RIPPLE SALVO… #805… “TASK FORCE OMEGA, INC. IS IN THE FOREFRONT OF NATIONAL PRISONER OF WAR AND MISSING IN ACTION ORGANIZATIONS…. Since its inception in 1983, TASK FORCE OMEGA, INC. has concentrated its effort on the Return of the POWs abandoned in Vietnam and Laos after the Vietnam War. Information has also been discovered that reveals the same situation existed following World War II and the Korean War. Extensive research into National Archives by associates of TASK FORCE OMEGA, INC. revealed that over 20,000 American POWs who were ‘liberated’ by the Soviet Army from German prison camps were never released to the United States. Documents show their destinations were Siberian gulags and prison camps. Their fate was spending years of hard labor in Soviet coal mines.” The Chairman of this Blue Ribbon organization is PATRICIA B. HOPPER, who includes these comments in her “Message from the Chairman”…
“Over the past few years people have asked me where I find the strength to keep going in the POW/MIA issue. Where does the energy, the drive, the ability to keep pushing forward come from when everything around us seems stacked against us and there appears to be nowhere to turn? The only way I know how to answer you is this way….
“Survivor guilt is not experienced only by veterans. Survivor guilt strikes family members, too. This guilt is a plague we all feel. It strikes at our very core not only because of our own demons, but because of our anger over our government’s mishandling of the war…. Now, to the point, how do I keep going? There is a burning rage inside me where the issue is concerned. How dare our government abandon–throw away–military men for political expediency. How dare they think that all military men, like my husband, were and are expendable. How dare they think they can play God with all our lives…. As a person, I need to find peace for myself: to find closure to that War. The only way I know to do that is to fight for what is right using that strength and ability God grants me. I will find peace when I assure myself that all POW/MIAs–both dead and alive–are home.”…
Patricia B. Hopper’s book is: MORE THAN MERELY NAMES…
(Webmaster note: The Task Force Omega website is no longer accessible, and MORE THAN MEARLY NAMES is no longer available from Amazon or elsewhere. I will try to get an update)
For full appreciation and understanding of the contribution of this organization, when you get the site dialed in, seek out the TASK FORCE OMEGA “Database Search,” and find the data on CAPTAIN HARLEY HALL, USN. It will water your eyes… In addition, Ripple Salvo #805 –see below — is the data on COLONEL TERRY JUN UYEYAMA, USAF, and CAPTAIN TOMMY E. GIST, USAF, who were downed in North Vietnam on 18 May 1968. Colonel UYEYAMA was captured and returned home in 1973. The fate of his navigator, Captain GIST, “remains in doubt.”… It is a lengthy read because the TASK FORCE OMEGA research is too good to cut to pieces… but first…
GOOD MORNING… Day EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE of remembering the events and gallant warriors who fought the air war called Rolling Thunder fifty years ago…
HEAD LINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES on Sunday, 19 May 1968… PEACE TALKS: Page 44: “PARLEY IN PARIS ENDS FIRST WEEK ON TOUGHER NOTE–U.S. SAYS EVASION IS TACTIC OF HANOI, WHICH COUNTER-CHARGES ‘MANUEVER AND RUSE’–Next Talks Wednesday–Visit By Harriman and Thuy to deGaulle Scheduled Before 4th Session”… “The United States and North Vietnam ended their first week of preliminary talks today in a toughening mood of mutual recrimination. W. Averell Harriman, the chief American delegate, accused the North Vietnamese of evasive tactics on what he termed a basis for progress: an acknowledgement by the North Vietnamese that they have troops in the South. Xuan Thuy, the chief North Vietnamese delegate, said that the United States was trying to elude the central question of ending the bombing of North Vietnam. The American negotiating technique, he said, ‘is maneuver and ruse.’… In the third session of the talks in the former Majestic Hotel, there was a harsher edge to the language the two sides used. In addition, there seemed in one respect to be a hardening in substance of the North Vietnamese position. All week Mr. Thuy has pressed the demand that the United States cease all ‘bombing and other acts of war’ against North Vietnam. Today he gave much emphasis to American military actions in the South. ‘The United States,’ Mr. Thuy said, ‘is waging acts of war, terror and repression against the population of South Vietnam.”… In addition to the emphasis on American action in South Vietnam, Mr. Thuy spoke repeatedly about alleged American incursions into Laos and Cambodia. He seemed to be making all of Indochina his concern.'”… Page 43: “NEW PEACE TALKS URGED BY KENNEDY–Gibing at Humphrey He Bids Saigon Hold Own Parleys”… ‘ Senator Robert F. Kennedy suggested today that the Government of South Vietnm hold its own peace talks with the National Liberation Front. ‘That at least might help to avoid the embarrassment and confusion of the last two days, the contradiction between the Vice President and members of the Administration,’ Senator Kennedy said.”…
