Bear Taylor 
AMERICAN LOSSES–KILLED IN COMBAT–ZIPPED THROUGH 31,000 THIS WEEK WITH THE DEATHS OF 190 BRAVE G.I.s ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA… OUR SOUTH VIETNAMESE PARTNERS LOST 264 IN COMBAT… General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1880: “There is many a boy here today who looks upon war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations yet to come. I look upon war with horror.”…
Good Morning. It’s Monday, 22 April 2019. Humble Host remembers WEEK TWELVE of OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT I… The hunt for trucks in the jungles of Southern Laos in the eighth year of the Vietnam war…
HEADLINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES (27 January through 2 February)…
THE WAR: (27 Jan) FIGHTING ON RISE IN SAIGON REGION–Foe Blasts 2 Defense Posts and Assaults a 3rd In City… “Combat activity increased in the Saigon area during the last 36 hours. Within the city itself, the enemy blew up two civil defense offices and assaulted a third, setting off the first pitched street battle in the capital in many months. The attack was repulsed.”… “In other action a combined force of U.S and South Vietnamese infantrymen and armor repulsed several enemy thrusts at their positions …in Tayninh Province, about 40 miles from Saigon, forty-two enemy soldiers were reported killed. Two American troops were killed.” … HANOI CHARGES U.S. ATTACKS THE DMZ AND SEVERAL VILLAGES– Denial From Washington… (28 Jan) SEVEN MARINES KILLED CLEARING A MINE FIELD IN VIETNAM… (29 Jan) TWO NEW INCIDENTS IN DMZ–Allies Kill 9 In Enemy Unit–Foe’s Fire Wounds Seven… (31 Jan) LOSSES TO ALLIES IN COMBAT DOWN–U.S. Reports 190 Deaths and South Vietnam 264… “…The allies reported 190 United States servicemen were killed during the week of January 19-25, compared with 196 during the week of January 12-18. … Enemy deaths last week were estimated to have reached 2,350. The figure for the previous week was 2,420. The statistics brought to 31,181 the number of Americans killed in Vietnam since January 1, 1961. Enemy deaths since that time have been put at 438,937.”… (1 Feb) 5 ENEMY ROCKETS WOUND 7 AT HUE–South Vietnamese General Hurt in Saigon Blast… (2 Feb) U.S. TROOPS REPEL AN ASSAULT BY 500–North Vietnamese Attack A Base North of Saigon… “…The North Vietnamese struck at the base near Tayninh behind an intensive mortar barrage and twice were thrown back. Helicopter gunships, fighter-bombers and artillery helped repulse the attack. One copter was shot down, the 1,008th lost in the war, and its four man crew was rescued.”… “In scattered fighting elsewhere in South Vietnam, allied troops, bombers, gunships and artillery killed 245 enemy soldiers.”… “The Vietcong have announced a seven-day Tet cease-fire from 7 A.M., Feb. 15, to 7 A.M., Feb. 22., but Saigon is cautious, recalling that the enemy ceasefire during Tet a year ago led to the biggest offensive of the war.”…
THE PEACE TALKS IN PARIS: (27 Jan) U.S. AND SAIGON AIDES CONFER IN PARIS–Harriman Voices Hope On Paris Peace Talks… “Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge today presided over a working session of American and South Vietnamese officials at the United States Embassy here in Paris for an analysis of yesterday’s first plenary meeting of the broadened talks on Vietnam.”… “W. Averell Harriman, former head of the United States delegation to the Vietnam peace talks in Paris said today here in Washingtyon he believed that the Soviet Union sincerely wanted a peaceful, neutral Southeast Asia that would serve to block Communist Chinese expansion.”… (28 Jan) KY VOICES WILLINGNESS TO MEET “OTHER SIDE” FOR PRIVATE TALKS… (29 Jan) VIETCONG REJECT NIXON PROPOSALS– Insist On Political Terms–Set 7-Day Truce… “The Vietcong delegation at the peace talks here in Paris rejected today President Nixon’s remarks on Vietnam yesterday, and reaffirmed that the United States demands of the guerrilla movement and North Vietnam are unacceptable. At his news conference on the 28th Mr. Nixon reiterated allied proposals for a restoration of the demilitarized zone, a guaranteed mutual withdrawal of external forces in South Vietnam and an exchange of prisoners as a basis on which progress could be made in Paris. The proposals were put before the peace talks on Saturday by Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge.”… “…The Vietcong–National Liberation Front–expresssed its reaction to Mr. Nixon’s views in a statement issued in Paris. The North Vietnamese also issued a statement here rebutting an overture for private contacts between the Saigon regime and ‘the other side.’ The overture was made yesterday by South Vietnam Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky.”… (30 Jan) SOUTH VIETNAM INDICATES WILLINGNESS TO OBSERVE A LUNAR NEW YEAR TRUCE… (31 Jan) HANOI AND NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT REJECT DMZ PLAN–At Peace Talks They Stress A Political Settlement… (2 Feb) PEKING AND HANOI ASSAIL NIXON’s VIETNAM PLANS… “…his ideas on achieving peace were ‘deceptive talk.’ … nothing but ‘honeyed words’ designed to deceive the people of the United States and the world since he took office.’ “…
