RIPPLE SALVO… #828… “HEADING HOME…HAVING SERVED FIFTY-FOUR MONTHS IN VIETNAM, IN ADDITION TO THIRTY-NINE MONTHS ABROAD DURING WORLD WAR II AND ANOTHER SIXTEEN IN THE KOREAN WAR, GENERAL WILLIAM C. WESTMORELAND, COMMANDER, UNITED STATES MILITARY ADVISORY COMMAND VIETNAM, HAD IN THE AGGREGATE SPENT MORE THAN NINE YEARS OVERSEAS, OVER A QUARTER OF HIS THIRTY-TWO YEARS SERVICE. NOW HE WAS GOING HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME.” (Lewis Sorley Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam)… but first…
Good Morning… Day EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT of remembering an American experience many would like to forget… Too many brave men served with unbounded honor and sacrifice for our country in a cause our leaders determined was in “the national interest.” More than 58,000 died for that cause. The nation must never forget loyalty unto death…
HEAD LINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES on Monday, 10 June 1968…
THE WAR: Page 1: “ENEMY GUNNERS RENEWING ATTACK–HIT SAIGON AREAS–Residential Districts Struck as Shelling Of the Capital Enters 7th Straight Day–6 Civilians Are Killed–Curfew in City is Relaxed–Government Troops Battle Remaining Vietcong Units”… “…most of the shells fell in quiet residential neighborhoods… curfew relaxed from 7p.m. to 9p.m. By nightfall however, the streets are deserted… In Cholon a force of 30 Vietcong surrendered to South Vietnamese Rangers yesterday without having fired a shot. A spokesman said that the men had given up because their retreat route had been blocked by a unit of national police…. Page 3: “VIETCONG RECRUITS GIRLS FOR COMBAT–Campaign Stepped Up To Get Them In Guerrilla Units”…
PEACE TALKS: Page 4: “ANALYSTS LINK RUSK’S SILENCE TO U.S.-HANOI TALKS–Conciliatory Stance In Paris Said To Explain Actions of Secretary Since May 4″… “Secretary of State Dean Rusk, normally the most outspoken hawk in the Johnson Administration, has made no public speeches in more than five weeks. And he has none scheduled in the forseeable future, according to his aides…. It was confirmed April 11 when Mr. Clifford, in his first news conference announced the Administration’s rejection of General Westmoreland’s request for 206,000 more United States troops and for protracted extension of the Vietnam war. The Administration’s sharp switch on Vietnam was further emphasized when Mr. Clifford made clear the burden of the war would gradually be shifted to the South Vietnamese… A well placed source: ‘Clifford has brought a political sensitivity that none of the other close Presidential advisors have.’ There is no evidence that Mr. Rusk has lost any of President Johnson’s confidence.”…
10 June 1968…PRESIDENT’S DAILY BRIEF (CIA-TS-SI)… SOUTH VIETNAM: Replacement National Police director Loan and Saigon mayor Cau has stirred little reaction do far. Both men were in Ky’s camp and their removal further erodes the vice president’s power base…. LAOS: Fighting is tapering off. Each year the Communists shift to the defensive about this time with the approach of the monsoon rains…. NORTH VIETNAM: In separate conversations with Western Journalists, Liberation Front and Hanoi officials in Phom Penh have given their views on the Paris talks. Both officials were adamant in insisting that the complete and unconditional cessation of the bombing was a necessary prerequisite to more substantial discussions….The attach’ also derided the effectiveness of the US bombing but admitted that the bombing limitation had been a source of “great relief” to the people of Hanoi and said that many evacuated enterprises were now returning to the capital….
