RIPPLE SALVO… #162… KASLER DOWN… but first…
Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO of a long–fifty year–look back at Operation Rolling Thunder… one day at a time…
10 AUGUST 1966… PAGE ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES… “All the news that’s fit to print”… A cloudy, rainy Wednesday…
Page 1: “U.S. Plane Losses Below Forecast President Says”… “President Johnson said today that the United States was still losing fewer planes than had been expected, despite a recent rise in air losses over North Vietnam. at a news conference at which he rejected pessimistic conclusions about developments in Vietnam, Mr. Johnson said: ‘I don’t see any change for the worst at all. Our plane losses are under those that we have estimated. Our helicopter losses are under those estimated.’ Last Sunday the United States lost seven planes over North Vietnam, the largest number in a single day since the raids against the North began in 1964. Noting that he had reviewed the matter last night with Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense, and Dean Rusk, Secretary State, the President continued: ‘Sometimes as you know you have heavier losses than you expect, and sometimes much smaller. Weather, good luck on their part, bad luck on our part–there are a lot of factors that enter into these things. But I wouldn’t say that the losses are unexpected.’…”…Page 1: “Foe Put at 228,000 In south Vietnam”…”The latest intelligence reports indicated that the number of enemy troops in South Vietnam had increased sharply to a total of 228,000. that is 52,000 more than the January 1 estimate of Vietcong, the South Vietnamese guerrillas, and the North Vietnam infiltrators. It is 11,000 more than the July 1 estimate of 271,000. Neither increased bombing of the North nor stepped up American ‘spoiling attacks’ on guerrillas bases in the South has appeared to reduce the enemy’s ability to build up his forces in response to American increases. It has been estimated that to prosecute the anti-guerrilla war here successfully, the allies might need a much greater numerical advantage than they have. An increase in United States strength to 400,000 by the end of the year has been widely predicted.”
Page 1: “Nation’s Youth Feel Major Impact Of War In Vietnam”…”‘I went to graduate school to get a deferment,’ the young man acknowledged, apparently unabashed. The threat of the draft had delayed his career and the uncertainties of his contrived deferment have confused his choices on marriage and given him the uneasy feeling of being hemmed in, convinced that he was expressing the intellectual and moral position of thousands of other young men, he said: ‘The war is imposing on them a demand to organize their lives on profane issues. They don’t see any connection between Vietnam and American security. If the United States was actually threatened they would fight like hell– I know I would. This war is probably made by old men. It is harder for Johnson to carry off even than it was for John Kennedy.’ His remarks, whether or not they reflect the majority viewpoint, illustrate the primary impact of the war on American life–perhaps the most unusual and most disturbing result of any was whose effect on the economic and material lives of most Americans has been virtually nil, the Vietnam conflict never-the-less generated in intellectual, moral, and ideological upheaval passionately centered among American young people.”
Page 1: “Civil Rights Bill Passed By House In Vote Of 259-157″…”After 12 days of intense debate the House passed by submitted by President Johnson last spring. The vote was 259 to 157. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces opposition by Republican leaders and the possibility of a filibuster by Southern Democrats. The main provision of the bill would assure nondiscrimination in the selection of Federal and state juries, combat racial discrimination and permit federal court injunction against anticipated violence or intimidation. Representatives voted 389 to 25 to make it a Federal crime for persons using interstate commerce to incite or carry out a riot.”
Page 1: “Cleveland Riots Linked to Reds”…”A Cuyahoga County grand jury charged tonight that racial violence here last month and in June was ‘organized and exploited by a small group of trained and disciplined professionals at this business.’ They were aided by misguided people, many of whom are avowed believers in violence and extremism, and none of whom are either members or officers of the Communist Party. The grand jury investigated the extreme disorders that began July 18 and caused four deaths before a combined force of policemen and nearly 3,000 Ohio National Guardsmen restored order. Earlier outbreaks occurred June 23 and 24. The jurors declared: ‘It is no casual happenstance or coincidence that those throwing firebombs, or bricks, or bottles, or pillaging or generally engaged in disorder and lawlessness were in the main young people obviously assigned, trained and disciplined in the roles they were to play in the pattern of these dual out breaks separated by less than one month.”
