RIPPLE SALVO… #68… MENTOR…
Good Morning: Day SIXTY-SEVEN of a retro-visit to Operation Rolling Thunder…
5 MAY 1966 (NYT)… ON THE HOME FRONT… A sunny, mild Thursday in New York…
Page 1: “President Asks Panel To Suggest Inflation Curbs”… Front page news continues coverage of the President’s Labor Management Panel for Stability meeting in Washington. President states that national priority and crucial requirement is continued prosperity with economic stability and that “disquieting signs are beginning to appear in the economy.” He addressed the panel with a straight question, “If you were President, what would you do to prevent inflation?” The panel deliberated and came back 18- 1 for “reduced government spending.” …
Page 8: “Delegates Meet in Saigon Today”… The 30-member committee composed of representatives of provincial and municipal councils, Buddhists, Roman Catholics, Cao Dai, and Hoa Hao delegates, jurists and prominent politicians is meeting to make the first draft of the elections laws, the procedures for the elections, and the qualifications of candidates and voters. Considerable political wrangling reported….Page 6: “B-52s Bomb Ho Chi Minh Trail” for 7th in 8 consecutive days with the objective of disrupting North Vietnamese and Vietcong plans for a rainy season offensive. “With the monsoons due to hit in a few days there was a lull in the fighting in the jungles, swamps and mountains of South Vietnam.” (A great time to make mud)…
Page 7: “Tight Security Imposed On Student Draft Tests” in preparation for first of four test dates for students seeking Selective Service System college qualification for 2-S draft deferments. The test will be under tight security to prevent stand-ins from taking their places. The four test dates are May 14 and 21 and June 3 and 30. More than 900,000 young men have been fingerprinted and 870,000 have registered…
“21 Americans Believed Dead in Vietnam Copter Crash”…Six crew and 15 troops went down in the jungle 110 miles northeast of Saigon. There are no survivors and the crash site includes exploding ammo… Page 35: “Federal Reserve: Tax Rise Urged by Fed Chief”...William Martin, Jr, implied…that if the Administration did not move to increase taxes the Federal Reserve could be forced to act on its own to combat inflationary pressures….Page 37: “NYC Immigration”… a short item reporting that half a million whites left NYC between 1961 and 1964, 400,000 Puerto Ricans moved in, and the city total population is now 7.5 million, down 200,000 in four years…
5 MAY 1966…ROLLING THUNDER OPS… Very bad weather limited ops in North Vietnam for second day in a row…Never-the-less, four American aircraft struck in SE asia…
(1) 1LT KENNETH DEANE THOMAS was Killed in Action while flying a F-105D from the 469th TFS out of Korat while participating in a Rolling Thunder strike on the Cao Nung railway bridge 40 miles north of Haiphong. 1LT THOMAS was hit by AAA at 5,000 feet approaching the target and radioed that he was ejecting. A parachute was seen and a beeper was heard but 1LT Thomas was never seen again. Tragically, 1LT THOMAS had been shot down over North Vietnam six weeks before and been rescued by helicopter. Fate is the hunter. 1LT Thomas died in the service of his country fifty years ago today. We remember, sir.
(2) LT JOHN HEILIG was shot down and captured while flying an RF-8A from the VFP-63 Detachment on USS Hancock while executing a photo reconnaissance mission over the Song Ca River 20 miles north west of Vinh. When hit, he turned west to seek a safe area in the Annamite Mountains. He ejected safely but was unable to escape capture and spent the rest of the war in seven different POW camps before being released on 12 February 1973.
(3) One lucky pilot ricochet his A-4E off the water of the Gulf while conducting a “low” altitude armed recon mission just off the coast of North Vietnam. The engine caught fire, the pilot ejected, was rescued and returned to his squadron, VA-146 on USS Ranger….
(4) A US Army CH-54 was lifting a downed VMA-311 A-4C from an inaccessible location for return to the squadron at Chu Lai but jettisoned the A-4 while en route due to load instability and/or enemy ground fire…
RIPPLE SALVO… ADMIRAL GEORGE E.R. KINNEAR, UNITED STATES NAVY, Retired… This evening (of May 4) I am not where I ought to be. I should be en route to Washington to attend the services in the Fort Myer Chapel for Admiral Gus Kinnear, his burial in Arlington National Cemetery, and the celebration of his life at the Fort Myer reception, all of which take place Friday, 6 May 2016. My heart, mind and spirit will be there without the old body to which they belong.
Gus Kinnear grabbed me by the scruff of my neck while we were squadron mates in 1960 and never let go. He was a caring and loving mentor who never let me stray from the narrow path that leads to a successful career in the Navy and in life. He was Gus-on-the-spot to provide advice and counsel, even when I didn’t know I needed it, and he was there to vouch for me when I needed a good word on my behalf. He never stopped caring. Not just about me, but everybody with whom he served–from the most junior enlisted trooper to the top of the chain of command above him. Gus Kinnear was the epitome of a mentor– “…a trusted counselor or guide; a tutor, a coach.” As a consequence, he enjoyed the highest respect, admiration and appreciation of all who knew him. I have a lot of company in my unabashed adulation for this great human being. Gus, I will light up, and down, a “flaming hooker,” in the old Attack Squadron 12 tradition, at my Friday Happy Hour as I watch the sun set over the Great Salt Lake and on your unsurpassed life of helping others. Thanks, Gus…. Bear
Readers… “Mighty Thunder,” elsewhere in today’s blog has posted our further tribute to Admiral Gus Kinnear.
Lest we forget…. Bear ……………… –30– …………….