RIPPLE SALVO… #689…THE WHITE HOUSE ON THE DAY OF THE PUEBLO SEIZURE…
A few minutes before 1P.M. on a cloudy Tuesday 23 January 1968 in Washington, with rain showers adding a dash of gloom, the Wise Men in the Johnson Administration were gathering for the Tuesday Lunch Bunch. As outgoing Secretary of State McNamara and incoming Sec. Def Clark Clifford took their seats Secretary McNamara couldn’t resist rattling Mr. Clifford’s new cage. “Clark, this is what it’s like on a typical day. We had an inadvertent intrusion into Cambodia. We lost a B-52 with 4 H-bombs aboard. We had an intelligence ship captured by the North Vietnamese.” To which Mr. Clifford asked, “May I leave now.”...
The New York Times Head Lines: “CAMBODIANS REPORT FINDING GEAR LEFT BEHIND BY U.S. RANGERS”…… “B-52 WITH H-BOMBS PLUNGES INTO ICE IN GREENLAND BAY–NO DANGER OF EXPLOSION, U.S. SAYS, SINCE THE FOUR WEAPONS WERE DISARMED–CO-PILOT DIES IN CRASH–6 OTHERS SAVED AS PILOT ORDERS PLANE ABANDONED AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT ONBOARD”…… “NORTH KOREA SEIZES NAVY SHIP; HOLDS 83 ON BOARD AS U.S. SPIES; ENTERPRISE IS ORDERED TO AREA–4 CREWMEN HURT–RUSK SAYS EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY TO OBTAIN VESSELS RELEASE”…. but first…
Good Morning: Day SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE of a remembrance of the years of Operation Rolling Thunder...
23 JANUARY 1968… In lieu of additional New York Times headlines, Humble Host offers an opportunity to spend the day in the White House, so to speak. I have tapped into two steams —VIETNAM and PUEBLO INCIDENT– of State Department, Office of the Historian, Historical Documents, that summarize the dramatic action ‘at the highest levels” when a serious national security incident occurs. The seizure of the Pueblo was such an incident. Each of seven documents I have selected is introduced with a one or two-liner. These documents were super-sensitive fifty years ago but are now available on-line.
(1) Document 22. Notes of President’s Meeting at 8:30 A.M. in the “Johnson Library” with the Democratic Leadership. The President provides his old cronies from the Senate — Vice President Humphrey and Senators Mansfield, Long, McCormack and Albert — a rundown on Pueblo capture, the Cambodia incident, and a howgozit on the Vietcong/North Vietnamese “short-term surge.”… Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v06/d22
(2) Document 212. Telegram From Secretary Rusk to the Ambassador in the Embassy in the Soviet Union. (“Literally Eyes Only for Ambassador”) Rusk is providing instructions to his man in Moscow with a copy to the American Ambassador in Seoul. A footnote explains why the time line for the incident took weeks to develop… Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v29p1/d212
(3) Document 23. Notes of National Security Meeting at 12:58 P.M. including the President, Secretaries Rusk and McNamara, Mr. Clifford, Sec Def in Waiting, General Wheeler, CIA Director Helms, the President’s National Security Advisor Walt Rostow, Tom Christian, trusted aide, and Tom Johnson (scribe)–The Tuesday Lunch Bunch. (On this day there would be no selecting targets in North Vietnam.) This is the first of two documents that summarize this hour and a half meeting. While a wide range of subjects are discussed, Pueblo and Khesanh standout. Especially Khesanh. Note the President’s high interest in Khesanh, which he has vowed will not be another Dienbienphu. In fact, he made every one of the members of the JCS sign off that victory was the only possible outcome. This explains why every possible strike mission in Southeast Asia was fragged for Khesanh. Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v06/d23
(4) Document 213. Additional notes of same meeting with content of notes limited to the Pueblo seizure… Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v29p1/d213
(5) Document 214. Telegram from Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command to CINCPAC, Admiral Sharp, that alerts Admiral Sharp, the JCS, DOD, Sec Sate, DIA and the White House that President Park of South Korea is a little upset about an F-105 coming into South Korea and the arrival of the Enterprise, among other indicators, without prior knowledge of the Republic of Korea. Apparently President Park, who was in an “elevated state” due to an assassination attempt on his life, was concerned about the increased possibility of war the American moves created. As he should be… Looks like somebody forgot to tell President Park “we are coming after our 83 sailors and our ship.”…Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v29p1/d214
(6) Document 215. A Memorandum (“North Korean Intentions: Preliminary Assessment of the Pueblo Incident) from CIA Director Helms to Secretary Rusk that was delivered to all the attendees at the “National Security” meeting earlier in the day so that they would have the latest from CIA. Director Helms analysis holds that the Pueblo incident was tied to the earlier infiltration of South Korea to make an attempt on President Park. Humble Host is sticking to his conclusion that it was a move to support the Tet Offensive by their comrades in North Vietnam. You decide… Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v29p1/d215
