Bear Taylor 
COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973)…
LEST WE FORGET… The NEW YORK TIMES, FRIDAY, 8 AUGUST 1969…. “The low level of fighting was reflected in the weekly casualty figures made public today by the United States command. American deaths were 139 against 110 the previous week but still 100 below the average weekly figure for this year. A total of 37,598 United States servicemen have been killed in Vietnam since January 1, 1961.”…
Humble Host turns to Richard Bach who wrote in 1963 for all single-seater pilots in STRANGER TO THE GROUND: “I belong to a group of men who fly alone. There is only one seat in the cockpit of a fighter airplane. There is no space allotted for another pilot to tune the radios in the weather or make the calls to air traffic control centers or to help with the emergency procedures or to call off the airspeed down final approach. There is no one else to break the solitude of a long cross-country flight. There is no one else to make decisions. I do everything myself, from engine start to engine shutdown. In a war, I will face alone the missiles and the flak and the small arms fire over the front lines. If I die. I will die alone.”… Richard Bach never met Dr. Fred Manget…
COLONEL ROBERT LEE SCOTT, Jr., did!!! The ace was flying P-40 Warhawks with the “Flying Tigers” in 1942. On his first mission as group commander he tangled with a Japanese fighter and took several hits. Wounded in the cockpit he managed to get his damaged P-40 back to base. He became the patient of the famous missionary DR. FRED PRUDENCE MANGET. Great aviation writer BARRETT TILLMAN tells the story. “With no anesthetic, Scott endured the pain as the medical missionary extracted the (steel) splinters (from Scott’s back). During the prolonged process, Manget’s Chinese aide asked Scott, ‘Colonel, you fly plane, shoot guns, talk radio, all time flight barbarian. You do all these things alone?’ Biting down the pain, Scott snapped back, ‘Where in hell would anybody else sit? No, I don’t need any help. I’m a fighter pilot!’…
“Dr. Manget interrupted his alcohol swabbing to confront his patient, eye to eye. ‘You’re wrong there, son,’ he said softly. ‘You are never alone up there. Not with all the things you came through. You have the greatest copilot in the world even if there is just room for one in that fighter ship.‘ When he sat up, Scott reeled figuratively and literally. He visualized illuminated figures dancing on a black velvet screen. They resolved themselves into a phrase: ‘God is my copilot.’…”
https://www.historynet.com/col-robert-l-scott-gods-pilot.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Manget
President Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1954: “As a former soldier, I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives. In battle, they learned a great truth–that there are no atheists in the foxholes. They know that in time of test and trial, we instinctively turn to God for new courage.”.. HUMBLE HOST contends that are no atheists in the cockpits of our single seat aircraft either. During the Vietnam war more than 1,000 FAC, fighter, strike-fighter, and light attack pilots perished carrying the fight to the enemy in Southeast Asia. They did not die alone…
Good Morning. Humble Host reflects on the THIRTY-NINTH week of the relentless interdiction campaign against the North Vietnamese supply line in Laos called the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The campaign was called COMMANDO HUNT…
I. HEADLINES FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES for 4 through 10 August 1969…
