COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR: 1961-1973…

LEST WE FORGET… AMERICAN LOSSES, KILLED-IN-ACTION, FOR THE WEEK 15-21 MARCH 1969 CLIMBED TO 312. For the war: total KIA was at 33,641, passing the total AMERICAN losses-in-battle in the KOREAN WAR… From a poem by CORPORAL JOSHUA GILLEM… “Your fight in that war, is long since over;/We honor your sacrifice, kneeling on a bed of clover./ Your wounds have closed up, you’ve been laid to rest;/We honor your sacrifice, and the medals pinned upon your chest./ (Oh, and we told your mom, you’ve done your best)…/It’s time to go home now, your duty is done;/We honor your sacrifice, you may put down your gun./ Until Valhalla my friends, when we will meet again;/ I honor your sacrifice, on this bloodstained land.”…… REMEMBERING those who have fallen as we press on…an eternal obligation…

Good Morning. It’s Monday, 24 June 2019 and Hunble Host remembers the twenty-first week of Operation Commando Hunt, the three year war of interdiction of the North Vietnamese supply line of men and materials required to conduct their land war in Southeast Asia….

I.    HEADLINES FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES for 31 March through 6 April 1969…

A. THE WAR… (31 March) FOE FIRES ROCKETS ON SAIGON BUT HITS A QUIET RIVER AREA… “…Initial reports indicated there had been three projectiles, all of which landed harmlessly in the river or among flimsy bamboo shaties, soggy rice lands and moored sampans.”… “The weekend decline contrasted sharply with a concurrent step-up in infantry contacts, particularly in the northern part of the country and in the provinces north and west of Saigon. For a period of about two days now, there has been increased battlefield activity, but whether the increase…signals a new phase in the enemy offensive has not been determined.”… (1 April) HEAVY FIGHTING BREAKS OUT AGAIN NORTHWEST OF SAIGON… “…was in an area east of the city of Tayninh, about 50 miles from the capital. That section has been the most troublesome in the country for the allies for more than a month. In the six engagements…United States units reported having killed more that 100 soldiers. About 15 Americans died.”… (2 Apr) ENEMY OFFENSE STILL SEESAWING–Contact In The Mekong Delta Increases After a Lull–15 Shellings Overnight… SAIGON TELLS OF TERRORISM… “…said today that the Vietcong assassinated 201 civilians in the last week of March, bringing the total for the first three months of the year to 1,955.”…  (3 Apr) U.S. SOLDIERS FIGHT THREE BATTLES NORTHWEST OF SAIGON… “…in a battle near Trangbang the Americans repulsed the attack in two hours of fighting and reported killing 49 enemy soldiers. There were no American casualties reported.”…”Unofficially, American officers asserted that the offensive had hurt the enemy much worse than it had the allies…through the first six weeks of the campaign, no allied bases, no cities, and about 150 of 7,000 government-controlled hamlets had been overrun by enemy troops.”… (4 Apr) U.S. DEATHS IN WAR PASS KOREA TOTAL–Vietnam Toll Now at 33,641 in 8 Years of Involvement–Losses Rise in Week… “The deaths of 312 American soldiers last week in Vietnam raised the toll to 33,641… The Vietnam war, the longest in which the United States has engaged, is its third costliest foreign war in the number of deaths. a total of 53,513 American soldiers died in World War I and 292,131 in World War II. In the Civil War, the death total on both sides is put at 214,938, although the Confederate toll is an estimate. The first American soldier to fall in Vietnam, Specialist 4 James T. Davis of Livingston, TN was killed in an ambush near Saigon on Dec. 22, 1961… American deaths for the six week enemy offensive was put at 1,718.”… (5 Apr) MARINES SWEEP NEAR DMZ SEEKS TO SHIELD CITIES–2 Operations Also Designed to Ease Enemy Threats to Other Allied Units… “… Several battalions of marines are sweeping through the area about 10 miles northwest of the abandoned base of Khe Sanh in search of the North Vietnamese troops that have been harassing American artillery bases.”… (6 Apr) 600 OF FOE ATTACK AN ARTILLERY  POST 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF SAIGON–U.S. Reports Killing of 81 of Enemy… “…the bodies were found around the base after United States aircraft and artillery had driven the attackers off. Americn losses were four killed and 13 wounded.”…. “In another engagement, an American armored column killed 25 enemy soldiers in an skirmish 25 miles north of Saigon. Two Americans were wounded.”…

