ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED 30 AUGUST 1966

RIPPLE SALVO…  #182… FULL SPEED AHEAD… LEUE’ and COAKLEY …but first…

Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO of a 1000-day revisit to the heroism of Rolling Thunder and the performance above and beyond the call of duty of those who flew… Lest we forget…

30 AUGUST 1966… NEWS ON THE HOME FRONT…New York Times… It’s a hot and sunny Tuesday in Times Square…

Page 1: “Johnson Rebuts Truman on Peril In Interest Rates”…”President Johnson responding to former President Harry S.Truman’s statement yesterday on interest rates said today that he could not agree that the high cost of credit had placed the economy ‘in danger of recession of depression.’ However, Mr. Johnson shared Mr. Truman’s concerns about the interest rate rise adding that there are better ways of dampening inflationary pressure by resorting to merely the high interest rates we have been witnessing.”…Page 1:…”Stock Prices Show Widest Drop Of ’66; Bonds Also Decline”… “Stock prices continue to tumble as the market suffered its broadest setback so far this year. A gloomy atmosphere also prevailed on the bond markets, where prices eased in light trading…The Dow Jones average fell 13.53 points, or 1.73%, to 767.03, its lowest since January 2, 1964. Other leading indicators fell to new lows.”… Page 1: “State Will Buy Three Hospitals Here To Treat Addicts”…”The state will buy three privately owned hospitals in New York City for the commitment and treatment of narcotics addicts, Governor Rockefeller announced today…The cost of buying and renovating the three hospitals was placed at $5 million by the Governor. He said he hoped to have them in operation by April (1967). When the three hospitals are renovated they will add 500 beds to the 705 that will be available by April 1 for addicts in eight state hospitals…The part of the bill that caused the furor, particularly among civil liberty groups, provided that an addict could be committed against his will for treatment for three years…  Rockefeller made clear he is certain that the “acquisition of these hospitals will be an important step in New York state’s all-out war against narcotics addicts.’…”

Page 4: “Build-up Report Discussed”…”The White House said today that Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara had conferred with President Johnson on a report published in the New York Times today (29th) that military strategists in Saigon were thinking in terms of building United States troop strengths to 600,000 men over the next 18-months. George Christian, a Presidential assistant said ‘the Secretary of Defense has advised us that he has not received recommendations along that line.’… Page 1:…”House Votes Bill On Reserves”…”The House Armed Services Committee approved today a bill to give the President authority to call up approximately 190,000 Reserve and National Guard troops. The President did not request such authority.”… Page 1: “Soviet Is Reviled By Peking Throng In All Day Rally”…”Thousands of demonstrators paraded today near the Soviet Embassy in Peking in a rally against ‘revisionism’–China’s name for Soviet Communism. No incidents were reported and the well disciplined marchers never went nearer than 100-yards from the embassy in a demonstration that lasted all day. The embassy was guarded by 200 Chinese troops and policemen. The ceremony began with changing the name of the street from ‘Street of Growing Prestige” to ‘Anti-Revisionism street.” The demonstrators seemed to some observers to be partly a defiant reply from the militant Red Guards to a Soviet note last week complaining about their ‘hooligan pranks’ outside their embassy.”…

Page 3: “Desertions Up In South Vietnam”…”Desertions from South Vietnam’s 705,000 man armed forces are running nearly 20% ahead of last year. The regular army, regional and popular forces lost 67,000 men in the first half of 1966. If they continue at this rate the total for the year will be 21,000 more than the 1965 figure of 113,000. Improvement is expected due to a pay raise of 30% and increased punishments for desertion to include life in prison or even execution.”…  Page 3: “U.S. Commanders Derided By Hanoi“… “North Vietnam expressed admiration for the United States ‘ war industry, but said the Americans would lose the war in Vietnam because of ‘incompetent command and wavering strategy.’ An editorial in the Hanoi newspaper Nhan Dan said a Vietcong weakness was disadvantage in equipment and material. But the Vietcong are bound to win because of correct strategic guidance and secure positions. They have no air force, navy, or mechanized units. ‘The so-called U.S. strength is that it has a developed war industry and is able to ship large quantities of military materials to South Vietnam.’ However, the editorial asserted that United States troops were being encircled so they could not move about freely, that the United States was condemned and hated by mankind, and that South Vietnamese forces are a chronic trouble to U.S. troops. United States troops are demoralized, the paper said, ‘although the enemy troops are large in number their combat strength is very poor, the U.S. infantry is particularly weak and behaves in a cowardly manner and that their commanding officers were incompetent.”…

30 AUGUST 1966…The President’s Daily Brief…CIA (TS sanitized)…North Vietnam: Representatives from North Vietnam, Communist China, and Poland are in Cambodia during De Gaulle’s visit. In addition, the Polish ambassador to Hanoi touched in at Phnom Penh on 25 August and left for Warsaw..(redacted…) prior to DeGaulle’s visit. Whether or not those travels have connection with previously noted Polish soundings on the possibility of negotiations is not clear from present evidence. Although De Gaulle himself probably will not talk with anyone from Hanoi, it is possible a member of his entourage will do so. (Humble Host notes that this TS note to the President (and Secretary Rusk) kept the possibility of a Polish developed peace negotiation, MARIGOLD, on the front burner, or should have. The author of “Marigold” did not include this PDB note in his book because it was still Top Secret until September 2015)…