A. THE WAR… (4 August) WAR DISILLUSIONS MANY G.I.’s IN VIETNAM (By H. Drummond Ayers, Jr.)… “It was 2:25 A.M. and the moon over Landing Zone Center was high, too high for night ambushes. But the private from Phoenix had his orders. He slung a belt of machine gun ammunition over each shoulder and wrapped a third around his waist. Then he smeared his face and hands with camouflage grease paint. As he worked, he offered a running commentary on the war. ‘If you’ll look closely,’ he said, ‘you’ll see some beads and a peace symbol under all of the ammo. I may look like Pancho Villa on the outside but on the inside I’m nothing but a peacenik. I fight because that’s the only way to stay alive out here in the boonies. I don’t believe this war is necessary. I just work hard at surviving so I can go home and protest all this killing.’ He picked up his rifle, slid in a fresh magazine, slammed home a round and trudged off into the moonlit paddies stretching toward nearby Danang.'”… BRIDGE IN VIETNAM BLASTED BY ENEMY… (5 Aug) FIGHTING IN VIETNAM AT NEW LOW LEVEL… “Despite a flare-up of fighting in Apbia Mountain, the lull in enemy-initiated action continued today…This summer American deaths have averaged 181 a week since the lull began June 18. Enemy deaths during the same period have averaged 2,800, according to United States estimates.”... (6 Aug) NORTH VIETNAMESE RAID HOSPITAL KILLING 2 AMERICANS –Wound 99… U.S. TROOPS CLASH WITH FOE AT ASHAU… “A short but sharp clash broke out in the Ashau Valley today, the third since Sunday, but United States officers said they saw a mounting threat from the enemy in this major infiltration corridor in the northern part of South Vietnam.”… (7 Aug) U.S. SHELLS BUFFER ZONE… “…fired three barrages into the demilitarized zone yesterday silencing two enemy rocket positions and touching off explosions and fires.”… (8 Aug) 8 KILLED AND 62 HURT IN SAIGON AS BLASTS RIP MILITARY SCHOOL–4 Americans Among Injured At South Vietnamese Facility–Wide Area Damaged… 4 CLASHES IN BUFFER ZONE…”American soldiers and Marines sweeping just south of the demilitarized zone reported killing 82 North Vietnamese regulars in four battles. Eight Americans were killed and 23 wounded. The series of battles lasted from dawn until dark, with the Americans calling in artillery, helicopter gunships and jet fighters… Three United States helicopters and an F-100 jet fighter-bomber were lost over South Vietnam yesterday. Five crewmen were listed as missing and 10 were injured in the crashes…The number of United States helicopters shot down in South Vietnam since January 1, 1961, is 1,253, and the number of fixed wing aircraft is 378… (9 Aug) FIGHTING STEPS UP IN VIETNAM… “In the last 24 hours fighting in South Vietnam rose to its highest pitch in nearly two months… Since early yesterday, 147 enemy troops and 14 Americans and 17 south Vietnamese soldiers had been killed in significant actions ranging from the demilitarized zone to the Saigon area. In Addition, 164 Americans and 51 South Vietnamese were wounded… (10 Aug) 64 REPORTED KILLED AFTER RAIDS BY B-52’s FLUSH 2 ENEMY UNITS… “Two North Vietnamese units were attacked with small arms fire, rockets, artillery and bombs today apparently after they had been flushed from hiding north of Saigon by the biggest B-52 raids in five weeks–1,000 to 1,500 tons of bombs were dropped…”…
B. THE PARIS PEACE TALKS… (4 August) NO LULL YET AT THE PARIS PEACE TALKS–Relationship To War Action In Vietnam Is Out Of Phase… “Although relative peace has descended on the battlefields of South Vietnam, the vituperation in Paris is as strong as ever. The peace talks here involving the four main parties to the war in Vietnam thus seem increasingly out of phase with events in Vietnam itself, but no one is quite sure yet which represents the true situation. There is hope, for example, that the lull in fighting and the correspondingly sharp drop in casualties herald a gradual ending of the war, a tacit cease-fire. Informed sources indicate clearly that the allied forces have deliberately scaled down their effort even if this change does not show in the actual orders of field commanders.”