RIPPLE SALVO…#100… FARM GATE… but first…
Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED of a review of an “air war” fought fifty years ago…Operation Rolling Thunder…
7 JUNE 1966…ON THE HOME FRONT…(NYT)… A Tuesday with rain showers and thunder showers at 88-degrees…. ooof…
Page 1: “Meredith Is Shot In The Back On Walk Into Mississippi” … James Meredith’s 220 mile walk ran into trouble at the 26 mile mark when the Negro was shot in the back by a 40-year old unemployed hardware salesman, Aubrey James Norvell. Meredith, who is leading a voter registration demonstration from in front, was wounded by 60-70 buckshot pellets and suffered superficial wounds to his head, neck, back and shoulders. The Congress of Racial Equality vows to complete the walk and end the fear of racism…jump to page 28: “Rights Leaders Plan To Take Up Meredith’s March In Mississippi”… “Civil rights leaders hastily made plans last night to visit James Meredith in his Memphis hospital room, to continue his pilgrimage and to press for negro participation in today’s Mississippi primary. CORE called for 1,000 volunteers to continue the march.” Dr. Martin Luther King arranged to visit Meredith and the marchers. Southern Christian Conference leaders and Charles Evers, NAACP and brother of slain Medgar Evers, also joined the march, and said: “I want to let the whies know when they shoot down one Negro that doesn’t stop the rest of us. There are many Negroes who now feel the only time we are going to get a response and action is when we start shooting whites, and many of them are ready to do that now.” Dick Gregory, the comedian from Chicago, planned to fly to Mississippi and join the march. Stokely Carmichael, Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee shared his telegram of sympathy to Meredith with the press: “We note that Meredith was returning from a government sponsored civil rights conference called to fulfill these rights, and we find proven once again, that words will not stop bullets nor will they end law enforcement committed to racism.” Martin Luther King messaged: “…the shooting of James Meredith is indicative of the fact that a reign of terror still exists in the South and that a cancerous social illness continues to plague our society.” Others in the march included Floyd McKissick, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young, all of whom asked that congress act now to prevent racial violence…
Page 1: “Gemini 9 Lands Safely Near Bullseye”… in the Atlantic in what was described as a near perfect landing. The troubled flight ended on a good note… Page 1: “Saigon Generals Add 10 Civilians To Ruling Junta” but military generals continue to lead the government with Thieu and Ky at the top. The added civilians are a cadre of aging politicians… Page 1: “Racial Patterns Shift In Schools”...the city is concerned that the effort to segregate the schools has resulted in more than 98,000 non-Negro and non-Puerto Ricans leaving the city while 212,000 more Negroes and Puerto Ricans have begun attending the New York City schools…
7 JUNE 1966…PRESIDENT’S DAILY BRIEFING…CIA (TS sanitized)…South Vietnam: There was little change in the political situation today, Buddhist leaders remained adamant against continuation of Thieu and Ky in office. Tam Chau took a somewhat harder line in his first public statement since the rejection of his position may come tomorrow, when the Institute has scheduled a news conference…. The Buddhist tactic of blocking streets to hamper military movements in Hue’ and a couple other cities and to hinder vital port operations in Da Nang. There were several near incidents when troops sought to clear the congested streets… It now appears that the tactic may have been designed to inhibit a Saigon military move against Hue’ which the Buddhists thought was imminent. Late press reports claim that Tri Quang has ordered the ‘temporary’ removal of the altars…. The Buddhist-called general strike in Hue’ was apparently entirely effective today among commercial and other non-governmental elements, and partially effective among local civil servants. The clandestine radio, which is now believed to be installed in a Hue’ pagoda, continues to preach defiance of the government. It can evidently be heard throughout I Corps area and well to the south of it… Soviet Union: As has long been suspected, some Soviet reconnaissance satellites have been collecting electronic intelligence as well as taking photographs…Panama: The National Guard remains deployed in force both in Colon, where most of the violence hit yesterday, and in Panama City. There was a minor student demonstration in the interior…
7 JUNE 1966… ROLLING THUNDER OPERATIONS… NYT (8 June reporting 7 June) Page 3: “In North Vietnam Navy a;nd Air Force pilots flew 54 multi-plane missions in the panhandle.” Four Air force aircraft were lost on 7 June 1966…
(1) CAPTAIN ROBERT LOUIS SANDNER was flying an A-1E from the 1stACS and the 14ACW out of Nha Trang in an attack on an enemy position 10 miles west of Pleiku when hit by ground fire and crashed before CAPTAIN SANDER could escape the aircraft. CAPTAIN SANDNER was Killed in Action.
(2) CAPTAIN JOHN CHARLES JACOBS and 1LT CHARLES STEPHEN FRANCO were flying an O-1E Bird Dog from the 19TASS and the 505TACG out of Bien Hoa on a visual reconnaissance several miles from Vung Tau and went down inexplicably, but enemy activity was in the area and both pilots were reported as Killed in Action. This was the 50th USAF Bird Dog lost in South Vietnam since the start of the war in Vietnam…
(3) CAPTAIN J.F. BAILES was flying an F-105D of the 333TFS and the 355thTFW out of Takhli and attacking a boat five miles north of the DMZ when hit by ground fire. He flew the crippled aircraft clear to sea, ejected and was rescued by Air Force helicopter.
(4) MAJOR C.F. FROST and MAJOR R.M. KEITH were flying an F-4C of the 389th TFS and the 366thTFW out of Phan Rang and ejected from the aircraft shortly after take-off due to engine fires…they were rescued.
