COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973)…
LEST WE FORGET… “No man is an island…”… WITH THE DEATHS OF MORE THAN 800 U.S. WARRIORS ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA IN THE THIRTY DAYS OF APRIL 1969 THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS KIA SINCE 1961 EXCEEDED 34,000. Another 184 perished in the first week of May. That price in blood would be doubled in the second week of May. John Donne: “… any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”… In May 1969, who in his right mind could have imagined that “the bell would toll” the loss of almost 25,000 more American bravehearts in a lost cause fought 10,000 miles from home on the mainland of Asia?…
Good Morning. It is Monday, 5 August 2019. Humble Host remembers the Vietnam war and Week Twenty-Seven of the the relentless effort to interdict the stream of men and material flowing from North Vietnam to fuel the Communist’s fight for South Vietnam, an effort that kept 300,000 enemy workers employed operating and maintaining the Ho Chi Minh Trail…
I. THE HEADLINES FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES for 12 through 18 May 1969…
A. THE WAR… (12 May) ENEMY STEPS UP PACE OF ACTIVITY IN SOUTH VIETNAM–Gunners Shell Saigon and Hue And 30 Other Military Positions–Rocket Attacks Kill 6–Capital Police On Alert After Terrorists Slay 13–Squad of Vietcong is Routed… “North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops shelled Saigon, Hue and more than 30 allied military positions last night and this morning in a considerable increase in the tempo of the war….at least 13 persons have been killed and about 100 wounded…attacks most significant in a month…in ground action American troops southwest of Peliku in the Central Highlands killed 102 North Vietnamese regulars in two days of fighting…”… (13 May) PRESIDENT SEES ABRAMS ON WAR–TO TALK TO NATION–He Plans Television Speech Tommorow Night on ‘Peace Prospects’ In Vietnam–Key Aides At Meeting–Laird, Wheeler, Kissinger At White House Parley–Rise in Fighting is Topic… 159 RAIDS STAGED BY FOE IN VIETNAM–Figure Is Largest Since Tet ’68–Political Aim Is Suspected In Paris… IN TAYNINH, SHELL BLASTS PEIRCE THE NIGHT–But Vietnamese Take Bitterest Fighting In Their Stride… (14 May) ENEMY ROCKETS KILL 10 AT DANANG–Other Attacks Are Reported–Fighting Increases... (15 May) ALLIED INTELLIGENCE AIDES SAY NORTH VIETNAM HAS SENT LARGE NUMBERS OF TROOPS INTO MEKONG DELTA… (16 May) ALLIES OPERATING IN ASHAU VALLEY–Sweep Is Fourth of Year–3,800 Troops Take Part… “…Fleets of helicopters lifted hundreds of troops to within a few hundreds yards of the border to start the operation five days ago… The Ashau Valley–30-mile long dense patches of elephant grass and contained by thickly jungled granite walls–has been used by enemy troops as a major supply depot and command center for at least three years according to allied intelligence officers… So far, the 2,800 troops (or was it 3,800?) have reported killing 202 North Vietnamee and to have captured at least three Soviet Molotova trucks and a bulldozer along with a hundred weapons. Thirty six (36) Americans had been killed and 175 wounded…”… (17 May) U.S. TURNS OVER 2 PATROL BOATS TO THE SVN NAVY– 11 Marines Reported Killed In Battle With Enemy Force Near Anhoa… “…The transfer was another step in a program for the gradual elimination of Americans from the task of patrolling the more than 1,000 miles of South Vietnamese coastline….by 1970 the SVN will have more than 400 patrol boats that at one time had been operated by Americans.”… “In military action Thursday, 11 Americans were killed when a marine force clashed with about 45 enemy soldiers about 23 miles southwest of Danang. The enemy held its ground…The marines were reinforced and bombers and artillery pounded the enemy position. The enemy left no evidence of its losses. The marines also suffered 27 wounded…”… (18 May) G.I.’s IN 4 BATTLES REPORT KILLING 100… “United States troops fought four one-sided battles with Vietcong and North Vietnamese, killing at least 100 of the enemy and taking losses of only one dead and three wounded…”…