(7) Document 216. Telegram From Secretary of State Dean Rusk to the Ambassador in the Embassy in Seoul. Rusk gives explicit instructions for a meeting with President Park that salves his wounds by assuring the South Korean President that the US does not consider the DMZ intrusions and attempt on Park’s life any less important in the building crisis than the seizure of the Pueblo. Secretary Rusk’s final paragraph is a fitting summary of the situation in the Sea of Japan in January 1968. In fact, the same situation exists today with the addition of nuclear weapons in the mix. I quote:
“You should end your presentation with the following words: I have been instructed by the U.S. Government to say the following directly to you. the events of last year, and especially the last few days, have put new complexion on the situation in Korea. The North Korean regime has embarked on campaign of provocation, sabotage, and assassination in violation of the Armistice Agreement and international law. The Republic of Korea and the United States threaten no one. If the North Korea regime persists in this campaign, which can only endanger the peace of this area, the responsibility for the consequences will rest with the North Korean regime.”… Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v29p1/d216
AND THAT’S THE WAY IT WAS ON THIS DAY 50 YEARS AGO…
23 January 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times… There was no coverage of the air war over the North. I suspect all possible sorties were directed to Hillsboro to work with Covey, Misty or Sky Spot in the Khesanh area… just guessin’…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were two fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia…
(1) LCDR GERALD LEE RAMSDEN and CDR LELAND S. KOLLMORGEN, Executive Officer were flying a strike mission in an A-6A of the VA-165 Main Battery embarked in USS Ranger and inadvertently flew into the water on their night, high-speed, bad weather, low-level approach to their coast-in point east of Vinh. COMMANDER KOLLMORGEN survived the impact to eject and was subsequently rescued to fly and fight again. LCDR RAMSDEN did not and was killed-in-action on this day 50 years ago. He rests where he fell in the service of his country… Left behind, but remembered with admiration and appreciation…
(2) MAJOR WILLIAM E. LOFTUS, USMC was flying an A-4E of the VMA-311 Tomcats and MAG-12 on close air support mission in support of the Marines at Khesanh and was downed by small arms fire. Chris Hobson tells the story: “The third Marine Corps aircraft lost in as many days was shot down on the 23rd. MAJOR LOFTUS was commencing a strafing run at 1,500-feet on an enemy troop concentration near Khesanh when his Skyhawk was hit in the fuselage by small arms fire. Realizing that he could not reach his airfield or even the coast, he managed to reach Khesanh and ejected directly over the base. Loftus landed on the perimeter of the base and his parachute became entangled in the concertina wire that was used extensively to protect US bases in South Vietnam. He was freed by Marines from the base before the North Vietnamese, who were beginning to encircle the camp could reach him.”… Another great Happy Hour tale…
From the Compilation “34 TFS/F-105 History” by Howie Plunkett: 23-Jan-68 “Captain H. ‘Monty’ Pharmer from the 34 TFS, 388 TFW, flew his first combat mission into North Vietnam....’It was a four-ship flight into one of the lower Packs, as was the practice for the first 5 missions. The target was on the coastal area where a small river came inland. We were trying to hit an area that supposedly had some cargo boats tied up along the river’s edge. I never saw any boats but hit the area that I was supposed to. There was some light AAA. I remember thinking, at last, I’m finally flying a combat mission in the F-105 and even if this is the only one I ever make, I’ll always be able to say I did it. I also remember trying to look back while jinking to see if my six 750# bombs hit where they were supposed to. I was surprised to see the amount of explosion that the four of us in the flight made. The entire area was obliterated.’ “… Thanks, Howie… love those first combat flight stories…
RIPPLE SALVO… #689… There I was, taking in the sunset while strolling the flight deck of USS Enterprise with Sasebo somewhere back beyond the wake of Big “E.” Feeling good, headed back to Yankee Station for combat cruise #2. The company on the stroll was the best– couple of other VA-113 Stingers also headed back for another 100 trips over the beach where the inhospitable natives filled the skies with little orange balls and little white and gray clouds. Feeling groovy. Suddenly, the bow of Enterprise came around to the starboard, the deck did a hard heel to port, and the sun moved from off to the right to a new vector, about 30-degrees to port. Wahzzzup?… Pueblo!! a new set of orders, a month of cruising the Sea of Japan (sea temp 34-degrees), brushing snow off the A-4Fs, planning strikes on the “Bridges of Tokori,” and little else. Making history has its dull moments… Unless, of course, Kim Il Sung had made another dumb move…
RTR Quote for 23 January: NAPOLEON, Letter 1813: “Perhaps I should not insist on this bold move, but it is my style, my way of doing things.”…
Lest we forget… Bear