RIPPLE SALVO… #470… The inner workings and hidden mechanics of the Rolling Thunder target selection committee… but first…
GOOD MORNING and HAPPY FATHER’S DAY: Day FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY of a remembrance of an unknown, unrecognized and forgotten war…
If you doubt this, HUMBLE HOST suggests you check the last four pages of the new VFW calendar for 2017-18 that lists the eligibility dates for about 100 campaign medals. If you made it through a couple of combat tours and a couple of hundred weapons delivery or life saving missions over North Vietnam or duty as a POW in Hanoi, you qualify for a Vietnam Service Medal. That’s it. Since the “air war” was part of the whole war, and OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER and LINEBACKER I AND II never made the rolls of American Campaigns, there is NO recognition for the great sacrifices of the warriors who alone carried the war to the heartland of our enemy for the 1000-days of ROLLING THUNDER or for the warriors of OPERATION LINEBACKER I and II. I hope this raises your blood pressure, as it has mine.
I am disappointed in all the brotherhood organizations: Daedalians, Navy League, VFW, DAV, American Legion, Tailhook Association, Red River Rats, Air Force Association, and all the other groups mustering to nurture good causes and old friendships, but are totally lacking interest in rectifying a grievous mistake–the write-off of two great American battles that took a lot of lives… Shame on our Members of Congress. Shame on our uniformed leaders. Shame on all the organizations that take in dues and can’t find the time or energy to pursue the recognition that the great warriors of ROLLING THUNDER AND LINEBACKER rate. Fifty years without a well deserved attaboy. Shame on my beloved country, the United States of America. Maybe one of you guys out there knows Maddog Mattis, sir. I bet he’d like to consider a 50th anniversary of ROLLING THUNDER as a great time to right a wrong… Or maybe one of you knows a Congressman or Senator that has a few minutes to listen to this “oversight” and an interest in introducing a bill in Congress to make right this “oversight.”… Thank you for your indulgence…
18 JUNE 1967… HEAD LINES of The New York Times in the middle of a weekend heat wave…a rainy Sunday eve to follow...
KOSYGIN AND THE SIX DAY WAR: “U.S. Acts to Widen Debate in U.N. On Mideast Crisis; Kosygin at First Session: Russian Arrives at Dawn to Attend the Assembly; Premier’s Trip Viewed Here as Occasion for Wide Talks on World Problems Beyond Immediate Mideast Issues.”... “Premier Aleksie Kosygin of the Soviet Union arrived here at dawn yesterday on his first visit to the United States and on perhaps the most important mission he has undertaken in two and a half years. The Soviet leader is here to present his country’s case on the Middle Eastern crisis to a special session of the United Nations General Assembly that began yesterday’s meeting. Some diplomatic observers believe his trip may also open up a new phase in the dialogue between Moscow and Western nations on a number of world problems, perhaps including Vietnam.”...Page 1: “Assembly Somber; Soviet Leader Silent as Goldberg Scores Russians Position”... “The United States declared today at the General Assembly’s emergency session that all proposals for peace in the Middle East must be debated and not simply the Soviet call for condemnation of Israel. Goldberg was challenged by the representative from Jordan who accused Mr. Goldberg of trying to divert the assembly from ‘the real issue–the withdrawal of Israeli forces and liquidation of Israel gains.’ “... Page 1: “Johnson Leaves Door Open For Meeting With Kosygin”… “President Johnson maintained a reserved attitude today toward the presence in this country of Premier Aleksie Kosygin as the President arrived at Camp David for a weekend with Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt.”… Page 15: “Israelis Rush to Annex Old Jerusalem Before Talks ... move quickly to make Jerusalem a single unified city before the issue becomes a matter of negotiation. Goal: to make certain that it is not negotiable and to move from two sectors to one city without barriers and with one set of laws.”…
