RIPPLE SALVO… #574… Six weeks of a new bridge removal offensive in North Vietnam’s “Heartland”–Hanoi, Haiphong and the Red River Valley–is working to slow the movement of war supplies into “the funnel”…  but  first…

Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR of remembering the great heroism of America’s Rolling Thunder warriors, who alone carried the offense and the war into the homeland of the enemy…

1 OCTOBER 1967… HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a perfect Sunday in the Big City…

AUTUMN IN AMERICA 1967… Page !: “Johnson Accepts Defense Cuts With Objections–He Signs $69.9-Billion Act But Fears More Will Be Needed Before June 30 of 1968–Scores Curb on British–Upholds Their Right to Bid Against Shipbuilding for Pentagon Awards”... “With some carefully hedged reservations President Johnson announced today that he had signed the $69.9-billion Defense Appropriations Act for the year… also objected to and vowed to circumvent Congress’ stipulation that Britain be barred from competing for certain Defense Department contracts.”… Page 1: “Urban Rebellion Feared by Romney–Ending His Tour, He Warns Seeds of Rebellion Have Been Sewn in Ghettos”… “As I have rubbed elbows with those who live in the ghetto, as I have listened to the voice of revolt, I am convinced more than ever before that unless we reverse our course and build a new America, the old America will be destroyed. Time is running out for those who have responsibilities for the tranquillity of our nation. The seeds of revolution have been sewn.”…

Page 1: “RED SOX WIN, TIE TWINS FOR LEAD AS TIGERS SPLIT”… “The Boston Red Sox moved into a tie for first place with the Minnesota Twins by defeating the Twins, 6-4 yesterday at Boston. Carl Yastrzemski’s three-run homerun in the seventh inning was decisive hit for the Red Sox.The pennant race goes into the final day of the regular season today with the winner undecided. The Twins and Red Sox play a single game while the Angels and Tigers play another double-header at Detroit.”… Page 30: “Washington, D.C. Subway Nearing Reality–New Agency Is Taking Over Building the Core System”... “After nearly 60-years, the District of Columbia’s dream of a modern billion-dollar subway system is approaching reality… Congress has agreed to a 25-mile $431’million core system by 1973.”… Page 41: “Wallace Accepts Support of Klan–Says in New Party Drive He is a Segregationist”... “Speaking in Roanoke, Virginia…he said he will continue to welcome the support of the Klu Klux Klan at Virginia Tech his loudest applause came when he said: ‘I am for the right of dissent, but if I were President, the first thing I would do is to have my Attorney General to grab some of these bearded professors, take them before a grand jury and charge them with treason and put them where they belong.”…

VIETNAM: Page 1: “Pope Pledges His Efforts in New Appeal for Peace”… “After reviewing a world scene darkened by active war in Vietnam, war barely contained in the Middle East, and guerrilla action elsewhere, Pope Paul VI said: ‘We shall not confine our concrete activity on behalf of peace to public statements or demonstrations, but shall devote ourselves in every way possible to proclaim and promote a peace never divorced from freedom of citizens, both individually and as nations.’ “… Page 36: “General Gavin is Pushed For Presidency–Drive Opened to Get General on GOP Ticket”… “Novice with enthusiasm runs add in New York Times: ‘Speak Now to End the War in Vietnam, of Forever Hold Your Peace.”… ‘The nation is bleeding internally from violence in the cities while the vital energies of the nation are being squandered in Vietnam and little change in the national priorities can be expected from the prospective candidates.’ “…

Page 1: “Col. Robin Olds said today that the United States was winning the air war over Vietnam but that North Vietnam’s pilots were a ‘hell of a lot better than last fall.’ The 45-year old Air Force colonel, who leads United States pilots in Vietnam with four MIG kills, reported to President Johnson at the White House on his tour of duty in Southeast Asia. North Vietnam’s air defenses have ‘increased tremendously, both in terms of antiaircraft fire and in response of MIGs and SAMs.’ Colonel Olds told news men later. Colonel Olds, an ace in World War II with 24 downed enemy aircraft said nevertheless that United States pilots were ‘really hurting’ the North Vietnamese and gaining momentum in the air war. He said he could not confirm reports that Communist Chinese and North Korean pilots were flying for Hanoi.