B. THE PURSUIT OF PEACE IN PARIS… (31 Mar) CHANGE DETECTED IN VIETCONG POSITION–Lodge Sees Progress–Laird Would Accept Reds… “Allied experts believe that Hanoi and the Vietcong will make an ultimate attempt to drive a wedge between the United States Government before productive peace talks get under way. However, these specialists say they detect signs that the other side is inching toward de facto recognition of the Saigon regime about in the same way and tempo as Saigon leadrs are coming around to acknowledging the Vietcong’s existence as a political force.”… (2 Apr) THIEU’S SHIFTS ON VIETCONG ROLE REFLECT HIS NEW POLITICAL GAINS… “President Nguyen Van Thieu and the Government of South Vietnam have completed a remarkable shift in their thinking on  their relationship with the Vietcong….offered to begin direct negotiations with the Vietcong.”… (3 Apr) KY REVIEWS VIETNAM ISSUES AT LUNCHEON GIVEN BY VICE PRESIDENT SPIRO AGNEW… “…reviewed the general Vietnam war situation and developments in the Paris peace talks with Mr. Agnew and Secretary of State William P. Rogers.”… (4 Apr) SECRET PARLEYS OF PEACE BEGIN LAIRD DISCLOSES–He Notes Sign of Progress But Maintains He Doesn’t Want False Hopes–Paris Talks Reported–A Vietnamese Says Saigon And National Liberation Front Are Conducting Private Sessions Now… (6 Apr) NIXON HAS BEGUN PROGRAM TO END WAR IN VIETNAM–Secret Talks and Increased South Vietnamese Effort Called Parts of Plan–Pursuit of Victory Downgraded–Shift in Tactics Would Cut U.S. Casualties and Allow Pullout of Some Troops… “The Nixon Administration has put in motion an essentially secret program of diplomatic and military measures designed to extricate the United States from Vietnam. Officials here confirm the adoption of a new approach to the war but refuse to discuss details.”…

C. OTHER HEADLINES FROM THE NYT from the week of 31 March through 6 April 1969… (31 Mar) EULOGY BY NIXON CALLS EISENHOWER GIANT OF HIS TIMES–President Praises General In Talk At Capitol As He Leads U.S. In Tribute–Bier Viewed By Many–Coffin Is Placed In Rotunda After Procession Through Streets of Washington…. NIXON WILL MEET DeGAULLE TODAY–President To Receive Other World Leaders In Capital For Eisenhower Rites.. U.S. IS SAID TO SUGGEST ISRAELIS RETAIN JERUSALEM–Plan Circulated Among Big Four is Depicted As Talking Point… (1 Apr) WORLD’S LEADERS JOIN IN SERVICES FOR EISENHOWER–Simple Rites in Washington Cathedral Hail The General for Invincible Faith–78 Lands Represented–Funeral Train Leaves for Trip to Abilene Boyhood Home of 34th President… PRESIDENT MEETS DeGUALLE, THEN 3 VIETNAM ADVISORS… (3 Apr) PEKING CONVENES PARTY CONGRESS DELAYED 8 YEARS–Parley Follows Long Strtike and Is Expected To Name Lin Piao as Mao’s Heir… PRAGUE’S LEADERS IN URGENT PARLEY–Debate Anti-Soviet Violence–2 Moscow Aides Arrive… (3 Apr) ANTI-SOVIET RIOT OF CZECHS BRINGS NEW PRESS CURBS–Party Chiefs, Under Moscow Pressure, Also Criticize Smrfkovvsky, A Liberal Russian Gives Warning–Aide Dispatched by Kremlin Asserts Tanks May Move Against Next Outburst… PEKING CONGRESS HINTS COALITION WITH ARMY ROLE–Listing Of Leaders At Parley Indicates that Moderates and Leftists Will Govern… DEFENSE BUDGET CUTS–Laird’s Move Seen As Fiscal Gamble That Fighting in Vietnam Will Decline… (4 Apr) DUBCEK CAUTIONS RIOTS MAY BRING NEW SOVIET MOVE–He Warns The Czechs of Tragic Consequences From Further Incidents…TROOPS PATROL IN CHICAGO AS SLUM VIOLENCE GROWS… (5 Apr) CBS TO DROP SMOTHERS BROTHERS HOUR–Cites Failure to Get Previews… MEMPHIS VIOLENCE MARS KING RITES–Curfew Ordered–Mayor Halts Sale of Alcohol and Guns After Outbreak During March–Youths Hurl Tear Gas–Ministers and Two Choirs Calm City Hall Crowd–Kennedy and Abernathy Speak… (6 Apr) ARMY IS WORRIED OVER INCREASE IN AGGRESSIVE ANTI-WAR MILITANCY… CASSIUS CLAY LOSESS STATUS AS A MUSLIM FOR PERIOD OF A YEAR… Cassius Clay, deposed heavyweight champion of the world, has been stripped of his Muslim name, Muhammad Ali, and expelled from the Nation of Islam for one year, the official Muslim newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, reported today.”… SMOTHERS BROTHERS SAY CONTRACT WITH NETWORK WAS NOT BROKEN…”…and they will go ahead and produce their show for CBS for the next season in the conviction that they had not violated any provisions of their agreement with the network. “They will pay whether they play the programs or not,” Tom Smothers said.”…