In meetings over several days the President briefed two of the presidential candidates on Vietnam issues and status. Short and to the point Historical Document worth a read at:
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v06/d266
10 JUNE 1968…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (11 June reporting 10 Jun ops) Page 2: “In the air war, United States pilots flew 124 multi-plane missions against targets just north of the demilitarized zone. Antiaircraft fire was described as moderate to heavy.”…VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were three fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 10 June 1968…
(1) 9 June: MAJOR WILLIAM B. BERGMAN and 1LT DAVID A. WILLETT were flying an F-4D of the 497th TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon in support of the rescue operation for F-105 pilot MAJOR LIGHT downed on 8 June and successfully picked up on 9 June. Unfortunately, MAJOR BERGMAN and 1LT WILLETT were hit by AAA while orbiting the operation a few miles north of the DMZ, but were able to get their Phantom over the water before it was uncontrollable. They ejected 10 miles to sea and were rescued by Air Force helicopter to fly and fight again…
(2) 9 June: MAJOR ROBERT BALL was flying a O-1E of the 20th TASS and 504th TASG controlling strikes near the village of Kinh Mon in the DMZ when hit by enemy 12.7mm antiaircraft fire on his second run over the target, a concentration of enemy bunkers. The aircraft was rendered unflyable and crash killing MAJOR BALL… His posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross citation: “…for heroism while participating in aerial flight as a Forward Air Controller near Gio Linh, Republic of Vietnam on 9 June 1968. On that date, major Ball was flying his O-1 Bird Dog aircraft in support of friendly ground forces engaged in an assault on hostile forces. due to heavy hostile ground fire, the friendly forces were pinned down and coundn’t move. With complete disregard for his own personal safety, Major Ball made low, repeated passes over the unfriendly positions to draw their hostile fire and exposed themselves so that their positions could be located. By his heroism and devotion to duty, Major Ball has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”… MAJOR BALL was also awarded the SILVER STAR (Posthumously) for gallantry in action on a similar mission flown on 13 May 1968 when he made repeated low passes over hostile forces to draw fire in order to pinpoint hostile gun positions.”… He is remembered on this, the fiftieth anniversary of his extraordinary devotion to duty and gallantry in action, with highest respect and admiration as he rests in peace…
(3) 10 June: LCDR RANDOLPH W. FORD was flying an A-7A Corsair of the VA-86 Sidewinders and USS America on a night armed reconnaissance mission in Route Package II southeast of Vinh. About 30 miles southeast of Vinh he dispensed a flare over a suspected target and moments later his wingman observed a fireball on the ground. He then heard LCDR FORD voice broadcasting a he descended in his parachute reporting that he had a broken leg (another report has it as a broken arm). When he was on the ground he reported that the enemy was all around his position but as the search and rescue effort progressed it became likely that the enemy had obtained the beeper and were using it to lure SAR forces into gun range. All rescue efforts except electronic searches were called off when a SAR helo received enemy gun fire from the vicinity of the beeper broadcast. On 13 June 1968 a Hanoi Radio broadcast stated that: “At 0200 hours on June 11th U.S. warplanes attacked a populated area in HaTinh Province. One of them was knocked down on the spot and the air pirate captured by the militia in Cam Xuyen District.” A returning POW stated in Operation Home Coming he personally talked to LCDR FORD on June 15, 1968, claiming he had a broken arm and possible internal injuries. he believes he witnessed Ford’s death after he received only perfunctory medical aid from the North Vietnamese. His remains were repatriated to the U.S. on 14 August 1985 and positively identified on 4 November 1985… LCDR FORD is remembered with admiration and respect on the 50th anniversary of his last flight and his bitter last days as a Prisoner of War in the hands of cruel and heartless captors… glory gained, duty done he rests in peace…
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) ON 10 JUNE FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION IN THE SKIES OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1965… LTJG CARL LOUIS DOUGHTIE, USN… (KIA)…
1966… CAPTAIN DAN BRUEN PACKARD, USAF… (KIA)…
1967… COMMANDER PETER WOODBURY SHERMAN, USN,… (KIA)… and… LTJG THOMAS RENWICK HALL, USN… (POW)…
1968… LCDR RANDOLPH W. FORD, USN… (KIA)…
Humble Host flew #180. Led a section on a night armed recce of Highway 15 Happy Valley and put 5 MK-82s x 2 on truck lights… From the amount of 37mm flak, I concluded the trucks showing lights were probably a set-up. In any case, the lights were extinguished by ten MK.82s. On the way out stopped by the Ben Thuy ferry crossing across the river from Vinh and ripple salvoed two Lau-10 pods of rockets into the dark. Gunners were waiting for us…great fireworks display…and away we go, back ship…
RIPPLE SALVO… #828… NYT, 10 June 1968, page 1: “WESTMORELAND, LEAVING, SAYS ENEMY IS WEAKENING”… Gene Roberts…
“Gen. William C. Westmoreland said goodbye today to troops in the field and sailors at sea and assured them that ‘the enemy has been defeated at every turn,’ He said that he was leaving the country convinced that ‘our side is getting stronger whereas the enemy is getting weaker.’
