RIPPLE SALVO… #951… ON THE ONE HAND, THE PEACE NEGOTIATORS HAVE FOUND A LITTLE COMMON GROUND “FOR MOVING THE TALKS FORWARD.” ON THE OTHER, IT APPEARS THAT HANOI IS LICKING THEIR WOUNDS AND NEEDS A BREAK, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE MONSOON WEATHER WILL LIMIT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTINUED BOMBING NORTH OF THE DMZ. ROSTOW: MR. PRESIDENT: “IT LOOKS FROM HERE AS THOUGH HANOI IS AT LAST READY TO MOVE TO THE CONFERENCE TABLE FROM THE BATTLEFIELD…”… Historic documents explaining the President’s decision to end the bombing of North Vietnam with the “cessation of Operation Rolling Thunder.”…. At Ripple Salvo below… but first…
GOOD MORNING… Day NINE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE of a daily review of the air war fought over North Vietnam by America’s bravest of the brave during the years of 1965 to 1 November 1968…
HEAD LINES from The New York Times on Saturday, 12 October 1968…
THE WAR: Page 11: “U.S. TRAP IS EVADED BY FOE NEAR SAIGON”… “In a battle that swept through rice paddies and thick hedgerows United States troops tried to trap 300 enemy soldiers on the northwest invasion corridor to Saigon yesterday, but most of them escaped. The battle broke out Thursday when 400 infantrymen of the 25th Division came under heavy fire from the enemy troops dug in among hedgerows near Trangbang, 27 miles northwest of Saigon Fighting flared through the night but when the American infantrymen drove forward at dawn, they met only small rearguard action. A sweep of the field turned up bodies of 26 enemy soldiers. United States casualties were 6 killed and 16 wounded.
PEACE TALKS: Page 11: “2 VIETCONG AIDES ARRIVE IN FRANCE–Plan An Information Office–Say War Is ‘Going Well'”… “Two representatives of the National Liberation Front, the political arm of the Vietcong arrived here today to set up an information bureau. This, for the first time, all four principals in the Vietnam war are represented in Paris. Although long expected, the arrival of the Front representatives was considered a setback for the South Vietnamese Government, which had been urging French authorities not to admit them.”…
HEAD LINES: Page 1: “THREE ASTRONAUT’s ON APOLLO 7 CIRCLING THE EARTH ON 11-DAY TEST FOR MOON TRIP–NASA HAILS ‘PERFECT MISSION’–LIFT OFF SMOOTH–ASTRONAUTS CARRY OUT EARLY MANEUVERS ON 163 ORBIT JOURNEY”… Page 1: “Mission Control Hit By Blackout–One Minute Failure Darkens Houston Center–Back-up Power Is Switched On”… Page 1: “EGYPTIAN LINKS ISRAELI USE OF SUEZ CANAL TO GENERAL ACCORD–Cairo Detects A Shift–Aide At U.N. Gives View”… Page 1: “PANAMA TROOPS SEIZE CONTROL–President Arnulfo Areas Flees To Canal Zone”… Page 1: “CONGRESS DEFERS PLAN TO ADJOURN–New Snag Arises–Liberals In House Protest Senate G.O.P. Blocking Of TV Debate”… Page 1: “HUMPHREY OFFERS TO PURCHASE TIME FOR 3-WAY DEBATE ON TV–Suggests On Hour On October 20–Nixon Stand Unchanged–Not Interested”… Page 22: “CLEAVER AIMS TO UNITE BLACK AND WHITE RADICALS–Seeks Revolutionary Drive Would Use Poverty Funds In His Presidential Bid”… Page 45: “PARADE OF 7,226 ATHLETES TO OPEN OLYMPIC CEREMONIES TODAY–80,000 Expected to See Pageantry–Mrs. Janice Lee York Romary, Fencer, To Lead 392-Member U.S. Team”…
12 OCTOBER 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (13 Oct reporting 12 Oct ops) Page 21: “Over North Vietnam, American pilots skirted thick black thunder clouds while flying 120 multi-aircraft strike missions against supply facilities and anti-aircraft installations.” …VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 12 October 1968…
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) FOR THE FOUR 12 OCTOBER DATES OF THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1965, and 1968… NONE…
1966… LT ROBERT DEAN WOODS, USN… (POW)… and… LT FRANK CALLIHAN ELKINS, USN… (KIA)… Refer to RTR for 13 October 1966 (Ripple Salvo #226)… In addition, Brown Bear Schaffert’s “A True Tale Well Told,” is worth another read at 9 October 1966 in the “Mighty Thunder” archive. The story of Frank Elkins last flight… In addition, read the story of Lt Woods two days of evasion before capture at RTR for 13 October 1966…
1967… CAPTAIN THOMAS G. DERRICKSON, II, USAF… (KIA…XX-Presumptive finding of death)… and… 1LT JOHN KAY HARDY, USAF… (KIA… XX-Presumptive finding of death). Both aviators remain missing with “active pursuit” by DPAA.
LEAVE A REMEMBRANCE, VVMF, WALL OF FACES: LT ELKINS last flight 52 years ago this day; COLONEL DERRICKSON and COLONEL HARDY last flight fifty-one years ago this day…
RIPPLE SALVO… #951… Humble Host strongly recommends the following three Historical Documents from the Office of the State Department Historian. Document 60 is a telegram from Harriman in Paris to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and the President in Washington. Harriman reports the “deal” the Russians have squeezed out of the North Vietnamese and their support for a change in ongoing meetings that precludes both the South Vietnamese and the NLF (Vietcong). But the Soviets make it clear that “he who hesitates will lose the offer.” This is a very instructive page of statecraft communication. For example, Russian Ambassador Oberemko (to France) to Harriman: “I would now like to give you a statement and I am sure you will want to take it down verbatim: ‘I have good reason to believe that if the US stops unconditionally and completely the bombardments and other acts of war against the DRV, the delegation of North Viet-Nam will agree to the participation of the representatives of the Saigon government in the talks on the problem of political settlement inj Viet-Nam. Thus these talks would be held by the representatives of the DRV, of the United States of America, of the NLF, and the Saigon government.”
At about the same time, Ambassador Bunker and General Abrams sent a telegram to Rusk and the President that responded to the Documents identified in yesterday’s RTR. Document 61 makes a strong case that the North Vietnamese have been taking a beating and are withdrawing. (“After ten months of enormous effort, Hanoi and the NLF have nothing to show for the loss of 150,000 killed, plus the thousands killed by B-52 and other air attacks, or who died of wounds or disease, or were captured, or defected, or were eliminated by arrest.”) This is a very optimistic snap-shot of where the war stood in October 1968. A must read.
The third document, 62, is a telegram from Rostow to the President at his ranch in Texas. “General Abrams and I interpret the excnage with Hanoi at the eleventh private meeting as a fairly close indication that Hanoi is ready for a tactical shift from the battlefield to the conference table.” The hobbles are coming off the President. In 19 days he will end the bombing of North Vietnam… Read the documents at;
60. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d60
61. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d61
62. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d62
RTR quote for 12 October: AMBASSADOR BUNKER, Doc. 61: “A record number of enemy battalions were withdrawn into North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in the last days of September and early October, signifying an end to the ‘third offensive.’ We therefore conclude that Hanoi has had to seek a respite on both military and morale grounds.”…
Let we forget…. Bear