AMERICAN LOSSES –KILLED-IN-ACTION– LAST WEEK WERE REPORTED AT 101 TO RAISE TOTAL KIA IN THE VIETNAM WAR SINCE 1 JANUARY 1961 TO 30,644…AND THE WAR GOES ON, AND ON… ANOTHER 27,500 WILL PERISH IN THE LOST CAUSE BEFORE THE SHOOTING STOPS AND OUR TROOPS COME HOME… DID AMERICA LEARN ANYTHING?… LEST WE FORGET…

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, 1 April 2019. Humble Host remembers the Vietnam War of fifty years ago and Week NINE of OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT I… 6-12 JANUARY 1969…

HEADLINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES (6-12 JAN)…

THE WAR: (6 Jan) MARINES SWEEP AREA NEAR DMZ… “The United States command disclosed today two major sweeps in contested territory–A thrust around the abandoned fortress at Khesanh and another push in the Plain of Reeds west of Saigon…. The Khesanh sweep by 5,000 U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops found an ammunition dump. It was the biggest such operation in three months in the northwest corner of South Vietnam… In the south, U.S. Army and Navy units joined forces in the Plain of Reeds to try to cut a major Vietcong supply route west of Saigon… the patrols unearthed 50,000 rounds of ammunition, 500 mortar rounds, and 700 grenades.” … “…15 American soldiers were killed and 26 were wounded in an explosion in the 25th Infantry Division mess hall 19 miles west of Saigon. The blast came as the Americans were lining up for lunch… the cause? …unknown, either a terrorist bomb or a greenade accidentally dropped by a soldier.”… U.S.PATROL BOATS NEAR CAMBODIA SHIELD SAIGON–100 Navy Vessels Roam From Gulf of Siam To Tayninh–Final Link In Interlocking Network is Established…. ALLIES GAIN IN DRIVE TO ROOT OUT VIETCONG’S POLITICAL AGENTS… (8 Dec) 54 OF FOE KILLED IN DELTA BATTLE–8 Americans Die In 18-Hour Clash–Other Action Slight... (9 Jan) TWO SOUTH VIETNAMESE–Ex- POWs–Describe Starvation, Brutality and Terror of B-52s… Two Skirmishes Reported In Vietnam As Action Eases… (10 Jan) LEVEL OF FIGHTING IN VIETNAM DROPS–101 Americans Die In Week–Fewest Since October 1968…  (11 Jan) ENEMY STRIKES SEVERAL TOWNS AND BASES IN DELTA–Nine Man Patrol Reported Destroyed in Ambush... (12 Jan) HANOI ALLEGES U.S. BOMBING IN LAOS HAS INTENSIFIED… North Vietnamese Offensive Reported Broken In Laos…

THE PEACE TALKS IN PARIS: (6 Jan) HENRY CABOT LODGE APPOINTED TO HEAD U.S. TEAM IN VIETNAM TALKS–Nixon Names Former Envoy To Saigon As Successor To Harriman In Paris–Tougher Stance Likely–Walsh, A New York Lawyer To Serve As Deputy–Asia Expert Also Named… (7 Jan) HANOI’S REJECTION OF U.S. PROPOSALS OF TABLES IS HINTED–Americans Say They Find Self-Righteous And Rigid Attitude At Paris Parley–New Delay Is Indicated–Choice of Lodge Is Viewed As Possible Key To North’s Apparent Shift Of View… NORTH VIETNAM’S PREMIER CALLS U.S. PETTY AT PARIS TALKS–French Cameraman Tells Of 6-Week Visit To Hanoi–He Also Talked Briefly With Ho Chi Minh And General Giap During November Visit–Photos For Look Magazine… CHOICE OF LODGE GREETED WITH JUBILATION IN SAIGON… (9 Jan) LODGE CONFERS WITH SOVIET ENVOY IN EAST BERLIN–Harriman To Leave Paris Soon– U.S. Pressure On Saigon Reported… (10 Jan) THIEU IS ADAMANT ON TWO-SIDED TALKS IN PARIS–Offers National Liberation Front An ‘Opposition Role’… HANOI ANSWERS THIEU–Front Gets Equal Seating… (11 Jan) SWEDEN RECOGNIZES HANOI–Americans Are Critical Of Action… HANOI AIDES VOICE ELATION IN PARIS–Call Swedish Recognition A Step Others Will Take–Lodge Pays Farewell Call On Willie Brandt… SENATOR SYMINGTON JOINS IN SCORING SAIGON–Assails South Vietnamese As ‘Stumbling Block’ At Peace Talks In Paris… (12 Jan) HANOI HAILS OFFER OF TIES WITH SWEDEN–Denmark Urged To Follow Sweden’s Example…Hanoi Debating Strategy…