OTHER NYT HEADLINES FROM WEEK TWELVE OF THE HUNT: (27 Jan) NIXON HOSTS CHURCH SERVICE IN WHITE HOUSE–22-Minute Sermon By Billy Graham To 200 Guests In East Room… “The President, a Quaker, plans to attend the private exercises rather than worship at various churches in Washington as earlier Presidents have done.”… SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY READY TO SUBMIT OWN LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM… BUCHER PITS MORAL JUDGMENT AGAINST NAVAL CODE… “…standing before this Court of Inquiry, Commander Bucher has placed himself in a rebellious position where he is challenging the court’s five admirals, the naval establishment and even the Government.”… (28 Jan) PRESIDENT’s NEWS CONFERENCE: NIXON WOULD LINK POLITICAL ISSUES TO MISSILE TALKS WITH SOVIET–SEEKS TO PROMOTE GAINS ON MIDEAST–PERHAPS WITH VIETNAM–IN MEETING WITH SOVIET… STEELERS HIRE COLT”S DEFENSIVE COACH CHUCK NOLL AS HEAD COACH FOR 3-YEARS… (29 Jan) U.S. URGES ISREAL NOT TO RETALIATE AGAINST THE IRAQIS–Demand For Armed Reprisal In Execution of 9 Jews Is Feared In Washington–Sympathy is Expressed But Official Hope To Avoid Retaliatory Cycle and Any Threat to General Jarring’s Role As U.N. Representative in Mideast Attempting To Promote A Settlement….BUFFALO BILLS DRAFT O.J. SIMPSON… (30 Jan) USS ENTERPRISE FIRE LINKED TO AIR JET-EXHAUST BLAST–Suspected Cause of Explosion and Fire… ADMIRAL SAYS HE LACKED FORCES TO RESCUE PUEBLO… PRICE RISE OF 4.7% IN YEAR IS BIGGEST SINCE THE KOREAN WAR–December Increase of .2% Low In Recent Months Puts Price Index At 123.7%–Export Surplus Drops–It Stands At 726 Million–Interest On Treasury Notes Highest Since 1865… (31 Jan) THE FORGOTTEN CONFLICT IN LAOS GOES INTO A NEW OFFENSIVE PHASE–North Vietnamese And Pathet Lao Open Small Scale Attacks in Area Where U.S. Has Deep Commitments–Strikes in Laos Described… CANADA ACTS TO DENY HAVEN TO U.S. DESERTERS–Visa Conditions Tightened–Total Ban On Residence Weighed By Ottawa… NIXON SEEKS PLAN TO REPLACE DRAFT WITH VOLUNTEERS–Order To Pentagon Envisions Shift When Vietnam Cost is Substantially Lower–Other Directive Sent–Most Seek Data and Advice–Reorganization Acts Extension Requested… YALE FACULTY VOTES TO END CREDIT FOR R.O.T.C. COURSES… (1 Feb) MILLION MORE SOUTH VIETNAMESE DECLARED UNDER SAIGON’S RULE–Officials Hail Stepped-up Campaign–Extend Drive Planned To Secure 90% of People From Vietcong… FLAWS CORRECTED IN APOLLO 9 CRAFT–NASA Proceeds With Plans For Manned Shot Feb 28… (2 Feb) NIXON EXAMINING CRISIS IN MIDEAST–Meets More Than Three Hours With His National Security Council–2nd Session Is Planned… STUDY ON PUEBLO DISCERNS WEAKNESSES IN CONTROL–Staff of Senate Panel Finds Little Coordination Among Diplomats and Military… U.S. PANEL URGES SUMMIT MEETING TO REUNIFY NATO–U.N. Association Group Also Proposes Talks on Arms and Division of Germany… MARIJUANA STILL A MYSTERY TO SCIENTISTS… “…Is marijuana safe or harmful, and if it is harmful, how dangerous is it? Marijuana is a chemical substance derived from the cannabis or hemp plant… almost nothing is known about it….Much of what is widely believed about the drug is based not on scientific knowledge but on an emotionally charged mythology that grows out of America’s complex puritan traditions and out of confusion about the differences and similarities between marijuana and more potent drugs.”…
COMMANDO HUNT… The War on Trucks in Southern Laos…
The New York Times, Wednesday, 29 January 1969, page 8:
“SOVIET CHARGE ON LAOS FOLLOWS INCREASE IN U.S. RAIDS ON TRAIL by Theodore Shabad…
Moscow, Jan. 28– “The Soviet Union’s latest denunciation of United States military activities in Laos is believed here to have been directed at the recent intensification of bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the route used by North Vietnam to transport military aid to its forces and the Vietcong guerrillas fighting in South Vietnam. In a statement distributed early today by Tass, the Soviet Press Agency, Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko accused the United States of having stepped up air raids, ground shelling and the use of ‘toxic substances’ in areas held by the pro-communist Pathet Lao.