II. COMMANDO HUNT I… Humble Host recalls the indelible caution that attended flying over the beach and scenery of Vietnam: “Everybody is shooting at you.”… The big stuff was visible as muzzle flashes, tracers and bursts. The small stuff was unseen, but it was always there. Hundreds of aircraft were downed and damaged by the lonely small arms shooters who were everywhere. The following article by a North Vietnamese correspondent is clipped from the 10 October 1972 copy of Nhan Dan, the NVN newspaper. Title:

“THAI BINH BUILDS MANY ADDITIONAL FIGHTING CLUSTERS AND MOBILE FORTIFICATIONS TO WAYLAY UNITED STATES AIRCRAFT”…

“The military headquarters of Thai Binh Province has recently organized a review of experiences and has opened an emulation phase to shoot down many United States planes by a low altitude fire network. The military committee of Tien Hai District met with the various townships to publicize the experiences gained in organizing the ‘one hand on the plow, the other on a gun’ and the ‘one hand holding the fishing net, the other on a gun’ military teams, as well as the experiences learned in consolidating the fighting clusters and building more fortifications in those places frequently flown over by the enemy planes. The fighting clusters to hunt aircraft, which were set up in townships C, H, and T, organized into many groups and were equipped with many different types of weapons in order to be able to hit the enemy under every situation.

“In Dong Hung the district military cadres went out to the townships to inspect their preparations for shooting down United States planes and to activate the people to dig trenches and anti-aircraft shelters which meet the specifications, and to assure the proper carrying out of the people’s defense work. The anti-aircraft weapons company of the district held a ‘preparing to fire’ conference to discuss ways for shooting down the United States planes on the spot. The cadres and soldiers made a very thorough and detailed review of the carrying out of the regular procedures, the combat alerts, and the command procedures. At the same time they checked to assure the providing of many more soldiers with fighting experience to do the observing, aiming, and firing.”… End quote…

(HUMBLE HOST NOTE: There are good reasons for every citizen owning a gun he and she know how to employ. “One hand on your iPad, the other on your gun.”)

ENEMY DEFENSES IN COMMANDO HUNT I OP AREA (LAOS 16-Degrees North to 18-Degrees North) (End of Mar 1969)

Total Positions:    1,562 (all of Laos 2,960)

Manned Poistions: 452 (all of Laos 674)

Guns 37mm and Up: 456 (all of Laos 678)

III. AIRCRAFT LOSSES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: 31 MARCH–6 APRIL 1969… References include Chris Hobson’s VIETNAM AIR LOSSES. During the week ending 6 April the United States lost seven fixed wing aircraft and four fighting hearts…

(1) On 31 March an RA-5C Vigilante of the RVAH-6 Fleurs embarked in USS Enterprise piloted by COMMANDER DANFORTH ELLITHORPE WHITE and Navigator LIEUTENANT RAMEY LEO CARPENTER was lost on a photo reconnaissance mission 30 miles northeast of Nakhon Phanom. The aircraft was observed to explode into a fireball while in a hard starboard turn. There were no chutes or beepers seen or heard and both COMMANDER WHITE and LIEUTENANT CARPENTER were posted as Killed-in-Action. Their bodies were recovered in 1997 and COMMANDER WHITE rests in peace at Arlington National Cemetery. LT. CARPENTER is memorialized at Memorial Cemetery in Lawton, Oklahoma, glory gained, duty done… The RA-5C was either lost to ground fire, which was active in the area, a fuel tank explosion, or a structural failure of the wing.