30 AUGUST 1966…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… NYT (31 August reporting 30 August ops)… Page 3: “In the air United States again struck at North Vietnam yesterday. Truck convoys and oil depots were among targets of the 133 missions. Pilots said the set off numerous fires and secondary explosions. a United States F-105 Thunderchief was shot down and announced American plane losses above the 17th parallel rose to 347. the jet fell 15 miles northwest of Donghoi, a coastal town 40 miles north of the DMZ. the pilot bailed out but rescue aircraft lost contact with him and he is listed as MIA. (This was CAPTAIN NORMAN WELLS as reported in yesterday’s RTR. CAPTAIN WELLS was captured and finished the ear as a POW returning in March 1973.)… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson): there were no fixed wing aircraft losses in Southeast Asia on 30 august 1966…

RIPPLE SALVO… #182…  FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD… And the XO of the VA-153 Blue Tail Flies on 11 September 1966, Commander Dave Leue’ was bold and then some… DAMN THE TORPEDO BOATS, FULL SPEED AHEAD. In his own words, DAVE LEUE’ and LCDR BILL COAKLEY versus a Squadron of North Vietnamese torpedo patrol craft…  I quote…

“On this morning, my wingman, LCDR Bill Coakley and I were in the ready room (On USS Constellation) briefing for an armed reconnaissance mission. During the briefing, Dick Coleman returning from an early armed reconnaissance mission burst into the ready room excitedly proclaiming that he and his wingmen had just discovered several Swatow class motor torpedo boats (PTs) hiding in a cove of a karst island east of Haiphong.

“This was a major discovery. This class of Chinese PT boat carried torpedoes capable of sinking any Navy ship in the Gulf of Tonkin. Dick Coleman described the PTs, moored close alongside the sheer vertical cliffs of a karst island, hiding under camouflaged netting. He said, ‘XO, we just found the PTs just by chance. There are so many similar small islands up there, we may never find them again.’… Coleman immediately reported the discovery to the carrier Captain and Air Wing Commander and an immediate strike was ordered.

“The Commanding Officer of the A-6A Intruder squadron was designated strike leader. The strike composition was: eight A-6A aircraft, eight F-4 Phantom fighters and eight A-4s, four each from VA-155 and VA-153. I was scheduled to lead VA-153s four A-4s. I asked Dick Coleman, ‘Do you want to lead our squadron aircraft? You found the PTs?’ He declined, he said he would prefer to go as my section leader. Dick Coleman and his wingman were scheduled to carry six 500-pound bombs. My aircraft was loaded with two VT (influence) fused Bullpup missiles. The VT fuse was designed to explode the missile when it was 50-feet in the air above the target. Bill Coakley as my wingman carried a Mark 4 gun pod. We launched, rendezvoused overhead the ship and departed toward the karst islands, one hundred eighty miles north.

“We arrived at the approximate location of the PTs. Nothing could be seen, there was a solid cloud layer below. The A-6A bombardier/navigators were looking for the PTs on their radars. I was quite sure they would never see the PTs on radar, the PTs were reported moored close alongside the karst islands vertical cliffs. After minutes of circling by the entire strike group, with no apparent action from the strike leader, I saw a small break in the clouds below. I motioned with my hand to Bill Coakley my wingman, ‘Come with me.’ Without saying a word, I rolled on my back and dove through the hole in the clouds below. Dick Coleman and his wingman had missed my impromptu signal. Bill Coakley and I descended low over the water into the mist below. We slowed down poking low over the water examining each small karst island that came into view. It was foggy and hazy, visibility was very poor. The black karst islands loomed out of the fog, rising ominously, vertically hundreds of feet into the low overcast. It was eerie.

“To see better, I slowed down to 250-knots and descended to 200-feet over the water. We poked into coves, nooks and crannies. Coakley stepped up on my wing. Suddenly, four Swatow PTs covered in camouflage netting appeared out of the fog, just as Dick Coleman had described them, hiding in a U shaped karst island. The U of the cove was open from the north. They were on our right, two were moored against the east side of the cove with two more less than a quarter of a mile to the west. We glided past going east. I held my breath, we were so close. They did not shoot. I watched their 37mm gun mounts for movement. None.

“I thought, should I call our strike aircraft down? No, there was no room for all those aircraft to attack in this low overcast and fog. As I passed the PTs I slowly dropped my wing to port acting as if I hadn’t seen them. I kept them in sight, looking over my left shoulder. I started an easy climb to 500-feet altitude. Now what? The Bullpup missile requires that I dive at the target without jinking. Each of the PTs has 37mm guns fore and aft. That’s eight guns, and there may be more guns in the hills. We have Coakley’s gun pod. But my VT Bullpup won’t help until the second run. This will be: ‘the shoot out at OK corral.’ Eye ball to eye ball. I’m losing sight of the PTs… Nuts! I’ll attack!!

