RIPPLE SALVO… #132… MORE TARGETS, MORE SORTIES… but first…
Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO of another look at “The Silent Generation’s War”… the Rolling Thunder part…
10 JULY 1966… ON THE HOME FRONT…NYT… A rainy day to read the 300-page Sunday New York Times…
Page 1: “U.S. Presses Union To End Air Tie-Up; Prospects Gloomy”… “The Administration put pressure on the striking machinists union today to end its walkout against five major airlines as mediation efforts resumed amid gloomy comments about prospects for a quick settlement. The White House remained silent on the strike by 34,000 mechanics and ground service workers that began yesterday morning against Eastern, National, Northwest, Trans-World, and United airlines…..Page 1: “Peking rules Out Talks Unless U.S. Leaves Vietnam”…”Communist China ruled out today a reconvening of the Geneva conference on Indochina unless the United States withdraws its forces from South Vietnam. Premier Chou En-Lai said in a speech that a proposal by Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi to reconvene the conference was designed only to sap the fighting will of the Vietnamese to help the United States. “Unless United States troops are withdrawn, the reconvening of the Geneva conference is entirely out of the question.”…. Page 1: “Soviet Says Raid Periled Its Ships”…”The Soviet Union charged that the United States had threatened Soviet merchant shipping during bombing attacks an North Vietnam. A note of protest was handed to the United States embassy directing attention to the bombing raids on Thursday near the North Vietnamese port of Haiphong. “The responsibility for possible consequences of such action rests fully with the united States government…The raids created a direct threat to Soviet merchant ships and the lives of Soviet seamen.”… Page 1:…”U.S. Armor Exploits Tarp, Takes toll Of Enemy”…”A column of Army tanks and armored cars deliberately moved into a jungle ambush 50 miles north of Saigon today, touching off a battle of more than nine hours with a Vietcong force of regimental size (1000 troops). Hundreds of American reinforcements were rushed to the ambush scene suffered light casualties while killing 125 of the enemy.”…
Page 1: “McNamara Is Cautiously Optimistic On Vietnam”…By-Line: Max Frankel…”Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara took his time today in the Administration’s sustained celebration of progress it reports is being made in the war in Vietnam. Citing essentially the same indicators that other high officials had listed throughout the week, Mr. McNamara described himself “as cautiously optimistic” about the military situation. He returned this morning from Honolulu saying that the Vietcong had been kept from mounting a monsoon season offensive while their North Vietnamese allies were suffering weariness and ‘erosion of morale.’ The persistent Administration declarations of optimism are not based on hopes of an early peace. Rather they are interpreted here as having a double purpose. One aim is to reinforce the psychological pressure on North Vietnam in the wake of the bombings of oil depots in Hanoi and Haiphong. The other is to persuade Americans that the war has reached a turning point. By blunting the criticism at home, officials said to seek not only political advantage but also a further demonstration to Hanoi that it cannot count on domestic opposition to inhibit the American war effort.”… Page 6: “Rabbi Sees Split On War Widening”… Rabbi Perach Z. Levonitz, president of the Rabinical Council of the US: “The gulf between the supporters of the Johnson Administration’s approach to Vietnam and the opponent of his program is widening and growing more dangerous. This serious chasm is sundering the fabric of our democracy and may create a permanent rift in national unity…
(HUMBLE HOST: the Rabbi’s call, made fifty years ago was prophetic and I am in complete agreement with his call. The question: Is the “rift in national unity,” which continues to widen in 2016, permanent or repairable?…)
Page 13: “Draft Abolishment Urged By Pacifists”…”Leaders of the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy recommended yesterday that the draft be abolished and replaced by a professional volunteer force. Dr. Benjamin Spock said in a statement that the draft constituted “involuntary servitude” and was economically wasteful.” Spock: “The draft provides the basis for unlimited adventurism in foreign affairs by the executive branch without check and restraint by the legislative branch of our government through making available a standing pool of manpower. Conscription until abolished should be conducted on a strict basis so that the burden and the concern may be equally shared by all economic, social and racial groups.”…
Page 1: “Jack Nicklaus Wins the British Open”…over Doug Sanders to complete the “Big Four” (Masters, PGA, U.S. Open and British Open)
10 July 1966…THE PRESIDENT’S DAILY BRIEF… CIA (TS sanitized)…Soviet Union: Satellite photography of late June shows construction has started on four new groups of silos for the large Soviet ICBM, comparable to our Titan II. (There had apparently been a slow=down in new starts for this weapon in 1967.) this brings the number of launchers for ICBM to some 230 (rest redacted)… We also learn from satellite photography that the Soviets have begun producing a third type of attack submarine. The latest class is being built in the Soviet Far east; we cannot tell yet what sort of a propulsion system it will have. The other two types, both of them nuclear-powered, are being produced in the western Soviet Union…
10 JULY 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… NYT (11 July reporting 10 July ops)…Page 6: “2 Airmen Plucked From Sea” …. “Two downed airmen afloat off the North Vietnamese coast scrambled aboard an amphibious rescue airplane today as Communists plunked bullets into the ground swell a few feet away. The successful rescue followed a long day of American attacks on North Vietnam. Shortly after sunup yesterday Air Force F-4C Phantoms wrecked or damaged 40 North Vietnamese trucks 40 miles west of the South Vietnam border. Ninety other marauding missions followed through the day, including a raid by carrier based Navy A-6 Intruders on underground gas and oil tanks at Yen Bai, 135 miles further north. There was no immediate damage report, but the pilots said their half-ton bombs had set off a flurry of secondary explosions that sent smoke 2,000-feet in the air. The rescued pilots had been making a reconnaissance flight over the same general area when ground fire brought down their Phantom. The airmen, CAPTAIN FRANK LENNON and CAPTAIN THOMAS WEEKS parachuted into the South China Sea at a spot 20 miles north of the 17th parallel. Within 20 minutes an Air force HU-16 Albatross landed in the sea beside them, MAJOR JESSE ANDERSON later said: ‘When we came in to make the pickup, we were so close to shore that hostile gunfire landed within 10 to 20 feet of the airplane.” Five minutes later the Albatross was airborne bearing the two fliers to safety in Danang.”
“VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES,” (Chis Hobson) Page 65…Two aircraft down…
(1) CAPTAIN FRANK LENNON and CAPTAIN THOMAS WEEKS were flying an F-4C of the 480th TFS and 35th TFW out of Danang on a strike a few miles north of the DMZ and were making a napalm drop when hit by ground fire. The aircraft broke out in flames and was flyable long enough to get feet wet, barely, before the crew ejected and were rescued by Air Force HU-16 (see above NYT article).
(2) LCDR GEORGE HENRY WILKINS was flying an A-4C of the VA-153 Blue Tail Flies embarked in USS Constellation on a night armed reconnaissance and interdiction mission north of Vinh over highway 1A. LCDR WILKINS, an old squadron mate of mine from NAS Oceana, VF-21, 1958, sighted what appeared to be a truck convoy. He dropped flares over the target and proceeded to dive under the flares to visually confirm his target. His wingman waited at altitude fr0m where he observed a “long trail of fire on the ground” and a loss of contact with his flight leader LCDR WILKINS. While there was active anti-aircraft fire in the hostile area, the cause of the loss of this aircraft and pilot is uncertain. There was no beeper or chute and LCDR WILKINS was officially declared dead in 1974 when he wasn’t among the returning POWs. In 1989 the remains of several unidentified American warriors were returned by the North Vietnamese and were positively identified in 1996 by mitochondrial DNA testing. ..George was Killed in Action fifty years ago this day and is remembered as he rests in peace in the land he loved……
RIPPLE SALVO… #132… “Rolling Thunder Program 51 (new and improved ???)... As a consequence of the Honolulu muster to review the Rolling Thunder campaign, the staffers burned the night oil to come up with a new RT 51 that reflected the inputs of PACOM Admiral Sharp who had requested more sorties, more targets and fewer restrictions… The new and improved (?) JCS RT 51 included some, but not all of the Admiral’s requests. Approved: added strikes on selected targets (mostly POL) within the Hanoi and Haiphong sanctuaries (one as close as 4 miles); armed reconnaissance strikes on seven additional segments of the two rail lines running from Hanoi to China; and, an increase in sorties per month for “armed recce” from 8,100 to 10,100, with most of gain going to Air Force with the wider areas of General Westmoreland’s “extended battlefield) to cover (sortie allocation was a Sharp decision). The guidance reinforced the President’s priority one target set: the “POL strangulation campaign” to shut down the flow of gas and oil to and from North Vietnam (without mining of bombing the Haiphong port facilities)… Staaveren writes in “GRADUAL FAILURE”: “In reality, the POL strangulation campaign was not a new program, but a continuation–with operational refinements and many restrictions–of the air effort against POL installations that began on June 29. Post strike reports made on attempt to differentiate the strikes conducted before or after the CINPAC directive of July 24 that launched the plan…” Get that? Meeting breaks up on July 9 and the “start your engines” comes two weeks later?… and minus a most of what Admiral Sharp had requested in order to meet the stated goal– POL strangulation… for example, Sharp’s POL target list included 225 sites, including more than 100 with recent photographs. “Gradual Failure,” page 300…” Because the Defense Secretary quickly concluded that the POL strikes were not very effective—he refused to allow all POL sites to be struck…” In short, our leaders came out of Honolulu on 10 July 1966, fifty years ago, on different frequencies with different ideas on how to fight the air war… SNAFU!!!… POL Strangulation #1 Priority???
Ah, here’s the answer… During that two weeks between the conference and the execution order (July 10-24) the Secretary of State had his shot at the plan… From “Gradual Failure,” page 300 …”The State Department provided Washington rationale for restraint: further bombing escalation might be construed by Peking as an American attempt to capitalize on confusion in China, which was in the initial throes of a ‘Cultural Revolution’ led by the Red Guards, and trigger an ‘irrational’ response. Also, Hanoi appeared ‘resolved’ to stay the course in the war, at least until the next South Vietnamese elections, which were scheduled for November 2966.” And with that– “the strategy of gradual defeat’ continues…
Lest we forget…. Bear ………. –30– ………