RIPPLE SALVO… #890… IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE EVERY VOICED OR WRITTEN CRITICISM REQUIRED A COMPANION “BETTER IDEA.”…. (In my youth my Old Man instructed me, “Son, you do a lot of griping. If you want to complain, be prepared to offer a better way.”) LCOL William Corson provides an example of how criticism should be delivered in THE BETRAYAL. The first 250 pages are a blistering condemnation of the way the Johnson Administration was conducting the Vietnam wars–the bloody one and the “Other War,” the pacification program. But Corson continues. He produces a grand model “Exit Strategy.” The elusive “Exit Strategy.” The one that every President should be required to show The People and the Congress BEFORE he sends our troops in harm’s way to bleed and die on some foreign shore, sandy hill, or jungle in defense of our undefined “National Interests.”… Corson’s final 30 pages are a package of “better ideas” that make his criticism of the Johnson “Way of War” truth that hurts. The 30-pages come under a title, “To Stay” or “Not to Stay”, and Corson presents options for both of those tough choices with the holistic steps required to carry out the decision. (“I propose to examine the explicit and implicit how which is essential to be able to make a choice in the ‘to stay’ or ‘not to stay’ dilemma. Either course is feasible and can achieve the basic goals. It is important at the outset to realize that the choices available to America are not confined to ‘cut and run’ or ‘burn, baby, burn.’ President Johnson’s goals are not unreasonable, nor is it unwise to pursue them on a realistic basis.”… Step one of six “To Stay”–“STOP THE WAR IN THE NORTH. IT IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE”–below… but first…
GOOD MORNING… Day EIGHT HUNDRED-NINETY of a daily blog about the bombing of North Vietnam during the period 2 March 1965 to 1 November 1968 in a campaign called Operation Rolling Thunder as part of the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War…
HEAD LINES: From The New York Times on Monday, 12 August 1968…
THE WAR: Page 4: “IN THE GROUND WAR, United States Marines killed 22 North Vietnamese southwest of Danang, South Vietnam…Eight marines were killed and 42 were wounded.”… PEACE TALKS: Page 1: “HUMPHREY VOICES NOTE OF OPTIMISM ON TALKS IN PARIS–Declares U.S. Has Better Chance for Progress Now Than Ever In The Past–No Details Disclosed–On TV He Softens Demand for Response From Hanoi”…”Vice President Humphrey expressed ‘one little note of optimism’ today on the Paris talks in Vietnam and offered a softer formulation of the Administration’s condition for a bombing halt. ‘We are now at a point where, if we do not weaken our position with Hanoi by loose talk, that we have a better chance of gaining progress in the peace talks than at any point up to date,’ he said here on the ABC’s ‘Issues and Answers’ program. Mr. Humphrey did not spell out his optimism on the paris talks between the United States and North Vietnam.”…
Page 1: “JACKIE ROBINSON SPLITS WITH G.O.P. OVER NIXON …Will Quit Governor’s Staff to Work For democrats–Javits Also has Qualms”… “Jackie Robinson announced yesterday that he was resigning as community relations director on Governor Rockefeller’s staff to campaign for the democrats, ‘if they’ll have me,’ against the Republican Presidential nominee, Richard M. Nixon. … He said: ‘if Nixon wins people will be so frustrated there will be the most horrible riots in all our major cities.‘…Mr. Robinson said he supported Mr. Nixon for the nomination in 1960 because his stand on civil rights then was forthright. But now, he said, the republican nominee is stressing law and order over restoring to the people in the cities their sense of dignity and their determination to improve their situation.”… Page 1: “THE BERLIN WALL 7 YEARS LATER–A Grim and Effective Barrier”… “…as the wall completes seven years of existence, Soviet and East German leaders appear to have even more reason to express affection for it. Efforts to beautify what to most observers remains an e\yesore may have failed, but the wall has served with increasing efficiency as a deterrent to the flight of Easterners to the West.”…Page 3: “SOUTH KOREA BOOMING DESPITE FEAR OF WAR…Defenses Bolstered–Political Scene Remains Stable”… “…Nervous South Koreans, with harsh memories of the Korean war, which ended 15 years ago, recall readily that a sudden military thrust in late June, 12950, brought North Korean troops 30 mile down two historic invasion corridors int Seoul in one day.. yet, with President Chung Hee Park stressing that continued economic progress is vital even as the nation girds for possible new military perils, South Korea has shown no slowdown in its remarkable economic surge.”…
