the United States was ‘firmly committed’ to the territorial integrity of all Middle Eastern nations. In a statement citing ‘the grave danger’ of miscalculation Mr. Johnson stopped short of disclosing how he would respond to any use of force…at the same time, the carrier Saratoga and supporting ships of the Sixth Fleet were ordered toward the Eastern Mediterranean.”… Page 1: “Jordan Ousts Ambassador of Syria and Shuts Border”...”In a move that amounted to a complete break in diplomatic relations, Jordan has ordered the Syrian Ambassador to close his embassy and leave the country by Thursday. The Consulate in Jerusalem will also be closed.” ….Page 1: “Moscow Blames Israelis in Crisis”... “The Soviet Union blamed Israel today for ‘aggravating the atmosphere of military psychosis’ in the Middle East and pledged ‘resolute resistance to aggression’… ‘Only a handful of colonial oil monopolies and their hangers-on can be interested in such a conflict. Only the forces of imperialism in the wake of whose policy Israel follows, can be interested in this.’ “… Page 1: “Thant Arrives in Cairo, Egyptians Report Laying of Blockade Mines”… “The UAR has set out sea mines to enforce its blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba  few hours after U Thant arrived in Cairo. The Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, which reflects the Nasser regime’s position on most matters, reported that Egyptian planes, ships and ground forces were in full control of the narrow entrance to the Gulf, Israel’s only sea outlet to the south and east.”…

Page 1: “U.S. Warns China on Vietnam War”... “A State department official declared today that if Communist China were to intervene with massive forces in Vietnam, the United States would have to take action against mainland China with everything it has…an ambiguous message on purpose…intended to refer only to use of conventional forces, rather than nuclear weapons.”… Page 1: Brief Truce Ends; U.S. Guns Pound Foe Near Danang”... “United States Allied forces resumed normal operations today after a 24-hour cease-fire was broken by 71 clashes and incidents that took the lives of 12 American soldiers and left 60 wounded. The 71 incidents were initiated by the enemy. The guns of Danang boomed out three minutes after the truce.”…

Page 2: “Pacification Stalled in Vietnam I Corps Region”… “…has begun moving backward…officially at lower levels, those closest to the actual work of pacification are deeply pessimistic and even despairing...a pervasive and perhaps unsolvable problem–the ‘overwhelming corruption’ that inflicts every phase of Vietnamese official life. ‘It is more than just stealing,’ said Robert J. Kelly, chief of civil operations in Thuath for five years, ‘It’s a corrupted, diseased attitude. There is, simply no sense of unity, no feeling that winning the war must come first, no understanding that until there is  contented peasantry there is no room for the opulent society of the Government of South Vietnam. In the Marines absence, the guerrillas can move with a relatively free hand against remaining South Vietnamese battalions and the lightly armed militia units that are supposed to be shielding the hamlets in which the workers are assigned.”

24 May 1967… The President’s TS Daily CIA Briefing… (sanitized) 1. ARAB STATE-ISRAEL: No major new development have taken place in the area during the past 24-hours. It has become even clearer, however, that Cairo is deadly serious in this blockade of Israel’s southern port and that Moscow is out to give the Arab side strong propaganda support (Large portion redacted–50 years later, still classified) The Israelis are continuing strongly to reaffirm their determination to ensure freedom of navigation in the gulf. The Soviet position is ambivalent. Moscow’s official statement yesterday, stressed its strong support for the Arabs against anyone who tries ‘to unleash aggression in that area…. SOUTH VIETNAM: Uncertainty concerning the presidential aspirations of Thieu and Ky–which stems from the inability to unwillingness of the two men to reach a clear, frank agreement–seems to be generating dangerous tensions among their adherents…Some of Ky’s friends, for instance, say they will resign their government posts if Thieu runs, whereas some close to Thieu blame the lack of agreement on Ky’ evasiveness. Yesterday, two well-placed Vietnamese told embassy officers they felt the situation between Ky and Thieu ‘was approaching a critical point.’ The Vietnamese indicated they still had hopes, however, that the matter could be resolved…

HUMBLE HOST note: We were waging two wars in South Vietnam. One was defeating the Vietcong and North Vietnamese in the jungles in a war of attrition. But that would be meaningless if the South Vietnamese could not be set straight with a Constitution, a Government of and by the people, and a society living in peace. The fighting was going OK, but at this point in 1967 the other requirements were being fumbled. Reference the “pacification” program above and the contest between Ky and Thieu for a spot on the ballot for President… RTR puts the emphasis on the military ops side of the Vietnam, but this RTR is a good spot to take a glance a the prospects of achieving a democratic South Vietnam. For a good grasp on the Ky-Thieu conflict within the conflict read this 23 May 1967 telegram from Ambassador Bunker to the Secretary of State. Bunker was herding cats:  

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d182

BOOMER!!! WHERE ERE YE ARE…this one’s for you…..