RIPPLE SALVO…#100… The Air Commandos of Farm Gate… A chapter of the “air war” that should never be forgotten…
When the Geneva Accords that established a North and a South Vietnam by drawing the line at the 17th parallel and creating a DMZ began to fall a part in 1961, John F. Kennedy was in his first month as President. He asked for and received a quick study of the situation (The Lansdale Report) and was advised that the government of South Vietnam was facing a well armed force of 15,000 Vietcong guerrillas. He signed a National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM #2) directing the U.S. military to develop counter-insurgency forces to counter the Soviet supported activities of the Vietcong (National Liberation Front). The Air Force C/S, General Curt Lemay directed the formation of a unit to conduct counter-guerrilla operations. In April 1961 a Combat Crew Training Squadron was activated at Hurlburt Field in Florida’s panhandle to carry out the mission of NSAM#2. It was called Project Jungle Jim and it was to be an all volunteer outfit. Applicants were asked two questions: (1) Would you be willing to fly and fight in support of a foreign nation in situations where you could not wear the U.S. uniform, and (2) would you be willing to fly and fight on the behalf of the United States and agree to do so knowing that your government might choose to deny that you are a member of the U.S. military, or even associated with this nation, and thus might not be able to provide you with protection normally given to a U.S. citizen. The Project had no shortage of volunteers who accepted the terms.
In October 1961 the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara put JFK’s NSAM#104 into action by ordering the Jungle Jim Squadron to Southeast Asia for the purpose of training South Vietnam air forces. The mission was secret and sensitive. The Air Commandos were not to be seen or heard. The presence of U.S. military forces in South Vietnam was in violation of the Geneva Accords. The unit was titled Detachment 2A of the 4400th CCTS and given a code name that was to last throughout the war–Farm Gate. The unit was composed of 155 officers and men, 8 T-28s and 4 SC-47s. B-26s were to join shortly. The unit was based at Bien Hoa. By Christmas of 1961 the “Air Commandos” were attacking Vietcong supply lines. Every flight included a VNAF crew member to sustain the ruse that these flights were training flights.
On February 2, 1962 the United States lost it’s first aircraft of the Vietnam War, a C-123B Special Aerial Spray Flight with three fatalities. On 11 February 1962 Farm Gate lost its first aircraft, a SC-47A and a crew of nine. Those losses have been remembered in my May Ripple Salvos.
Ripple Salvo #100 completes RTR recognition of the brave first team that opened the fight for the air forces of the United States in Southeast Asia. No unit served more bravely or honorably than the “Air Commandos” of Farm Gate. Consider now the sacrifice and total commitment to our country and the cause of the South Vietnamese of these seven Air Commando losses in the period December 1963 into April 1964…. Sixteen courageous volunteers for duty above and beyond the call —Killed in action…
(1) 6 December 1963: CAPTAIN GARY F. BITTON, CAPTAIN THOMAS FREDERICK GORTON, CAPTAIN NORMAN RAY DAVISON and A2C RICHARD DALE HILL were executing a Farm Gate photo reconnaissance mission in a RB-26L and went down inexplicably in an enemy controlled area of the Mekong Delta and CAPTAIN BITTON, CAPTAIN GORTON, CAPTAIN DAVISON and A2C HILL were Killed in Action.
(2) 7 January 1964: MAJOR HUGHIE DARELL ADAMS and MAJOR CLEVELAND WILLIAM GORDON were flying a B-26B on a test flight and crashed ten miles south of Bien Hoa. Both MAJOR ADAMS and MAJOR GORDON were killed in the operational loss.
(3) 14 January 1964: MAJOR CARL BERG MITCHELL, CAPTAIN VINCENT JOSEPH HICKMAN, and a VNAF observer ID unknown were executing a close air support mission in a B-26B fifteen miles northeast of Bien Hoa and was shot down on the second of two napalm runs by machine gunfire. The crash site was found within days but there was no evidence of survivors. MAJOR MITCHELL and CAPTAIN HICKMAN were declared Killed in Action. ?????
(4) 19 February 1964: CAPTAIN BERNARD FRANCIS LUKASIK and a VNAF observer were supporting an operating a T-28D in the Mekong Delta and were shot down supporting an ARVN unit. This was the 10th T-28 lost in SE Asia. CAPTAIN LUKASIK was Killed in Action.
(5) 8 March 1964: COLONEL THOMAS MALCOLM HERGERT was flying a A-1H borrowed from the VNAF on an armed reconnaissance mission near Tay Ninh and was shot down and Killed in Action. To this point in the war, COLONEL HERGERT was the most senior aviator to be killed.
(6) 24 March 1964: CAPTAIN EDWIN GERALD SHANK and a VNAF observer were flying a T-28D and executing a third dive on a target near Soc Trang and lost a wing and crashed killing the two pilots. CAPTAIN SHANK was Killed in Action. Fatigue was a factor in all Air Commando aircraft and the withdrawal of T-28s and B-26 mods from combat ops was at hand.
(7) 9 April 1964: CAPTAIN ROBERT NEWTON BRUNEL and a VNAF observer were flying a T-28D on a strafing attack and lost both wings on a non-recovery with resultant fatal crash. CAPTAIN BRUNEL was Killed in Action. This loss led to a complete realignment of aircraft assets in the ACS1 with Navy A-1Es and low time T-28s relieving aircraft that had been in combat for three years.
(Sources: “Farm Gate” by Darrell Whitcomb, Air Force Magazine, December, 2005 and “Vietnam Air Losses” by Chris Hobson, 2001)
With highest respect, admiration and appreciation to the great band of brothers that were the Air Commandos of Farm Gate…
Lest we forget…. Bear ………. –30– ………..