THE REST OF THE NEWS: (6 Jan) JOHNSON MAY SEEK BUDGET BALANCED AT $192-BILLION… “President Johnson is proposing a $192-billion budget for the coming fiscal year that would be roughly in balance provided the income surtax is continued at a reduced rate… budget represents a $7.6-billion increase over expected spending in the current year, and includes a small increase in the over-all military budget.”… TRIAL OF SIRHAN WILL OPEN TOMORROW… “Seven months ago today Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot and fatally wounded in a dingy serving pantry amid the quiet, salmon-pink stucco elegance of the Ambassador Hotel here (L.A.). His alleged assassin is to go on trial Tuesday.”… (7 Jan) LAIRD CHOOSES THREE TO HEAD ARMED SERVICES–Keeps Army Secretary Resor—Chafee To Lead Navy–Seamons Air Force–All Three Are Republicans–Senate Panel Sets Hearings On Secretary of Defense Laird and His Deputy Packard For 14 January… (8 Jan) PRIME BANK RATE INCREASES AGAIN–Set At Peak 7%–Rise In Business Loan Cost Third In Six Weeks–Markets Drop Sharply–Charge On Consumer Loans Also Expected To Grow In Fight Against Inflation… ISRAEL ASSAILS FRENCH BAN ON DELIVERIES OF ALL ARMS… COURTROOM TENSE AS SIRHAN’s MURDER TRIAL BEGINS… JOHNSON TO PRESS DRIVE TO AUGMENT NEGROES IN NATIONAL GUARD–Aiming At 12% Membership–He Will Request Funds To Allow Units To Expand… (9 Jan) CONCESSIONS SEEN IN NEW SOVIET BID ON MIDEAST PEACE–U.S. Officials Find Basis For Guarded Optimism In Note Handed To Rusk December 30–But Doubts Are Voiced–Plan For Agreed Solution Viewed As Veil To Conceal Bloodless Arab Victory… CZECHS TIGHTEN NEWS CONTROLS–Regime Under Pressure From Soviets–Acts To Halt Defiance and Criticism… SIRHAN LOSES BID FOR TRIAL DELAY… 81 OF 150 SHOOT WAY PAST CUBAN LINES– Reach Guantanamo (The town, not the Navy base) And Fly To Florida–Rest Of Band Are Killed Or Seized–Survivors Were Accepted By U.S…. QUESTIONING OF PUEBLO’S CAPTAIN DELAYS COURT OF INQUIRY TWO WEEKS–Bucher’s Debriefing Held Up Because Of Physical and Emotional Exhaustion… (10 Jan) IMPOSED ACCORD HELD AIM FOR MIDDLE EAST–Israel And Other Sources At U.N. Say Plan Would Bar Negotiated Peace–Guarantee Mentioned–Moscow Said To Push Idea In Hope Nixon Will Be Unable To Reject It… “… The withdrawal of Israel forces to the positions they occupied before the war of June 1967 and…A Declaration to the Security Council by the Arab States that they no longer claim the rights of beligerents in the Middle East.”… TWO WHO MAY LAND ON MOON SELECTED… “They are Neil A. Armstrong and Col. Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. of the Air Force.”… (11 Jan) THREE MOON VOYAGERS ARE HAILED HERE (NY) IN HUGE TURNOUT– Borman, Lovell and Anders Moved By The Outpouring On a Cold, Bleak Day–A Blizzard of Confetti–Hundreds of Thousands Line Streets To Cheer Crew of Apollo 8–City Medals Awarded… U.S. AIDES DOUBT THAT ISRAEL HAS DECIDED TO BUILD A-BOMB… JOHNSON HONORS WHEELER–‘Soldier For Every Season”… ROZELLE INDICATES TOMORROW’S SUPER BOWL  (AFL vs. NFL) COULD BE NEXT TO LAST–Realignment Due After 1969 Season–One League Format Looms–Club Owners To Decide at Meeting In March… Baltimore Colts Favored by 17 Points Over New York Jets… (12 Jan) EXPERTS ON VIETNAM BUSY DRAFTING ADVICE TO NIXON–Diverse Plans Offered (See Ripple Salvo below)… “The Nixon Administration will have no shortage of advice from members of the Johnson Administration on a possible shift in Vietnam Strategy. All over town, in the Pentagon, the State Department and even the White House, ranking analysts have been writing ‘option’ papers, all of them apparently unsolicited. Many of the authors are expected to remain in office during the next Administration. The papers are being forwarded to Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Presidential-elect Richard M. Nixon’s special assistant for national security (replacing Walt Rostow).”… THIEU SAID TO BE WEIGHING PROPOSAL TO CUTBACK UP TO 60,000 AMERICAN TROOPS… “President Nguyen Van Thieu is considering proposing the withdrawal of as many as 60,000 United States troops from South Vietnam this year… Thieu was reported to feel confident enough in the strength of the South Vietnamese armed forces to call for the reduction of the current United States contingent of 540,000.”… POWER STRUGGLE CONTINUES IN CHINA–Provincial Factions Ignore Peking’s Call For Unity… JETS BANK ON NAMATH’S ARM AGAINST COLTS TODAY–Rain Poses a New Threat To Passes at Miami… (Monday NYT headline: JETS UPSET COLTS, 16-7)…

OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT I… Week NINE… A LOOK AT THE ENEMY DEFENSES IN THE LAST MONTHS OF 1968… Extracted from PACAF Monthly Air Operations Summaries…

“In November 1968, MIG activity was limited to attacks against U.S. ‘Bumpy Action’ drones. On 8 November, a low altitude drone stimulated a MIG reaction while flying a route encompassing Haiphong and Phuc Yen Airfield. During egress southeast of Nam Dinh, the drone was damaged by a MIG-21 launched air-to-air missile and subsequently crashed in the Gulf of Tonkin. Athough there were no encounters with manned aircraft, enemy aircraft continue to be a potential threat to photo and electornic surveillance missions in Route Packages I, II, and III.  In previous months, MIGs staging from Bai Thoung Airfield have attacked Navy aircraft operating in Route Package III.

“Since the bombing halt, U.S. photo reconnaissance aircraft have detected activity around Vinh Airfield that suggests the possibility of expansion of the North Vietnamese Air Force envelope below the Bai Thuong area. Recent photos have revealed crater-filling activity on the dirt shoulders paralleling the runway. U.S. radars have not yet detected MIG flights into the Vinh area but possible light transport or helicopter traffic south of Vinh into Route Package II is suspected. Electronic cuts in the Vinh area indicate that the North Vietnamese are possibly augmenting their air surveillance and Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) radars. Repair of the dirt runway could permit limited MIG-17 staging or recovery at Vinh, particularly if controlling radars are positioned in this area. The  Vinh Airfield is approximately 130 nautical miles north of the DMZ. It cannot be determined how much rehabilitation is programmed for Vinh but it is estimated that construction of a black top runway and taxiway system would require up to 3 months.

“There were only 5 SAM firings reported in November. The Air Force reported 2 sightings which were fired at photo reconnaissance aircraft. The Navy sighted 3 that were fired at RESCAP aircraft during the attempted recovery of a downed RA-5C crew in Route Package III. There have been 653 missile firings and 12 aircraft losses during 1968 for a kill ratio of 54.4:1. Prior to 1968, 106 aircraft were downed bt SAMs at a kill ratio of 43.1:1.

“The North Vietnam AAA Order of Battle for November shows an overall increase of both total positions and occupied guns. Route Package III shows the highest increase in positions while Route Package I has an increase of 131 occupied gun positions. The gun population increased in all route packages except RP V. The total gun positions in October for all RPs was 37,647 with 5,232 occupied. By the end of November the total number of gun positions was 38,332 with 5,763 occupied, and increase throughout North Vietnam of more than 500 occupied sites. Totals reflect only photo verified guns and positions.

“Since the bombing pause of 1 November there has not been a significant increase in the number of active GCI sites. At present there are no known installations south of 19 degrees latitude since the Navy bombed a site in the Vinh area in June 1968. Indications of BARLOCK activity were detected during mid-November in the area of Vinh and Dong Hoi and another emission was detected near the MuGia Pass. These impacts were not positive enough to confirm the presence of a site, but do indicate their possible existence in these areas. The North Vietnamese GCI network is expected to expand to the south. Subsequent to the bombing halt above the 19th Parallel a site was immediately moved within a few miles of the 19-degree line. The number of early warning radars may not change because the present coverage appears to be sufficient. FIRECAN and FAN SONG radars will probably increase in this area as the North Vietnamese have time and security to build and improve defenses.”

AIRCRAFT LOSSES 6-12 JANUARY 1969… Ref: VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES by CHRIS HOBSON… During the week, nine aircraft were lost and four aviators were killed in action..