B. PEACE TALKS IN PARIS…(Happy 1st Birthday) … (12 May) Drew Middleton writing from Paris… SAIGON AIDE ASSAYS FRONT’S PLAN… “Pham Dang Lam, South Vietnam’s chief negotiator at the peace talks here, declared today that his government was ready for ‘serious discussions’ on both the 10-point program of the Vietcong and the six points of President Nguyen Van Thieu. Referring specifically to the program presented last Thursday by the National Liberation Front, or Vietcong, Mr. Kam said ‘we do not reject stgraight off any proposal of the other side or suggestion.”… next session of the talks this Friday… (13 May) PARIS TALKS ARE ONE YEAR OLD–As War Goes On, Key Issue of Parley Is Just Joined… “The first year of the Vietnam negotiations in Paris ended today with the ground war in South Vietnam persisting and the central political issues not being joined. When the talks began in the gray stone Majestic Hotel near the Arc de Triumphe, W. Averell Harri8man, the chief American negotiator then, was saying privately that he thought it would take two years to reach a settlement. Some officials, seeing the wide gap that persists between allied and enemy positions believe that it could take more than two years.”… (14 May) LODGE RETURNING FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON PARIS PARLEY–He Is Due In Capital Today… (15 May) TWO VIETCONG AIDES IN PARIS CALL THEIR 10-POINT PLAN A ‘WHOLE’… (16 May) LODGE SEES HOPE FOR A NEW PHASE IN VIETNAM TALKS–Says Nixon Plan and Foe’s Provide Basis to Discuss Matters of Substance–Timing ‘Propitious’–Envoy Discounts Vietcong Initial Negative Initial Reaction to President’s Speech… (17 May) LODGE SAYS HANOI SHOWS INTEREST IN NIXON PROGRAM–Reports North Vietnam and National Liberation Front Indicate They Will Consider Peace Proposals–P.L.A. Offered In Paris–Enemy Delegate’s Tone At Parley is Moderate–U.S. Hopeful on Negotiations… (18 May) THIEU SEEKS TALKS WITH NIXON SOON TO ALIGN POLICIES–Asks Parley To Coordinate View On Vietnam War and Paris Negotiations–No Decision By U.S. –Saigon’s Move Seen As Sign of Doubts On Washington’s Latest Peace Proposition... N.L.F. AIDE ASSERTS NIXON IS DECEITFUL…
C. THE REST OF THE NYT HEADLINES… (12 May) PENTAGON AIDE SAYS A SOVIET ATTACK IN 1975 WOULD DESTROY 90% OF ICBMS.. “The Pentagon’s research chief estimated today–for the first time publicly–that perhaps only one-tenth of the United States strategic missile force would survive a Soviet nuclear attack in 1975. The possibility of such a loss, said Dr. John S. Foster, Jr., is the reason President Nixon ordered a start on an antiballistic missile system to protect United States offensive missile installations…. ‘fewer than 100 U.S. ballistic missiles would survive a Soviet Attack…”… (13 May) COUNTDOWN STARTS FOR APOLLO 10 AFTER FINAL REHEARSAL IS HELD… DR. FOSTER SEES A LAG IN MISSILES–He Says Soviet Program Is Moving Faster Than U.S. Leaders Had Expected… GM DROPS CORVAIR…A Failure at Age 10… (14 May) NIXON ASKS DRAFT LOTTERY WITH 19-YEAR OLDS FIRST–Orders Deferment Study–Equity Is The Goal–Period of Liability of Induction Would Be Reduced Later… COLUMBIA’S TRUSTEES ABOLISH R.O.T.C…. CRITICISM AND EVASION OF DRAFT GROW WITH UNPOPULARITY OF THE VIETNAM WAR… “…As millions of Americans have become disillusioned with the war in Vietnam, the draft itself, riddled with apparent inequities, has increasingly become a target for attack…. leaders are unhappy with the draft. Senator Edward F. Kennedy, for instance, wants to revise it and end the power of local draft boards.”… APOLLO 10 ASTRONAUTS CALLED FIT FOR FLIGHT TO MOON NEXT SUNDAY… (15 May) NIXON ASKS TROOP PULLOUT IN A YEAR–Would Join Vietnam Political Talks–Speaks to Nation–Hints Partial Cutback of U.S. Troops Will Come In Any Case… CAIRO SAYS IT FRUSTRATED CANAL CROSSING BY ISRAEL–Gun Exchanges Continue… TRIAL OF 12 ACCUSED OF BURNING DRAFT FILES OPENS IN MILWUAKEE… MOSCOW ASSAILS NIXON ON VIETNAM–Says He Is Following Policy of Johnson Administration… HANOI HINTS SHIFT OF POLICY IN LAOS–Envoys Call On the Premier Viewed As Step To Peace In War In Laos… (16 May) FORTAS QUITS THE SUPREME COURT–Defends Dealings With Wolfson–Liberal Majority May Be