Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #193… AND ALL ‘OLD GLORY’ STANDS FOR… but first…
Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED NINETY-THREE of remembering and recognizing the sacrifice, heroism and love of country of the legion of brave warriors, living and dead, who fought for our flag in the skies over North Vietnam fifty years ago… Lest we forget…
10 September 1966…THE NEWS AT HOME AS PUBLISHED IN THE NYT… on a fair weather Saturday…
Page 1: ‘Pessimism Grows In White House On Rights Bill”…”Despite public displays of optimism, including a statement from the White House, the Administration is growing increasingly pessimistic about the fate of its civil rights bill. The reason according to informed sources on Capitol Hill is that Everett Dirksen of Illinois, the Senate Republican leader, indicated he could not back the measure even if the controversial section on housing were removed…White House Press Secretary Nicholas Katzenbach said: “We have received no word that the bill is dead. And we’re not going to give up on the hope or the effort to get the bill passed.’… Page 1: “Gas Leak Puts Off Gemini 11 Until Today”…”Commander Charles Conrad and Lieutenant Commander Richard Gordon will be preceded in orbit by an Agena target vehicle set for launching by an Atlas rocket at 8:48AM. Gemini 11 launches at 10:25AM. the delayed launching to repair a pin hole leak in its Atlas rocket will not alter the ambitious flight plan of Gemini 11.”… Page 1: “U.S. Urged To Reveal Note To French In Peace Talks”…”Senator Ernest Gruening of Alaska called on Secretary Dean Rusk to make public a letter from Secretary Rusk to the French Foreign Minister outlining an alternative United States proposal for ending the war in Vietnam. The Alaska Democrat, a persistent foe of Administration policy in Vietnam, said publication of the letter should help to clarify the Administration’s ‘often contradictory terms of settlement’ and thus perhaps encourage North Vietnam to go to the negotiating table. There was little expectation that the Administration would heed the Senator’s suggestion. The letter was designed to enlist the support of the French leader in bringing about peace negotiations by outlining proposals that might be acceptable to North Vietnam. The hope was that General De Gaulle during his visit to Cambodia might use the suggestions as a basis of his own proposals…De Gaulle chose to ignore the proposals and never relayed them to the North Vietnamese.”…
Page 1: “Carmichael Refuses To Post Bail and Is Held For Jury In Atlanta”…”Stokely Carmichael was bound over for possible indictment on a misdemeanor charge of inciting a riot here (in Atlanta) today… Mr. Carmichael refused to post bond and chose to remain in jail indefinitely. The Grand Jury will probably consider his case next week…Resentment against SNVCC, already high in the white community, has spread to many parts of the Negro community in the past two days.”…Page 1: “Wallace Orders All Teachers Shifted To Schools Of Their Race”…”Alabama schools that have desegregated their facilities without a federal court order were warned today by governor George Wallace that they were violating state law. He called on them to take immediate steps to reassign all teachers to schools of their own race and at the time to transfer pupils who had been integrated under a quota or percentage system. ‘The police power of a state supersedes that of another. It may have to be used within the law to protect the peace and safety of the people of the state,’ Mr. Wallace told newsmen. ‘We might have to assert the police power of the state of Alabama one of these days.’…”…
Page 2: “Stricter Auditing Urged In Vietnam”…”The House Appropriation Committee called today for closer auditing of the vast military construction program in Vietnam as it recommended $1.02 billion to new funds for domestic and foreign military construction projects…In stressing the need for increased audit of programs in Vietnam, the committee said the remoteness of the area and problems involved were ‘unprecedented in such a small geographical area.’ The value of the military construction in Vietnam is increasing at the rate of $40 million per month ($138 million thus far in 1966).”… Page 2: “Haiphong Gets Barrage Balloons As Defense Against Air Attacks“…”The North Vietnamese have added barrage balloon to their array of anti-aircraft equipment. The balloons, 12-15 feet in diameter and colored blue or gray, tethered to the ground by steel cables they resemble defenses used in London against German aircraft in WWII. The purpose of the balloons is not clear, but might serve as altitude guides for gunners, and to guard against low level attacks, as well as have a negative psychological effect on pilots. American pilots first reported seeing them in July. Most of the balloons are moored at 3000-feet in clusters of up to 25 around Haiphong in a belt stretching about 25-miles southwest of the city. No American planes have been damaged by the balloons.”… Page 2: “GIs Liquor In Vietnam Is Half-Bottle Per Month”…”U.S. is shipping 128,000 bottles of liquor per month to South Vietnam, which comes to half a bottle for each of the 305,000 men there. In Portland, Oregon yesterday, Mr. Fred Tooze, National President of Women’s Christian Temperance Union charged that the armed services had become a ‘school of alcoholism.’ The Department of Defense responded: ‘Members of he armed forces are encouraged to abstinence, enforce moderation, and punish over indulgence.’…”….(“Tooze” the leader of anti-booze???)
