RIPPLE SALVO… #837… A short letter to the Editor of the New York Times dated 11 June 1968 from a guy named Don Luck on his return to his home in Ithaca after a tour in Vietnam with the International Voluntary Services program… “To the Editor: General Westmoreland’s optimism about the progress of the Vietnam war reminds me of a dinner conversation I once had with Bernard Fall. Fall had just been to a cocktail party where an American officer had gone-on several minutes about all the allied victories. One of the Vietnamese officers present sadly smiled and replied, ‘Yes, and our victories keep getting closer and closer to Saigon.’ “… Another letter below as a Salvo…
GOOD MORNING… Day EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN of pondering the past and the air campaign called Rolling Thunder…
HEAD LINES from The New York Times on Thursday, 20 June 1968…
THE WAR: Page 3: “OBJECTS OVER DMZ STILL UNDER STUDY–Detailed Report on Sightings Assured By U.S. Command”… “…investigations into the operation of unidentified aircraft over the demilitarized one are pressed as radar sightings were reported for the fourth day. A report on the aircraft, suspected of being North Vietnamese helicopters, would be made ‘when the facts are reconciled an the differences done away with….Meanwhile, sporadic fighting was reported on the fringes of Saigon… At Tansonnhut airfield on the edge of Saigon, two persons were killed and five wounded when an ambulance going to the scene of an ammunition explosion collided with a small passenger plane taxiing for takepff…One person was killed and four wounded when the ammunition, which had just been moved from an aircraft to a truck, exploded…In scattered fighting three miles from downtown, three enemy soldiers were killed and an another 28 others either captured or surrendered…Amaerican troops searching for enemy troops three to six miles east of the city center killed five enemy soldiers…”
PEACE TALKS: “SOME GAIN HINTED IN VIETNAM TALKS–Indication of Move Toward Private Sessions Is Seen At Paris Negotiations”… “American and North Vietnamese negotiators stepped up their mutual public recriminations today, but at the same time prospects improved for moving to secret bargaining. Spokesmen for both delegations said that the ninth negotiation session since May 13 on the Vietnam war and produced no break in the deadlock over American bombing of North Vietnam and the substantive issues….The formal talks produced one procedural agreement, to hold meetings every Wednesday and special sessions at the request of either side.”… Page 3: “RABBIS ASK END OF ALL BOMBING IN NORTH VIETNAM–Group Asserts Administration Has Redistributed The Targets Instead of Deescalation”… “The Central Conference of American Rabbis, a major reform Jewish group, charged today that the Johnson Administration had failed to de-escalate the war in Vietnam an was pursuing a policy of redistributing the bombing targets…. Resolution calls for an immediate bombing halt of North Vietnam and especially attacks upon civilian populations wherever they may be.”…
Page 1: “OVER 50,000 MARCH IN CAPITAL IN SUPPORT OF THE POOR–PROTESTERS CALL FOR SHARING OF NATION’S AFFLUENCE–Ralph Abernathy Gives Militant Speech”… “More than 50,000 orderly Americans marched here today to emphasize their demand for a just share of affluence and dignity for Negroes, Spanish-speaking minorities, American Indians and poor whites. ‘The Solidarity Day’ march of the Poor People’s Campaign–a leisurely one-mile stroll on a hot, humid afternoon from the Washington Monument to a prolonged formal program of harshly worded speeches at the Lincoln Memorial–was a numerical success.”… Page 1: “FOR DEMONSTRATORS, A CHANCE TO DO THEIR THING–Many Pass Up The Speeches to Walk, Talk, Carry Signs or Simply To Be There”… Page 1: “PRESIDENT SIGNS BROAD CRIME BILL–With One Objection–Asserts It Contains More Good Than Bad and Will Lift Shadow of Fear–Assails Wide Wiretaps–But He Praises Massive Federal Help To Improve Local Law Enforcement”... Page 3: “PROPOSALS ON PUEBLO ARE DISCLOSED BY U.S.”… “The State Department disclosed today that the United States had made ‘certain proposals’ to North Kore to gain the release of the captured intelligence ship Pueblo and her 82 crewmen. … proposals offered at the last United States-North Korean session May 28 at Panmunjom.”…
20 JUNE 1968… THE PRESIDENT’S DAILY BRIEF (CIA TS/SI)… SOUTH VIETNAM: National Liberation Front: The Front, in a statement summarized in English on 19 June over Hanoi’s international service, claimed that 1,200 South Vietnamese troops, militiamen, and other members of the “puppet army” have gone over to the Viet Cong. The mass desertion allegedly took place in the delta after “thousands” of local civilians visited government forces to paint a rosy picture of life on the communist side. The Front’s accounting may be intended to counter the surrender of about 120 Communist troops north of Saigon on Tuesday… NORTH VIETNAM: There is no confirmation of press speculation that the North Vietnamese have been ferrying Styx coastal defense missiles into the DMZ by helicopter. Hard evidence is lacking, but there are several reasons to doubt that this analysis is correct. It is a fact that Styx missiles are in North Vietnam, they could be fired from less vulnerable positions farther north along the coast. In addition, the North Vietnamese in the past have been known to have brought heavy artillery and equipment into the DMZ by land; moving Styx missiles this way would be considerably less risky than by helicopter. We also doubt that the North Vietnamese would want to expose their big helicopters (they only have four large enough for this kind of operation) in an area where the US has air and naval superiority….