“The trip today (9 Jun) was the general’s last visit to American troops in the countryside and to sailors on vessels in the South China Sea before he steps down on Tuesday as commander of all United States forces in Vietnam to become Chief of Staff of the Army. Between stops on his 600-mile farewell tour, the general made it clear in an linterview that, if he had to serve his 52 months in Vietnam over again, he would make few, if any, major changes in the way he has conducted the war. He thinks his insistence that the United States simply advise the South Vietnamese Army–rather than try to bring it under a joint allied commander–was the correct course for him to take. And he is convinced that the South Vietnamese Army is becoming more self-reliant and more aggressive with every passing day.
“The general is equally convinced that he was correct in having a mobile military force in Vietnam rather than having deployed his troops around populated areas of the country in permanent defensive positions as had been suggested by some of his critics. However, his satisfaction over current military strategy and the development of the South Vietnamese army is diminished by what he feels is an inaccurate impression in the United States of the way the war is going. General Westmoreland said that news accounts of the recent shellings, and ground attacks in Saigon had made it appear that the enemy was creating major problems for the allies ‘when he is actually putting up a facade of a military effort–he does have the capability to really hurt us. I have just come back from a week in the United States,’ he said, ‘and I was horrified to see the impression that was generated unwittingly as compared with the situation as I knew it and found it to be. The accumulation of exposure in the United States has matter,’ the General went on. ‘This is not a criticism of reporting, merely a statement of fact involving the cumulative effect.
“‘The enemy is getting nowhere militarily,’ the general said. ‘He is frustrated to the point where he is desperate. The attack on Saigon’s civilian population by (rocket and mortar) fire is an example of his desperation.’
“‘When his plane touched the runway is Danang–the second largest city of South Vietnam–this morning, the general put aside his concern over the public impression that the enemy is creating and embarked on a dizzying round of farewell speeches, parties and hand-shaking tours in the northernmost provinces and at sea.
USE COPTER AND PLANE…
“He hopped by helicopter to the South Vietnamese Army I Corps headquarters, then whirred to the third Marine amphibious Force Headquarters, then took a 35-mile helicopter ride to Provisional Corps Headquarters at Phubay. From there, he travel,ed by plane again to the aircraft carrier Enterprise 100 miles at sea. At every stop, he told servicemen that the allies were steadily stronger and were hurting more and more every week. And at each stop, subordinate commanders showered him with gifts, while junior officers and enlisted men crowded around him with cameras and snapped his picture repeatedly.
“The general sipped champagne with the Vietnamese, downed strawberry Koolaide and coconut-frosted cake with American soldiers, and tried ‘Navy talk’ with the men on Enterprise. It was clear from the beginning, however, that the general was a soldier and not a sailor. While standing on the deck of the carrier with three admirals and commanders, the general peered up above him at a platform bristling with electronic equipment.