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… HEROIC ACHIEVEMENT…LIEUTENANT COMMANDER THOMAS WILLIAM BROWN, UNITED STATES NAVY… THE AIR MEDAL …21 MAY 1967…

“The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting a Silver Star in lieu of Eleventh AIR MEDAL to Lieutenant Commander THOMAS WILLIAM BROWN, United States Navy for heroic achievement in aerial flight in combat with the enemy while attached to and serving with Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN, embarked in USS ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)-65), on 21 May 1967. Lieutenant Commander BROWN participated in a highly successful coordinated strike on the Van Dien vehicle depot south of Hanoi, North Vietnam. Lieutenant Commander BROWN and his leader set up a BULLPUP attack on one of three extremely active and effective surface-to-surface missile sites in the area and were taken under attack by enemy missiles. Lieutenant Commander BROWN called the threat, ordered evasive action, and the missiles burst above them. Lieutenant Commander BROWN then maneuvered into firing position and despite enemy ground fire, the nature of the target, his low altitude, and his close proximity to the site pressed an accurate attack into the enemy position scoring a hit with his BULLPUP missile to complete the suppression of the site and allow the main strike group to pass the area without challenge. Lieutenant Commander BROWN’s performance as a wingman under the most demanding conditions, and dauntless courage in the face of grave danger were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”           (Should have been a Silver Star, wingie!!!)

24 May 1967…Operation Rolling Thunder… New York Times (25 May reporting 24 May ops)… Page 1: “Three Rail Yards Hit By U.S. Jets As Raids Resume”... “American war planes resumed attacks on North Vietnam today with strikes on three major railroad yard near Hanoi. the raids began as seen as the 24-hour truce for Buddha’s birthday ended a minute after midnight. Fighter-bombers blasted the railyards at Thainguyen, 37-miles north of Hanoi, at Viettri, 35 miles northwest of Hanoi, and at Phutho, 50-miles to the northwest.    (bear#85n/86RPIItrucks/wblcs)

In the words of “Rampant Raider” Stephen Gray, a JO in VA-212 embarked in USS Bon Homme Richard, recorded in his superb journal “Rampant Raider: an A-4 Skyhawk Pilot in Vietnam” …page 224-25…

“We resumed strike operations the next day (May 24). Nearly all the strikes planned for the daily schedule were targeted on the new areas opened up to us around Haiphong and Hanoi, but with the hit-or-miss weather in the North, about three-fourths of the strikes were canceled and we hit interdiction targets in the lower route package areas instead. It immediately became obvious that the North Vietnamese had used the respite of Buddha’s birthday to reload their guns. I was flying Lt. Cdr. Pete Yonke’s wing on an armed reconnaissance mission in Route Package 2. We attacked some barges on the Song Ca river and got some lively 37-mm, and automatic weapons fire in return from a normally quiet area.”….

“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There was one fixed wing aircraft downed in Southeast Asia on 24 May 1967…

(1) LTJG M. ALSOP was flying an A-4E of the VA-93 Blue Blazers embarked in USS Hancock was hit by ground fire while participating in a strike on a target a few miles south of Ninh Binh. He was able to keep his stricken Skyhawk in the air and away from further enemy fire until his engine flamed out 15 miles east of Thanh Hoa where he ejected. He was scooped up by a Navy helicopter and returned to Hancock.

RIPPLE SALVO… #445… On May 23 the CIA’s Richard Helms attended the Tuesday Lunch “target planning”session with the president with the CIA, completed homework in hand…

“Despite the increased tempo of the air war during the last 10 weeks, the Rolling Thunder program has made only limited progress in meeting two of its current objectives: to limit or raise the cost of sending men and material to South Vietnam and to make North Vietnam pay a price for its aggression against the South. The damage to economic and military targets has not degraded North Vietnam’s ability to support the war sufficiently to affect current levels of combat in the South. The are no signs that the determination of the regime to persist in its aggression has abated and despite increasing hardships, the morale of the populace has not eroded to a point where widespread apathy and war weariness are threatening the control of the Hanoi regime. The recent expansion of the bombing program has however, badly damaged the modern sector of the North Vietnamese economy and has increased the disruption of orderly economic activity.”

Director Helms concluded that: “The only action that would seem to have a moderating impact on Hanoi would be a restriction of the bombing to south of the 20th parallel, which correspondingly would generate a reduction in domestic criticism in the United States.”  Series of intel reports at…

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d181

A couple of notes from the President’s Daily Diary for 24 May 1967... He hosted 100 delegates of the Advertising council i the afternoon and took them for a walk out to the White house kennels to see his beagles… I wonder if that’s when he got caught on camera holding one of the beagles up by the ears…. The 10:59 p.m. entry: “Have the Chief come up.”… Chief gave a great massage (rub)……  could of used a couple of these “Chiefs” at Yankee Station..

CAG’s QUOTES for 24 May: SPARTAN MAXIM: “Skill that cannot fight is useless.”… PATTON: “In doing your utmost, even unto death, you are conferring no favor. You are privileged to be able to do so much for your country.”…

Lest we forget….      Bear

 

 

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