“Throttle 100%, hard port turn. I wrapped it up in a steep bank back toward the eastern PTs, leveling my wings I start a shallow dive. I touched the firing button on the stick. My starboard Bullpup blasts off with a roar. Immediately fat orange tracers arc toward us from the PTs and the guns on the hills above. To my dismay, my missile veers wildly right. Great! we are fully committed and my missile is going crazy. Instinctively, I hold full left command and accelerate past 450-knots through the crisscrossing orange tracers. Time seems to stand still as I hold full left command… tracers spraying both sides of my peripheral vision. The missile veers sharply back left toward the PTs. Coakley’s gun pod roars. For frozen seconds, we press on through the tracers, holding full left command, the missile veers back toward the eastern PT. Waco!!! A satisfying explosion of black and red envelops the PTs bridge, a strange red cloud of smoke bellows skyward from the shattered PT (flares?).

“A karst cliff looms ahead, 450-knots. I pull hard left in an almost vertical bank under a hail of 37mm fire, Coakley hanging tight on my right wing. Now my blood is up, I know I’ll violate the second cardinal rule–‘Never make two runs.” I continue north for a mile, climbing, then make a steep port turn, level my wings, missile ‘arm.’ I launch my port missile with a roar. This Bullpup flies straight and true. My minor commands hold the parasite flare on the tail of the Bullpup between the two western PTs. We dive towards the western PTs…orange balls of fire in my peripheral vision fight for my attention…flare on target…hold the flare on the target…an eternity…3,2,1 seconds. Waco!!! a red and black ball of fire explodes between the two western PTs moored side by side,. both PTs erupt with a great clouds of red smoke.

“Pulling hard left, I zoom out of the 37mm. Relaxing, I call the strike leader orbiting above, ‘This is Powerhouse 2, we have the four PTs.’ The strike leader responds, ‘What is your position?’ With great satisfaction, I reply, ‘Look for the smoke.’ Three of the four PTs are burning fiercely, black smoke is rising to several thousand feet. The heat is dissipating the overcast above.

“I discovered the PTs and started the fight. The A-6A leader lets me take over the mission. I direct each division of A-4s and A-6As, when and where to dive. In 15-minutes, all four PTs are sunk or beached, most of the flak sites on the karst are put out of action.

“We are fortunate no one is hit. The North Vietnamese navy gunners put up a very spirited fight. During the fight, I witnessed one PT gun crew continue firing even as their ship was burning and sinking. I felt admiration for this courage.

“The USS Constellation sent another strike to be sure none of the beached PTs would ever sail again. Commander Ken MacArthur (CO of the VA-153 Blue Tail Flies) led this strike. I remained in high orbit over the PTs, refueling from a tanker, then guided Commander MacArthur’s strike to the site and assisted in the second attack. At the completion of this strike the hulks of two PTs can be seen below the surface in the cove. The other two are beached and mangled almost beyond recognition, having sustained multiple bomb hits.

“After landing back aboard Constellation there is great jubilation. Significant targets like the PTs are few and far between, sinking all with no losses is a shot in the arm. There is one negative aspect. We had upstaged the A-6A strike leader and the vaunted A-6A squadron. There is great and friendly competition, as well as teamwork, among the several squadrons in every Navy air wing.  On this day the Skyhawks had bruised a significant amount of professional pride.”

Among a great nation’s most vital assets are legions of cohorts imbued with the spirit of attack born in brave hearts–men like Dave Leue’ and Bill Coakley. They were not alone at Yankee Station or in the 18 Air Force fighter-bomber wings who carried the fight to the enemy in North Vietnam for more than three years. The warriors of Rolling Thunder each flew more than a hundred trips into the teeth of as lethal an air defense as there was anywhere on earth. Many didn’t make the 100-mark: some died trying; others spent five to seven years enduring torture, deprivation and hardship as POWS.

The courage of Dave Leue’, matched by a wingman, Bill Coakley, who was there for every second of what was one wild ride, was off the ‘fighting spirit’ charts on their section attack on four Swatows. I know some who would consider this incredible attack against high odds an act of vainglory. Those folks are too quick to apply their own limits to others. Every man must know his own limits, Dave Leue’ knew both his and his wingman’s limits and judged correctly. The warriors of Rolling Thunder were a credit to our great country. Would that our nation will always be able to field such a legion of brave and bold fighters as Dave Leue’ and Bill Coakley…

And the rest of the story: On the night of 12 September 1966, the day after his wild ride on the wing of Dave Leue’, Lieutenant Commander Bill Coakley was killed on a night armed reconnaissance mission… Fate is the hunter… Both Dave and Bill are gone, now…but we remember, with highest respect and admiration for two of the bravest of the brave.

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