Curbed–Justice Concedes He Made Arrangement On Life Stipend… 2 Positions on Court Open–Nixon’s Choices Can Alter The Direction Taken By Court… SHOT GUNS AND TEAR GAS DISPERSE RIOTERS NEAR BERKELEY CAMPUS… MILWAUKEE 12 SEEK TO PLACE THE WAR ON TRIAL–Defendants Ask Wide View In Arson Case… 1967 DETROIT RIOT DESCRIBED AS A ‘WAR’… SPORTS: HANK AARON WALLOPS 516TH ABD 517TH–Draws Within 4 of Ted Williams–Passes Lou Gehrig in Total Bases... (17 May) NUCLEAR SUBMARINE SINKS IN 5-MINUTES AT WEST COAST YARD– Crew Safe… “…sank to the bottom of San Francisco Bay in five minutes last night as water poured into a forward compartment. Crew members and workers at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard quickly abandoned the U.S.S. Guittaro, an attack submarine undergoing final fitting. There were no injuries… the vessel sank in 35 feet of water.”… (18 May) ARAB GUERRILLAS RAID ISRAELI POST–Attack Across Jordan Is First Since ’67 War Against a Fortified Position… APOLLO 10 READY FOR FLIGHT TO MOON TODAY… PREAKNESS IS WON BY MAJESTIC PRINCE OVER ARTS AND LETTERS–Pair Also Finished One-Two in Derby… (President Lauds Military forces…see Humble Host Note below…)…
II. COMMANDO HUNT II… Tactical air strike operations in Southern Laos became overshadowed by the relentless pounding of the B-52s in Operation Menu…THE SECRET BOMBING OF NORTH VIETNAMESE SANCTUARIES IN CAMBODIA… On 15 May 1969 Nixon expanded the attacks on the North Vietnamese sanctuary camps in Cambodia. This decision came two days after Sihanouk of Cambodia held a press conference in which he “all but confirmed the bombings, emphatically denied any loss of civilian life, and to all practical purposes invited” the United States to continue… Sihanouk quoted in Henry Kissinger’s ENDING THE VIETNAM WAR… “Here it is–the first report about several B-52 bombings. Yet I have not been informed about that at all, because I have not lost any houses, countrymen, nothing, nothing. Nobody was caught in those barrages–nobody, no Cambodians. I have not protested the bombings of Viet Cong camps because I have not heard of the bombings. I was not in the know, because in certain areas of Cambodia there are no Cambodians.”…
Also, a couple of Kissinger footnotes from his book…
“The double-book keeping the Pentagon had devised for the Cambodian bombing had a motivation much less sinister than that described in revisionist folklore. To preserve the secrevy of the initial (originally intended as the only) raid, Pentagon instructions were kept out of normal channels. The purpose was not to deceive Congress (where key leaders were informed) but to keep the attack from being routinely briefed to the Saigon press. The procedure was continued by rote when the bombing became more frequent two months later. When congressional committees asked for data four years later, new Pentagon officials, unaware of the two reporting channels, unwittingly furnished data from the regular files. This was a bureaucratic blunder, not deliberate design.”… and…
“Under the Hague Convention of 1907, a neutral country has the obligation not to allow its territory to be used by a belligerent. If the neutral country is unwilling or unable to prevent this, the other belligerent has the right to take appropriate counteraction.”
III. AIRCRAFT LOSSES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: 12 THROUGH 18 MAY 1969…References include Chris Hobson’s history of the air war in Vietnam, VIETNAM AIR LOSSES and the PACAF SOUTHEAST ASIA AIR OPERATIONS SUMMARY for May 1969… During the week ending 18 May 1969 the United States lost nine (9) aircraft and fifteen (15) winged warriors…
(1) On 12 May a Marine F-4J of VMFA-334 and MAG-13 out of Chu Lai piloted by 1LT D.H. MATZKO, USMC, and RIO, 1LT P.E. DALY was hit by enemy ground fire while delivering napalm on an enemy target in the DMZ buffer zone while under FAC control. The damage was limited to the starboard wing allowing 1LT MATZKO to attempt an emergency landing at Danang. Unfortunately, the Phantom faltered ten miles short of the airfield and both in the crew successfully ejected at sea east of Danang. Both were rescued to fly and fight again.