… (5 Aug) THREE U.S. SERVICEMEN RELEASED BY HANOI… “…The men will return home in the custody of an American pacifist group…The three men are Captain Wesley Lewis Rumble of the Air Force, LT Robert Franchot Frishman of the Navy and Seaman Douglas Brent Hegdahl of the Navy (A HERO!!! Look him up)…”… (8 Aug) VIETCONG IMPLY COALITION MOVE–Aide In Paris Reports Talks Have Begun On Forming Regime In Saigon… “The provisional revolutionary government formed by the Vietcong indicated today that it had begun discussions with other groups inside and outside South Vietnam to form a coalition regime. The indication came after another fruitless discussion here among the parties to the Vietnam conflict… Appealing for consideration of allied peace proposals, Henry Cabot Lodge, the chief United States delegate, declared in somewhat blunter fashion that in the past that ‘we remain ready for serious negotiation. Until your side shows a similar readiness we can expect no progress. We have done all that we can do by ourselves to bring a negotiated peace in Vietnam. Now it is time for you to respond.’ In answer… the North Vietnamese delegate categorically rejected Lodge’s assertion and plan because it was absurd.”…
C. THE REST OF THE NEW YORK TIMES HEADLINES… (4 August) PRESIDENT NIXON RETURNING HAILS FRIENDSHIP HE FOUND ON TRIP–Tells Crowd At Airport That ‘The Spirit of Apollo Can Bring Peace In The World–Agnew Leads Welcome–Ceremony Held In The Rain–President Is Gratified By Reception In Romania… ISRAELIS DECLARE THEY WILL RETAIN OCCUPIED AREAS–Leadership Intends To Hold Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and Large Part of Sinai… RIOTING IS RENEWED IN BELFAST AFTER RELIGIOUS CLASHES… “New rioting broke out in Belfast today only hours after Northern Ireland’s cabinet, following a two-hour emergency meeting, declared that it would take any measures ‘however firm or exceptional’ to end the violence that began yesterday. Government ministers appealed to the public to stay off the streets, but their plea went unheeded as a mob of more than 2,000 Protestant militants, trying to invade a Roman Catholic area of the city clashed again with the police.”… PUBLIC FORGIVING IN KENNEDY POLL–But His Account Of The Mishap Also Draws Skepticism”… (5 Aug) NIXON BRIEFS KEY CONGRESSMEN ON ASIAN POLICY–He Wins General Approval Of Plan To Honor But Not Expand Commitments–Will Report to Nation–Televised Address On Trip And On Domestic Program Scheduled Friday… NIXON POPULARITY DECLINES IN POLL–62% in June, 44% in July Rate President Good... (6 Aug) GREEN BERET CHIEF HELD IN SLAYING OF A VIETNAMESE–7 Others Also Charged With Murder and Retained Pending Investigation of Killing Near Nhatrang June 20… (7 Aug) NIXON MISSILE PLAN WINS IN SENATE BY 51-50 VOTE–House Approval Likely–ABM Foes Beaten–Vice President Agnew Acts To Break Senate Tie… WEST SEEKS TALKS BY TWO GERMANYS–Three Powers Notes To Ask Soviet Cooperation In Bid To Ease Berlin Tension… SOVIET DEFENDS INVASION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA ON 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF INVASION–Also Puts Pressure On Prague To Bar Disorder August 21… NAVY INQUIRY OPENS IN USS EVANS COLLISION WITH AUSSIE CARRIER… INQUEST PLANNED IN KENNEDY CASE–District Attorney Decides To Exercise His Power… (8 Aug) NIXON SAID TO PLAN NEW LINKS IN EASTERN EUROPE DESPITE RUSSIANS–Proposals For Talks Between East and West Germany Could Test Moscow–Russians In Romania Hint Displeasure At Nixon Visit… PAN AM IS STRUCK IN SPITE OF TALKS–Ground Personnel Walk Out As Mediators Postpone Deadline Hour By Hour… (9 Aug) NIXON ADDRESSES NATION: ASKS OVERHAUL OF WELFARE WITH WORK OR TRAINING REQUIRED–Urges U.S. Aid States And Cities–Welfare Rolls Could Soar–Cost Of The Proposals Put At $4-Billion For First Year… PARIS SEEKS TO AVOID UNREST IN COMING MONTHS… PAN AM STILL IDLE DESPITE NEW PACT –TENTATIVE ACCORD RELEASED IN STRIKE BY TEAMSTERS… KOPECHNE INQUIRY IS SET FOR SEPTEMBER… (10 Aug) PRESIDENT CALL FOR WELFARE REFORM— Breaks Long Silence On The Problem… ACTRESS SHARON TATE IS AMONG 5 SLAIN AT HOME IN BEVERLY HILLS–Actress, 2nd Woman and 3 Men Victims–Suspect is Seized… CANADA TO WAGE WAR ON POLLUTION–Provinces Will Join Ottawa To Fight Spreading Evil… SOVIET SAYS CHINA STIRS HATE DRIVE–Accuses Peking Of Lying To Maintain Dictatorship… AN EMBITTERED MOTHER SENDS THE PRESIDENT A FLAG… “A mother, embittered by her son’s death in Vietnam and frustrated by cold response to her letters to Washington, has sent the American flag from her son’s coffin to President Nixon. ‘I hate the flag for what it stands for in Vietnam–the murder of our young men,‘ said Mrs. Miles Stewart, a prominent businesswoman in this east Georgia town (Warner Robbins). ‘But I love it for what it is supposed to stand for.’ Her son, Private Wayne Stewart, 22 years old, was killed in combat last April. Mrs. Stewart said she has sent letters to Congressmen and military authorities asking ‘what this war is about.‘ She said she had written the president but there was no answer. Along with the flag, she sent a photo of the young private and a letter that said: ‘I so not want a flag which represents a country which is sacrificing her young men as this one is doing.‘…”
II. COMMANDO HUNT II (April to November 1969) The following summary of ARC LIGHT–B-52 OPS complementing the COMMANDO HUNT campaign during 1968-1969 is snipped from a 50-page HQ,PACAF (CHECO Division) document available at the Texas Tech University Vietnam Archive: THE AIR WAR IN VIETNAM, 1968-1969… I quote…
“The B-52 operations in Southeast Asia (ARC LIGHT) were being flown at the rate of 800 sorties per month at the beginning of 1968 from Anderson AFB, Guam, and U-Tapao RTAB, Thailand. On 1 February, the sortie rate was increased to 1,200 and to 1,800 on 15 February because of the Pueblo crisis and the siege of Khe Sanh. Kadena, Okinawa was added as a base of operations on the latter date. The 1,800 sortie rate continued until October 1969 when the rate was reduced to 1,400 sorties per month. The standard load for sorties throughout the period was twenty-four 500-pound bombs carried externally and eighty-four internally (27 tons) for U-Tapao aircraft, and twenty-four 500-pounds externally and forty-two 750-pound bombs internally for Kadena and Andersen aircraft (23 tons).
“Khe Sanh proved to be a watershed for B-52 operations in SEA. As a result of this siege, the sortie rate was increased to 1,800 per month and close-in bombing (within 1,000-meters of friendly forces) was inaugurated as a direct close air support tactic. Another innovation was BUGLE NOTE. Prior to the siege, the most rapid response was a seven-hour ground divert capability from U-Tapao. The BUGLE NOTE permitted target changes as late as one-and-a-half hours prior to the scheduled time-over-the-target (TOT). The force allocation was later changed to a six-aircraft cell every three hours over the pre-IP, with a selective target change three hours before TOT.
“The results of B-52 strikes were difficult to evaluate in terms of BDA but the psychological impact was immense. The POWs and Hoi Chanhs (prisoners and deserters) indicated airstrikes forced them to move constantly, kept them off balance, caused numerous casualties, lowered morale, and prevented them from staging offensive action. As a result, on 1 April 1969, one B-52 in each three-ship cell began to carry one M129RI leaflet bomb with the strike, exploiting the psychological impact. A single B-52 mission, consisting normally of six aircraft, could deliver approximately 150 tons of ordnance on a two-kilometer square target with better than 99-per cent accuracy. For tactical fighters to deliver the same tonnage would require many more times that number of aircraft… (Humble Host: @ 2-tons each=75 TACAIR sorties, but every aircraft could be directed by FACs to specific targets. Therefore, the combination of ARC LIGHT box bombing and TACAIR FAC directed stikes were extremely complementary and effective)…
“The B-52 target nominations were made by field commanders, COMUSMACV, and Seventh Air Force. Target approval rested with MACV. Each Field Force or other nominating agency was responsible for assuring the military and political clearance of each target. The final determination of targets for ARC LIGHT strikes was usually made by the Deputy J-3 for Operations at MACV. While a number of the aircraft were fragged for pre-planned targets, all operated under the BUGLE NOTE system.