“‘That’s impressive,’ he said, ‘What’s that?’ The admirals looked startled for a moment and they all spoke in a chorus, ‘That’s the bridge, sir.’ General Westmoreland cleared his throat, said, ‘Oh yes,’ and then hurried below deck to thank the carrier-base pilots for their role in bombing enemy positions and supply columns on both sides of the demilitarized zone. Almost every chat and every presentation of a gift reminded the general of the conviction that the United States is rapidly winning the war.
GAINS ARE CITED…
“In Danang, when South Vietnamese officers presented him with a plaque made from stone taken from nearby Marble Mountain, the general said; ‘Three year ago, Marble Mountain was under VC control. Now, we’ve got installations up there. A few minutes later, a colonel who works with South Vietnamese Regional and Popular (militia) Forces strolled up to shake General Westmoreland’s hand. ‘Three years ago, The R. and P. forces could never stand up to a main-force units.’ And while speaking to the headquarters staff of the South Vietnamese I Corps, General Westmoreland said: ‘Four years ago the enemy was getting more victories than you were.’ Now,’ he added, ‘the situation has changed. the enemy has been defeated at every turn.’
“On his way back to Saigon aboard a six-passenger T-39 General Westmoreland said while today’s trip was his last one as commander of United States forces here, it was far from being his first. With that, the general’s aide-de-camp, Captain Charles Sampson of the Marine Corps sat erect in his seat, snapped open his brief case, and began reading off statistics.
“Before the trip today, the general had traveled 469,638 miles in Vietnam for an average of 9,000-miles a month and 300 miles a day ‘And that does not include 11 trips out of the country,’ Said Captain Sampson. ‘These trips amounted to 242,000 miles, giving the general a total of 711,638 miles in the last 52 months.’ “… End NYT article…
HOST NOTE: USS Enterprise was at parade rest on 8 June as we shifted from the midnight-to-noon flying day to the noon-to-midnite schedule. June 8 was a full-day stand down and made “The Big E” the choice to host the Westmoreland visit to Yankee Station. The press came aboard with the General Westmoreland party. Normally, when the press was aboard my skipper, Bob Thomas, sent me to my stateroom to ensure the press wasn’t misled by my critical view of how the war was being waged. On this day he inexplicably allowed me to talk to the reporter from the LA Times, John Lengel. The conversation dealt with the restriction of Rolling Thunder ops to targets below the 19th Parallel, and whether the interdiction campaign in the North Vietnamese panhandle was as effective as concentrating the major effort in the Red River Valley and targets near Hanoi and Haiphong. I never saw my answer in print, but Lengel took notes when I told him that I was flying more, doing more damage, and having a whole lot more fun in the panhandle than flying Alpha strikes in aluminum clouds into the heartland. Further, whereas I was spending as little time over the beach as necessary–zip in, hit the target, and hightail it out of SAM country in Route Packs 4 and 6. In the panhandle campaign that commenced in April, I was flying about ten missions a week and hitting two targets on each flight (bombs on one target and rockets on the other). I was spending an average of 30 minutes over the beach in Indian country ready to pounce on anything that moved. More effective? You, betcha. I never saw Westmoreland while he was aboard. Usually when the three and four stars were aboard each squadron made a couple of aviators available to represent the warrior input. In VA-113 the two reps were almost always our “Gold Dust Twins”…Pat Anderson, whose Dad had been CNO and Ernie Christensen, whose Dad was a two-star.
(Webmaster note: LCDR Thomas Patrick “T.P.” Anderson was the son of former CNO Admiral George Whelan Anderson Jr. Pat was killed on 24 June 1978 when the A-7 Corsair II attack jet he was piloting crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off Sicily. He is lovingly and eternally remembered by his VA-113 squadronmates and others with whom he served)
RTR quote for 10 June: GENERAL FRED WEYAND: “The Vietnam War was not unwinnable. It was just not winnable the Westmoreland way.”…
Lest we forget… Bear