Page 1: “China Announces It Has Exploded a Hydrogen Bomb”... “Communist China announced today that it had successfully exploded a hydrogen bomb less than three years after becoming a nuclear power. There were no details on the bomb’s yield or where the tests were carried out. An air test is indicated.”… Page 1: “Peking Test Blast a Surprise to U.S.”... “The Atomic Energy Commission, confirming that Communist China had exploded a hydrogen bomb, said today that the blast had an explosive force equal to several million tons of TNT. Further evidence of the unexpectedly rapid development of the Chinese progress in building a nuclear arsenal.”... Page 2: “Pressure on U.S. Expected to Rise For Defense System ... a quest for anti-missile systems has been a bone of contention with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who has been reluctant to take such a step and the JCS who are backed by strong congressional sentiment for such a defensive system.”…
Page 7: “Soviet Official Discloses Increased Air To Hanoi”... “The Soviet Union is stepping up its shipments to North Vietnam despite the dangers of trading in the war zone…More than 30 ships are involved daily in moving military and economic aid to North Vietnam, and this volume is constantly increasing.”… Page 1: “196 Vietcong Killed In Ambush of G.I.’s”... “Troops of the First Infantry Division fought a savage three-hour battle today with the Vietcongs 271st Infantry Regiment in the dense jungle of War Zone ED in Binhduong Province 43 miles north of Saigon. Twenty-one American soldiers were killed and 113 were wounded with an initial search of the battle area counting 196 enemy dead… In the Central Highlands 28 persons were killed when an Air Force C-130 transport ran off the runway and burned at An Khe. (35 of 56 on board were killed)…
18 June 1967…The President’s TS Daily CIA Brief: UNITED NATIONS: Kosygin and the other delegation heads spent a rather busy day in New York yesterday conferring with one another and getting their lines straight for today’s General Assembly meeting. The Soviet press generally maintained its harsh line against the US and Israel. Unofficially, however, Moscow seems to be probing for US reaction to various elements of a possible Middle East settlement…. ARAB STATES: The internal repercussions of the Arab military defeat continues bubbling up in various Arab states. In Egypt, Nasir yesterday took over the top post in his political machine, replacing a man who had apparently become a rival in recent days. Also, a new cabinet is to be announced today...In Syria, the war altered the precarious balance of political forces and major changes may be in the offing….LIBYA: As for the Wheelus base, the Libyan prime minister told Ambassador Newsom that it would be quite acceptable if detailed discussions on withdrawal are deferred until August or September… COMMUNIST CHINA: Peking’s sixth nuclear test, carried out at Lop Nor late on Friday, Washington time, was as expected its largest to date…
18 June 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (9 June of 18 June ops) Page 1: “U.S. Jets Step Up Attack On North; strike Rail Lines”… “American pilots bombed railroad yards and lines north and northeast yesterday and attacked truck convoys in the southern panhandle section of the country in the heaviest day of air activity since last November. Fighter-bomber pilots from bases in Thailand and South Vietnam and Navy pilots from the three carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin flew 166 missions, the largest number since November 2 last year.The record is 175 missions flown last October 14.
Air Force pilots blasted six railroad yards and cut rail lines mainly along the northeast rail link between Hanoi and Communist China. Navy pilots attacked a heavily loaded train and hit rail sidings, bridges, and storage areas south of Hanoi. Thailand based Thunderchief fighter-bombers attacked a long line of railroad cars, about 75 in number, extending from the Vuchau railroad yard and sidings. Pilots reported destroying 10 to 15 cars and damaging a number of others. In the strike at Kep, other Thailand based pilots attacked a loading dock and storage building touching off a large petroleum explosion in the railyards. ‘It was the most spectacular thing I’ve seen,’ said Major Frank Yow, 36, Commerce, Texas. ‘I saw my bombs hit right in the middle of the yards and then there was this tremendous explosion– it kept developing and developing with smoke rising to 2,000-feet.’ Pilots also hit the Hungri railroad yards 37 miles northeast of Hanoi, the Bacle yards 50 miles northeast, and the Thainguyen railroad shops 35 miles north of Hanoi. Railroad cars were destroyed a both northeast locations while a large warehouse was reported destroyed in the Thainguyen area. Major Robert Lines, 37, of Tupper Lake, NY, said rail tracks were cut in two railyards 39-miles northeast of Hanoi. Three large fireballs up to 200-feet in diameter erupted in the Motrang yard and a loading building was destroyed in the Nachang yard.
