RIPPLE SALVO… #516… SUGGESTION FROM IKE. ASK THE SOVIETS: IF WE STOP BOMBING NORTH OF THE DMZ WILL YOU STOP SUPPLYING NORTH VIETNAM?… but first…
Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED SIXTEEN of a good dunking in the history of our country in the 1960’s…
3 AUGUST 1967… HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a partly cloudy Thursday in New York City…
SUMMER IN AMERICA 1967: Page 1: “Police In Three Cities Say SNCC Chiefs Incited Riots–Carmichael and Brown Linked to Cambridge (Md), Cincinnati and Nashville–Senate Hearing Opens–Senate Hearings Open–Hart Tells Panel that Curb On Outside Agitators Would Not Have Helped Detroit”… “…police officials were the first witnesses as Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the House Bill that would make it a crime to cross state lines or use the facilities of interstate commerce to incite violence…The police chief of Cincinnati Jacob W. Schott gave his opinion: ‘I think this legislation would help in curbing these people who move around causing these problems.’ But the 16 Senators on the committee displayed no such unanimity as the chiefs. Philip Hart, democrat of Michigan, said: ‘the bill and 97 more like it would not have stopped the riots in Detroit.'”…. Page 1: “Riot Agitators Cited By Hoover–But Outsiders Played Minor Role, He Told U.S. Panel”… “The executive director of the President’s Advisory Committee on Civil Disorder said today that J.Edgar Hoover told the commission yesterday that ‘outside agitators’ had no role in the summer’s Negro riots. That does not contradict Hoover’s early statement that he had found no evidence to date of conspiracy in the riots, said David Ginsberg, the Executive Director in a press briefing at the White House.”… … Page 1: “Humphrey Urges Aid To The Poor–In Detroit He Says Nation Must Pay to Set Up an American Marshall Plan”... “Vice President Hubert Humphrey called tonight for a massive effort to help impoverished areas of the United States, an effort that is likened to the Marshall pattern…speaking in Detroit to the National Association of Counties he suggested that the states form councils for peace to prevent riots…2,000 delegates and wives in the city which last week experienced the nation’s most devastating Negro riot. He also said ‘the rule of the jungle must not and will not prevail.’ “… Page 1: “Hughes Seeks State Jobs For Unskilled Negroes”… “Governor Richard Hughes of N.J. told a news conference he has asked his administration to investigate the possibility of dropping employment qualifications, where possible, in an attempt to recruit Negroes for state positions…. ‘We want a new signal, a new understanding, to go out to New Jersey,’ he solemnly declared. “There is to be an unconditional dedication to law enforcement.’ “… Page 19: “Negroes Ready For War In U.S. Says Carmichael In Cuba”… “Stokely Carmichael said today that the American Negro was ready to destroy ‘Yankee Imperialism’ with urban guerrilla warfare in the United States. In a speech to the Organization of Latin-American Solidarity the Black Power leader called for a revolution to make the whole western hemisphere one country...quoting from Che Guevara: ‘Hatred is an element of the struggle transforming (man) into an effective, violent selective and cold killing machine.” “… Page 16: “Secret House Study Says Reds Stir Hatred Linked to Riots”… “Milwaukee Negro Killed By Police–was Allegedly Firebombing–Civil Rights Talk Asked”… “Curfew Imposed In Providence, R.I.”–“Firebombings In Chicago”… “Washington, D.C. Arson Squads Investigate 7 Fires”…
COMMUNIST CHINA: Page 10: “Peking Says 50,000 swam at Wuhan On 40th Anniversary of ChiCom Army To Honor Mao… Who swam across the Yangtze at Wuhan…One mile wide to ‘celebrate the triumph of Mao Tse-tung principles in that city…The swim followed the route used by the chairman in June 1966, when he was reported to have swum nine miles down and across the swift , muddy river. The event last ed five hours. The press reported: It was a fine sunny day and the banks of the river were a forest of red banners and gaily decorated boats…Chinese calmly cleaved their way forward swimming side-by-side with commanders of the Chinese Liberation Army.”….