10 AUGUST 1966…The President’s Daily Briefing.. CIA (TS sanitized)…North Vietnam: Hanoi has obviously admitted to some difficulties in trying to evacuate a large p0rtion of the urban population while maintaining some semblance of normal life for the displaced persons. A recent editorial in the party paper, when stripped of its propaganda content, showed the regime’s concern over possible civilian casualties from intensified raids. It strongly advised that further civil defense measures be undertaken satisfactorily and urgently. The editorial called for the evacuees to develop a “spirit of overcoming difficulty,” evidently a reference to popular resistance to resettlement. Evacuees should quickly undertake productive tasks to preserve the “lasting character of the evacuation”–an apparent admission that a tendency simply to wander back to the city has plagued the evacuation program….
10 AUGUST 1966…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… NYT…(11 August reporting 10 August ops)…Page 2: “In North Vietnam Tuesday United States fighter-bombers attacked three fuel storage areas and small transport boats within 12 miles of Haiphong”… (that was it)… “Vietnam: Aircraft Losses” (Hobson)… One aircraft lost on 10 August 1966…
(1) LCDR JOSEPH STEPHEN HENRIQUEZ piloting an A-4E of the VA-155 Silver Foxes embarked in USS Constellation suffered an engine failure on the cat shot and LCDR HENRIQUEZ’s parachute failed to fully deploy after he ejected and he was Killed in Action… “there are no easy days…” Today marks the 50th anniversary of the sudden death of one of us…Lest we forget… today we remember LCDR JOE HENRIQUEZ… there but for the grace of God, go I…
RIPPLE SALVO… #162… KASLER… The New York Times coverage of the downing of Major Jim Kasler…Page 4 of 10 August 1966…
“Leading U.S. Pilot Is Downed In North Vietnam”…(by R.W. Apple) …
“A United States Air force Major whose peers consider him the outstanding pilot of the war was shot down over North Vietnam yesterday (Aug 8). The pilot, Major James H. Kasler of Indianapolis, a lean, laconic veteran of three wars bailed out shortly after his F-105D Thunderchief was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the Red River Valley. Rescue planes heard his emergency radio beacon, spotted him on the ground and even talked to him, but could not rescue him. This afternoon the search was officially abandoned, and the 40-year old flier was listed as missing in action.
“His was one of three Thunderchiefs lost in North Vietnam yesterday as enemy gunners continued one of the most effective periods of the war. The day before they had brought down seven American planes to establish a new one day aircraft lost record. The growing accuracy of the North Vietnamese gunners is beginning to cause profound concern among American military men in Saigon.
“Major Kasler’s F-105D was hit after he and members of his flight had almost completed an armed reconnaissance mission in the Red River valley about 55 miles northwest of Hanoi. Their targets were railroad and highway bridges and oil storage depots. The Major’s wingman was downed first. Hurriedly making rendezvous with a tanker to take on extra fuel, Major Kasler headed back to the strike area to circle above the spot where the wingman was believed to have landed. Moments later Major Kasler’s plane was struck. An unconfirmed report that he had gone down in a populated area.
“Flying from a base in Thailand, Major Kasler had completed more than 75 missions over North Vietnam. On a previous strike an enemy gunner drilled a large hole through a wing but he made it home. Air Force officers in Saigon have often said that Major Kasler had probably inflicted more damage in North Vietnam than any other pilot. He was known as a hardnosed and combative man eager for battle who seldom thought about the risks of the job. ‘I have always believed that being aggressive is the safest way to fly combat.’ Major Kasler, who shot down six MIGs in Korea, led the largest strike of the war May 31 against the Yen Bai oil storage complex 80-miles northwest of Hanoi. He also led the first attack on the fuel tanks on the outskirts of the North Vietnamese capital on June 29.”
The Major Jim Kasler biography is titled, “Tempered Steel: The Three Wars of Triple Air Force Cross Winner Jim Kasler” by Perry D. Lockett and Charles L. Byler… “Tempered Steel” belongs on every high school reading list, and any young man or woman who aspires to serve and fight for our country should spend a few days absorbing the life and times of Jim Kasler. He stands in the first rank of American heroes for all time, and is worthy of emulation by the generations of Americans who inherit the responsibility of preserving and protecting our country…
Lest we forget…. Bear ………. –30– ………..