RIPPLE SALVO… #307… for BOLO MIG KILLERS…DFCs???… but first…
Good Morning: Day THREE HUNDRED SEVEN of wallowing in the reservoirs of history made by the courageous warriors of Rolling Thunder fifty years ago…
6 JANUARY 1967… HOME TOWN HEAD LINES from the New York Times on a cloudy Friday ahead of a snowy weekend…
Page 1: “Hanoi Envoy Hints end to Bombing Could Spur Talks”…”North Vietnam’s chief diplomatic representative in Western Europe, Mai Van Bo, said today that if the United States stopped bombing his country, ‘definitively and unconditionally,’ the Hanoi Government would ‘examine and study’ American proposals for negotiations to end the war. He did not meet the U.S. requirement that Hanoi give assurances, that of scaling down its own effort, if the bombing stopped. Rather, he said, ‘The United States could not hope for reciprocal action of any sort’ noting that ‘American aggression’ was still undeclared war and that Hanoi has insisted on unconditional cessation of the bombing from the very start.”… Page 1: ‘U.S. Emphasizes it Seeks More Precise Hanoi Stand” and is looking for more than a vague promise of considering negotiations a condition for a cessation of American bombing. At the same time, the Johnson Administration tried to keep the diplomatic door open by inviting North Vietnam to clarify whether a cessation of bombing would lead to negotiation on the Vietnam War. The comments of Mr. Mai Van Bo in Paris have not provided the clarity Mr. Johnson is looking for.”… Page 1: “U.S. Halts Trading With Rhodesians”… “President Johnson signed today an executive order cutting off virtually all trade between the United States and Rhodesia. The action is intended to help induce Rhodesia’s white leaders to accept Britain’s proposal for the transition of the Rhodesian Government from apartheid policies.”… Page 2: “March Draft Call at 11,900″… all will go into the U.S. Army Infantry… Page 2: “450 Convicted in 1966 as Draft Violators,” a new record. The number of convicted violators in 1965 was 262 and the record of 434 was set in 1954. Most of the convictions were for burning draft cards (mutilation or destruction of Government Property)…
Page 18: “Reagan Pledges Cuts in Spending”… “Governor Ronald Reagan in a ‘squeeze, cut and trim” inaugural address today demanded rigid economy in every department to reduce its too high cost. “The time has come to run a check to see if all the services government provides were in response to demand or were just goodies dreamed up for our supposed betterment. The time has come to match outgo with income, instead of always doing it the other way. There is no humanity or charity in destroying self-reliance, dignity and self-respect–the very substance of moral fiber. We seek reforms that will, whenever possible, change relief checks for pay checks.’…”…
6 JANUARY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…NYT (7 Jan reporting 6 Jan ops) Page 2: “2 MIGs Shot Down”… “The North Vietnamese lost two more of their most advanced jets, delta wing MIG-21s in a dogfight today with United States Air Force F-4 Phantoms…one of the MIGs was brought down by and air-to-air missile and the other went into an uncontrollable spin and crashed… The MIGs were the eighth and ninth downed by Air Force pilots this week and brought to 36 the number credited to American pilots since 17 June 1965. A spokesman also reported today that two United States jets had crashed in North Vietnam and enemy ground fire in South Vietnam had brought down a United States Army helicopter. The pilot of the Navy A-4 Skyhawk was shot down in the North was listed as missing in action but the two crewmen of the F-4 Phantom that crashed for unknown reasons 100 miles west of Hanoi were rescued within nine minutes of each other. The A-4 and F-4 brought to 455 the number of American planes lost over North Vietnam since August 1964. The spokesman said no casualties were suffered when the Army helicopter smashed into the jungle about 75 miles north of Saigon.”… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) There were three fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 6 January 1967…
(1) CAPTAIN M. F. ADAMS was flying an A-4E of the VMA-121 Green Knights and MAG-12 out of Chu Lai on a strike on enemy troops near Ha Tan, 20 miles southwest of Danang. He was hit by ground fire while diving on his target and was able to fly the burning aircraft a few miles before ejecting. CAPTAIN ADAMS was rescued by a Marine helicopter to fight again…
(2) CAPTAIN W.J. GROVES and 1LT I.N. MARTIN were flying an RF-4C of the 11th TRS and 432nd TRW out of Udorn on a photo reconnaissance mission covering the railway between Hanoi and China. They were hit by ground fire 40 miles north of Yen Bai. CAPTAIN GROVES was able to fly his burning RF-4 into Thailand before the crew had to eject to be rescued by helicopter.
