RIPPLE SALVO… #448… ATTABOYS and baubles… but first…
Good Morning: Day FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT of a Rolling Thunder journal with the benefit of fifty years of declassified truth and circumstances…
27 MAY 1967… A FEW HEADLINES from fifty years ago from The New York Times on a sunny Saturday in NYC…
Page 1: “Nasser Pledges to Destroy Israel if There Is War–Asserts Any Military Action by Enemy Will Set Off an All-Out Conflict–U.S. Proposal Spurned –Cairo Paper Says Regime Has Barred Five-Point Plan for Easing Tension”… “President Gamal Abdel Nasser said tonight that any Israeli military action against the United Arab Republic or Syria would lead to all-out war. If war starts, he said, ‘Our main objective will be the destruction of Israel.‘…In a later speech Mr. Nasser boasted of Arab military superiority over Israel and criticized the United States and Britain…’The position of the Soviet Union is magnificent. It supported the Arab nations and said it will resist any intervention and aggression. America is number one protector of Israel and Britain speaks because it is an American coat-tail. America is taking the Israel viewpoint 100%,’ Mr. Nasser said…. The UAR and Syria were ready for battle…Iraq, Kuwait and Algeria are sending troops too.” … Page 1: “2 Tankers Nearing Strait of Tiran With Oil for Port of Elath for Israel–Could Make Test of UAR’s Blockade–Johnson Is Said to Urge Restraint on Israel in Meeting With Eban”… “Two Liberian flagged tankers carrying oil for Israel were reported to be nearing the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba and will enter the strait early next week.”... Page 1: “Israelis Impatience Rising; Return of Eban is Awaited”… “Some Israeli leaders are becoming more convinced that time is working against Israel in the diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and war is moving toward inevitable.”... Page 1: “Moscow Studying Call For Parley”… “…is considering a French proposal for action by the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France to end the crisis in the Mideast…
Page 1: “Marines Attack Buffer Zone Hill; Fighting Heavy”... “Two Battalions of Marines (12oo grunts) fought desperately for control of a Hill 117 today in the DMZ…The Marines had captured the ridgeline and there was heavy fighting for Hill 117 itself…Meanwhile U.S. Marines engaged an enemy force of equal size about 30 miles south of Danang before dawn Saturday. Marine losses were put at 28 killed in action and 40 wounded with 141 enemy troops reported killed…”… Page 3: “Draft Card Burnings in NYC– Twenty-three Women Arrested at a Recruiting Station — Stanford: 46 faculty members announced today they hoped to stop the Vietnam war ‘through mass civil disobedience’…‘We do not want to protest the war anymore, we want to stop the war. Targets for protests will include the Pentagon, induction centers and bomb factories.’ “…
27 MAY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (28 May reporting 27 May ops)…Page 1: “United States Navy pilots reported that a North Vietnamese antiaircraft missile explode near the port of Haiphong yesterday showering a merchant ship with debris. the explosion came during rids in the Hanoi-Haiphong area. The incident occurred during an American air attack on a thermal power plant just inside the city limits of Haiphong yesterday. Returning pilots on the carrier Enterprise said one of the surface-to-air missiles exploded at almost 2,000-feet spraying the merchant ship with debris. Today Air Force Thunderchief pilots again attacked rail yards and lines northeast of Hanoi. Other pilots attacked roads and railroad tracks and bridges in the Red River Valley, the main road and rail links to China.”…Hanoi claimed two U.S jets were downed on the 27th to bring the number downed by North Vietnam to 1,979 ( Humble Host notes: NVN was getting close to offering a new stamp commemorating “2000 Downed Yankee Air Pirates”–see RTR roller of pictures on the RTR Home Page).”… (bear#90brDPTbulls)
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There was one fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 27 may 1967.
(1) CAPTAIN GORDON BYRON BLACKWOOD was flying an F-105D of the 333TFS and 355TFW out of Takhli in one of five flights of F-105s from Takhli striking the marshaling yards, bridge and rails at Bac Giang. His aircraft was hit over the target by fragments from an exploding SA-2. He remained with the aircraft for a short while before ejecting near Kep. It is presumed that he died in the ejection. CAPTAIN BLACKWOOD’s remains were returned by the North Vietnamese in 1989 for burial in the United States…. Glory gained, Duty done…
RIPPLE SALVO… #448.. Part II of “A DART TO THE HEART”… The USS bon Homme Richard/Carrier Air Wing Twenty-One strike on the thermal power plant in downtown Hanoi on 21 May 1967 with Attack Squadron Two Hundred Twelve in the van to deliver four Walleyes, two each on the Main Generator Hall and the Boiler House… The world was watching, Robert McNamara was sweating, and the integrated air defense system of North Vietnam was waiting… Humble Host picks up the narrative based on “the summary of action” that accompanied a recommendation for the award of the Silver Star for Lieutenant Tom Taylor, (VX-5/VA-212) that was submitted for consideration on 31 August 1967…
The route to the Hanoi thermal power plant from USS Bon Homme Richard at Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin was selected to provide as much terrain masking as was possible in order to delay the presence of the strike group for as long s possible. En route, warnings of airborne MIG aircraft were received and two enemy fighters were sighted on a parallel course. The two MIGs elected not to engage, but the presence of the strike group was well-known to the integrated defense system of the enemy. There would be no surprises.
At the predetermined point the two strike groups separated and the power plant group including the four Walleye shooters, proceeded across the Hanoi Plain at a relatively low altitude. The Walleye strike group escaped the attention of the defenders for a short time due to the diversionary strike group which was just commencing its attack. Enemy reaction to the Walleye power plant flight was not long in coming, however, and surface-to-air missiles were fired at the eight F-8s in the fighter cover for the division of Wlleye attackers. The antiaircraft batteries acquired and commenced an intensive mix of aimed and barrage fire to supplement the radar directed multiple gun sites surrounding Hanoi. (All pilots in the flight agreed in debrief that the defensive fire was the heaviest in their respective experiences.) Nevertheless, during this period the entire strike group conducted themselves with remarkable discipline; radio transmissions were clear and concise and flight integrity was textbook.