…and here is a Humble Host extra…
“Mr. Mao has taught that the Chinese people ‘should learn to swim in big winds and big waves, and to learn to swim by swimming’… These are both allegorical exhortations: “to fight powerful enemies bravely, and to learn to rebel by rebelling”…
VIETNAM: Page 4: “Civilians Killed In Error–4 Friendly Fire Incidents”... “Artillery error in placement killed 6 and wounded 23. A second army artillery unit firing in the Central Highlands hit a village killing 4 and injuring 16. In a third incident an F-100 attacking Vietcong in the Mekong delta killed 2 and wounded 6. An Army helicopter mistakenly fired upon U.S. troops mistaken for guerrillas northeast of Saigon, killing one and wounding 7.”…
3 August 1967… The President’s TS Daily CIA Briefing…SOVIET UNION: the dramatic airlift of military equipment to the Arab States following the June debacle has apparently served Moscow’s initial purposes. Now the Russians appear much less generous….Moscow probably has not yet decided how far it will go to rearm the Arab States…It faces an enormous job if it is even to get military inventories back to prewar levels. We calculate this would require 80 more shiploads….SYRIA: We are hearing rumblings of dissatisfaction inside Syria and see signs that some new realignment in the leadership may be underway. there is little chance however for any basic change in the radical coloration of the government or is its close alignment with Moscow.
3 AUGUST 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (4 Aug reporting 3 Aug ops)… Page 2: “In the air, two Air Force airplanes were shot down over North Vietnam in the past two days raising the total to 631 planes lost in the North. They were an RF-4C Phantom reconnaissance plane with 2 aviators listed as missing. On F-105 Thunderchief was lost and the pilot is missing in action.”
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were FOUR fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 3 August 1967…
(1) CAPTAIN WALLACE GRANT NEWCOMB was flying an F-105D of the 13 TFS and388TFW out of Korat on a strike on the Kep railway yard and was hit by 85mm as he approached roll-in on the target. CAPTAIN NEWCOMB was unable to get the damaged aircraft to good ground and ejected in near the target. he was captured immediately and was held as a POW until released on 14 March 1973…
(2) MAJOR JOHN ALBERT DeBOCK was flying with another pilot in an F-4C of the 557 TFS and 12 TFW out of Cam Ranh Bay and had an engine failure on takeoff. The flight was aborted but collided with a runway lighting pole and MAJOR DeBOCK was unable to eject. He perished in the accident… 50 years ago this day…
(3) Two F-105Ds of the 333 TFS and 355 TFW out of Takhli had a midair as one of the fighters was disengaging from the tanker over Laos. One aircraft proceeded to the target with the strike group. CAPTAIN JOHN WILLIAM BISCHOFF was killed in the accident…where he rests is unknown. Special thoughts go to his family on this 50th anniversary of his passing ,,,
(4) CAPTAIN ALAN EUGENE HENDRICKSON, CAPTAIN JOHN DIDLEY WILEY and TSGT WAYNE AUBRY CARTER were flying a C-7B Caribou of the 459 TAS and 483 TAW out of Phu Cat and approaching the airstrip at the Duc Pho Special Forces camp when hit by a round of 155mm artillery fired from a U.S. Army howitzer. The hit blew the back half of the aircraft off and all three aviators were Killed by friendly fire in the ensuing crash. Inexplicable. Fog of war and “failure to communicate”…
RIPPLE SALVO… #516… General Andrew Goodpaster was a life long friend of General Ike Eisenhower and in the 60s when Ike was dividing his time between Gettysburg and Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, General Goodpaster was the there to support Ike. At Ike’s request General Goodpaster passed one of Ike’s ideas on to the President at the White House. Ike suggested President Johnson make the Russians an offer: You stop sending North Vietnam military support and we will stop bombing the North... President Johnson tasked Walt Rostow to get the thoughts of General Bus Wheeler, CJCS, Paul Nitze, new SecNav?, and the CIA. The results of those inputs were collated in the 3 August memo at …
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d268
The President Eisenhower idea was on the agenda and discussed at the 8 August Tuesday luncheon meeting. At that point, however, the President had already agreed that neither the Soviets nor North Vietnam would agree to the Ike idea… Nice try… Humble Host notes that once again “Rolling Thunder” was the bargaining chip of highest value in front of LBJ and the USA…
RTR QUOTE for 3 August: … SYDNEY SMITH Essays: “All great alterations in human affairs are produced by compromise.”…
Lest we forget….. Bear