“…OF SELF-DECEPTION, COMPLACENCY AND TRAGIC UNDERESTIMATION OF THE STRENGTH AND ABILITY OF A DEDICATED FOE.”…
RIPPLE SALVO… #515… COUNTDOWN TO TET… but first…
Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED FIFTEEN of a review of the offensive air campaign against North Vietnam called Rolling Thunder…
2 AUGUST 1967… HEAD LINES of The New York Times on a mostly sunny Wednesday in New York City…
VIETNAM: Page 1: “Junta In Saigon Drawing Up Plan To Retain Power–A New Military Committee Would Keep Grip On Policy–U.S. Aides Displeased–Formula Would Let Generals Continue Collective Rule Whatever Election Result”… “Informed sources say senior officers in the army had taken the first steps toward the formation of a ‘military affairs committee’ which would formulate national policy in much the same way as the armed forces leadership has done for the past two years. ‘We think democracy is coming too soon to Vietnam,’ one general recently said. “There’s a war to fight. The army must remain powerful. We are willing to go along with the vote but things must come out right.”... Page 3: “Battleship New Jersey Is Called To Duty--“To Be Activated for Vietnam War…take 9 to 10 months to prepare.”… Page 3: “U.S. Plans Automated Bombing In Night and All-Weather Raids”... “the automatic system which is being tested in South Vietnam is scheduled to be mounted on the F-111 swing-wing fighter-bomber scheduled for its first appearance in Viet Nam early next year…low light TV…. infrared scanner…with radar. All three tie into a computer system…Plans call for installing on the F-4 Phantom.”… Page 4: “Military Officials Fear Pilot Shortages Will Last Four Years”... “Senate Preparedness Investigative sub-committee, John Stennis… the serious pilot shortages now confronting the Air Force and Navy would persist t least through fiscal year 1971…CNO admiral David McDonald was quoted at one point of accusing the commercial air lines of ‘riding the Navy of pilots who resign as soon as their minimum obligated service is complete… air Force is suffering from a shortage of 6,815 and will be short 3,636 in FY 71…the Navy shortage is 2,430. In order to meet Vietnam requirements at 100%…Air Force returned 2,400 officer aviators who had been relieved of flying duty due reaching age of 45. In 1963-64 5% of pilots resigning intended to join the airlines, summer 1966 this was 80%…Navy 67% of pilots leaving at end of service obligation sent to the air lines…”… Page 20: “Admiral Thomas H. Moorer sworn in as 18th Chief of Naval Operations at ceremony at Naval Academy… Admiral David L. McDonald is retiring…”…
SUMMER 1967 AT HOME: Page 1: “McClellan Group Chosen to Make A Study of Riots–Senate Panel Blocks, 8-1, Four Other Plans For Congressional Inquiries”... “The Senate Permanent Sub-committee on Investigations headed by Senator John L. McClellan of Arkansas was chosen today to conduct the chief Congressional inquiry into the cause and cure of urban rioting…the choice indicates that the investigation would stress the law enforcement aspect rather than the social causes underlying the disorders… an amendment to the resolution to direct the panel to search specifically for ‘economic and social’ factors’ involved in the disorder was rejected by an 8 to 2 vote.”… Page 1: “J Edgar Hoover Discerns No Plot In Riots–Testifies at Closed Session as Johnson Commission Begins Its Hearings”,,, “he had no intelligence indicating a conspiracy behind the recent racial disorders…52 racial disturbances over the past three years…the racial riots had been touched off by minor incidents.”... Page 1: “Attorney General Ramsey Clark Denies Politics in Riots; Rockefeller Hails Romney Role”... “Clark said it was absolutely not true that the Administration had played politics in delaying the dispatch of federal troops to Detroit to quell the riots…Rockefeller has told Romney that his charge that the President had played politics…was forthcoming, courageous and effective.”... Page 12: “Stokely Carmichael At Havana Parley Urges Negro Revolution In United States”... “…honorary delegate to Latin-American solidarity conference called for a revolution to liberate the American Negroes. He said the battle of the Negro people in the United States was part of the struggle going on elsewhere against racism and imperialism. ‘The method of warfare for the Negro is guerrilla warfare.’…‘They have taught us to kill (in Vietnam). Now the struggle is in the streets of the United States.’ ..’We’re not waiting for them to kill us. We will kill them first–or rather, we are working towards that goal. We have no alternative but to use aggressive armed violence in order to own the land, houses, stores inside our communities and to control the politics of those communities.’ “... Editorial Page: James Reston: “Carmichael in Havana has no following or organization–he is out of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee–with his policy of racial separation and Black Power he is here representing little more than himself.”…