(Webmaster note: “Alone, unarmed and unafraid” was their mantra. The RA-5C had the highest loss ratio of any Navy aircraft during the Vietnam War with RVAH-13 taking the bulk. If you are not familiar with the Vigilante in North Vietnam I suggest this book by Robert “Boom” Powell US Navy (Ret.) I also cover the RA-5C in chapter two of my book Across the Wing.)

(2) On 1 April a MISTY F-100F of the 355th TFS and 37th TFW out of Phu Cat was downed by enemy ground fire on a COMMANDO HUNT mission in southern Laos. MAJOR R.G. STANDERFER and LT C.L. VEACH were hit on their second target marking run for a flight of F-4 Phantoms. They ejected near the South Vietnam border and were rescued by a USAF SAR helo. MAJOR STANDERFER was seriously injured on his parachute landing into trees and jungle, but returned to duty flying F-100s with a strike squadron due to his lasting ejection injuries. The strike guys flew shorter missions than the Fast FAC Mistys were flying. …. oohrah…

(3) On 2 April an F-4D of the 390th TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang, piloted by LCOL C.G. FOSTER and WSO 1LT J.P. McMAHON, was downed on a COMMANDO HUNT mission in southern Laos, 20 miles west of Kham Duc. They were making a third dive bombing run on an road intersection when hit by 37mm in the starboard wing. A resultant fire led to their ejection 30 miles southwest of Danang where they were rescued by an Air Force SAR helo to fly and fight again…

(4) On 3 April an A-6A Intruder of the VA-65 Tigers embarked in USS Kitty Hawk piloted by LCDR E.G. REDDEN and BN LT J.F. RICCI was downed on a COMMANDO HUNT mission while working with a Nail FAC near the Mugia Pass. The Intruder was hit in the nose while maneuvering for an attack. The resultant damage cascaded into an engine failure, the inability to jettison weapons, and inability to maintain altitude, forcing both aviators to eject in hostile territory. The heroes of the 40th ARRS made the rescue….

(5) On 3 April an F-105D of the 34th TFS and 388th TFW out of Korat piloted by MAJOR PETER BUGBEE CHRISTIANSON was downed by automatic weapons fire on a mission in northern Laos– BARREL ROLL. MAJOR CHRISTIANSON was executing an attack on a storage unit when hit and while he was able to fly the aircraft away form the target area. HOWIE PLUNKETT, in his extraordinary compilation of F-105 action in Southeast Asia wrote this: “MAJOR PETER BUGBEE CHRISTIANSON 34 TFS pilot ejected but was KIA. A rescue helicopter crew recovered the body. Call sign ‘Hatchet 01’ …was pulling up from his second pass on his second target. RAVEN 43 (FAC) saw a smoke trail but was unable to contact Hachet 1 on either Guard or tactical frequencies. There was no observation on bailout or descent, nor was the chute beeper heard. Neither voice or beeper contact was established with MAJOR CHRISTIANSON on the ground. The chute was seen on the ground and Jolly Green 71 from the 40th ARRS lowered a pararescueman who reported MAJOR CHRISTIANSON killed in action. His body was recovered.”… “Followup evaluation of this incident noted a similarity with injuries received by two other officers in previous attempts to eject from the F-105 with the new rocket seat and force-deployed parachutes… queries led to a Pacific Air Force compilation of related incidents and initiation of studies, but initial analysis did not implicate the egress system as a cause of injury.” MAJOR CHRISTIANSON rests in peace in Arlington National Cemetery…

(6) On 4 April an A-4E of the VMA-211 Avengers and MAG-12 out of Chu Lai piloted by 1LT RONALD DEAN LAYTON was downed by ground fire while executing his third attack on a target 20 miles southwest of Danang. 1LT LAYTON did not eject and was killed in action when the Skyhawk flew into the ground a few miles from the target. The young Marine was buried with honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver…. He came home on his shield… To be remembered with admiration…

(7) On 5 April an F-4D Nightowl of the 497th TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon was downed by ground fire on a night COMMANDO HUNT mission 35 miles northeast of NKP. The crew of CAPTAIN R. BRANDT and 1LT C.R. KOSTER were hit on their first run on the target and were forced to eject. They were rescued at first light by an HH-43B from the 40th ARRS out of Udorn. Pedro Pilot: CAPTAIN DAN REEDER….