Page 1: “STRIKES SPUR FRENCH REDS TO URGE A POPULAR FRONT”… “Waldeck Rochet, Secretary General of the French Communist party called today for a popular-front government and declared that the Communist party was ‘ready to assume all its responsibilities.”… Page 1: “CZECHS REASSURE NATION ON SOVIET–REGIME INSISTS AFTER TALKS WITH KOSYGIN THAT KREMLIN SHOWS UNDERSTANDING”… “Czechoslovak official sources reiterated that the Soviet Union had apparently decided to accept Czechoslovakia’s democratization within a Communist framework.”… Page 1: “J. EDGAR HOOVER FINDS PERIL IN NEW LEFT ACTION”… “Hoover says that revolutionary stands taken by militant black nationalist groups and students of the New Left pose a threat to the nation’s security. He told Congress that the black nationalist groups he had in mind were the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Black Muslims and the Revolutionary Action Movement. They are, he said,’a distinct threat to the internal security of the nation.'”…
Page 1: “56 COLUMBIA REBELS SEIZED AMONG 171 AT SIT IN HERE–Non Violence Marks Raid By Policemen On Apartment Owned By University”… “A total of 171 persons were arrested early yesterday morning during a sit-in at a Columbia University-owned apartment were arraigned yesterday in judges’ chambers set up as emergency courts. The prisoners were charged with disorderly conduct or criminal trespass.”… Page 1: “LEADER OF MARCH OF POOR CALLS REPORT OF FUNDING CRISIS A SNAFU”… “The Executive vice president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference denied today that the Poor People’s Campaign was in financial or serious managerial difficulties and described the crisis in the organization was just a ‘goof.’ “… Page 1: “Preakness Taken By Forward Pass”…
19 MAY 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (20 May reporting 19 May ops)… Page 1: “136 RAIDS ON THE NORTH”… “American pilots flew 136 raids into the southern region of North Vietnam darting through moderate to heavy antiaircraft fire. An Air Force F-4 Phantom jet crashed near Dong Hoi two days ago, a spokesman said in a delayed report, and both men were listed as missing in action. The cause of the crash is not known, he said. It was the 839th American aircraft reported lost over North Vietnam. The northernmost target was a truck convoy 158 miles above the demilitarized zone, and two miles south of the 19th Parallel.”… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There was one fixed wing aircraft lost on 19 May 1968…
(1) CAPTAIN JOSEPH EDWIN DAVIES and 1LT GLENN DEWAYNE McCUBBIN were flying an F-4D of the 497th TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon on a night armed reconnaissance mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail and struck a target about 25 miles west of the DMZ. The wingman completed his attack and departed for Ubon. He had observed three explosions on the ground that he had assumed were CAPTAIN DAVIES ordnance exploding. However, Captain Davies’ aircraft failed to make the briefed rendezvous and a search was initiated. Post war investigations confirmed that the aircraft had been shot down with the loss of both men…. For a much expanded summary of the loss of warriors Davies and McCubbin, please see their respective pages on POW Network.
(Webmaster note: The remains of Glenn McCubbin were recovered on 24 January 1989 and subsequently identified on 12 June 2006. Joseph Edwin Davies remains unaccounted for)
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) ON 19 MAY FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION…
1965… NONE…
1966… NONE…
1967… MAJOR ROY ABNER KNIGHT, USAF… (KIA); COMMANDER RICHARD RICH, USN… (KIA); LCDR WILLIAM ROBERT STARK, USN… (POW); LTJG JOSEPH CHARLES PLUMB, USN… (POW); LTJG GARETH LAVERNE ANDERSON, USN… (POW); LT EUGENE BAKER McDANIEL, USN… (POW); LT JAMES KELLY PATTERSON, USN… (MIA); CAPTAIN HAROLD JAMES HELLBACK, USMC… (KIA); LCDR KAY RUSSELL, USN… (POW); LTJG WILLIAM JOHN METZGER, USN… (POW); LCDR JAMES LLOYD GRIFFIN, USN… (POW–Died in Captivity); and LT JACK WALTERS, USN… (POW)…
(Webmaster note: Both Griffin and Walters died in NVN captivity. Their deaths could have been from injuries sustained by AAA, during ejection, or inflicted by the NVN. The search for LCDR James Kelly Patterson is ongoing, with his loving younger brother and former Marine Luck Patterson leading a relentless quest for the truth. I write in detail about the loss of Kelly and other men on 19 May 1967 in chapter one of my book Across the Wing)
1968… CAPTAIN JOSEPH EDWIN DAVIES, USAF… (KIA) and 1LT GLENN DEWAYNE McCUBBIN, USAF… (KIA)…
Humble Host flew #169 and #170. The first flight was a night armed recce with flares and bombs south of Vinh, north of Ha Tinh. No trucks so put out the flares and lit up a small bridge for the 6 Mk-82s times 2 with wingie nailing the bridge… Light 37-mm with hosing tracers all around… Second flight was a full-load– 3 Mk-83s centerline and a Mk-82 on stations 1 and 5… worked west of Tchepone with FAC and got “road cuts and a building on fire”…
RIPPLE SALVO… #805… QUOTED FROM TASK FORCE OMEGA “Database Search”…
“On 18 May 1968, then Capt. Terry J. Uyeyama, pilot, and Capt. Tommy E. Gist, navigator, comprised the crew of an RF-4C, call sign ‘Vacuum,’ which was on a single aircraft day airborne alert photo reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam.