10 September 1966… The President’s Daily Brief… South Vietnam: Preparations for tomorrow’s election are moving along as well as can be expected. At the same time, the Communist anti-election effort is following established patterns. In some places, the Viet Cong are collecting identity cards from potential voters in order to keep them from casting ballots. Sporadic acts of terrorism, anti-election propaganda, and threats against potential voters are continuing–but not at an alarming rate…North Vietnam: the number of combat-qualified fighter pilots in the North Vietnamese Air Force has steadily increased since the Soviets took full charge of the training program in December…(the rest remains TS and has been redacted)…
10 SEPTEMBER 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… NYT (11 September reporting 10 September ops)…Page 5: “U.S. Jets Blast 2 Missiles Sites In North Vietnam”…”United States planes destroyed tow soviet built anti-aircraft missile sites in weekend attacks on North Vietnam and an American plane was shot down in the demilitarized zone…The United States command reported that American planes flew 122 missions over North Vietnam with heavy concentrations on surface-to-air missile sites near Donghoi about 50 miles north of the demilitarized zone. A spokesman said 11 waves of jets touched off secondary explosions and destroyed two missiles on their launchers. Air Force pilots reportd knocking out another site 40 miles north of Hanoi. Other Air Force, Marine and Navy pilots reported they had destroyed or damaged 50 barges, 17 bridges, 29 buildings, 6 AAA sites and 30 railroad cars. The plane lost in the DMZ was an Air Force A-1H Skyraider, the pilot was listed as missing. The number of aircraft lost in the North stood at 364. In air activity over the South, American pilots reported destruction or damage to 360 enemy huts, bunkers, trenches, tunnels and fortified positions.”… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) Five fixed wing aircraft losses in Southeast Asia on 10 September 1966…
(1) CAPTAIN THOMAS CHARLES WALSH was flying an F-5C of the 10th FCS and 3rd TFW out of Bien Hoa was making multiple napalm attacks on Vietcong positions just north of the Mekong Delta when hit by ground fire and crashed without an ejection. CAPTAIN WALSH was Killed In Action and perished fifty years ago on this date. RTR remembers his sacrifice for our country with sadness…
(2) MAJOR LAWRENCE BYRON TATUM was flying an A-1H of the 1st ACS and 14th ACW out of Pleiku was controlling strikes as a FAC on enemy gun positions in the demilitarized zone and participating by making strafing runs on the enemy gun positions when hit by 30mm ground fire. MAJOR TATUM was able to fly his failing aircraft to enough altitude to bail out and was seen on the ground amidst North Vietnamese troops. MAJOR TATUM was never seen again. He is listed as Killed In Action and died a warrior’s death carrying the fight to the enemy…
(3) CAPTAIN EDMUND FRANCES THORNELL was flying an O-1E of the 21st TASS and 505th TACG out of Pleiku and flying a FAC mission near the central coast east of Pleiku when hit by ground fire. CAPTAIN THORNELL did not survive a subsequent crash at sea and was Killed In Action fifty years ago. Gone but not forgotten.