20 JUNE 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (21 June reporting 20 June ops) Page 5: “In North Vietnam American pilots flew 125 missions against lines of transportation and supply depots… VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 20 June 1968… There was, however, a downed F-4C Phantom of the 45th TFS and 15th TFW on Temporary duty at Ubon on 20 June 1965, 53 years ago this day, that was shot down by a MIG-17 not previously recognized in this RTR journal…
During a raid on the Son La NVA barracks one of the newly arrived Ubon Phantoms was shot down by a MiG-17 near Ta Chan in Northwest North Vietnam. The Crew: CAPTAIN PAUL ANTHONY KARI and CAPTAIN CARL H. BRIGGS. It was CAPTAIN KARI’s 64th combat flight in 70 days and first combat flight in the new F-4C. He and CAPTAIN BRIGGS were the first to lose one in combat. CAPTAIN BRIGGS luck got better– after ejecting he was rescued to fly and fight again. CAPTAIN KARI’s luck remained bad–after ejecting, he was immediately captured and was a POW from Father’s Day 20 June 1965 until released on 12 February 1973… He was imprisoned for 2,795 days and nights…
AMONG THE BRAVE… GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY… MAJOR PAUL ANTHONY KARI… NORTH VIETNAM… 21 JUNE 1965…
“The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the SILVER STAR to MAJOR PAUL ANTHONY KARI, United States Air Force, for gallantry and intrepidity in action in connection with military operations against opposing armed forces on 21 June 1965, 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. MAJOR KARI resisted their demands by calling upon his deepest inner strengths in a manner which reflected his devotion to duty and great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”…
“The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS to CAPTAIN PAUL ANTHONY KARI, United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as Aircraft Commander of an F-4 fighter-bomber over North Vietnam on 4 June 1965. on that date, CAPTAIN KARI’s flight was assigned the mission of destroying a vital thermal power plant a nearby irrigation pumping stations. Displaying tenacious combat instinct coupled with utter disregard for his own safety, CAPTAIN KARI courageously pressed his attack in the face of withering anti-aircraft fire to score direct hits and destroy the power plant almost single-handedly. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion of duty displayed by CAPTAIN KAIR reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”…
Among LCOL KARI’s other combat awards are a second SILVER STAR, the LEGION OF MERIT with Combat V, and several Air Metals…
Quote from the Medina Post, 5 December 2014: KARI: “Inhumane. Rats ran rampant. We had a leaky bucket in the corner…They put concrete blocks in the barred windows during the summer so it would get hot, about 130-degrees. In the winter, they knocked the blocks out and it would get down to 30-degrees. One pair of pajamas, sleeping on concrete or a piece of wood. Food was served sparse, ice cold…anything to demoralize you…Most of us had our faith in God and faith in our country that they would not let us down and they would come get us eventually. We thought, if we can make it through today, great. We can do it again tomorrow…. We were interrogated four times a day sometimes…I wouldn’t give them anything. Nothing other than name, rank, serial number and date of birth… We were tortured severely. I was afraid I might spill myu guts. They starved us to near death. (He lost 70 pounds over the seven-year, eight month tour of POW duty).” In 2010 KARI was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor…. oohrah…
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) ON 20 JUNE FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1965… CAPTAIN PAUL ANTHONY KARI, USAF… (POW)…
1966… LCDR JOHN WALLACE TUNNELL, USN… (KIA)… and … LT JOHN RICHARD McDONOUGH, USN… (KIA)…
1967… MAJOR CHARLES LIGON CRONKITE, USMC… (KIA)…
1968… NONE…