2 August 1967… The President’s TS Daily CIA Brief…COMMUNIST CHINA: Peking has now pardoned the fiant military commander of the troublesome and important Wuhan military district…Only a few days ago, Peking had ordered country-wide demonstrations against the officer. this back pedaling looks like a serious reverse of Mao and Lin Piao, and will probably encourage other malcontent regional commanders. Such officers picked up unexpected support yesterday when Red Star, the Soviet Military journal urged them on by saying that the Chinese Army has been deceived by Mao and his followers. The article cites the Wuhan events as proof that “not all the army is under the control of Mao.”… (Humble Host: I wonder why the US harbored such fear of Red China? They were a basket case during the 1966-67 period… divided within and killing each other. It would seem that Fear of the Dragon, as a controlling factor on our offensive choices in the air war, was a red herring…)…NORTH VIETNAM: The need for more skilled administrators and technicians has led Hanoi to reverse the policy it had been applying to members of the former middle class. These “bourgeois” elements, who had been denied responsible jobs for some years, are now to be “allotted positions suitable to their capacity and paid accordingly.”…
2 AUGUST 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (3 Aug reporting 2 Aug ops)…Page 4: “American pilots continued strikes against North Vietnam’s power plants and surface-to-air missile sites as fighting on the ground went into a lull. Air Force F-105 Thunderchief pilots struck the Thainguyen thermal power plant 38 miles north of Hanoi and the Thainguyen railroad yard four miles south of the power plant. Pilots reported sparks and white explosions erupting from the main power plant building, which was heavily damaged… Navy pilots blasted a missile site 13 miles northeast of Haiphong and another near Thanh Hoa, 80 miles south of Hanoi. a missile and transporter were destroyed in the strike near Haiphong…Air Force pilots attacked a surface-to-air missile site within 10 miles of the demilitarized zone with air-to-ground missiles. A spokesman said one missile in the complex launched unguided, rose to 3,000-feet and then hit the ground one mile from the site….An Air Force F-100 Super Sabre was shot down in the Mekong Delta 130-miles southwest of Saigon, the 196th plane downed in the South. The pilot was killed in action (Captain R.E. Woodson…see 1 August RTR). A Navy reconnaissance pilot was listed as missing in action in North Vietnam (The pilot was Lt. David W. Thornhill of Arlington, VA, and was rescued by Navy SAR helicopter.)…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were three fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 2 August 1967…
(1) COLONEL WALLACE GOURLEY HYNDS and CAPTAIN CAREY ALLEN CUNNINGHAM were flying an RF-4C of the 11th TRS and 432nd TRW were on a day photo reconnaissance mission in RP2 and commenced a run to photo Route 15 from Vinh to MuGia. As they dropped down to low altitude for the run a little west of Vinh they were hit by ground fire, COLONEL HYNDS immediately pulled off the run but the aircraft rolled into the ground killing both COLONEL HYNDS and CAPTAIN CUNNINGHAM were Killed In Action. Chris Hobson: “In 1989 the Vietnamese handed over a box of remains claiming them to be those of Colonel Hynds. However, in 1999 these remains were re-examined and found to be those of Captain Cunningham. Personal items from both the crew have been seen in a Vietnamese war museum.”… As of February 2017 Colonel Hynds body has not been returned…
(2) 1LT J.V. FIORELLI was flying an F-100D of the 531st TFS and 3rd TFW out of Bien Hoa on a strike mission to support a Navy fuel depot beleaguered by Viet Cong but was hit by ground fire shortly after takeoff and was forced to eject before he could return to the runway… He was rescued by the Bien Hoa HH-3.