(2) On 12 May a Navy A-7A of the VA-25 “Fist of the Fleet” embarked in USS Ticonderoga flamed out due to fuel starvation returning from a strike mission. The Corsair successfully rendezvoused with the tanker but just as the fuel transfer began, the engine failed and the aircraft was lost. The pilot was recovered to strike again…
(3) On 14 May an Air Force F-105F of the 354th TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli piloted by MAJOR A.M. YAHANDA, call sign “Mantis,” was lost on a COMMANDO HUNT mission near Ban Naden, about 20 miles west of Mugia Pass. On his second pass on a truck target MAJOR YAHANDA was hit by ground fire and immediately turned west for home. He successfully overflew Laos but was required to abandon the failing Thunderchief over Thailand only five miles from Udorn. He was rescued by an HH-43B of the 38th ARRS and a crew led by the pilot, MAJOR LESTER B. LANGSTON…
(4) On 16 May an Air Force U-10B of the 14th SOW out of Bien Hoa was damaged beyond repair due to a ground handling accident. The aircraft slipped out of a sling while being lifted by a heavy lift helo…oops…
(5) On 16 May a Marine VMFA-314 and MAG-13 out of Chu Lai was lost on takeoff from Cubi NAS, P.I. on a ferry flight to Chu Lai, SVN. The pilot over-rotated and the aircraft stalled and crashed. Both aircrew ejected and were rescued… The flying business is unforgiving of human screwups…
(6) On 17 May an Air Force F-4D (“Cobalt 01”) piloted by an unidentified aviator with WSO 1LT VIRGIL GRANT STEWART in the rear cockpit was lost on a COMMANDO HUNT armed reconnaissance mission over Mugia Pass. The crew ejected but only 1LT STEWART’s pilot (unidentified) was recovered. 1LT STEWART reported suffering a broken arm and leg on his ejection and parachute landing. One of the two SAR helos responding to the downing of 1LT STEWART was forced to abort. The ARRS rescue forces spotted 1LT STEWART and commenced a recovery attempt in the presence of intense enemy antiaircraft fire. The rescue helo put a parachuterescueman (PJ) on the ground where it was determined that 1LT STEWART was dead. The advancing enemy ground forces made recovery of the pilot’s body impossible. CAPTAIN STEWART remains in the status of “Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered.”… He is memorialized at Resthaven Gardens of Memory and Mausoleum at Baton Rouge, Louisana…. DPAA has their hands full keeping alive and active the search for CAPTAIN STEWART. Let’s face it– CAPTAIN STEWART was left behind and IMHO the record of effort to find his remains is spotty at best… Our country can do better… The unnamed pilot of Cobalt 01 was rescued by an HH-53 from the 40th ARRS (pilot: GERALD A. JONES). The PJ on this mission was a real brave dude… oohrah… (HUMBLE HOST Note: Among the 40+ links available through the RTR Home page are the eight 50-minute films in the Vietnam Air War series. Episode 4 covers the history of the rescue efforts in Southeast Asia: heroism from beginning to end. Great film of the Laotian jungles and mountain passes where Commando Hunt missions were flown)…
(7) On 18 May a C-123K of the 310th SOS and 315th SOW out of Phan Rang was hit in the port engine by enemy ground fire Tanh Linh, 50 miles east of Bien Hoa.. The pilot attempted to close on Bien Hoa for an emergency landing with his burning aircraft. The effort fell short by six miles and all six members of the crew perished in the crash of the Provider.. Lost on 18 May were: 1LT NEIL WILLIAM HAYDEN; 1LT DOUGLAS McARTHUR EVANS; MSGT DUANE LELAND HARTEN HOFF; TSGT KERMIT BRUCE ROBERTS; SSGT CARL JOSEPH WANNER; and SGT MILTON JACKSON BUSH. They are remembered here with admiration and respect for their service and sacrifice for our country….