Humble Host flew #193 and #194. Up in the dark to take a wingman on an armed recce of my favorite beat–Ha Tinh down Highway 15 toward Mu Gia Pass looking for trucks. Bingo. Jumped a group of five showing headlights and put out the lights with 6 Mk-82s X2. Left with three on fire and called for a follow-on flight to finish off the fun. No tracers. Flew 1.7 VFR night-time and trap for third night in a row… Wrote on my kneeboard card “Three nite OK-2s in a row”… They definitely get easier when you do it regularly. #194 was a day section lead with 3 Mk-83s and two LAU-10 PODs (eight Zunis). Cruised Highway 1 south of Vinh and parallel to the beach looking for anything that moved. The truckers were hiding in the villages. Put the bombs into what I thought looked like a possible truck park– dirt road leading into a clump of trees with no exit on the other side…Blew the trees up but no secondaries… Expended the rockets on a waterborne logistic craft.. With MiGs north of Vinh two days before and SAMs west of Vinh on the 19th and early on the 20th, Vinh became a new game–the bad guys are moving the defenses south…
RIPPLE SALVO… #867… “TURN THE OTHER CHEEK”,”AN EYE FOR AN EYE”, OR “TWO EYES FOR AN EYE”??? …
A gentleman named Frank Masland wrote to The New York Times from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on 5 June 1968:
“To the Editor: If peace, insuring the elimination from South Vietnam of Communism–which means North Vietnam, Red China and the Vietcong–doesn’t result from the Paris peace talks, these will prove to the most bloody and disastrous negotiations in history. North Vietnam, Red China and Russia are using this period to reinforce their capacity to wage offensive warfare in greater depth and on a wider front.
“North Vietnamese prisoners say that it now takes only eleven days to travel from Hanoi to Saigon. American units have captured North Vietnamese troops who have been in the south only a few days. They reported they rode from Hanoi to Saigon without being bombed. Prior to the cessation of bombing the same trip required thirty to forty days.
“In the latter part of 1967 infiltration was reckoned at six thousand a month. it is now thought to be four times that number. It is estimated 150,000 additional Northern troops have become available since January. Recently Secretary Rusk advised the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Chinese antiaircraft units are now operating in North Vietnam. Cessation of our bombing of North Vietnamese air fields may well result in the successful bombing of U.S. bases in South Vietnam by vastly increased North Vietnamese air power. A substantial increase of MiG-21s and medium range Soviet jet bombers has been observed on airfields in North Vietnam. These are fields that have been rebuilt since the President brought to a halt bombing of fields north of the nineteenth parallel.
“In World War II when Germany bombed London we bombed Berlin. Hanoi has frequently mortar bombed and largely destroyed Saigon. Why should Hanoi enjoy sanctuary? Why not pursue with Hanoi the policy that worked with Berlin? Such an action would speak louder and have greater impact upon the Hanoi negotiators at Paris than any words our representatives can utter.
“I suspect that if peace does not result from the Paris negotiations, the Communist build-up will leave us with two alternatives–to capitulate or to use the full force of our technological capacity–which, among other activities, means treating Hanoi and Haiphong as we treated Berlin and Hamburg.” End letter to Editor…
Mr. Masland, the III of the Masland carpet family, was a World War II tanker under General George S. Patton, III … oohrah…
Humble Host joins Mr. Masland as a supporter of the “law of retaliation” or “an eye for an eye”… and try as I might I have difficulty following the urging of Jesus “to turn the other cheek.” In truth–for better or worse– I believe in two eyes for an eye.
Matthew 5:38-39 : “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Lest we forget… Bear
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