(1) On 6 January an F-4D Phantom from the 455th TFS and 8th TFW Wolfpack flown by CAPTAIN R.B. MYERS and CAPTAIN S. FAULKNER had to be abandoned over Thailand due to fuel strvation… the two aviators survived to fly and fight again…

(2) On 7 January an F-4C Phantom of the 557th TFS and 12th TFW out of Cam Ranh Bay piloted by CAPTAIN W.F. NEEDHAM and 1LT S.D. ADAMS was shot down making a third attack on a Vietcong position TWO MILES NORTH OF TAN SON NHUT… They ejected and were rescued by the base HH-43… Two miles??… (that’s a deep 90!)

(3) On 7 January an F-102A of the 509th FIS and 405th FW flown by CAPTAIN THOMAS B. ORR, JR  lost oil pressure while flying an escort mission and subsequently crashed in Thailand killing CAPTAIN ORR. He rests in peace at White County Memorial Garden, Carmi, Illinois, and has been honored with a marker stone in Arlington National Cemetery. His F-102 was the last of 14 lost in Southeast Asia during the war…

(4) and (5) On 10 January two A-1H Skyraiders of the 6th SOS and 633rd SOW out of Pleiku were lost operating in the A Shau Valley. MAJOR J.B. WHEELER was attacking an enemy concentration in the valley when hit by machine gun fire. He was able to fly the faltering Spad to a point about 25 miles southwest of Danang before having to eject. Squadronmate MAJOR ARTHUR ROY SPROUT was among the aircraft dispatched to provide cover for the rescue of MAJOR WHEELER. Unfortunately, MAJOR SPROUT’s aircraft was hit by ground fire and he was forced to eject 12 miles southwest of Danang. His body and partially deployed parachute were subsequently found by a Pararescueman. As the body of MAJOR SPROUT was being lifted into the Jolly Green Giant it fell back into the jungle and could not be recovered before darkness forced a delay in further searches for the body. Those subsequent searches failed to find MAJOR SPROUT, who perished in the successful rescue of a brother aviator, and he remains where he fell more than 50 years ago… Left behind…

(6) On 11 January an O-1G Bird Dog of the 22nd TASS and 504th TASG out of Binh Thuy piloted by CAPTAIN FRANCIS J. BIRCHAK, with 2LT V.T. NGUYEN  of the Vietnam Air Force aboard as observer, was downed by ground fire while on a visual reconnaissance flight 65 miles southwest of Saigon. Neither aviator was able to escape the burning aircraft and were killed in the subsequent crash. CAPTAIN BIRCHAK was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery…

(7) On 11 January an F-105D of the 354th TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli flown by MAJOR W.M. THOMPSON was part of a COMMANDO HUNT mission and formation of Thunderchiefs attacking a truck park on the Trail near Ban Nammi when hit by 37mm anti-aircraft fire. He was forced to eject to the west of the target and evade enemy ground forces until rescued by an HH-3E flown by LCOL ROYAL BROWN and his fearless crew.

(8) On 12 January an F-100F Misty FAC of the 612th TFS and 37th TFW out of Phu Cat flown by CAPTAIN R.F. CASSARO and 1LT R.E. BRYAN was downed on a COMMANDO HUNT strike near Ban Tok. The aircraft was hit recovering from a second firing pass and CAPTAIN CASSARO crossed back into South Vietnam before the two aviators were forced to eject 30 miles west of Danang where they were rescued to fly and fight again. 1LT BRYAN knows how to do that… his 12 January rescue was his second, having been downed and rescued on a CAS mission near Hue on 23 October 1968…  

(9) On 12 January an F-4B of the VMFA-323 Death Rattlers and MAG-13 out of Chu Lai flown by 1LT W.C. RYAN, USMC, and 1LT GARY L. BAIN, USMC, suffered a mechanical problem that led to a fuselage fire while on a strike mission. The two Marine aviators were forced to eject and were rescued in due course…

RIPPLE SALVO for WEEK NINE… Humble Host continues the lead article in the 12 January 1969 Sunday edition of The New York Times by William Beecher introduced above…

“EXPERTS ON VIETNAM BUSY DRAFTING ‘ADVICE’ TO NIXON…Diverse Plans Offered… “Senior officials who have read several of the papers say the various proposed courses of action, despite differences in detail, are remarkably similar. While the options range the spectrum from a unilateral withdrawal, to a massive bombing effort against North Vietnam, the discussions focus most serious attention to a reduction of the violence in South Vietnam and a negotiated settlement. Well placed sources talk of six major options. The first involves the approach of maintaining maximum military pressure ojn the enemy in South Vietnam while attempting a favorable settlement in Paris wihout twisting Saigon’s arm on basic compromises. Officials say that while there are differences of opinion within the Johnson Administration, this is essentially the present Vietnam strategy, as espoused by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Ellsworth Bunker, Ambassador to Saigon, and General Creighton W. Abrams, United States commander in Vietnam. The strategy is keyed to the notion that with each month the strength of the Saigon regime is growing and that of the Vietcong is lessening.

