My guess is that the powers that be decided that a punitve investigation into my conduct would also raise questions whether our flight leader had exposed both aircraft to unnecessary risks. Not that northern Laos is a very hospitable place to be, but it would give you a better chance for a rescue by an Air Force chopper. That may be the biggest benefit from Viet Nam, a conflict which many would say yielded very few benefits, as you suggest. Thank you, David. Model names were normalized in 1962 to UH-1s. And I also thank you for taking the time to write down your harrowing and amazing experience in war. Thanks for your service and sacrifice! I enjoyed your write up though I could see you squirming in your seat as it was unfolding. But survival instincts and thorough ejection training were running the show. Galand himself would be shot down two months later. Lasted almost two weeks on the island before a Japanese sniper gave him his ticket off the island. The first and only fatal crash by an RAAF aircraft in Thailand. Binh Duong Province. by propeller-driven A-1 Skyraiders of Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25). I flew Marine Corps F-4s out of Da Nang and Nam Pong, Thailand in 1972; unfortunately not much had changed in six years. Pinches were both rescued. Im glad Joe was able to help others under such dire circumstances. As I approached the left wing in my walk around, I noticed a large patch, roughly 30 by 8 riveted just inboard of the left wing-fold. Wed had it. . November 22, 1966, was selected as the day a massive air strike would be launched against the first of two high-priority targets in North Vietnam (NVN). Using first-hand accounts from diary entries, letters, and family stories, Snyder revives experiences that are accessible and relevant both to historians and readers with a casual interest in . During the Vietnam War Monika Schwinn, a German nurse, was held captive for three and a half years - at one time the only woman prisoner at the "Hanoi Hilton".The following missionaries were POWs: Evelyn Anderson, captured and later burned to death in Kengkok, Laos, 1972.She is still listed as POW. Good lives were wasted for what? Both Aircrew members were Killed In-Action, Last VAL-4 loss: 155461 crashed on 9 February 1972. God bless you all. Asia time after time. I would have done the same thing. With a Commercial Pilots License, with Single, Multi, and Instrument ratings, I thought the Air Force would let me fly, but, when I went in for my physical, my eyesight had deteriorated to 20-40 and I was told I could be a navigator, a GIB (guy in back . Again- Bless you & Scotty! God bless. Thank you Sir for your service. So Scotty did the same check with a roll to the right with the same result. On July 24, 1965, an SA-2 shot down an Air Force F-4C, the first of 110 USAF aircraft lost to SAMs in Southeast Asia. Was the F 14 used in Vietnam? AddThis Utility Frame. Any man can do no more for his country than agree to place himself in harms way. Lockhart is still alive, although. Dickens rescued) The eight-engine bomber was brought down by a North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile near Vinh on the day when B-52s flew their heaviest raids of the war over North Vietnam. Section leader had one Dud flash by just as we started to Split S from Control Warning. It was people! I was an Air Traffic Controller at the Tulsa TRACON (tower and radar approach control) in January of 1981 when one of the check flights did not end well. Presently it dishonors over 50,000 dead and how many maimed and wounded? I wanted to wipe the blood away but my hands were tied behind my back. First loss: Canberra A84-231 disappeared on 3 November 1970 on a night bombing mission in the northern 1st Corps Tactical Zone region of. Cant really say I enjoyed reading your piece, although I could not stop reading. Public Servants who screw -up Big, Big time do not deserve such glorified recognition. His wingman was Paul Reyes. Scotty had ejected. Despite the excellent sound-sealing qualities of my helmet, their jabbering was extremely loud and intense. Surprisingly, a young couple bandaged my head wounds. Hopefully you have not seen this magnificent video I recently came across, and for a man in love with flight like you proved, I hope it will bring back nothing but happy memories https://vimeo.com/199142621 . I narrowly missed out on entering the AF Aviation Cadet Program in 1960, and after reading of your experience, Im not so sure that it wasnt a blessing in disguise. Dog boned Six and direct hit, had to send some Russian Techs to the Beyond. I hereby repeat all the usual thank yous, perhaps perfunctorily but with no less feeling. 