1 October 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (2 Oct reporting 1 Oct ops)… Page 1: “U.S. PLNES BOMB ENEMY WHARF AND 2 MIG AIR FIELDS–CARGO TRANSFER POINT NEAR HAIPHONG STRUCK DESPITE HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE”... “United States Navy pilots, continuing heavy attacks against North Vietnam, bombed a ship unloading area across the river from the port of Haiphong yesterday. They also attacked two MIG bases. ..Navy pilots from the carrier Constellation flew through heavy anti-aircraft fire and numbers of surface-to-air missiles to strike the Loidong transshipment point on the Cua Cam, an estuary four miles northwest of Haiphong. The pilots reported all bombs on target but that smoke obstructed the target preventing bomb damage assessment. … The transshipment point consists of two quays that extend into the river from the north bank to receive supplies from foreign ships. Barges ferry equipment and cargo across the sand flats where it is shifted to small boats and shipped up-river to the Hanoi area on the shore, destroyed previously has not been restored. The spokesman said there were no foreign vessels in the area at the time of the attacks. navy pilots also reported having bombed two SAM sites in the area at the time of the attacks.”…

“Air Force F-105 Thunderchief pilots based in Thailand bombed the runway at the Kep MIG base, 36 miles northwest of Hanoi, yesterday and today. Marine pilots fluying A-6 Intruder jets from South Vietnam and guided by radar dropped bombs on the SIG airfield at Kienan, six mils southwest of Haiphong. Air Force pilots also bombed the Kepha army barracks 40 miles north of Haiphong. Two buildings were destroyed, they reported. …Two MIG-21s fired their 20mm cannon at the Air Force Thunderchiefs. No damage was reported. Other Thunderchief pilots bombed a surface-to-air missile site 20 miles east-northeast of Hanoi. They reported having damaged two of four missiles and having damaged a computer van and radar equipment.”… .

“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 1 October 1967…

RIPPLE SALVO… #574… NYT, 2 October 1967: Page 1: “U.S. AIDES SAY RAIDS SLOW FLOW OF SUPPLIES TO HANOI” By Hedrick Smith…. Washington Oct 2– State Department and Defense Department officials contended today that the stepped-up United States air offensive that began early in Sugust had slowed the movement of war supplies from Communist China to Hanoi The main obstruction, these officials reported in response to questions, is the damage to the Longbein Bridge, which crosses the Red River at Hanoi. Intelligence reports indicate that the span, formerly the Paul Doumer Bridge, has been closed to rail traffic since it was bombed on August 11. the rail line from Dongdang on the Chinese frontier, to Hanoi is considered by Government analysts here to be the main land transportation link for supplies moving from Communist China and the Soviet Union.

“The Government officials have said that all major Soviet military equipment, including ground-to-air missiloes, aircraft, antiaircraft artillery and electronic gear for air defenses has moved on this route. Defense Department officials said that earlier this summer an average of 10 to 12 trains monthly reached Hanoi from China. Since August 11 there have not been any, they added. the officials acknowledged however that some of the materials probably been diverted to trucks, cars, bicycles or ferryboats and made its way to Hanoi. They also reported that, so far at least, there had been no discernible impact of the rail bottleneck north of Hanoi on the movement of supplies south of Hanoi to combat areas along the demilitarized zone and in South Vietnam. They said it was too early for any such effect to appear.

“The new phase of the air offensive, approved by President Johnson on August 8, was publicly signaled by the attack on the  bridge. On August 13 American planes attacked the railway and highway bridge at Langson, 10 miles from the Chinese frontier, and on September 18 they struck the Thatke railroad and highway bridge seven miles from the border. Both of those bridges, as well as several others near Hanoi also attacked recently, are on the rail line between Hanoi and China. The officials said several of the bridges including one across the Canal des Rapides northeast of Hanoi, were severely damaged or knocked out in the last two month, but they were uncertain which ones have been repaired.

“A second rail line connecting Hanoi with China runs to Laokay, on the frontier, to Kumming, in Yunnan. American officials reported however, that it had not been used for significant incoming traffic. Rather, they said, the Chinese have apparently run  some of their own internal traffic down it part way to Hanoi and then back out through Laokay. Both lines cross the Longdinh an Canal des Rapides Bridges outside Hanoi making these the most vulnerable points in the rail system’

“Military officials have also reported that since September 11 four key bridges around Haiphong have been knocked out, slowing down the the movement of supplies from the major North Vietnamese port.

“… According to the crew of Cypriote ship that recently left Haiphong after 36 days, crates of equipment and supplies, some of them obviously weatherworn, are stacked on sidewalks. Aerial reconnaissance and other ships ‘ reports also indicate that the port operation had been severely hampered, the Americasn officials said. Last spring it took roughly a week to unload a vessel, they said, but unloading periods of  month or more are now common. Some officials have speculated that Moscow will provide the North Vietnamese some improved equipment next year. But most officials are doubtful that the over-all volume of Soviet aid will increase, largely on the ground that North Vietnam cannot absorb much more.”… end Hedrick Smith report…

Humble Host notes that this “stepped up air offensive” got the go-ahead on August 8 with about two months of good weather for precision bombing in Route Packages 5 and 6. The shift in monsoonal weather would cut this effective campaign off in abouty two weeks allowing the bridges to be returned to service under cover of low clouds and rain. I wonder if it would have made a difference if the Johnson go ahead had come in March or April. Too little, too late…

RTR QUOTE for 1 October: GOETHE, Faust:

“Lose this day loitering ’twill be the same story

Tomorrow, and the next, more dilatory,

Each indecision brings its own days,

And days are lost lamenting the lost days.”…

Lest we forget…    Bear