Bear Taylor 
AMERICAN WAR-FIGHTERS KILLED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA THROUGH 25 NOVEMBER 1968 TOTALED 29,438 with the addition of 160 killed-in-action last week…. LEST WE FORGET…
GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, 25 February 2019. Humble Host remembers the Vietnam War of fifty years ago and Week THREE of COMMANDO HUNT I…26 NOVEMBER through 2 DECEMBER 1968…
HEADLINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES (26 Nov-2 Dec)…
THE WAR: VIETNAM FIGHTING GAINS INTENSITY—DEATH TOLL RISES–160 Americans Are Killed In A Week–Up From 128–Saigon’s Losses Doubled–Foe Initiating Combat… “The intensity of the Vietnam war increased during the last ten days. This was reflected in the casualty statistics made public yesterday (28 Nov) and also was evident in military communiques that told of sharp fighting at various points throughout South Vietnam, particularly in the provinces northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border… Enemy losses for the Nov. 17-23 period were 2,175 killed, the highest figure since September 28, when 2,866 were killed…”… (25 Nov) FOE SHELLS CITIES AND ALLIED BASES–4 Persons Dead, 12 Hurt, Damage Light… (26 Nov) 2 U.S. PLANES LOST IN NORTH VIETNAM–Rescue Craft Battle MiGs and Dodge Foes Missiles... (27 Nov) ALLIES ENTER DMZ–1st TIME SINCE BOMB HALT…U.S. AND HANOI TRADE ACCUSATIONS ON RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS… (28 Nov) GIs KILL 58 ENEMY SOLDIERS–Buffer Zone Reportedly Quiet–Bombing of North During Rescue Effort Confirmed… (29 Nov) PENTAGON CLEARED ABRAHMS DEMILITARIZED ZONE RAID… (30 Nov) VIETCONG ORDER DRIVE TO DESTROY ALLIES UTTERLY–Push Aimed At Units In Field, Pacification Teams and Vietnamese Officials–B-52 Attacks Resumed… CAMBODIA ADMITS OF NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOP PRESENCE–Tells of Capture and Return of 6 NVN Troops… (1 Dec) GIs KILL 70 OF FOE IN MEKONG DELTA–Infantrymen and Gunships Battle Enemy Near Caib… LAOTIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF SAYS HANOI PLANS TO SEIZE TWO TOWNS… (2 Dec) 48 OF FOE KILLED IN ATTACK ON GIs–Infantrymen 28 Miles From Saigon Drive Back 200-300 North Vietnamese…
THE PEACE TALKS: (25 Nov) MOVE BY NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT ASSAYED IN PARIS–Effort To Establish Basis For Contact With Saigon Seen–CLIFFORD VOICES HOPE FOR TALKS–Says Both Hanoi And Saigon Want Peaceful settlement… (26 Nov) U.S. EXPECTS SAIGON TO ANNOUNCE JOINING OF PARIS TALKS SHORTLY–Hanoi Termed Impatient With Pace of Talks… PEKING ASKS TALKS WITH U.S. FEB 20–Suggest a Meeting In Poland With Nixon Representatives–To Discuss Co-Existence Accord… (28 Nov) THIEU SELECTS KY TO OVERSEE TEAM AT TALKS IN PARIS–Vice President Designated As Chief Liaison Man For Saigon’s Delegation–Direct Role Is Doubtful–President Says Negotiations Will Go To Conference Within 10 Days… CHINA’S PROPOSAL TO MEET FAVORED BY NIXON–Administration Expected To Accept Peking’s Offer To Meet In Warsaw Feb 20… (29 Nov) NEGOTIATIONS IN PARIS GRAPPLE WITH ISSUE OF SEATING–Shape of Table at Top of Agenda… (30 Nov) KISSINGER CALLED NIXON CHOICE FOR ADVISOR ON FOREIGN POLICY… (2 Dec) PARIS SNAGS SEEN UNTIL NIXON ACTS–U.S. Aides Suggest He Take Hand In Vietnam Talks…
OTHER NEWS OF THE WEEK: (25 Nov) DeGAULLE ORDERS AUSTERITY PLAN, WAGE-PRICE FREEZE, BUDGET CUTS–Blames Spring Strikes For Crisis–President Pledges End To Disruptions On Economy… DOUBTS ON FRANC PERSIST IN EUROPE DESPITE MOVES–U.S. Backing Steps–Message By Johnson Is Swift and Draws A Grateful Reply... (26 Nov) FRANC AND POUND GAIN AS MARKETS RESUME TRADING–Doubts Continue–Restrictive Economic Measures Restore Calm For Present… UNITED STATES DEVELOPS NEW TACTIC FOR GAINING RELEASE OF PUEBLO SAILORS… (27 Nov) FRANCE CANCELS 1969 H-BOMB TEST IN BUDGET SLASH–Aid To Concorde Aircraft Cut–Deficit Reduced By 42% In