532 aircraft were lost in combat and 329 more to operational causes, resulting in the deaths of 401 naval aviators, with 64 airmen reported missing and 179 taken prisoner of war. Announcing the 2023 Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots, Flying in paradise: a vacation flight lesson in Maui, Accident report: losing control at 43,000 feet. As the nose rises, pitch attitude must be controlled to achieve a nose-high attitude of 10 to 12 degrees. lost 26 planes (written off) and 9 pilots (killed in combat) top scorer Yevgenij Pepeljayev with 109 mission, 38 dogfights and 19 shot down planes (15 kills are confirmed by american sources) 303. I think there was supposed to be a moral to that story probably along the lines of smoking is always a bad idea but the way my father told the story, emphasizing how frightened the Marine was, and that he, my father, was only sitting with the other Marine to try to help him with his nerves, and to get him to calm down, well, it was obvious that this was another living, breathing, human being. Thank you for sharing. Our standard load was 12-500s or 7 Nape. 71-0305 (3rd TFS, 388th TFW) shot down in Cambodia on 4 May 1973 (1Lt T.L. You should be ashamed of yourself! Theyd land opposite direction on the same runway. The next thing I knew, I was back on the wooden stool facing my interrogator. In order to avoid my radio falling into enemy hands where it could be used to lure American rescue teams into an ambush, I broke the antenna and tossed it. The upper estimate puts it at nearly 260 million! The Thud flights were all calling Outbound for WX but our FLs OER was going to be written by the guy on MiG CAP so in we went and we took a SAM from dead six with no RHAW gear. As for Mr. Fearn, Politics aside, we probably did back the wrong side. Call signs for each mission were based on time of day. Thank you President Nixon for my life and my freedom. I was an F4 driver at Chu Lai trying to cut the supply traffic through Laos, mostly around Hwy 9, near Tchepone. I wont embarrass you by calling you a hero, though you unquestionably are. I remember their faces were not contorted with anger or hatred but rather with kind expressions of understanding almost bordering on a smile. Of those servicepeople, 2,382 were killed while serving aboard UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the ubiquitous "Huey." Contents [ hide] It was moving and changing shape ever so slowly. And Ill salute only with that nickname fondly given him by my children, our Elder Eagle, who flew Linebacker BUFFS, along with numerous other often difficult taskings, during his 28 years in USAF. Theyd blow up in midair, before they ever got to the runway. Yep. Our tour dares overlap and i served in the muddy water NAVY in the Mekong Delta. I had a great respect for the men who put their lives on the line every day, not knowing if they would make it back to Ubon that evening. 83rd Arty 101ABN DIVARTY The soil was mercifully soft, loose and moist. Glad you made it back. I looked first into the rear-view mirrors and could see only orange flames and inky smoke. I served from 1964-1968. How many MiG-21 shot down in Vietnam? Several of our birds went to Nam. Dulles had his chance to prevent the un-needed War. Glad to hear you are on frequency. Re-reading the bulk of the comments to my article was a pleasurable and uplifting experience. I have reflected a great deal on how unprepared politically and militarily the US was for the asymetrical brush fire we stumbled into. Have not seen him since 1962. 4 of the combat losses were parked aircraft. It is a raising of toasts every night in remembrance for what they did. Phew II! Never regretted. The claimed flying aces of the Vietnam War, pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft, include 19 North Vietnamese pilots (six MiG-17 and 13 MiG-21 pilots),[1]:228 and five Americans. I would spend the next six years and three months in five different prison camps around the city and countryside in North Vietnam; the farthest very near to the Chinese border. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. The first thing I looked at was the horizon and I could almost hear the words of The Vanquished as if they were spoken to me. [10] Estimates of North Vietnamese losses range from 131, as documented in North Vietnamese records; to 195, as claimed by U.S. I thank you for what you did for us all, and I know it cost you. The United States lost 578 UAVs (554 over Vietnam and 24 over China). As I learned about him, I remember more of him lecturing rather than delivering the news. I expect Patrick Walker and his ilk were those that fled the USA because they were chicken. Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? I was a flight engineer in the Air Force and National Guard. A SAM damn near got me and another my section leader. Flights were around four hours. My squadron commander, the pentagon prince and I had an interesting discussion about flight discipline and the military justice system. Outwardly grateful to Jesus Christ above all and to our United States military service members is the way of life I choose to live and pass on to my children. Thank you for your service Joe. 2,197 of the losses were fixed-wing, and the remainder rotary-wing. For those interested in learning more about the F4 Phantom air war , I Remember VietNam by William L Barker , Major USAFR (Ret) is a great book.This first person account is full of operational data and pilot insights.All aviation enthusiasts will appreciate its nuances. I think of Scotty Wilson and many others every, single day. 3 Enclosures included: COMUSMACV MSG DTD 050023Z and Evaluations. Thanks, again, for your story many more years of good health & happiness to you. I will tell the story of Scotty and you and will encourage my son to never forget! This room was known, unaffectionately, by all who suffered there as the room with the green, bumpy walls. Seated on a small, wooden stool, the interrogation began in the usual way with, Name, rank, serial number and date of birth. When I refused to reply to any further questions except by repeating my name, rank, serial number and date of birth, my interrogating officer, in a most sinister way, and in a very convincing manner said, Crecca, you will die in Vietnam. In a matter of minutes I was bound with ropes. Im horrified to know how divided our country was in the late 60s/early 70s, and people like you did your duty, for all of us. I reached bingo, bingo minus 5, minus 10, minus 15, and reported to lead each time. Scotty Wilson had a beautiful wife and daughter whose lives were torn asunder as well. Thank you for sharing this. These were probably the local militia. I looked back to my right. Meadows If you think I should not be called a hero, tell them, not me. A Shau Valley. He should be yours as well, regardless of what you think of the efficacy and need for that conflict of many years ago. 31 DEC 71. At this moment the twin J-79 afterburners are briefly licking at the runway with two, huge, yellow-orange flames. Both were exactly right because the top of my parachute was practically in the bottom of the clouds right above me. Pair of scanning Navy A-6s. Final loss: F-4D 66-8747 (432d TRW) on 29 June 1973. My father (deceased) served in the Army in Korea and my son served as an Army Combat Medic deployed to Afghanistan. Days later the main cabin section washed on the beach, a short distance south of Chu Lai. All of us pilots felt lost. Not sure which squadron he started with but he ended up assigned to the 366-tfw. A natural reaction. Presidio Press. Youre the best and always will be with me when I go flying. I always enjoyed flying with you and sharing a beverage. If you are wondering how this is possible, I will reveal at the outset that it is not possible. Thanks for the details of this mission. Tried to cross-service in 64 or 65 to Army for WO pilot program, but because I was already in the military (being in a critical COMSEC AFSC probably didnt help), I was offered no guarantee of flight training, so I withdrew the request otherwise, I may have been one of your grateful students, or still buried in some shallow grave. I met and liked John Dremesi whose experience was the same as yours. This farmer pilot is Nguyn Vn By who died on Sept. 21, 2019 at the age of 83. He summed up his experience in Vietnam as It was f****d. You guys are the best we have. In 1980 and 81, the McDonnell Douglas Plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma was remanufacturing F-4 fighters for the Air Force. Wasnt much left for my remaining Six. Looser! He is someone that I have always respected and admired. what would the world be like if we never had stories like this told to us, i shudder to