“U.S. Commanders were so concerned about getting more B-52 strikes in their area of operations that they often went to great lengths to request such support. At one point, for example, General Corcoran, First Field Force Commander, made a special trip to COMUSMACV during a particularly heavy fighting in his area (October 1969) to make a personal plea for more ARC LIGHT support. The power of this weapon was clearly recognized by every U.S. commander from General Abrams on down. His statement on ARC LIGHT in the fall of 1968 demonstrated this enthusiasm:
“In one instance where no ground forces were available (NW Kontum Province), the enemy was stopped by repeated B-52 strikes alone. Every time the enemy is found massing anywhere within South Vietnam, he is hit in this way. The B-52 used in this manner under centralized control becomes a tool of such effectiveness that the theater commander has no possible substitute within the conventional arsenal. Without B-52 sorties, the theater commander would need more ground troops to achieve the results obtained since initiation of this B-52 concept. This concept was so effective that ground commanders’ requests for B-52 strikes continue to exceed available sorties. In summary, the B-52s are the theater commander’s reserve, his artillery, his interdiction tool, his means for influencing the battle, and in some instances his only means for meeting the enemy immediately upon discovery.”
https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/reports/images.php?img=/images/1683/168300010912.pdf
III. AIRCRAFT LOSSES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: 4-10 AUGUST 1969… References include Chris Hobson’s updated VIETNAM AIR LOSSES, which is now available on-line at www.VietnamAirLosses.com… During the week ended 10 August eight fixed wing aircraft were lost and five brave aviators died taking the fight to the enemy from the sky…
(1) On 4 August an F-4E of the 421st TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang piloted by COLONEL GEORGE STANTON DORMAN, prospective Wing Commander, and 1LT ROY DONALD BRATTON was downed by .50 cal ground fire on a fourth run on a Vietcong target 10 miles north of Quang Ngai in South Vietnam. The aircraft was hit in the fuselage and observed to crash about one mile from the target. Neither COLONEL DORMAN or 1LT BRATTON were able to clear the aircraft before impact with the ground. Their bodies were recovered and COLONEL DORMAN rests in peace at the USMA West Point Cemetery and 1LT BRATTON is buried at Phillippi Baptist Church in Union, South Carolina. COLONEL DORMAN was Aide to General Curtis LeMay at the time of the President Kennedy assassination. His wife May was on duty with the White House staff at the time of the tragic event… RTR Deep Thinkers may be interested in follow-up reading of an on-line article concerning the activities of the Dorman’s during that November 1963 event… read at…
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2012/02/col-george-stanton-dorman.html
There is also a touching remembrance for COLONEL DORMAN left on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Foundation WALL OF FACES by his grand daughter KATIE DORMAN TUTTLE…
“Honored to be your Granddaughter. Two years ago I was able to hear your voice for the first time via a CNN Pierce Morgan tape. Tapes (Highly Classified) were released from the day of President Kennedy’s assassination, you were calling for General LeMay. When I heard this clip I had chills and tears. I’ve heard stories from since I was little and to hear your voice which is so much like your three sons, it was amazing. I am beyond honored to call George S. Dorman my grandfather. I am a proud Dorman.”…
(2) On 6 August an F-100D Super Sabre of the 308th TFS and 31st TFW out of Tuy Hoa piloted by 1LT R.P. BUSICO was downed by small arms fire while attacking enemy positions 25 miles northeast of Phan Thiet in South Vietnam. 1LT BUSICO was able to fly his aircraft a few miles from the target before being forced to eject from his burning bird. He was rescued by an Army helicopter to fly and fight again…
(3) On 8 August another Super Sabre from the 614th TFS and 35th TFW out of Phan Rang piloted by 1LT E.I. DANIEL was hit while on his fourth pass on an enemy weapons cache 15 miles southeast of Song Be City. He was able to fly the aircraft to within five miles of the Phan Rang runway before being forced to eject. He was rescued immediately by an HH-43 helo of Detachment 1 of the 38th ARRS based at Phan Rang…
