YGBSM!. I rest easy at night because of people like you. VS-41 at NAS North Island retained four of the borrowed Broncos to be used for training replacement pilots and maintenance personnel. The Communistss claimed 19 B-52s shot down to date. Instead, dummy missiles had been placed at the site as a "flak trap.". Cheers! Scotty was probably hit by shrapnel from the missile. when the canopy rails are parallel to the ground, the nose is 10-12 degrees up. I finally got him to talk and he said, Gary, it was just like Vietnam. North Vietnam, pre-1975: Killing of Two American Pilots Shot Down Over North Vietnam. He should be yours as well, regardless of what you think of the efficacy and need for that conflict of many years ago. This farmer pilot is Nguyn Vn By who died on Sept. 21, 2019 at the age of 83. 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. Mills words to heart whenever necessary. This requires the pilot to smoothly and precisely adjust control inputs to maintain takeoff attitude as the aircraft accelerates and the landing gear and flaps are retracted. 29. pp. I cried like a baby. There, I waited for about five hours, during which time it seemed that everyone in the village, save the oldest and youngest, came to visit the new arrival. When all the politics are done when hostilities have ceased those who represented their country should be honoured. Great job! On 3 January 1969 Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) was commissioned at NAS North Island, California and after an intense period of training was transferred to Vietnam. It is hard to imagine just surviving. I was an aircraft mechanic serving at Clark Air Base in 1969-70 and then later at NKP in Thailand in 1973-74. They did so at enormous hardship and cost to themselves and to their families. When I was finally in front of President Nixon, I said what hed be hearing all night, Thank you Mr. President for bringing us home with honor. Then without missing a beat I said, And Im really sorry about that F-4. The concept that Vietnamese people who had conquered most of SE Asia and fought off numerous invasions by Chinese dynasties for centuries would be cowed and exhausted by the haphazard application of US air power was the result of historical ignorance and superpower arrogance. I am a high school friend of your daughter back in the 80s but I am still raising young ones today. 1LT ALDRICH ROBERT HENRY BNR 12/27/1971154013 HMM-165 WO1 ALEXANDER BARRY KENNETH KIA 09/22/196968-513/68-23 71 AHC CPT ALEXANDER DAVID LEE KIA 02/06/197170-20 67-18493178 ASHC The pain was unbearable except that I had to bear it whether I wanted to or not. How many MiGs were shot down in Bolo? He told me to find him. To those who try to insert politics, I agree that it is in extremely poor taste to try to make this such a venue. Thank You for your service. I slipped off the right wing of the tanker into a spot 50 feet aft of where Id have to be for the boomer to plug into my receptacle. Ill never understand your sacrifice, but want to thank you for it! Republic F-105 Thunderchief. North Vietnam, pre-1975: Killing of Two American Pilots Shot Down Over North Vietnam IIR Casualty files | William A. Ott. So what was The D.O.s name? Final loss: EB-66B 42nd TEWS, 388th TFS lost to engine failure on 23 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II. They fixed it. The time was 1151. (USAF) Date of report (1971-07-23). Sadly the other pilot and crew chief and door gunner did not make it. Scotty took one look at the patch which I admit looked a bit Sam Schwartz to me and replied, If we have to break for a SAM, well bring it back without the wingtip.. All this took no more than one second. All told, the U.S. Air Force flew 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, northern and southern Laos, and Cambodia, losing 2,251 aircraft: 1,737 to hostile action, and 514 in accidents. At this moment the twin J-79 afterburners are briefly licking at the runway with two, huge, yellow-orange flames. Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? I yelled on the intercom, Deep six check! He is someone that I have always respected and admired. 1:00 Jan. 6 will mark 50 years since former Newburgh resident Dave Middleton was shot down in Vietnam while piloting a Loach helicopter on a mission to which he wasn't originally assigned.. What was the name of the plane that was shot down in Vietnam? God-Speed to our brothers in arms, where ever they may be! Mr. Creccas response (farther below) displays considerably more class than that displayed by b fearn in this particular instance. [I was USAF SAC (enlisted) 62-66. Mr. Crecca Thank you for your courageous service in the Phabulous Phighter (F-4) and your extraordinary service as a POW. His wingman was Paul Reyes. Thanks for the details of this mission. Binh Duong Province. At least thats what I hoped. At 2,500 ft. 