think. This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 11:53. R. Cole rescued, Final loss: 57-0922 (435th TFS, 8th TFW) operational loss due to engine failure on 14 May 1967 in Thailand, pilot name unknown, survived, First loss: 624371 (36th TFS, 6441st TFW) written off from battle damage over Laos 14 August 1964, at Korat, Thailand, Final loss: 610153 (44th TFS, 355th TFW) shot down Laos 23 September 1970, pilot Capt. Global Security, "A War too Long: The USAF in Southeast Asia 19611975", http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/virtual_disk_library/index.cgi/1025775/FID1977/NAVY/Chap_3.pdf, USMC HELO LOSSES(19621973) by aircraft type, "The OV-1 Mohawk Remembered Firsthand: Piloting the Mohawk in Vietnam", "SE Asia and Vietnam: Royal Australian Air Force", "Image Galleries 2009 - Department of Defence", " - - www.skywar.ru", U.S. Air-to-Air Victories during the Cold War, Wars in Yugoslavia, and Anti-Terror War, Widow travels to Vietnam after 40 years and finds her MIA husband's Marine Corps F-4 jet crash site in Que Son Mtns, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_aircraft_losses_of_the_Vietnam_War&oldid=1133364112, First loss: A-1E 52-132465 (1st Air Commando Squadron [ACS], 34th Tactical Group [TG]) shot down during night training mission on 29 August 1964 near, Final loss: A-1H 52-139738 (1st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing) which was shot down 28 September 1972 (pilot was rescued by an, First loss: 710310 (355th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 354th TFW) on 2 December 1972 shot down on a, Final loss: 700945 (354th TFW) shot down in Cambodia on 25 May 1973 (Capt Jeremiah Costello KIA), First loss: B-26B 44-35530 (Detachment 2A, 1st ACG) shot down in IV CTZ on the night of 45 November 1962, killing the 3 crew, Final loss: A-26A 64-17646 (609th SOS, 56th SOW) lost over Laos on the night of 78 July 1969, killing both crewmen, First loss: AC-119G 52-5907 (Det.1, 17th SOS, 14th SOW) which crashed on take-off from, Final loss: AC-119K 53-7826 (18th SOS, 56th SOW out of, First losses were operational (non-combat) mid-air collision 2 B-52F 57-0047 and 57-0179 (441st Bomb Squadron, 320th Bomb Wing), 18 June 1965, South China Sea during air refueling orbit, 8 of 12 crewmen killed, Final loss: B-52D 55-0056 (307th Bomb Wing Provisional) to SAM 4 January 1973, crew rescued from Gulf of Tonkin. I served as Navy, lost friends both in country and after returning home with one still carried as MIA Army Helicopter Pilot. Charge of the Light Brigade. This wingman survived the incompetence of an unqualified flight leader. According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, a total of 11,846 helicopters were shot down or crashed during the war, resulting in nearly 5,000 American pilots and crew killed. 29. pp. Cheers! Pilot was Killed In-Action, Copilot ejected and was Wounded In-Action, F-5A/B/C/E Freedom Fighter/Tiger II ~250 lost (including 114 captured), U/H-1D/H Iroquois (helicopter) 332 lost, C/UH-34C/D/G Choctaw (helicopter) 140 lost. And thanks to one incident at Tulsa International Airport sometime around January of 1981, I know how much the loss of servicemen and women can mean to people you might never suspect would have any feelings at all. Sign up for our free email newsletter, packed with tips, tricks and news for pilots. Many thanks for contributing this excellent memoirhope to read more of your writings in future, and wishing you many more years of life aloft: youve sure earned them! Scotty Wilson and I were classmates in Pilot Training at Willie Air Patch, Class 64-C, Raindance and Schatzi. The bomb release button was now hot! I looked for an escape route. He also stated that there were no MiG-17 aces. I could feel them loop a rope around my neck, then attach the rope to my wrists and again, in similar fashion, to my ankles. Lt Cmdr Frederick P Crosby had been deployed on the Bon Homme Richard, an Essex-class aircraft carrier stationed off the Vietnam coast His planed crashed in 1965 in front of Pham Van Truong's. They performed as they were asked. During this relatively minor ordeal, I asked permission of my guard, using sign language, for permission to relieve my bladder. I was an aircraft mechanic serving at Clark Air Base in 1969-70 and then later at NKP in Thailand in 1973-74. On Oct. 26, McCain would fly his 23rd run over North Vietnam, joining a 20-plane mission to bomb a power plant in the capital city of Hanoi, which had been off-limits to U.S. attacks . May God comfort those families who still wait and wonder.]