IV…   HUMBLE HOST END NOTE…  Here are two great collections of songs from the Vietnam War. They are the work of Lydia Fish and the “Vietnam Veteran’s Oral History and Folklore Project.”…

A. “IN COUNTRY: SONGS OF AMERICANS IN THE VIETNAM WAR” is at…

https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/reports/images.php?img=/images/1512/15120105002.pdf

B. “THE LONGEST YEAR: A Collection of Songs by Advisors and Civilians in the Vietnam War” is at…

https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/reports/images.php?imp=/images/044/0440426001.pdf

C. Included in the more than 100 songs in this pair of collections is Toby Hughes’ “HO CHI MINH TRAIL” to the tune of “Billy the Kidd.”…

Lydia Fish’s Notes: “The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a major supply route about three hundred miles long, just inside and parallel to the eastern Laotian border. It started near Vinh in North Vietnam, entered Laos through mountain passes such as Mu Gia or Ban Karai, and ended near Kontum in South Vietnam (about 75 miles northwest of Saigon). In the daytime it was a series of sleepy rural roads and small trails, at night it was, in the words of one pilot who flew there, the Los Angles Freeway without lights. As Toby Hughes describes in this song, the trail was heavily defended with anti-aircraft guns, automatic weapons (ZPU) and, in the latter days of the war, shoulder fired heat-seeking missiles. The pilots who flew there at night ran the additional risk of flying into unseen mountains or succumbing to vertigo.”…

“Come along boys, and I’ll tell you a tale.

Of the pilots who fly on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Of Covey and Moonbean and Nimrod you’ve heard,

Of Hobo and Spad and old Yellow Bird.

 

The trucks load in Hanoi and Haiphong by day,

In singles and convoys they start on their way.

South by southwest in an unending stream,

Reaching the border at day’s fading gleam.

 

They stop at Mu Gia or at Ban Karai.

And wait for the last of the daylight to die.

Under cover of night through the pass they set sail,

Out on the roads of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

 

As they roll through the darkness, not stopping to rest,

Miles away are the pilots whose skills they will test.

Who’ll soon face the darkness, the karst, and the guns,

In the grim cat and mouse game that no one’s yet won.

 

When you fly on the Trail through the dark and the haze

It’s a thing you’ll remember the rest of your days.

A nightmare of vertigo, mountains and flak,

And the cold wind of Death breathing soft at your back.

 

But the trucks must be stopped, and it’s all up to you,

So you fly here each night to this grim rendezvous.

Where your whole world’s confined to the light of the flare,

And you fight for your life just to stay in the air.

 

For there’s many a man who there met his fate,

On the dark roads of Hell, where the grim reaper waits.

Where a man must learn quickly the tricks of his trade,

Or die in the dark for mistakes that he’s made.

 

And there’s many a lad in the flush of his youth,

Who’s still yet to meet with his moment of truth.

With wings on his chest and the world by the tail,

He’ll grow up fast on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.”….

HUMBLE HOST also recommends Joseph F. Tuso’s SINGING THE VIETNAM BLUES: Songs of the Air Force in Southeast Asia. Absolutely the best collection of songs from the war available in book form. The 149 original songs, including 25 by the number one troubadour–poet musician– of the war, Dick Jonas. This is not just a song book, every song is set amid explanations and remarks by Tuso, who logged 170 missions (77 over the North) as an F-4 WSO. He is a great writer who worked with unique resources to produce a history book for the times. Like the author says: “I do not delude myself that these are great songs, but they are truthful songs, they are historic songs, and they deserve to be preserved. By some people they will be cherished.” …. I cherish my copy of the Tuso Song Book…

(Webmaster note: I love the Dick Jonas songs, particularly “The Ballad of Robin Olds”. Cue it up with your favorite libation in hand and get ready to smile, and for those of you who were there, to remember.)

Lest we forget…    Bear