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! Instead, Ill just say thanks, Joe Crecca, and thanks to God for men like you. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. All we wanted to do was tell him we wanted the French out! It was you who were suffering in the oppressive heat & humidity. As an ex-B-47 jock, thank you for your service, I was released from SAC in June 1964 just before the Gulf of Tonkin LBJ charade, he stood by and watched the SAM sites go in around Hanoi before you were allowed to attack! Source for F-4 losses is Phantom with U.S. Marine Corps (Joe Baugher), others are unsourced, Production of a total of 380 Mohawks ended in December 1970. Thank you for your service! Defense Department officials say 1st Lt. Carl D. Nesbitt died when his plane was shot down in May . Enjoyed your recollections Joe C. I was an Army Helicopter Crew Chief/Mechanic at Camp Eagle near Hue, Phu Bai then Danang MM Airfield, RVN 71-72. My mom, as she promised my father she would, visited my fathers grave at the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie on Saturday, left an American Flag, which, regardless of whether or not the boy scouts or other volunteers do, as they sometimes do and sometimes dont, shes done for the previous 10 Memorial Days. All my attention had been focused on escape and I had inadvertently bypassed the opportunity to use my emergency radio to make a distress, Mayday call. I looked back to my right. I cannot express my admiration for you and others who went thru what you did. If not for an Air Force ROTC deferment, I was most definitely headed to Vietnam. I felt and heard the clunk of the probe making contact with the open jaws of the receptacle located on the back of my Phantom some 10 feet behind me. Youre the best and always will be with me when I go flying. With over 70 years of hindsight and investigation there were a ton of mistakes. Im sorry for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on this thread. Scotty had ejected. A C-47 was the very first USAF aircraft lost in the SEA conflict, C-47B 44-76330 (315th Air Division) on TDY at. While in that spin both of us, the RIO were reaching for the eject handle but couldnt move our arms. On May 10, 1972, the USAF and Navy shot down 11 North Vietnam MiGs in the skies over North Vietnam at a cost of two USAF and two Navy F-4s shot down. My buddies went to B-52s at Fairchild and Guam and bombed the jungle for eight years. Summer-67- Lost an engine to one but miraculously survived blast suffocation and stupidly re-started the J-79 after safely- feet wet. 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. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do & die.. By the time of the American involvement in Southeast Asia communism, by moderate estimates, around the globe had murdered 110 million people! 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. So that the pilot does not have to be utilizing his attitude indicator for this, the canopy rails happen to be canted downward at just the correct angle making it possible to perform the takeoff maneuver using purely visual references, e.g. It was moving and changing shape ever so slowly. The Air Force lost 1737, the Navy 530, the Marine Corps 463 and the Army lost 302 (fixed wing). I was a young 23 year old J-79 Engine Mechanic at Homestead AFB in 1972,sent toThailand in late Summer of that year to participate in LinebackerII Our F-4s along with McDills flew Mig CAP for the B-52s of which several were lost.Homestead lost one Phantom,I believe McDill lost one. May God continue to bless you. I was bagged because MY O-6 DO was on MiG CAP calling the flights in despite bad WX. So, with that, you have to question the command and leadership, not the foot soldier. I replied that I still had a positive lock to a radio nav-aid and if he could get us through the clouds I could get us to the target. To increase air support for the SEALORDS Operation in South Vietnam's Mekong Delta, the Navy "borrowed" twenty North American Aviation OV-10A Broncos from the United States Marine Corps. No better tribute to a warrior and man then to be remembered by his fellow warriors 50+ years later. First loss: EC-121R 67-24193 (554th Reconnaissance Squadron, 553d RW) crashed 25 April 1969 on take-off in a thunderstorm