LT TAYLOR carefully maneuvered his aircraft as planned and established the precise roll-in point for his attack. The courage, discipline and devotion to duty shown by LT TAYLOR him during these long moments of fierce antiaircraft fire was extraordinary. The flight established a perfect line-abreast attack formation, and each pilot acquired his designated lock-on point, despite heavy and unrelenting defensive fire that damaged three of the four attacking Walleye aircraft. They released their Walleye weapons almost simultaneously, as planned, at optimum release angle and altitude to permit fuzing and a clear path to the designated aim/impact point.
As the division of VA-212 Walleye shooters broke away from the target nearly simultaneous detonations were observed in the complex. The smoke and flames precluded detection of the exact locations of the detonations. The flight then ran the gauntlet of antiaircraft fire for 20 miles until they could gain the relative safety of the hills south of the Hanoi Plain.
In the whole strike group of 16 aircraft, nine were damaged by enemy defensive fire. The mission was successful, for on the night of 23 May a reconnaissance flight into the area reported that lighting in the city was very sparse and dim. Foreign correspondent Mr. Yasumasa Ohta of the Japanese Kyodo News Agency reported on 22 May 1967, the city of Hanoi was without electricity and water, and had been since the raid on 21 May. Bomb damage assessment photography showed that all four weapons detonated in the target complex. Damage is noted to the boiler house and shop area. At least one weapon detonated inside the generator hall. The skill and determination in acquiring and attacking the target was responsible for getting all weapons into the complex leaving the surrounding residential and business area untouched and civilians unharmed. LT TAYLOR’s performance on this mission was superb. His dogged determination, aerial skill and intrepidity in the face of incomparable opposition made a significant contribution to the success of this mission, which was authorized and cleared by the White House and the Secretary of Defense.
ATTABOYS and Baubles… On 26 May 1967 the Secretary of the Navy sent the following message to CNO and everybody else in the chain-of-command down to and including the Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron Two Hundred Twelve, Commander Marvin Quaid, in the job for less than a week…
Subject: Walleye Opertional Test
- I TAKE GREAT PRIDE AND PLEASURE IN PASSING ALONG THE FOLLOWING MEMORANDUM:
“I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING, WITH INTEREST THE REMARKABLE SUCCESS WHICH IS BEING ACHIEVED WITH WALLEYE BY THE AIR GROUP ON BON HOMME RICHARD. IT OBVIOUSLY REPRESENTS A VALUABLE CAPABILITY FOR OUR FORCES. THOUGH I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE MANY MORE HURDLES TO BE SURMOUNTED, WILL YOU PLEASE CONVEY MY COMPLIMENTS TO THOSE INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS IMPORTANT NEW WEAPON. /S/ ROBERT S. MCNAMARA”
2. I APPRECIATE THAT YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS HAVE NOT COME EASILY. YOUR CURRENT BOX SCORE IS OUTSTANDING. REGRETABLY, THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF THIS ENTIRE PROGRAM PROHIBIT PUBLIC ACCLAIM AT TIMES. HOWEVER, INDIVIDUAL CITATIONS ARE APPROPRIATE. MY PERSONAL WISH FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS GOES TO ALL HANDS. WELL DONE.
On 21 May 1967 Commander Carrier Striking Forces Pacific (CTF-77) sent this message to all carriers in the Task Force…
THE JCS ALPHA STRIKES ON KEP, HANOI TPP, BAC GIANG, AND VAN DIEN DURING THE PERIOD 19 THRU 21 HAVE ONCE AGAIN DEMONSTRATED TO THE NVIETNAMESE THE DETERMINATION, AGGESSIVENESS, AND SPIRIT OF THE DEDICATED AIRMEN OF TF 77. IN THE FACE OF UNPRECEDENTED AAA AND SAM DEFENSES AND OFTEN UNDER MIG ATTACK, STRIKES WERE PRESSED HOME TO THE ENEMY INFLICTING SEVERE DAMAGE TO THESE IMPORTANT TARGETS. THE INTENSE DEDICATION AND COURAGE DISPLAYED BY THE AIRMEN OF TF 77, MANY OF WHOM DID NOT RETURN, IS A SOURCE OF PRIDE AND ADMIRATION TO ALL NAVAL AIRMEN. THANKS TO YOUR EFFORT WE CAN ALL STAND A LITTLE TALLER TODAY. TO EACH OF YOU MY SINCEREST GRATITUDE FOR THE OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE. WELL DONE.
Napoleon said, “It is with baubles that men are led.”... On this spectacular and supremely important VA-212 mission to put out the lights of Hanoi on 21 May and complete the McNamara targeting scheme, many baubles were well earned. Among the many award recommendations for the pilots of VA-212: Commander Marv Quaid the Navy Cross; LCDR Mike Cater the Navy Cross; LT Tom Taylor the Silver Star; LCDR Bill Greene the Silver Star; and LTJG Rex Rackowicz the Silver Star. Unfortunately, there was some downgrading in the unfathomable awards process. But I bet none of these classy, bold, brave warriors gave it much thought, if any. No group exemplifies the “spirit of attack” more definitively than these gallant “Rampant Raiders” of VA-212... ….. oohrah…
CAG’s QUOTES for to 27 May: NAPOLEON: “In the long run, the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.”… PATTON; “I guess that I am the only one who sees glory in war.”…
Lest we forget…. Bear