Broad Austerity Effort… GALLUP POLL FINDS 43% IN U.S. SUPPORT POLICIES OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON… MANSLFIELD FORECASTS SUPPORT FOR UP-TO-DATE VIETNAM POLICY BY NIXON–Warns Against Disengaging Nation From Defense And Economic Air Abroad… (29 Nov) WARNINGS BY NATO TO SOVIET SEEN AS GAMBLE–Conventional Forces Ability To Deter Soviet Threat In Central Europe Doubted… NIXONS AND EISENHOWERS SPEND THANKSGIVING TOGETHER–Johnson Gives Thanks In Texas As Friends Attend Family Dinner… WEST COAST HUNT FOR BLACK PANTHER CLEAVER PRESSED–Hints Grow He Has Left the Country… (1 Dec) DEAN RUSK FEARS NEW ISOLATIONISM–Sees a Great Debate and Opportunity To Halt Trend… MOSCOW RESUMES ATTACKS ON CZECHS OPPOSED TO CURBS…Say Right Wing Elements are Balking Normalization Despite Communist Party Decision… (2 Dec) U.S. STUDY SCORES CHICAGO VIOLENCE AS A ‘POLICE RIOT’–Says Many Officers Replied to Taunts In August With Unconstrained Attacks–Panel’s Staff Report Also Cites The Provocation of Some Demonstrators… ISRAELI RAIDERS DESTROY BRIDGES DEEP IN JORDAN–Attacks Termed Retaliation For Arab Harassment–Units Return Safely…
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT I… Excerpts from PACAF November 1968 Southeast Asia Air Operations Monthly Summary (Declas 1992)…
“The Situation in South Vietnam”…
The 1 November bombing pause which prohibited bombing of all portions of North Vietnam and the accompanying agreement by Allied and NVA to respect the neutrality of the DMZ failed to produce the hoped for reduction in enemy conduct of the war in-country. On 2 November, a mortar attack against friendly I Corps forces was suspected of originating from the DMZ. On 5 November, a definite DMZ violation was reported. From 10 November through the end of the month numerous violations were reported daily with a total of 342 reported for the 21 day period. In a similar manner, enemy forces violated the Cambodian/South Vietnam border 5 times during the month by firing from Cambodia at Allied units and aircraft in South Vietnam.
Enemy tactics regressed somewhat from employment of sizable forces in direct frontal attacks to guerrilla tactics of ambushes, sneak rocket/mortar attacks and an increase in acts of terrorism against the civilian populace. Hit and run rocket/mortar attacks against field-deployed friendly forces and civilian population centers in all 4 Corps were common. Sector/subsector headquarters, province capitals and hamlets were favorite targets with I and IV Corps centers being hit especially hard by such attacks. Frustrated by continued losses of large supply and munition caches, lop-sided defeats throughout the country and increased Allied knowledge of intentions/movements, NVA/VC forces re-initiated punishment tactics against the populace hoping to subjugate the people through terror and intimidation. Rocket/mortar attacks against friendly air base/airfields increased to 25 from a recent low of 3 reported for October. No personnel were killed and no aircraft lost as a result of the attacks. 25 personnel were wounded and 71 aircraft damaged (62 helos and 9 fixed wing)…
Allied forces continued on the initiative pressing the enemy into combat when possible. During November, I Corps activity was primarily centered along the coastal strip from the DMZ southward to Gio Linh, Hue, Danang, Hoi An, Tam Ky and Quang Ngai. In the area to the west of Danang, particularly around An Hoa, light to moderate contact occurred sporadically throughout the month. II Corps activity was relatively light throughout the month with contacts in the Dak To, Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Kontum and Bong Song areas. The III Corps Cambodian border area in Tay Nionh and Binh Long provinces remained the ‘hottest’ area in South Vietnam. Friendly and enemy initiated contacts usually resulted in lop-sided allied victories.