(4) On 8 August a Navy RA-3B Skywarrior of the VAP-61 photo recon detachment based at Danang, with a crew of four, suffered engine and fuel problems that cascaded into a flameout of both engines and the inability to get a relight on either. All four of the crew bailed out and were rescued… Short on details…
(5) On 9 August an F-100F Misty FAC of the 416th TFS and 31st TFW out of Tuy Hoa piloted by CAPTAIN LAURENT LEE GOURLEY and 1LT JEFFERSON SCOTT DOTSON was lost while on a COMMANDO HUNT visual reconnaissance mission 15 miles southwest of the A Shau Valley. Other aircraft heard the pilots report that they had been hit and were about to eject. One witness reported seeing at least one parachute but neither aviator was heard or seen again. Extensive visual and electronic searches failed to develop an area for further searches. Both were declared Missing-in-Action. On 4 September 2002 the family of MAJOR DOTSON was notified of the positive identification of the remains recovered in 2001. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. MAJOR GOURLEY’s remains were also recovered in 2001 and identified in August 2002. He rests in peace at the Villisca Cemetery in Montgomery County, Iowa… A very detailed account of this tragic loss of two young warriors is at…
https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/d/d077.htm
(6) On 9 August a Marine OV-10A Bronco of VMO-6 and MAG-39 out of Quang Tri was lost on a training mission due to engine problems that led to engine fires requiring the crew of two to eject. Both were rescued to fly and FAC again…
(7) On 9 August an F-4E Tiger FAC of the 34th TFS and 388th TFW out of Korat piloted by CAPTAIN P.M. LANG and CAPTAIN C.W. MAGSIG was lost after sustaining damage from ground fire on a Barrel Roll mission in northern Laos. They were hit on their third attack on a truck park and headed for home. Unfortunately, the Phantom became uncontrollable and they were required to abandon the aircraft about 45 miles north of Vientianne, Laos. They were rescued the following day by a helicopter from the 40th ARRS…
(8) On 10 August an A-4E of the VA-144 Roadrunners embarked in USS Bon Homme Richard piloted by LT WILLIAM EMIL MICKELSEN was lost on a night landing ramp strike that killed the pilot and incurred several injuries to sailors on the carrier deck of the Bonnie Dick. The aircraft went over the side with LT MICKELSEN aboard. He rests where he fell in the Gulf of Tonkin fifty years ago a casualty of the war. He is memorialized with a military stone at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery and at the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu…
IV. HUMBLE HOST END NOTE… There is a memorial to FORWARD AIR CONTROLLERS in Colorado Springs that rates a visit. Add it to your “Bucket List”… Humble Host has a special place in his heart for FACs. He “was one” in the days when Navy carrier air wings required two pilots be trained, ready and experienced in controlling the aircraft from their respective carrier air wing on targets ashore. A memorable week ashore with my jeep and five-man Air Wing FAC Team supporting a Marine exercise on Capo Tulado, Sardinia in 1962, was the highlight of my short FAC stint… Inscriptions:
“This Memorial is dedicated to those special Air Force aviators, support staff, Army Special Forces and Marine Observers who lost their lives during the War in Southeast Asia from 1961-1975 while flying or supporting the Forward Air Controller Mission.”
“At all times the FAC was the final air authority on whether or not the strike would continue. He was, in fact, the local air commander for the conduct of air operations and his authority was recognized by the ground commander and flight leader alike.”… General William M. Momyer, MACV Commander for Air…”
“THE FORWARD AIR CONTROLLER” by Major John J. Duffy, U.S. Army, Retired…
“It is the lonely mission,
The Forward Air Controller.
His are the eyes above the battle.
He is the link to those below.
“While others avoid and strike fast,
He lingers and trolls for contact,
Seeking out the enemy below,
Determining the strike force needed.
“His is the job to control the air attack,
He determines the needs of the troops,
And works the airstrike margins.
His judgement is relied upon by all.
“Watching a ‘FAC’ roll in hot on target
All guns blazing at his destruction,
Is to watch a man of courage in action.
This is the daily job of the FAC.”
Details on the FAC MEMORIAL at: http://www.fac-assoc.org/Colorado%20Springs/Dedication/MasterofCerimonies.htm
Lest we forget… Bear