12 AUGUST 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (13 Aug reporting 12 Aug ops) Page 3: “In the air war B-52s continued to bomb inside North Vietnam. They also bombed southward to within 21 miles of Saigon. In all, 40 B-52s rained 2,500 tons of explosives on enemy troop concentrations in 10 raids yesterday. Meanwhile, United States fighter-bombers flew 110 missions yesterday against enemy supply lines in North Vietnam and reported destroying or damaging 42 trucks, 17 supply boats and 2 bridges.”… VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) there were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 112 August 1968…
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) ON THE FOUR 12 AUGUST DATES FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION IN THE SKIES OF NORTH VIETNAM…
1968 … NONE…
1967… CAPTAIN THOMAS ELMER NORRIS, USAF… (POW)… and… CAPTAIN EDWARD LEE ATTERBURY, USAF… (POW, Died in Captivity)… and… CAPTAIN THOMAS VANCE PARROT, USAF… (POW)…
1966… 1LT MARTIN JAMES NEUENS, USAF… (POW)… and … CAPTAIN DAVID RAY ALLINSON, USAF… (KIA)… and… CAPTAIN THOMAS VANCE PARROT, USAF, … (KIA)…
1965… LTJG GENE RAYMOND GOLLAHON, USN… (KIA)…
AMONG THE BRAVE… GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY IN ACTION…CAPTAIN MARTIN JAMES NEUNES…SILVER STAR…15 AUGUST 1966…
Citation… “The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the SILVER STAR MEDAL to CAPTAIN MARTIN JAMES NEUNES, United States Air Force, for gallantry and intrepidity in action in connection with military operations against an opposing armed forces on 15 August 1966, while a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam. Ignoring international agreements on treatment of prisoners of war, the enemy resorted to mental and physical cruelties to obtain information, confessions and propaganda materials. CAPTAIN NEUNES resisted their demands by calling upon has deepest inner strengths in a manner which reflected his devotion to duty and great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”… in addition…
Citation… “The President of the United States of America…takes pleasure in presenting the LEGION OF MERIT to CAPTAIN MARTIN JAMES NEUNES, United States Air Force, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from August 1966 to August 1969. His ceaseless efforts, by a continuous showing of resistance to an enemy who ignored all international agreements on treatment of Prisoners of War, in the extremely adverse conditions of the communist prisons of North Vietnam, demonstrating his professional competence, unwavering devotion, and loyalty to his country. Despite the harsh treatment through his long years of incarceration, he continued to perform his duties in a clearly exceptional manner which reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”… in addition..
Prior to his downing and capture on 12 August 1966 CAPTAIN NEUNES was presented two awards of the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS for extraordinary achievement while participating n aerial flight as an F-105 Pilot over Southeast Asia on 8 August and on 12 August 1966. On the 8 August flight CAPTAIN NEUNES delivered his ordnance on a heavily defended target then came back into the target area three additional times to fly rescue cover for the successful rescue of a downed pilot…. oohrah…
RIPPLE SALVO… #890… LCOL WILLIAM CORSON’s six-action proposal “To Stay” in South Vietnam. (1) STOP THE AIR WAR IN THE NORTH… I quote…
“First let us consider the ‘to stay’ and ‘not to stay’ horn of dilemma. I assume that in order to stay it is mandatory to lower the political pain of the war to our nation. The emotional, physical and dollar costs connected with our presence must be reduced to a level where they can be tolerated. This can be done, and at the same time we can move toward the goals set forth by President Johnson. Six separate but closely related steps can be taken simultaneously. Each step produces a gain, reduces costs, and promotes a greater likelihood of success in achieving the goal. General MacArthur contended that ‘there is no substitute for victory.’ In a simpler time and place MacArthur’s dictum made sense, but in Vietnam ‘victory is defeat’–that is, to pursue a MacArthur type of victory would put us in a situation like the one the doctor described when he said, ‘The operation was a success, but the patient died.’ In reference to Vietnam, the patient may very well include both the United States and Vietnam.