Heavy use of tactical air, armed helos, fixed-wing gunships and artillery influenced the resulting kill ratios. The following air/artillery supported contacts illustrate this point. A 13 November attack on a friendly artillery base near Katum resulted in a favorable friendly kill ratio of 287:4. A 25 November contact near Thien Ngon ended with 138 enemy killed versus 5 friendly killed. On 27 November near Loc Ninh the result was 65 to 0 and in the same area the next day, the outcome was 71 to 0. Near Trang Bang, gunships attacked an enemy force and killed 30. A 29 November battle near Loc Ninh was concluded with a favorable 78 to 6 KIA outcome. Ground activity in IV Corps was light and scattered. Countrywide, the friendly-to-enemy kill ratio was a favorable 7.2:1. This ratio along with the high October 7.1:1 showed considerable improvement over the 5.2:1 average for the 6 months prior to October 1968…
AIRCRAFT LOSSES 26 NOVEMBER–2 DECEMBER 1968… Ref: Vietnam: Air Losses by Chris Hobson… Seven fixed wing aircraft were lost and five fearless warrior gave their lives for the country they loved…
(1) In the early hours of 26 November an O-2A of the 20th TASS and 504th TASG operating out of Danang and piloted by CAPTAIN GREGG HARTNESS and 1LT ALLEN S. SHEPHERD went down on a visual reconnaissance mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The aircraft was hit by 37mm anti-aircraft fire southwest of the DMZ and as the aircraft faltered and spun, CAPTAIN HARTNESS ordered 1LT SHEPHERD to bail out as the aircraft spun through 6,000-feet. 1LT SHEPHERD (Covey 227) was successful and landed in heavy jungle on a steep slope. He did not see or hear from CAPTAIN HARTNESS in the darkness after exiting the aircraft. His emergency beeper was heard a few hours after the crash and located 28 miles northeast of Saravane, Laos. 1LT SHEPHERD was rescued by an Air Force helicopter. The still burning O-2 was observed but deemed unapproachable due to burning ordnance, and the presence of enemy forces. No further emergency or radio transmissions were heard and the search was terminated. CAPTAIN HARTNESS was listed as MIA… Between 1993 and 2003, joint U.S.-Lao investigators interviewed more than 60 witnesses in 39 different settlements in Laos before selecting a site for evacuation in the relentless search for CAPTAIN HARTNESS. In January and February of 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, with assistance from the Lao government, excavated a site in Salavan Province. They recovered human remains, aircraft wreckage, life support equipment and personal effects. On 19 August 2005 the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced that the remains of Air Force COLONEL GREGG HARTNESS had been identified and that he was to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. ALLEN SHEPHERD was among those who were there to pay final respects as COLONEL HARTNESS was buried with full honors on 14 September 2005. So was Paula (Harkness) Wetherell, who had spent 30 years traveling the world to learn the fate of her missing husband. “I thought this day would never be,” said Ms. Wetherell, who has since remarried. “I did accept that he was dead. I just thought we’d never bring him home. It was a wonderful feeling to have him where he belongs.” Ross Perot said in a telephone interview: “No man could ask for a better wife. She was solid as a rock.” Perot founded United We Stand–a campaign dedicated to returning captured and missing warriors. COLONEL HARTNESS’ son, Gregg Hartness: “It has been a long thirty-seven years. Soon, we can finally say goodbye. With gratefulness and gratitude I know he would want me to reach out to those who, over the many, many years, had him in their hearts and their prayers. We can never thank you enough. I want you to know your support has made a difference.”