(8) and (9) On 18 May a Marine KC-130F refueling tanker of VMGR-152 and MAG-15 out of Danang and a pair of F-4Bs of VMFA-314 and Chu Lai were refueling just south of the DMZ when slammed into by an F-4B of VMFA-542 flying on a reciprocal path. The KC-130 and the VMFA-542 aircraft and their crews were killed in the tragic mid-air collision, “one of the worst air accidents suffered by the Marines during the war in Southeast Asia.” (Hobson)… One of the F-4Bs of VMFA successfully landed at Danang, the other, piloted by MAJOR J.D. MOODY with WSO 1LT GRIFFITHS was abandoned by the crew who ejected and were rescued from the Gulf of Tonkin. Killed in the KC-130F were: MAJOR JIMMIE DWAYNE SELLS; MAJOR JOHN CLARENCE WILLIAMSON; MSGT CARROLL FRANKLIN HERSEY; MSGT EDMOND CHESTER POLENSKI; SGT ROBERT ALLEN BONEBRIGHT; and CORPORAL JAMES ALLEN COX. Killed in the VMFA-542 F-4B were: 1LT CHARLES WILLIAM PIGOTT and CAPTAIN JOHN LAURENCE NALLS…. They rest in peace, glory gained and duty done…
IV. HUMBLE HOST END NOTE… Clipped from page 1, The New York Times, 18 May 1969…
NIXON TAKES PART IN OBSERVANCE OF ARMED FORCES DAY–President Lauds Military Forces–He watches naval exercises aboard Aircraft Carrier Saratoga–Stresses Peace Role… by Walter Rugaber, Aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga off Norfolk, Va., May 17– “President Nixon, after watching a flashing display of missile shots and bombing runs today, praised the nation’s military men as ‘the peace forces of the world.’ The President witnessed naval exercises from this aircraft carrier during a two-hour visit that marked Armed Forces Day.
“In New york City, 7,000 military men, reservists and veterans marched in an hour long Armed Forces Day parade on Fifth Avenue. General William C. Westmoreland, the Army Chief of Staff and former American commander in Vietnam, reviewed the parade.
“In a speech to officers and men assembled on the flight deck, Mr. Nixon said: ‘When you hear criticism of the military complex in our country… remember this: no nation has military forces more dedicated to peace and whose activites make a greater contribution to peace than the United States. By what you do, by what you are, we will achieve peace in Vietnam and the Pacific, and we’re going to be able to keep peace in the world. Mr. Nixon said that when he had appeared on the South Lawn of the White House earlier today to award the Congressional Medal of Honor to two military men, ‘one individual in the crowd of tourists shouted ‘Peace, peace, peace.’… “To me,’ he told the white-uniformed men lined up before him on the Saratoga’s sunwashed deck, ‘you are the peace forces of the world, for without the strength of the American military there would not be peace in the world.’
“The President, a Navy veteran, flew by helicopter from the White House to the aircraft carrier with Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chief of Naval Operations, and Henry A. Kissinger, his assistant for national security affairs. From a chair near the edge of the flight deck, Mr. Nixon watched as units of the 14-ship attack force shot down pilotless aircraft with missiles. The display included the firing of a missile from a submerged submarine.
“The President then went to the bridge and watched the launching of the carrier’s aircraft. In passes along the ship’s starboard side, the planes dropped napalm, engaged in strafing and divebombing attacks and fired missiles. The exercises were narrated over a public address system with an enthusiasm resembling that of a sports broadcast. When one missile was fired at a drone, the announcer reported: ‘There he goes…he got him right in the tailpipe.’ When a string of 500-pound bombs threw up a high curtain of water off to the side of the carrier, the announcer reported: ‘That would have done some pretty good damage to a SAM site, too.’ The SAM is a Russian antiaircraft missile that has been used by the North Vietnamese against American bombing attacks.
“The President left the carrier by helicopter for Camp David, the Presidential retreat in Maryland. he is scheduled to return to Washington tomorrow.
“In the White House ceremonies this morning, Mr. Nixon awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Chief Warrant Officer Frederick Edgar Ferguson, 31 years old, and Specialist Thomas James Kinsman, 24. Chief Ferguson, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred H. Ferguson, of El Centro, Calif., received the medal for flying his helicopter through heavy enemy fire on January 31, 1968, on a rescue mission. Specialist Kinsman, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Kinsman of Onalaska, Washington, saved seven men on Feb. 6, 1968, by throwing himself on a hand grenade hurled by the enemy near Vinhlong. He was severely wounded in the head and chest.”…
Lest we forget… Bear