from. I remember their faces were not contorted with anger or hatred but rather with kind expressions of understanding almost bordering on a smile. But then, the blood began to run down from the breaks in the skin on my head and into my eyes. Scotty yelled, GET OUT! With the OUT still echoing in my ears there was a BOOM!, then the air noise of the jettisoned canopy. Wasnt much left for my remaining Six. He was crying. Crash Location: Into Sea off southwest coast of Vietnam near Rach Gia and Ca Mau. me 500s. Both were exactly right because the top of my parachute was practically in the bottom of the clouds right above me. The SA-2 brought down many American pilots over North Vietnam. Vietnam will eventually strive throughout S.E. If it means anything, I wanted to tell you that I have travelled extensively though Vietnam for both work and pleasure, and found that Vietnamese people hold no grudge whatsoever to those dark years, younger generations are full of optimism and only look forward for a better life. May God bless you. If I could ever slow down I might have time to write that book. It was a bittersweet event and Im so grateful I was able to attend. P.463, Migs over North Vietnam: The Vietnam People's Air Force in Combat, 196575, Stackpole Military History, Crashed while attempting emergency landing, Phantom with U.S. Marine Corps (Joe Baugher), List of United States aerial victories of the Vietnam War, South Viet Nam Airforce VNAF Equipment. You were a great morale boost when we needed it the most. Fortunately, my background as a briefer and operations duty officer enabled me to tell my accusers that the base they spoke of was still 250 miles from Chu Lai, and the runway was not suitable for F4s. By The Associated Press. 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). We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. All commenters here need to start this needed movement for due change. This description of your combat experience and captivity is the first time Ive heard it and that only adds to my admiration for you, Joe. They never attack until they do it. Ed McGaa, Marine F4s, Chu Lai Mostly CAS. The pilot Lieutenant J. M. Krommenhoek is Missing in Action. Despite my state of lingering shock, my reaction to his command was to pop the Rat and restart. But survival instincts and thorough ejection training were running the show. Only those who were there truly know! GlobalSecurity, South Viet Nam Air Force VNAF Aircraft Deliveries. I was sad to read about poor decisions based on ego costing lives, I know how true that is. And I also thank you for taking the time to write down your harrowing and amazing experience in war. Thanks for the compliment on my writing. When Maj. "Jump" Myers' plane crashed in flames, there was no chance of rescue - yet Bernie Fisher defied the odds and brought him out alive. He is presently a retired airline pilot who originally flew for The Flying Tiger Line in DC-8s and 747s and then MD-11s for FedEx. I wanted to wipe the blood away but my hands were tied behind my back. List of aircraft losses of the Vietnam War. Those of us that were there were paying attention; I remember that it was not assured, back then, if anybody would be repatriated. Theyd land opposite direction on the same runway. You have no skin in the game of life and freedom, do you! Its not from the How did you survive? I remember the days when my dad flew Young Tiger over there. William Reeder Jr., who served two tours in Vietnam as a U.S. Army pilot, was shot down on May 9, 1972, while flying a mission in a Bell AH-1 Cobra . Burning American aircraft at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1965. I flew the airplane to a point in space below the beautiful Stratotanker where I judged the contact position to be. 17 apr 1966: arab 511, an a-1h (buno 135398), lt (jg) william l. tromp, va-115, went down following a night attack on coastal targets, near approximately 1818'n, 10610'e. arab 506, his wingman,. Wed had it. Despite our brief conversation enroute to the tanker about pilots who had ejected from their burning airplanes prematurely (their aircraft flew on for long distances before going out of control) what happened next got my attention. Had three square meals a day. Thanks for your service Joe, you are one of the countrys heros. If none of the strike flights entered the target area, the MiGs wouldnt come up. Soviet General Fesenko, the main Soviet adviser to the North Vietnamese Air Force in 1972, recorded 34 MiG-21s destroyed in 1972. Wonderful story. 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