Other pilots flying Canberra B-57 bombers and Phantoms attacked truck convoys in six places near the Mugia Pass along the Laos border and in the Southern panhandle. (bear#103bridge/cyclesRP2)…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 18 June 1967… oohrah…
RIPPLE SALVO… #470… Author David M. Barrett’s “Uncertain Warriors: Lyndon Johnson and His Vietnam Advisors” is a great book with a lousy title. Their wasn’t a warrior in the bunch. They just thought they were. On the other hand, these advisors were positively “uncertain.” Some of that unjustified masquerade as “warriors” might attach to their respective roles in running a war from the banks of the Potomac… Humble Host offers a page of Barrett’s book concerning the infamous Tuesday luncheon meetings at the White House wherein Rolling Thunder was always on the agenda. The Lunch Bunch were the architects of the “air war” over and against North Vietnam.
One of the President’s aides, Bromley Smith, gave this reasoning for the Tuesday meetings…“You knew that every single week Vietnam was going to be looked at by the President and the people who implemented that program– Defense, JCS, State, and to lesser extent CIA…there was informal, intimate, off-the-record, non-reportable conversation, and give-and-take exchange.”
Secretary of State said of the Tuesday meetings: “President Johnson discovered that at least that group knew how to keep their mouths shut.” (Come now, Mr.Secretary, you were the one with the friend at the Swiss Embassy) President Johnson attributed leaks about his Vietnam policies to “low-level officials–including the assistants to the principals–who talked to the press.” LBJ was not a trusting soul, with good reason. The following is from “Uncertain Warriors,” page 85… quote…
“From early 1967 until almost the end of the Johnson presidency, Tuesday meeting were held on an average of four out of every five weeks. ‘This was the high tide of the weekly Tuesday lunch, the period that most observers have in mind when they discuss the institution and whose characteristics they often scribe to the earlier years,’ notes (Vice President) Humphrey. Also, the Tuesday regulars often met with the president on occasions other than lunch, on days other than Tuesday. Although not technically ‘Tuesday luncheons,’ such meetings were obviously important. Because of this regularity of meetings in 1967 and the confidence that Johnson had in its members, the Tuesday Lunch was decidedly more crucial as an advisory mechanism than it had been in 1965.
“The Tuesday Lunch was also larger in 1967 than in previous years. CIA Director Helms and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Wheeler were added to the roster of regulars that already included the secretaries of state and defense and the national security advisor (Rostow). The press secretary (George Christian) also joined the group during 1967 in order to be current on policy decisions. Christian insisted on such access before accepting the job, but he offered relatively little to the substance of the discussions. Thus the principal advisors within the Tuesday Cabinet in mid-1967 were Rusk, McNamara, Rostow, Wheeler, and Helms.
“Doris Kearns has written that, as the United States’ commitment to South Vietnam deepened, Johnson banished ‘doubters’ from the meetings: ‘all who did not share Johnson’s convictions ceased to attend the Tuesday lunches,’ In fact, other figures occasionally on hand included Vice President Humphrey, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach, his predecessor George Ball, and former national security advisor McGeorge Bundy. Ball and Bundy especially had public reputations as doubters in 1967, because they had left full-time positions in the Johnson Administration.
“One type of decision regularly made at Tuesday Lunches concerned bombing targets. The military leadership usually preferred more bombing to less, while Johnson, Rusk, and McNamara typically feared expanding target lists to include cities, ports, canals, and areas close to the Chinese border. So there was a procedure by which ‘the JCS made recommendations of what targets to hit. The recommendations would be discussed by General Wheeler with Secretary McNamara. They would agree or disagree or reserve their positions, then go to the White House. Then the presentation would be made. Secretary McNamara would make his recommendation, Secretary Rusk would have his say, and the President would make the decision.
“Of those in the Tuesday group, none was more directly responsible for overseeing the U.S. war effort than Robert McNamara…” end quote…
RTR Quote for 18 June 1967… BRUCE NORTON, FORCE RECON DIARY: “Combat is fast, unfair, cruel, and dirty. It is meant to be that way so that the terrible experience is branded in to the memory of those who are fortunate to survive. It is up to those survivors to ensure that the experience is recorded and passed along to those who just might want to try it.”…
FATHER’S DAY: Here is to all the children of those warriors who didn’t come home from Rolling Thunder and have been without their father for the last 50-years… You are remembered…admired… and saluted…
Lest we forget… Bear