“The second is called the McGeorge Bundy option of unilaterally cutting back American force levels from the present 550,000 men to 100,000 to 150,000 men in about two years to get into a position for a long-haul, low cost effort. Such an approach was advanced by Mr. Bundy last fall in a speech at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It is based on the premise that neither the North Vietnamese nor the Vietcong will be willing to make real compromises for some time and therefore the cost of the war, both in terms of American lives and dollars must be reduced to the point where the American public will support a long war. Then, when the enemy finally becomes sufficiently frustrated over a seemingly endless conflict, the allies side will be in a position to work out a good settlement.

TROOP WITHDRAWAL PLAN

“Another plan is the Clark Clifford approach of dual-track negotiations, the United States and North Vietnam attempting to negotiate mutual troop withdrawals in order to pressure Saigon and the Vietcong into a critical settlement in the South. Dr. Kissinger, in an article written for Foreign Affairs before he was named a Nixon aide, subscribed to the dual approach. Hanoi would be required to move its main units, together with filler troops now in Vietcong units, all the way back to North Vietnam, not merely across the borders into Laos and Cambodia. Verification of withdrawals and of an end to infiltration would be left to some international body of Asians watching the major mountain passes out of North Vietnam and making spot checks in the demilitarized zone between the two Vietnams and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.

POSSIBLE VARIANT

“A variant of this approach, in case Hanoi refuses to acknowledge publicly that it has troops in the South, would involve unannounced withdrawals. The fourth option calls for a four-party attempt to negotiate a total package settlement embracing both troop withdrawals and a final politcal settlement. This could involve either sharp pressure on Saigon to compromise in Paris, or on the Vietcong to agree to renounce the goal of forcible overthrowing the Saigon regime in order to live within the terms  of the South Vietnamese Constitution, taking part in the political process as individuals. During the course of the negotiations, which would be expected to be protracted, the United States could either continue current force levels and maximum military pressure in the South, or ease its burden by sending limited numbers of American units home as their places are taken by South Vietnamese units.

“Another plan would be for a gradual but substantial American troop reduction, either mutually agreed upon, or, if that is impossible, unilaterally. It would be much slower than under the Bundy proposal, however, being spread out over at least four or five years as the South Vietnamese armed forces became able to pick up most of the combat lead.

“The toughest proposal is for  variation of the so called Ike-Korea ploy. When General Dwight D. Eisenhower moved into the White House in 1953, word was quietly passed to Communist China through Indian diplomats that the new Administration was considering using nuclear weapons, if the Korean War could not be settled soon through negotiations. Truce agreement was reached about five months later. Applied in Vietnam this approach would involve letting word ‘leak’ to Hanoi that the Nixon Administration was opening serious discussions on such possible military moves as a resumption of bombing with focus on major military targets rather than trucks and barges, a blockage of principal ports, including Haiphong, and even the invasion of North Vietnam. The aim of this approach would be to convince Hanoi that it would be wise to make concessions in Paris. To add credibility to this tack, one or more new army divisions could be formed with the implicit threat that they might be headed for Vietnam. Well placed sources say that Dr. Kissinger has been so busy recuriting talent for his own office and others in the Nixon Administration that he has not yet had much time to grapple with the Vietnam policy review that Nixon officials announced a few weeks ago.

“‘When he finally does settle down behind his desk,’ said one official, ‘he’ll find that even without asking he’s got a large stack of suggestions.”…

ON 21 JANUARY 1969 DR. KISSINGER ISSUED NATIONAL SECURITY MEMORANDUM 1… “In an effort to develop an agreed evaluation of the situation in Vietnam as a basis for making policy decisions, the President has directed that each addressee (SecState, SecDef and DirectorCIA) of this memorandum, the U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and MACV (Abrams) prepare a separate response to the attached questions. The answers should include a discussion of uncertainties and possible interpretations of existing data. The President wishes to receive, as well, the Secretary of State’s comments on the Ambassador’s response, and the comments of the Secretary of Defense on the responses of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and MACV. All replies should be forwarded to the President by February 10, 1969.”

The “VIETNAM QUESTIONS” of NSSM 1 are at: https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/virtuallibrary/documents/nssm/nssm_001.pdf

The NIXON/KISSINGER Vietnam era had begun…

Lest we forget…         Bear