“At 1456 hours, Capt Uyeyama radioed Hillsboro, the airborne command and control aircraft, requesting permission to run the first alternate target in their area of operation. Permission was granted. At 1512 hours, Vacuum flight radioed Hillsboro with the report ‘success on the target.’ They were given permission by Hillsboro to contact Cricket, the ground control command center, who then assigned them an in-flight target. Further, Cricket advised Vacuum to contact Waterboy, the Forward Air Controller in the area, for flight heading to the new target. Even though they were given the radio frequency for the FAC, no direct contact was even made between them.
“At 1520 hours, the last radio communication was made between Cricket and Vacuums flight. Prior to departing the area at the scheduled time of 1545 hours, Terry Uyeyama and Tommy Gist should have made radio contact again, however, that was not done. At that time electronic and visual searches by the aircraft already on site was initiated, but none were able to establish voice or beeper contact with either crewman. Likewise, no wreckage or crash site was discovered. Because of the location of loss, no formal search operation was possible.
“The last radio contact with Vacuum flight placed them 16 nautical miles west of Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, 6 nautical miles (approximately 7 kilometers) west-northwest of the major North Vietnamese port city of Dong Hoi, and 3 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Huu Chung. Both Terry Uyeyama and Tommy Gist were listed Missing in Action. On 13 September 1969 the US government learned that Capt. Uyeyama was in fact a Prisoner of War and his status was changed accordingly. He returned to US control on 14 March 1973 during Operation Homecoming.
“In his debriefing, Terry Uyeyama confirmed they were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire while flying at an altitude of 500-feet. After being hit, the cockpit filled with smoke and he temporarily went unconscious. Prior to going unconscious, Capt Uyeyama discovered the intercom between his navigator and himself had been knocked out preventing him from communicating with Tommy Gist. When he halfway regained consciousness, he also regained control of the aircraft and was able to activate the ejection system as the aircraft began to pass over the coastline and out over the Gulf of Tonkin. While he was descending in his parachute, Terry Uyeyama knew the North Vietnamese were shooting at him. He also heard gunfire to the west of his position and thought they were also firing at Tommy Gist.
“Over the next 10 days, the Vietnamese moved Capt. Uyeyama north toward Hanoi. He sometimes was moved by truck, other times by foot, but was moved only at night. On the fifth day of captivity, a young Vietnamese who was guarding him drew a picture in the sand of an aircraft with two cockpits. He pointed to the front cockpit, then pointed to Terry. He then pointed to the back cockpit, then made a motion with his hand like a gun to his head. He then showed Capt. Uyeyama Tommy gist’s ID card. Terry grabbed the card out of the guard’s hand to make sure it really belonged to his navigator. It was Tommy Gist’s ID card.
“The same ID card was turned over to a Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) delegation during a meeting in Hanoi 13-16 November 1985 with remarks that the American’s body burned-up in the crash of the aircraft. Interestingly, this card which was always carried in his flight suit breast pocket, was returned in pristine condition indicating it could not possibly have been in a fire. This ID card was one of the first 19 pieces of material evidence provided by the Vietnamese government to our government on missing Americans.”
“During two US government trips to Southeast Asia by JCRC personnel, one in the late 1980s and the other in the early 1990’s, information was supplied in the form of three ‘witnesses’ which were presented to the Americans by Vietnamese officials. These witnesses recounted an aircraft being shot down with one man being captured and the second man dying of his wounds and being buried on the beach. Each one of these witnesses provided wrong information to support his story, to include the type of aircraft, the date of loss, the time of day, the descriptions of both crewmen, etc. The US personnel collecting this information believed each one of the witnesses were coached by the Communist officials in what to say, and that none of them witnessed the incident themselves. However, the US government still officially attributes their convenient accounts to the loss of the aircraft.
“Our government’s reason for these discrepancies in the witnesses’ information lies in the belief the passage of time dulls memories. One glaring error with that theory lies in one simple fact. At the time Capt. Uyeyama was captured, the Vietnamese were so stunned by this man’s nationality that his treatment was more severe and frequent than the treatment dealt out to other prisoners at that point in time. The reality of capturing a ‘Japanese’ caused the North Vietnamese government to believe Japan had entered the war on the side of their enemy. In fact, his capture was of such significance to the Vietnamese that they would never forget the details of his capture.
“Otherwise, all of the witnesses said the American who was captured was over 6-foot tall and not one described Terry Uyeyama as a Japanese-American who in reality only stands 5 foot 7 inches tall. Undoubtedly these witness statements have nothing to do with the crew of Vacuum flight and have no basis in fact for answering the questions about any other missing aircrews. While Terry Uyeyama returned to the country, the faithfully serving Tommy Gist did not, and his fate remains in doubt.
“Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for, have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
“Fighter pilots in Vietnam and Laos were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.”… End quote…
Viva TASK FORCE OMEGA!!! Viva Patricia Hopper, who has done, and continues to do, so much for others…
RTR quote for 19 May: CERVANTES, Don Quixote, 1605: “Sweet is the love of one’s country.”…
Lest we forget… Bear