(2) On 27 November an A-4E Skyhawk of MAG-12 jumped its chocks during a maintenance activity and smashed into a building near the fuel pits.
(3) On 28 November a C-130B of the 772 TAS and 463 TAW out of Clark AFB, P.I. suffered irreparable damage when the nose gear failed on a landing at Tonle Cham, South Vietnam. Five in the crew went to the club…
(4) On 28 November an F-4D of the 390th TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang piloted by MAJOR THOMAS LAIRD BRATTAIN and LT KENNETH R. CRIST slid off a wet runway after encountering an uncontrollable roll at touchdown. MAJOR BRATTAIN, killed in the crash, is buried at Williamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. 1LT CRIST suffered fatal injuries in the crash and died as a consequence of his wounds on 17 December 1968 in the Hospital at Yokahama. He is buried at the Air Force Academy cemetery in Colorado Springs.
(5) On 29 November an F-100D Super Sabre of the 352nd TFS and 35th TFW out of Phan Rang piloted by 1LT W.L. COOK was hit by ground fire while attacking enemy troops in the mountains overlooking Phu Hiep and Dalat. He was forced to eject and was rescued by an Air Force helicopter before the targeted enemy troops could capture him… oohrah for the SAR guys…
(6) On 2 December an O-1G of the VMO-6 squadron of MAG-36 out of Danang piloted by 1LT JAMES ROBERT REESE, USMC, and 1LT RICHARD ELI LATIMER, USMC, (Infantry Observer) was on a visual reconnaissance mission 15 miles southwest of Quang Tri and attacked troops they had located at the site. They were hit by .30 caliber gunfire in the run and flew into the ground at the target. Both were killed in the crash and explosion. 1LT REESE is buried at the Garden of Peace, Westwood Garden Cemetery, Griffin, Georgia. 1LT LATIMER rests in peace at the Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, Texas… Oh, so young…
(7) On 2 December a B-52 of the 367 BS and 306th BW attached to 4252 SW out of Kadena was destroyed in a ground accident prior to an Arc Light mission. No casualties.
RIPPLE SALVO. A CAPSULE HISTORY OF THE VIETNAM WAR BEFORE COMMANDO HUNT. Humble Host snipped the following from Jon T. Hoffman’s introduction to the United States Army Center of Military History’s The U.S. Army Campaigns of the Vietnam War: Transition–November 1968-December 1969 (author Adrian Trass). I quote…
“To many Americans, the war in Vietnam was, and remains, a divisive issue. But fifty years after the beginning of major U.S. combat operations in Vietnam, well over half the U.S. population is too young to have any direct memory of the conflict. The massive American commitment–political, economic, diplomatic, and military–to the mission of maintaining an independent and non-Communist South Vietnam deserves widespread attention, both to recognize the sacrifice of those who served and to remember how those events have impacted the nation.
“U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia began after World War II when elements of the Vietnamese population fought back against the re-imposition of French colonial rule. Although the United States generally favored the idea of an independent Vietnam, it supported France because the Viet Minh rebels were led by Communists and U.S. policy at that point in the Cold War sought to contain any expansion of communism. France’s defeat in 1954 led to the division of Vietnam into a Communist North (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and a non-Communist South (Republic of Vietnam). The United States actively supported the latter as it dealt a growing Communist-led insurgent force (the Viet Cong) aided by the (Communist) North Vietnamese. The initial mission of training South Vietnam’s armed forces led to deepening American involvement as the situation grew increasingly dire for the Republic of Vietnam.
