RIPPLE SALVO… #221… LET CICERO BE YOUR GUIDE… but first…
Good Morning: Day TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE of a 1000-day review of Operation Rolling Thunder…
8 OCTOBER 1966… THE HOMETOWN NEWS FROM THE PAGES OF THE NYT… A sunny, mild Saturday for football. Notre Dame Vs. Army…
Page 1: “Johnson Acts To Improve U.S. Ties To East Europe”…”President Johnson outlined yesterday some steps toward reconciliation with Eastern Europe and suggested that cutbacks of Soviet and United States forces in Germany might improve prospects for a lasting peace. The President used a small meeting of editorial writers here in New York as his forum for a major foreign policy speech. ‘Changing circumstances,’ the President said, ‘might lead to a reduction of tension in Central Europe.’ If this could lead to ‘a gradual and balanced revision of force levels on both sides,’ he said,’ the revision could–together with the other steps I mentioned–help gradually to shape an entirely new political environment.’ Those other steps toward a reconciliation with the Soviets were: the removal of hundreds of non-strategic items from a list of United States goods barred from shipment from the Eastern bloc; allowing the Export-Import bank to guarantee commercial credit to Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia; a review of the possibility of easing the Poles debts to the United States through expenditures of accumulated Polish currency; financing by the Export-Import bank of the United States exports for the Fiat automobile plant built in the United States; renewal of the dormant negotiations with the Soviet Union; and a further liberalization of travel for Americans to Communist countries.”… Page 1: “President Confers With Thant At U.N.”…”President Johnson and Secretary General U Thant conferred for 50 minutes today on Vietnam and other world issues. Mr. Thant commented that the talks had given rise ‘to neither optimism or pessimism.’ Diplomats said this meant that the Secretary General had not budged from his insistence that the United States must take the first step toward a settlement by halting the bombing of North Vietnam. President Johnson, qualified sources said, maintained the United States position: no cessation of bombing without a reciprocal reduction of North Vietnam’s military effort. The Administration…is prepared to accept a small but concrete measure of de-escalation as evidence of Hanoi’s desire for negotiations..”
Page 1: “Bomb Pause Fails In Buffer Zone”…”The International Control Commission–made up of representatives of India, Canada and Poland, said today that conditions have not been considered sufficiently secure to permit full, normal, patrolling of the DMZ in Vietnam, despite the recent bombing pause in the bombing of a small part of it…On September 27 the United States and South Vietnam halted bombing and other military action in a narrow coastal strip east of Highway 1. But the North Vietnamese have refused to allow patrolling by the International Control Commission…as they have prevented patrols elsewhere in the buffer zone.”… “Page 1: “Moscow Expels Chinese Students In Reprisal Move“…”The Soviet Union ordered the expulsion of all Chinese students in retaliation for Peking’s equivalent action against Soviet Union students last month. Chinese students in Soviet institutions have 24 days to leave the Soviet Union…the move was the harshest concrete action by the Soviet Union authorities in response to the tension between the rival Communist capitals. It left cultural relations between the two largest Communist powers in a state of suspension.”
Page 1: “President Scores G.O.P. In Congress At Newark Rally”…”President Johnson switched from world affairs to home-front politics while crossing the Hudson River today to make the sharpest attack of the year upon the Republican Party. Mr. Johnson taunted the Republican leaders, especially former Vice President Richard Nixon, as consistently poor political prophets. But his real assault was on the Republicans in Congress, whom he accused of trying to block every worthwhile welfare measure without the courage to do so publicly.They have voted as the party of privilege. They have no constructive programs to fight inflation, they mention no programs to ease racial tensions, or how to end the war in Vietnam. But they do know that if they can scare people they win a few votes.”… Page 25: “House Advocates Women Generals“…”The House voted today to remove a 20-year old restriction on the appointment of women generals and admirals. The measure would grant women officers near equality with men in promotion and retirement. The highest rank a woman can now reach is LCOL or Commander with the exception of one head of department at the rank of Colonel or Captain, USN.
8 October 1966… The President’s Daily Brief… CIA (TS sanitized)…North Vietnam: One of the seven major Chinese military support units in North Vietnam seems to have completed its mission and may be returning to China. This is the special engineer division (portion still classified) which has been working on coastal defense construction projects off Haiphong. Communications involving this unit have been gradually declining for some months, and now appear to have ceased altogether.