“The first step (to be taken simultaneously with the others) is to stop all aerial warfare against North Vietnam except reconnaissance overflights. There are many reasons to justify this step. In the jargon of the Pentagon, the bombing of North Vietnam is not cost effective. We are spending annually between $6 to $8 billion to continue the air war in North Vietnam. The justification for stopping the bombing is that bombing does not produce the advertised results in stopping or slowing infiltration. At no time has the aerial circus in North Vietnam been worth the price of admission. In fact, it has enhanced Ho Chi Minh’s political control and has paved the way for the North Vietnam hawks to reject the substance of peace initiatives by the United States. The immediate cry of our air-power enthusiasts to proposals to stop the bombing is that ‘our soldiers an airmen would be perilously exposed.’ Baloney! Crocodile tears over the plight of ground forces are eyewash to cover up a vain desire to get more planes, more pilots, and more appropriations. The truth of the matter is that our troops suffer more from the bombing of North Vietnam–due to the lack of suitable airpower in South Vietnam–than does the enemy. The paid statisticians are quick to point out how much air power is available to support our troops in the South, in an effort to prove there is no shortage. The statistics lie. Tactical close air support for U.S. and ARVN troops in South Vietnam is a tragedy. What tactical close air support is available is overused and improperly applied.
“The air war in North Vietnam is a costly fraud. A very small number of Air Force Generals and Navy Admirals with the unwitting assistance of congressional leaders have gained a great deal of power at the expense of the American public. It is interesting to speculate on what might have been done to avert the United States riots in 1967 and 1968–and perhaps those still to occur in 1968–with the money and resources wasted in the skies over North Vietnam.
“The doves who advocated stopping the bombing have done so primarily on humanitarian grounds. This is admirable, but not really relevant. Until April 1968 the Administration dismissed the doves’ argument by pointing out that previous pauses it the bombing did not produce a response from Hanoi. In this rebuttal the Administration again used the false dilemma to clear advantage. However, when the political disenchantment with the war was manifested by Senator McCarthy’s successful challenge to the President’s position, an open-ended though limited bombing pause wa announced. This action clearly told Hanoi that President Johnson is not totally unresponsive to domestic political pressure even though in the past he responded like a puppet on a string held by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Walt Whitman Rostow in impugning the motives of the doves who advocated stopping the bombing. This is the smoke screen the air-power enthusiasts have used to cover up an objective appraisal of their actions. It has been a slick operation. When Admiral Ulysses S. Grant Sharp (Commander in Chief Pacific) and General John C. McConnell (Chief of Staff, U.S.Air Force) appeared before Senator Stennis’ Senate Preparedness Subcommittee in August 1967 to sell more bombing, their testimony was a beautiful exercise in illogic. Sharp and McConnell played the ‘target’ game to the hilt.
“Announcing a bombing pause may gain the President some political advantage, but there is another, even more politically effective tactic: just stop! Stop all bombing. No fanfare, no announcements. When the press gets around to asking why, a truthful answer can be given: ‘Because the bombing does not promote our objectives in Vietnam.’ Let our friends and foes make of our actions what they will. Predictably, the enemy will use our action for propaganda purposes, but in their inner circle there will be confusion. Our friends will be forced to cease criticizing. Curtailing the domestic and foreign noise level about bombing has to be a plus.
“To sum up and re-emphasize, the main reason for stopping the bombing is: it does not work! The political capital, both foreign and domestic, which can be acquired by stopping all bombing is ancillary to the main reason, though by no means unimportant. to his credit, Secretary McNamara tried to point out the facts to Senator Stennis’ subcommittee, but to no avail. the air-power case is specious, but like clever trial lawyers its pleaders used emotion, not reason, to win their case.”… End quote. (Corson sends one aircraft carrier/ Navy air wing home and shifts the Yankee Station ops back to Dixie Station in this step 1.)…
More of LCOL CORSON and “To Stay” or “Not to Stay” on the morrow…
RTR Quote for 12 August: CICERO, 55 B.C.: “The Budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome will become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance.”…
Lest we forget… Bear