“By the time President Lyndon B. Johnson committed major combat units in 1965, the United States already had invested thousands of men and millions of dollars in the effort to build a secure and stable Republic of Vietnam. That commitment expanded rapidly through 1969, when the United States had over 365,000 army soldiers (out of a total of a half million troops of all services) in every military region of South Vietnam with thousands of Army personnel throughout the Pacific area providing direct support for operations. The war saw many innovations, including the massive use of helicopters to conduct airmobile tactics, new concepts of counterinsurgency, the introduction of airborne radio direction finding, wide scale use of computers, and major advances in battlefield medicine. Yet, as in most wars, much of the burden was still borne by soldiers on the ground who slogged on foot over the hills and through the rice paddies in search of an often elusive foe. The enormous military effort by the United States was, however, matched by the resolve of North Vietnamese leaders to unify their country under communism at whatever cost. That determination, in the end, proved decisive as American commitment wavered in the face of high casualties and economic and social challenges at home. Negotiations accompanied by gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces led to the Paris Peace accords in January 1973, effectively ending the American military role in the conflict. Actual peace was elusive, and two years later the North Vietnamese Army overran South Vietnam, bringing the war to an end in April 1975.”
******* COUNTDOWN TO COMMANDO HUNT ************
“By 1968, the government of South Vietnam, backed by U.S. advisors, had been fighting Communist Viet Cong insurgents and their patrons in neighboring North Vietnam for fourteen years. It was a desperate struggle that pitted neighbor against neighbor and exacted a mounting to in the form of casualties, refugees, and socioeconomic dislocation. In 1965, the United States had added its own ground combat troops to the struggle, thwarting the very real prospect of a Communist victory. Since the low point the allies had been gradually gaining ground in an escalating conflict. In late January 1968, the Communist leadership in North Vietnam had launched a major offensive in a bid to change the situation in its favor. The widespread attacks, which began during the Tet new year holidays failed miserably. The population of South Vietnam refused to rise up in support, and the Communists suffered enormous casualties.
“As the enemy aggression abated, the commander of U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), General Creighton W. Abrams, believed the allies were poised to make significant gains. But time was not on his side. Although the allies had defeated the enemy militarily, the shock that the Communists had been able to launch such a massive strike after years of American involvement had undermined support for the war back in the United States. With peace talks under way in Paris, Abrams raced against the clock to give South Vietnam the best chance for survival before the inevitable withdrawal of U.S. troops.”
HUMBLE HOST NOTES: What a difference fifty years makes. We were in Vietnam and all over the world fighting COMMUNISM. In Vietnam 58,220 Americans died in the lost cause to establish South Vietnam as a Democratic Republic. Today, (AS OUR PRESIDENT ENTERS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE NORTH KOREANS IN HANOI) there is no South Vietnam and there is no freedom in Vietnam. This week in America a writer did a nose count of “socialists and communists in Congress.” He named fifty Members of the Congress of the United States of the more than 100 he contends have embraced the teachings of Marx. Something rotten is happening to our country….
On 29 September 1959 the First Secretary of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, appeared at the United Nations to address the world and the citizens of the United States. His angry tirade of a speech included this for Americans:
“YOUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN WILL LIVE UNDER COMMUNISM. YOU AMERICANS ARE SO GULLIBLE. NO, YOU WON’T ACCEPT COMMUNISM OUTRIGHT; BUT WE’LL KEEP FEEDING YOU SMALL DOSES OF SOCIALISM UNTIL YOU WILL FINALLY WAKE UP AND FIND YOU ALREADY HAVE COMMUNISM. WE WON’T HAVE TO FIGHT YOU; WE’LL SO WEAKEN YOUR ECONOMY, UNTIL YOU FALL LIKE OVER-RIPE FRUIT INTO OUR HANDS.” For emphasis, he banged his shoe on the podium… (A scene Humble Host will never forget!!!)
In an earlier speech on 18 November 1956, while addressing a meeting of Western ambassadors and envoys from a dozen NATO nations and Israel at the Polish embassy in Moscow, he declared: “WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, HISTORY IS ON OUR SIDE. WE WILL BURY YOU.”…
In 1963 Khrushchev said: “I once said, ‘We will bury you,’ and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.”…
What the First Secretary meant was, “We will outlast you.”… The unofficial “nose-count” of Socialists and Communists in Congress (as well as an admiring former President whose formative years remain shrouded in mystery) should be enough to scare the hell out of Americans who love this country… and especially those of my generation who spent their lives fighting communism….
Lest we forget… Bear
