RIPPLE SALVO… #295… CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS to RTR but first….
Good Morning: Day TWO HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE of a walkabout amid the heroics and controversies of the air war against North Vietnam fifty years ago…
22 DECEMBER 1966… STATESIDE HEADLINES from the New York Times on a cold and cloudy Thursday in NYC…
Page 1: “President At Ranch Talks it Over With Critical Governors”… “and ‘takes them to the shed behind his ranch house today to have them testify how easy it is to bring their complaints and criticisms to the White House. Moving swiftly to disarm statehouse rebels against some of his Great Society programs, the President made it clear he preferred direct consultation to public recrimination. Nine of the 18 Governors in the shed had participated in the meetings at White Sulphur Springs to discuss Administration policies.”… Page 1: “U.S. Emphasizes Full Willingness to discuss peace and to take all appropriate steps to obtain a peaceful resolution to the war in Vietnam. Today’s statement was in reply to the General Assembly’s President request that all parties declare their willingness to make efforts toward negotiations on peace in Vietnam. Diplomats whose governments have missions in North Vietnam asserted that the American effort to promote negotiations using Mr. Thant as an intermediary would stand or fall on the bombing issue. These sources asserted that there was little hope of discussion as long as the United States continued to bomb targets in North Vietnam.”… Page 1: “Koreans Training Hanoi MIG Pilots and North Korean ally is also sending a small number of North Korean pilots to fly North Vietnam jets, but there is no word on whether they have engaged U.S. aircraft. Report puts inventory of MIGs in North Vietnam at 40 to 50 MIG-15/17s and 15 to 20 MIG-21s.” … Page 1: “Kennedy’s Reach Agreement With Look on serialization of ‘Death of a President,’that includes the deletion of 1600-words dealing with parts regarding the Kennedy’s personal life. Agreement with Mrs. Kennedy on Look serials expects to pave the way for publication of the book.”…
Page 2: “Peking Termed Ready for War But Hopeful it Can Remain Our of the Conflict“… “China is counting on its display of support for North Vietnam to check any intensification of the war without having to commit Chinese troops. Current assistance includes a 40,000-man military construction force to keep the Hanoi to China rail line running.”… Page 3: “Bob Hope On the Road at Cam Ranh Bay says some performers refused Vietnam tour invitations on grounds that they don’t support the war and disapproved of U.S. policy. Hope presented his two-hour show to 15,000 troops at the base today. Said he too was dissatisfied with the situation, ‘we’re just marking time. We ought to move a little faster–hawk style.’ Hope’s opening monologue consisted of 70-one liners. He has completed two shows in Thailand and one for the 4th Division. Others on the tour are: Vic Damone, Phyllis Diller, Joey Heatherton, Rita Faria (Miss World) and the Les Brown orchestra plus the Korean Kittens.”…
22 December 1966… The President’s Daily Brief… CIA (TS sanitized)…Vietnam: The Viet Cong seems to be pulling off an increasing number of successful small-scale attacks. Concern over the negative psychological impact of these actions on the population has been reported from most sections of South Vietnam. In some areas, Vietcong harassment has produced higher prices–for which the government and the US are receiving the lion’s share of blame… Communist China: Peking’s grain imports for the first half of next year may reach a record four million tons. This is about a million tons more than China imported during the first half of 1966. Australia and Canada, China’s biggest suppliers, are now being asked for much more than they had earlier been scheduled to send. The Chinese are scouring the world for still more. the bumper crops this year in the Soviet Union will not help. the Chinese have been too prideful to seek Soviet grains for some years…
22 DECEMBER 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times… Devoid of coverage of the air war over North Vietnam… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson)… There were no fixed wing aircraft losses in Southeast Asia on 22 December… oohrah…
RIPPLE SALVO… #295… A couple of corrections and interesting additions are called for this evening…
(1) The “Mighty Thunder” post on 20 November, Denny Wisely’s “First Shootdown” dropped the bulk of a great tale and RTR will rerun the post in its entirey by this weekend… this will give me a chance to correct a couple of typos, too…
(2) The following is clipped from a wonderful e-mail from a distinguished reader Joe Crecca, who forwarded me a set of inputs that deserve full disclosure…
22 November 1966 RTR includes the Hobson account of the loss of an F-4B of the 480th TFS & 388th TFW. Joe Crecca was in the Phantom when it was hit by a SAM and along with 1st Lt Gordon Wilson was forced to eject. Joe was captured on his 87th mission and did seven years of duty in the POW brotherhood. The Hobson account says that 1st Lt Wilson “was killed on the ejection or after he landed.” Here is what Joe wrote me:
“I would like to offer some corrections and additions to several pages with which I have first-hand knowledge. They are: 1. 22NOV66 when Scotty Wilson and I were shot down. His remains were returned to the USA in April 1986 and he was laid to rest at the USAFA cemetery 20 years to the day we were shot down and he was killed. I gave the eulogy to Scotty at the Air Force Academy Chapel. He perished when a second SAM detonated right next to him as his chute deployed. I saw the aftermath after my own chute opened… (Humble Host will add these facts to the 22 November RTR post) Thanks Joe! 2. The 05NOV66 engagement when my squadron mates shot down two MIG-21s had a misspelling of the lead F-4s GIB. It was John J. Rabeni; not Rubenti. (typo will be corrected pronto) 3. On the night of 13OCT66 I do not recall any beeper being heard when Murray Borden and Gene Meadows were lost. (the beeper call was included in the Hobson account) Just a radio transmission of Oh, Shxx” then a fireball on the ground. The next day they sent a chopper to hover over the crash site and all they could see were some papers on the ground, probably from a knee board. The belief then was neither pilot ejected. I flew my second combat mission with Murray Borden and had a lot of respect for him. The 480th TFS had four 1st Lt. front seaters and all were outstanding. Scotty Wilson (KIA), Murray Borden (KIA), Joe Latham and Ron Martin. The last two shot down MiG-21s. Latham was Rabeni’s front seater.” (I will add this info to the RTR post on 13OCT66) THANKs, Joe…
Joe, I deeply appreciate your evaluation of the web site and welcome suggestions for improvement. As to your question concerning a comparable effort for Linebacker… I have no plan to track the air war in North Vietnam beyond Rolling Thunder, which was terminated on 1 November 1968, about 700 Rolling Thunder posts from now. I am 82 and it would be presumptuous of me to think about making these daily posts through the 50th anniversary of Linebacker. However, RTR is open for posts by anybody and everybody and I welcome the Linebacker guys tales on the site at any time… the line is open for true tales from our war…
For the present, have a Merry Christmas and a great 2017… Thanks for all you have done for our country and continue to do… thanks especially for those 87 counters and those seven years “whistling the classics” for your NAMPOW compatriots…. with highest respect… Bear Taylor
Lest we forget… Bear -30-