(3) An A-4C of the VA-55 Warhorses embarked in USS Constellation suffered a flame-out and engine failure shortly after launch and the pilot was forced to eject. The unidentified pilot was rescued and has undoubtedly told his short sea story from fifty years ago today to anybody who would listen…
34 TFS/F-105 History compiled by Howie Plunkett: 2 August 1967: “Lt Col Mervin M. Taylor from the 34 TFS was mission commander against the steel mill complex NE of Hanoi (Probably the Thai Nguyen Iron & Steel Complex (JCS76.00)). He flew 2.8 hours and was awarded the Silver Star…”…”Led force of 20 F-105s…Opposition- MIGs, Missiles, AAA fire. bombs center target.”…
“2 August 1967…Air Force planes struck two targets along the Thai Nguyen-Hanoi rail line (RR-5) in RP-6A. North Vietnam.’The Ha Gia railroad bridge…, previously struck on 27 July, was attacked again on 2 August with pilots reporting direct hits on the bridge ans the southern approaches. Strike photography from 2 August showed the target completely engulfed in smoke. Film from an aft-looking camera showed bombs detonating on the bridge. Post-strike photography taken on 4 august confirmed the south span was down and the south abutment severely damaged. However, photos from 9 August revealed the span had been replaced and repair work was continuing on the abutment.” One of the pilots on this strike was Captain Cal W Tax flying an F-105D of the 333 TFS…
“The Thai Nguyen railroad yard (JCS 21.11)…was struck on 2 August. KA-21 film showed bombs impacting on the north choke point and throughout the yard.”
“Major George G. Clausen, 34 TFS commander, was one of the pilots attacking the rail yard. He received the Air Medal (10th OLC), ‘Major George G. Clausen distinguished himself by meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam on 2 August 1967. On that date, Major Clausen was ordered to strike the heavily defended Thai Nguyen Railroad Yard located in North Vietnam. In spite of adverse weather and intense antiaircraft fire, Major Clausen pressed the attack, destroying numerous pieces of rolling stock and inflicting severe damage to the railyard. The professional skill and airmanship displayed by Major Clausen reflect great credit upon himself and the United Air Force.”… “…
“Another pilot on this flight (Flown 50 years ago today) was Maj. Gerald J. Robinson…with the 469th TFS from Korat.”…
RIPPLE SALVO… #515… FIVE MONTHS TO TET… On 31 January 1968 the Washington Evening Star posted this commentary on page 14: Title: “Explosion in Vietnam”…
“Once again, United States military strategists have demonstrated their capacity at underestimating the strength, the purpose, and the determination of the enemy….
“The explosion of Vietcong terrorism that has rocked all of South Vietnam came, we are told, as no surprise. If that is true, then the 40 towns and villages, in U.S. military installations, and in Saigon itself is difficult to explain. A ‘Pearl Harbor’ in Vietnam might be understood if, lulled by the promise of a Tet truce, there had been some lowering of the guard….
“The ‘assault-proof’ American Embassy in Saigon was attacked, blasted open, entered–and according to most reports–held in part for six been assured that the Marines and the South Vietnamese forces are ready; that Khe Sanh can never be another Dienbienphu. Let us hope that–this time–the military strategists have read their intelligence reports accurately, and not through the rose-tinted spectacles of self-deception, complacency and tragic underestimation of the strength and the ability of a dedicated foe.”…
Humble Host invites you to join me in identifying the events and evidence that Tet 1968 was in the cards, our leaders just didn’t see it coming–rosy-tinted spectacles and all. What did they miss in the last five months of 1967 that accounts for our failure to know it was coming and nip it in the bud?…
RTR is an opportunity to take it step-by-step, day-by-day to identify the proof that we were indeed guilty of self-deception, complacency and ignorant of the enemy’s true strength and ability. In the days to come you will read in these posts about General Walt’s assertion that the Marines that got bushwhacked in early July near the DMZ while straggling back from a dry sweep was an insignificant event when considering the successes–like 10,000 Marines killed or wounded in the first seven months of 1967. General Harold K. Johnson, Chief of Staff of the Army completed his field visit with the troops in the first week of August and declared, “We are winning.”… On 2 August a brave young Air Force fighter pilot took off from Bien Hoa and was shot down in the pattern (see above)… Or also, above: the span of a railroad bridge that was dropped on 2 August and was back in place on 9 August. Paul Komer, the czar of the pacification program reported to the President: “All’s well and getting better.”
Self-deception. An American malady–as active today, as it was in 1967… That is my conclusion and I will be highlighting the endless examples in my RTR posts to fortify my conclusion… The tragic reality is that 2017 leadership is still wearing rose-tinted spectacles and by ignoring history they are repeating the course toward disaster taken by the 1967 leaders… That’s my opinion, what’s yours???…
RTR QUOTE for 2 August: EMERSON : “Every opinion reacts on him who utters it.”…
Lest we forget… Bear