(4) CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BRIAN PETERSON and 1LT BERNARD LEO TALLEY were flying an F-4C of the 433rd TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon on a Wolfpack attack on a ferry and bridge at Dap Cap 10 miles east of Kep and were hit by a SAM damaging their F-4, and requiring their ejection 20 miles north of Hon Gay. Both survived the ejection but CAPTAIN PETERSON was badly injured. Both were captured and were POWs until released on 4 March 1973. Both returned to duty and completed Air Force careers before entering politics, among many other successful endeavors. In 1997 Pete Peterson was selected to serve as the first post-war U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, where he facilitated an intense search for “those we left behind.” oohrah!!!
(5) An EA-1F of the VAW-13 Zappers embarked in USS FD Roosevelt suffered an instrument failure while on station in the Gulf of Tonkin. All navigational aids were lost and the aircraft exhausted its fuel searching for the carrier and ditched at sea. All four crew members were rescued….
RIPPLE SALVO… #193… RESPECT OUR FLAG AND ALL IT STANDS FOR… This weekend, as our nation marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, the attack on the Pentagon, and the loss of a fourth airliner in Pennsylvania when brave Americans made the call, “Let’s Roll” a national call to action to meet terrorism head on, is an excellent time to stand tall and honor our flag and all it stands for… If you need a review I suggest Ruth Apperson Rous’ “I am the Flag”… http://www.usflag.org/iamtheflag.html… My sentiments exactly!
In addition, I hope the extraordinary letter that Chancellor William H. McRaven sent to the President and Athletic Directors, the University of Texas Systems, on 29 August 2016 makes it to every room full of athletes in the nation before they take the field of sport where the National Anthem is played and Old glory is flown this weekend. Further, I suggest that the Chancellor McRaven letter be read to every athlete who enjoys the rights and privileges of being a citizen of this great, but imperfect nation…
Thank you, Admiral McRaven for your masterpiece of leadership… I quote…
As most of you recall, last January I sent our a letter asking you to encourage your coaching staff and your players to stand up straight when the National Anthem was played. I requested that the coaches and the players “face the flag and place their hand over their heart as a sign of respect to the nation.”
I made it clear that honoring the flag does not imply that the republic for which it stands is perfect. I said, “Far from it, honoring the flag is our collective commitment that we will constantly attempt to get better as a nation, to improve as a people, and to use the freedoms we have been given to make the earth a better place.”
I spent 37 years defending freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Nothing is more important to this democracy. Nothing! However, while no one should be compelled to stand, they should recognize that by sitting in protest to the flag they are disrespecting everyone who sacrificed to make this country what it is today–as imperfect as it might be.
Those that believe the flag represents oppression should remember all the Americans who fought to eliminate bigotry, racism, sexism, imperialism, communism, terrorism. The flag rode with the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th, 10th, 24th and 25th Cavalry and Infantry regiments. It was carried by the suffragists down the streets of New York City. It flew with the Tuskegee airmen of WWII. It was planted in the fields where Cesar Chavez spoke. It marched with Martin Luther King Jr. It rocketed into space on the shoulder patches of women, gays, Hispanic, Asian, and African American astronauts. Today, it waves over the White House. It is a flag for everyone, of every color, of every race, of every creed, of every orientation, but the privilege of living under this flag does not come without cost. Nor should it come without respect.
The nation and everything it strives for is embodied in the American Flag. We strive to be more inclusive. We strive to be more understanding. We strive to fix the problems that plague our society. But in striving to do so, we must have a common bond; some symbol that reminds us of past struggles and propels us to a brighter, more enlightened future. That symbol is the American flag.
I would, once again, ask the Presidents and the Athletic directors to convey my message to your teams. The young student-athletes are future leaders of this nation. By showing respect for the flag, they are making it possible for America to be everything we dreamed it could be.
Thank you. whm
Lest we forget….. Bear ……… –30– ………..
‘Old Bold Voodoo Recce pilot’, ’65-’66. Our idea of the thunder rolling north did not scare them too much, we had too many restricted targets and airfields that were off limits. We never really turned all the air power loose to win. I can still remember that photo of Pres. Johnson picking targets.