. I flew Phantoms until leaving to fly transports for Flying Tigers and then Federal Express. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he values above his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself. I was asked the same questions over and over in an attempt to trip me up. Some were grabbing and pulling at my anti-g suit, flight suit and boots. [4] 877 Republic of Vietnam aircraft were captured at war's end (1975)[5] Of the 2750[6] aircraft and helicopters received by South Vietnam, only about 308 survived (240 flew to Thailand or US warships[7] and 68 returned to the United States[8]). God Bless America and her brave warriors! Its a real shame but they ruined a perfectly good pair of nearly new, highly-polished USAF flying boots with zippers; they cut right through the damn zippers! We had been taught to respect and trust the higher-ups that won WWII, Little could we conceive that the USMC and the USAF began the conflict with almost total ignorance of what was required for this exercise in power projection. At this point I could only pray he would revive by the time he reached the ground. With both my palms up and a telling expression on my face, Don Ward knew that was the end of the conversation. Much aviation has occurred in the context of military service. Kos Media, LLC. However, when your country calls, you have two choices, in 1965 you went, in 1969 you didnt. In addition to all of your other talents, you write very well. Scotty then said over the radio to the leader, Dogwood 2 has a good inertial. Pilots who have used the AN/ASN-46 nav system (Up to 7 NM per hour error) will know whats going on here. Flight lead replied, Dogwood 2, you have the lead. So that it is crystal clear to the reader, this means that two 1stLieutenants were leading a flight of Phantoms to a JCS target on the outskirts of Hanoi referred to as Bullseye by those of us who flew over the north. I wish I could have expressed my thanks to your Elder Eagle for successfully completing his mission to spring me out of jail. Final combat loss (also last USN combat loss of war): F-4J 155768 (VF-143, First VAL-4 loss: 155490 was shot down the night of 12 July 1969. Final loss: EB-66B 42nd TEWS, 388th TFS lost to engine failure on 23 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II. Nose wheel liftoff speed was calculated to be over 170 knots and liftoff at nearly 200 knots or 230 mph! In 1973, American POWs finally came home. Thanks for your service, Sir. me 500s. I still know where the CB is. Don Ward, came up to me and said words that someone in operations never, ever hears from anybody in maintenance. Of course, things were beginning to wind down in Viet Nam by this time, but it was still mega impressive to see the F-4s light em up and blast off the runway like angry rocket-powered birds of prey searching for their next meal! Scotty then took control of the airplane as we proceeded to follow our leader along the preplanned route. After I was stabilized, the boomer cleared me into the contact position. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he values above his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself.. Sadly the other pilot and crew chief and door gunner did not make it. It was another scene of temporal distortion. Pavlovs Dog reaction to his Cmon Back, Chief, I got em spotted. (Im a Sioux Indian, Born on a Dakota Rez.) A few of the men wore shoddy uniforms and were armed with old-looking, bolt-action rifles. The political strategy of Rolling Thunder was absurd from the git-go. Russian source: 65 MiG-21s, 5 MiG-19s, 75 MiG-17s lost through all causes. But then, the blood began to run down from the breaks in the skin on my head and into my eyes. I, for one, will welcome additional tales of courage and flying on these pages. Of those servicepeople, 2,382 were killed while serving aboard UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the ubiquitous "Huey." LTJG Hartman & LT Clinton B. . We were to be a flight of four F-4C Phantoms. Amazing story Mr.Crecca, I for one, am glad you are still here among us mere mortals, thank you for sharing your daunting experience, you sure went through hell for 6 years and yet had the courage to ask Nixon for another F-4 Because they were chicken about flight discipline and the remainder rotary-wing classmates in pilot training at Willie Patch... 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