8 OCTOBER 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times…Page: 5: “Foe shoots Down Two American Craft”…”Enemy gunners shot down two United States Air Force fighter-bombers, one over North Vietnam, the other over the South early yesterday (7th) and today (8th). The two members of one of the aircraft, a B-57 Canberra were rescued, but the other two in the other plane, an F-4C Phantom, were listed as missing. The Canberra was brought down 15 miles northeast of the South Vietnamese garrison city of Danang, and the Phantom over North Vietnam. The loss of the two planes brings to 395 the number downed in the air war over North Vietnam and to 126 the number lost in the South. American attack pilots flew fewer than the daily average of missions in both North and South Vietnam largely because of poor weather. In 359 single plane sorties in the South, Marine and Air Force pilots pounded at enemy camps and ammunition and fuel storage areas. For some time the average number of sorties in South Vietnam has been about 400/day. Air Force, Navy and Marine pilots struck the North in 99 missions of more than one plane, compared with their average of 125 to 150. Navy pilots reported having smashed 15 barges and damaged 42 along the coast. Air Force pilots said they had destroyed three storage buildings and again ripped into the two principal highways leading out of Dienbienphu, the inland city where the Vietminh were victorious in 1954 in the Indo-China War. The B-52s bombed in the southern part of the DMZ.”…“U.S. Jets Fight Off MIGs”…”Air Force jets fought their way through MIG defenders twice yesterday to blast a North Vietnamese fuel depot on the outskirts of Hanoi…The facility was left in flames. MIG-21s, the fastest and deadliest in the enemy arsenal, and older MIG-17s, rose to meet the American F-105s in the first reported air duel in two weeks. But the United States raiders broke through the defense to hit the Nguyen Khe petroleum complex seven miles north of Hanoi and escape. Three MIG-21s pounced on a flight of four Thunderchiefs as they completed a bombing and strafing attack n the complex. The planes exchanged gunfire but no damage was reported. A second flight of Thunderchiefs spotted two MIG-17s as they started their attack. The American planes dropped their bombs and began evasive action as the defenders swept in with cannons firing. Again no damage was reported.”….. Page 5: “Reports 6 U.S. Planes Down”… (From Hong Kong papers, 8 October)…”The Chinese press agency Hsinhna said tonight that six American planes were shot down over North Vietnam today.”….
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) Five fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 8 October 1966…
(1) LT JOHN ANTHONY FELDHAUS was flying an A-1H of the VA-152 Wild Aces embarked in USS Oriskany on a road reconnaissance mission 25 miles southwest of Thanh Hoa when hit in the fuselage by several rounds of ground fire. The aircraft caught fire and crashed immediately. LT FELDHAUS was unable to clear the burning aircraft and was Killed In Action carrying the fight to the enemy in his homeland. No further information on recovery of his remains…Left behind?…
(2) CAPTAIN R.W. CLARK and 1LT P.A. VISCASILLAS were flying a B-57B of the 8th TBS and 405th FW and 35th TFW at Da Nang was damaged by ground fire while conducting an interdiction mission and went down a few miles short of a return flight to Da Nang. Both men in the crew ejected and were rescued as reported in the NYT….
(3) LTJG F.D. LITVIN was flying an RF-8G of the VFP-63 Detachment embarked in USS CORAL SEA on a photo reconnaissance mission in the Hon Gay area and had completed coverage of the entire target complex and was feet wet when hit by large caliber AAA while flying near the island of Dau Cat Ba. The crippled aircraft became un-flyable and LTJG LITVIN was forced to eject. He was rescued immediately by the Navy Northern SAR helicopter.
(4) CAPTAIN WILLIAM LEE SCHULTZ was flying an O-1E Birdog of the 20th TASS and 505th TACG at Da Nang on a FAC missiondirecting a strike on Vietcong five milse South of Da Nang when hit by small arms fire. CAPTAIN SCHULTZ crash landed his aircraft but was fatally injured in the crash landing and died shortly after being rescued. CAPTAIN SCHULTZ was Killed in Action fifty years ago this day… Remembered…
(5) MAJOR LEO J. STEWART was flying a U-2C of the 349th SRS and 100th SRW out of Bien Hoa on a high altitude reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam when he developed an aircraft system problem that led to his ejection near Bien Hoa. He was rescued.
RIPPLE SALVO… #221… Rolling Thunder Remembered is an old admiral’s attempt to confirm a little of the wisdom of Cicero. In ‘The Orator” Cicero wrote: “By what other voice too, than that of the orator, is history: the witness of times, the touch of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life, the messenger (or herald) of antiquity committed to immortality.” Cicero concludes that this means “history defines us.“ Or as the great historian of our times, Victor David Hanson, preaches…”studying history remains the only way to understand who we were, are and will be.” Convinced that “history is the teacher,” RTR is a return to about 1,000 days of turbulent American and World history in the mid-1960s to identify those lessons that pertain to the crushing American and world circumstances that now surround our society and civilization. Perhaps my search for a parallel from 50 years ago is in vain, much as Alexis De Tocqueville discovered in the mid-1700s. He wrote: “I go back from age to age to the remotest antiquity; but find no parallel to what is occurring before my eyes: as the past has ceased to throw its light upon the future, the mind of man wanders in obscurity.” In my quest for useful lessons I am in the camp of author Jared Diamond who, like Professor Hanson, preaches that “the past offers us a rich database from which we can learn, in order to keep on succeeding.” Diamond is “a concerned citizen who fears that not only success, but also catastrophic failure is within our reach.” If any should doubt the need to find something in “a rich database” to “throw some light on the future” read the Matthew Continetti essay entitled “The Guns of October: Is America prepared for another war? http://freebeacon.com/columns/the-guns-of-october/
Your Humble Host freshens the invitation for all you old warhorses and younger stallions to let your voice be heard. To use this forum to record your experiences of Rolling Thunder and the mid-1960s to be added to “the rich data base” that our progeny can consider as they seek to “throw some light on the future.” You are the “orators,” witnesses to history. You are the messengers of antiquity. Check out the post of Mighty Thunder inviting your submission of “Vietnam stories you might hear at a Happy Hour.”..
Lest we forget… Bear ………. –30– ……….