ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED 28 JULY 1966

RIPPLE SALVO… #149… “HONOR AND DIGNITY”… but first…

Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED FORTY-NINE of a review of the air campaign against North Vietnam called ROLLING THUNDER…

28 JULY 1966… FRONT PAGE NEWS ON THE HOME FRONT… New York Times… A partly cloudy Thursday with showers likely…

Page 1: “Mansfield Asks Cutbacks Of U.S. Forces In Europe”…”Senator Mike Mansfield, democrat of Montana, called today for an early two-step reduction in the number of United States troops and dependents in Europe. Citing the ‘great’ financial pressures of the Vietnam War, changing conditions in Europe, and the need for American troops elsewhere, the Senate Majority Leader urged the following steps: (1) The return to the United States of the approximately 75,000 members of the armed services and their dependents who have been stationed in France for many years, and (2) The initiation of a 10% reduction of troops in Germany and elsewhere in Western Europe. The total strength is currently around 330,000. The Defense Department stated that there are currently no plans for such cuts.”

Page 1: “Goldwater Prods Johnson On Riots”…”Barry Goldwater urged President Johnson today to spend the next two or three weeks in the big city ghettos ‘talking straight from the shoulder and heart without the thought of a vote in his mind.’ Mr. Goldwater, the President’s opponent in 1964, said that if he were President he would visit these large cities and use my personal persuasion to restore calm and prevent violence. He said he had made the same suggestion some years ago to President Kennedy. Speaking at the National Press Club, Goldwater said he believed the rioting in Cleveland, Chicago, New York and other cities had developed from the inclination to blow off on the part of Negroes who had been promised the moon in the field of civil rights. ..Goldwater also suggested…’although I don’t accuse anybody, if I were a Communist leader I would be involved in Negro organizations right up to my ears. ‘…  ‘White Americans are not pure by any means in their attitude toward Negroes…..’When White and Black and Brown and every other color decide they’re going to live together as Christians, then and only then are we going to see an end to these troubles.’… ” Page 3: “Pilot Who Escaped Is Identified”… “The Navy pilot who escaped from a North Vietnamese prison and reached safety after a 23-day evasion through the jungle has been identified as LTJG Dieter Dengler. Security requirements preclude disclosure of other details of LTJG Dengler’s ordeal at this time.”

Page 1: “Negro, 17, Seized as East New York Sniper”…”An investigation disclosed that Eric dean was killed when he was struck by a .25 cal bullet fired at police officers who were present in the area because of disturbances then in progress. The suspect was identified by police as Eric Gallashaw, a painter in a state program for troubled youth.”… Page 12: “Negro Parley Will Define Aims Of Black Power Drive”… “A National Conference on ‘black power’ will be called by Negro leaders for the Labort Day weekend, September 3-4, in Washington. Representative Adam Clayton Powell, democrat of Manhattan, and Stokely Carmichael of SNVCC said the meeting would define ‘black power’ and specify its goals. Floyd B. McKissick, of CORE is also a sponsor of the meeting.”

28 July 1966…The President’s Daily Brief…CIA (TS sanitized)… South Vietnam: During a talk with Ambassador Lodge today, Ky said that he would be too young to be a candidate for president under the new constitution. Instead, the premier said that he will become the campaign manager for General Thieu, and then return to duty in the air force. As for Thieu, he is already giving the impression that he considers himself to be the front runner. He also indicated today that he would like to see the military with a prominent –if not pre-eminent–role in south Vietnamese affairs well after the presidential elections…

28 JULY 1966…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… NYT…(29 July reporting 28 July ops)…Page 1: “American Jets Set Record in The South With 546 Sorties”…”United States fighter-bombers flew a record total of 542 sorties against enemy positions in South Vietnam yesterday. It was estimated that 100 enemy soldiers were killed in the raids. The spokesman said the pilots had damaged or destroyed 598 buildings and fortifications and 32 sampans. In addition to the U.S. sorties the South Vietnamese air force flew 284 fighter-bomber sorties. Strategic Air Command B-52s also participated in the record day of air strikes….In the continuing air attacks in North Vietnam United States fighter-bomber pilots flew a total of 103 multi-aircraft missions yesterday. Navy planes struck at six barges and a motorized tug near Haiphong and bombed eight fuel storage areas near Vinh and Thanh Hoa. Air Force pilots bombed bridges, highways, military barracks and anti-aircraft sites throughout the northwestern part of the country while the Marine pilots continued the raids on enemy supplies near Dong hoi.”…

“Vietnam: Aircraft Losses” (Hobson): One aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 28 July 1966…

(1) ENSIGN GEORGE PALMER McSWAIN was flying an A-4E of the VA-164 Ghost Riders off the USS Oriskany on an iron hand mission near Vinh and after locating the site and completing a shrike attack was climbing out for a second attack when nailed by an SA-2 surface-to-air missile as he maneuvered at 12,000-feet and relatively slow air speed. ENSIGN McSWAIN ejected from the aircraft, was captured and interned as a POW for 6 and 1/2 years. He was repatriated in March 1973.

RIPPLE SALVO… #149…  “HONOR AND DIGNITY”… is the headline for the final paragraphs of Colonel Jim Kasler’s biography, “Tempered Steel“ written by Perry Luckett and Charles Byler. The authors have produced the life’s story of a genuine American hero that is an easy and fun read. They achieved just the right balance of what’s in Jim Kasler’s personnel file, in the minds of men who flew with and for him, and in the great man himself. On top of that they gave us all a bonus: they let the three time Air Force Cross awardee speak for himself. And those twenty pages at the end of the book do the great fighter-bomber warrior leader justice. Colonel Kasner’s incomparable exploits from Rolling Thunder are a matter of record and available in museums, the history books and many places on the internet. Look for yourselves. However, it is in the final 20 pages of “Tempered Steel,” where you get a measure of the man… Here is the last page of his “Personal Reflections”…    “Honor and Dignity”….

“People have asked me how I endured imprisonment, especially the torture. I remember one night lying in irons on the floor of the cell that we called the ‘Ho Chi Minh Room.’ I was in great pain after a three-day torture session with the Vietnamese. I knew they would soon be back again. I was very lonely. I wondered to myself, What the hell a 43-year old man doing lying in this filthy hole letting the animals beat the life out of him?

“I asked myself, if I do what they are asking me to do, would my family forgive me? Sure they would, they love me.

“How about God? Would He forgive me? Of course. He knows what I’m thinking right now and yes, He would, for ours is a merciful God.

“They would all forgive me because they would all know, or at least all want to believe, that I had done my best. Then why not end the suffering and the unending anxiety of waiting for them to come after you again?

“It was a tempting thought. But there was another party I hadn’t thought about yet: myself. One has to live with oneself, and as long as I possessed the strength and the mental faculties to resist, surrendering was out of the question. Nothing can destroy a person more completely than the loss of pride and honor.

“Robert Louis Stevenson said, ‘anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard for one day.’ That was the pattern of our lives in Hanoi during those early years of terror. We lived to endure each day, hoping that nightfall would bring a few hours of relief. We easily could have compromised our beliefs and made our lives much easier by cooperating with the Vietnamese. But our goal was to return home with our honor intact. Some brave men did not survive the early years, but those who did came home with honor and dignity.

  “I hope people who read this account of me will recognize that these two attributes–honor and dignity–are my most important legacy, as well as guiding principles for our country’s future.”

Thank you, Colonel Kasner for your example. I hope thousands of the Millenials are exposed to “Tempered Steel” and your inspiring service for our country and will follow your lead…

Lest we forget…..           Bear          ……….  –30–  ……….