(3) LCDR RICHARD DEAN MULLEN was flying an F-8E of theVF-191 Satan’s Kittens embarked in USS Ticonderoga on a strike mission against a cave target at Ba Lang on the coast 25 miles south of Thanh Hoa. On his second rocket attack on his 31st mission he was hit by ground fire and his aircraft began to disintegrate immediately, forcing him to eject in the target area. LCDR MOON MULLEN was seen on the ground and in contact with his squadron mates but was captured before a rescue helicopter could reach the scene. LCDR MULLEN would spend six years in four different prison camps before being released in March 1973.
RIPPLE SALVO… #307… Follow-up on Operation Bolo, the 2 January 1967 fighter sweep led by Colonel robin Olds that bagged seven MIG-21s. On Friday, 6 January the New York Times ran a lengthy article with pictures on the extraordinarily successful fighter sweep that was the plan of Seventh Air Force Commander General William “Spike”Momyer described in “The Vietnam Experience: Thunder From Above,” by John Morrocco. (pg 144) “The plan, Operation Bolo, called for a force of fifty-six Phantoms divided into two groups. The main force, consisting of F-4s from the 8th tactical fighter Wing would sweep in from the west covering the air fields at Phuc Yen and Gia Lam around Hanoi. Phantoms from the 366th TFW would approach from the east to cover the bases at Kep Ha and Cat Bi to the north and east, creating a pincer and blocking off any possible escape routes to the safety of the Chinese border. Twenty-four F-105F Wild Weasels would provide anti-SAM support for both fighter groups. The trick was to entice the Migs into battle by making the F-4s of the 8th TFW look like ‘just another daily strike force’ of unescorted F-105s, recalled Momyer…” On January 2, 1967 Colonel Robin Olds led the F-4s of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing into the fight which resulted in the destruction of 7 MIG-21s without the loss of an F-4. (One sustained minor damage from debris from a disintegrating MIG-21). Colonel Olds summed up the most successful fighter sweep of the war at a press conference in Saigon on 6 January: “They lost, we won.” From the New York Times article (6 Jan, Page 2): “Pilots Who Downed MIGs Are Honored”… “Fourteen United States Air Force pilots who shot down seven MIG jets last Monday in dogfights over North Vietnam received medals today from LGEN William Momyer, Commander of the Seventh Air Force. Colonel Robin Olds…was awarded his third Silver Star. The other airmen were given Distinguished Flying Crosses.”
Humble Host is honored to call the roll on the thirteen MIG Killers whose heroic achievement was rewarded with DFCs… In the order their names were listed in the NYT…
1LT ROBERT W. WESTERN, CAPTAIN JOHN B. STONE, 1LT CLIFTON DUNNEGA, 1LT LAWRENCE J. GLYNN, JR., 1LT LAURENCE E. CAREY, MAJOR PHILIP P. COMBIER, 1LT LEE R. DUTTON, 1LT CHARLES CLIFTON, 1LT RALPH B. WETTERHANH, 1LT JERRY R. SHARP, CAPTAIN WALTER S. RADEKER, 1LT JAMES E. MURRAY, and CAPTAIN EVERETT B. RASPBERRY… oohrah thirteen times… The Fighter Pilot’s Dream Fulfilled…
Humble Host … A full Salvo for 7th Air Force!!! DFCs for JOs who kill MIGs??? YGTBSM!!! And Falcon 105!!! In fact, the way I read the exciting account of the melee that day, at least one of these DFC guys nailed a MIG that was at Colonel Olds six… I hope these DFC awards were upgraded … Of course, the problem of equal recognition for equal valor and combat performance was not restricted to the Air Force… I observed countless JO wingmen who logged more than 200-counters and hit their targets in the face of the same opposition as the section, division and strike group leaders who received Silver Stars and DFCs, while the JO reward was two dozen Air Medals and a Green Weenie or two… and many of the JOs were better bombers, too… Those brave young warriors who carried the fight to the enemy in his nests 200 times did a lot of distinguished flying in the process, bar none… Humble Host hopes this sensitive subject gets a rise out of a few of you who saw what I saw and have something you would like to say about it…. Catharsis is offered here…
QUOTES FOR 6 JANUARY… “In battle those who are most afraid are always in most danger; but courage is equivalent to a rampart.”…CATILINE. “Let people talk and be damned. You do what leads to your ambition and when you get the power, remember those who laughed.”…PATTON.
Lest we forget…. Bear -12-