“According to reports from Washington last November, the United States intended to triple the level of bombing along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos (OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT) to compensate for the effects of the halt in the north. This was understood to be the principle reason that top American commanders were willing to endorse President Johnson’s decision to cease the raids (North of the DMZ).
TRAIL NOT MENTIONED
“Without mentioning the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Mr. Gromyko charged that the United States aircraft ‘have recently been flying 200 daily missions or more on the average over Laotian territory.’ The Foreign Minister said that B-52’s were bombing areas controlled by the Pathet Lao, which would include most of the southern panhandle of Laos. His mention of ‘toxic substances’ may have referred to defoliants (Agent Orange) used by American forces to open up the jungle canopy covering enemy operations. (Humble Host note: More likely refers to U.S. use of CBU-19 chemicals used to aid in helicopter rescue of downed airman in very hostile enemy areas). Mr. Gromyko complained that the intensified United States activities in Laos ‘by no means create a favorable atmosphere’ for the Paris talks on Vietnam.
“The publication of the Soviet statement one day after the British Ambassador in Moscow, Sir Duncan Williams, flew to London for consultations, is believed to reflect a new failure of the Soviet Union and Britain, as the chairmen of the 1962 Geneva Conference on Laos, to agree on a joint statement. The agreement reached at the 14-nation conference in Geneva called for a neutralist Laos and required the signatories, which included the United States and the Soviet Union, to refrain from interference in Laotian affairs.
“Mr. Gromyko said that he was issuing his statement in response to complaints from Phoumi Vongvichit, general secretary of the Neo Lao Hak Sat, the political organization of the Pathet Lao. The complaints…presumably reflecting the start of intensified United States bombing of the Ho Chi Minh trail toward the end of the year (1968).” End article…
Also on page 8: “U.S. REJECTS CHARGES”… Washington, Jan 28 (Reuters) “The State Department rejected today Soviet charges that the United States was endangering Vietnam peace efforts by stepping up raids in Laos. Robert J. McClaskey, the State Department spokesman, said that the statement of Andrei A. Gromyko ‘distorts the realities of the problem in Laos.’ Mr. McCloskey said that the United States had already told the Soviet Union the root of the problem was the presence in Laos of about 40,000 North Vietnamese troops, ‘in complete violation’ of the 1962 Geneva agreements.”
AIRCRAFT LOSSES 27 JANUARY-2 FEBRUARY 1969… References include Chris Hobson’s VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES… During the Twelfth Week of COMMANDO HUNT the U.S. lost eight fixed wing aircraft and eight aviators were killed in action…
(1) On 27 January a C-130E of the 776th TAS and 314th TAW at Ching Chuan Kang was destroyed by enemy mortar fire while on the ground at Tonle Cham near the Cambodian border. There were no personnel casualties…
(2) On 27 January an F-4C of the 559th TFS and 12th TFW out of Cam Ranh Bay piloted by MAJOR ROBERT J. CAMERON and CAPTAIN THOMAS G. BURGE struck barrier equipment on the runway on takeoff and veered off the runway. Fully loaded for a close air support mission, one of the bombs exploded as the aircraft ran over rough terrain, obliterating the Phantom and the two warriors. MAJOR CAMERON, a former quarterback at Navy and veteran of more than 175 missions in Vietnam, rests in peace at Inglewood (California) Park Cemetery, survived by a wife, three sons and his parents. Glory gained, duty done, and remembered fifty years after his final flight for our country… CAPTAIN BURGE is memorialized on The Wall and rests in peace in his homeland, a young, brave hero, dead too soon…
(3) On 28 January 1969 a Wolf Fast FAC F-4D of the 435th TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon crewed by CAPTAIN G.M. SMITH and 1LT H.R. DOBBS was downed by 37mm while controlling a COMMANDO HUNT mission south of the MuGia Pass. The Phantom was set aflame by the AAA and the two aviators were required to eject a few miles from the 37mm gun position. They were rescued by an Air Force HH-53 Green Jolly and returned to Ubon to fly and FAC again…
(4) At dusk on 29 January 1969 an F-4D of the 497th TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon crewed by CAPTAIN WILLIAM EDWARD CAMPBELL and CAPTAIN ROBERT EDWIN HOLTON was executing a COMMANDO HUNT strike south of Mugia Pass when downed by 37mm AAA. Their ordnance was seen exploding on target and shortly thereafter a large explosion was observed on the ground near the target. There were no transmissions, beeper signals or parachutes observed and both aviators were listed as missing in action. Their status was changed to presumed killed in 1978 and the search for the F-4 wreckage and the remains of the two aviators began. In 1989 CAPTAIN CAMPBELL’s wedding ring was recovered from a Laotian villager and his personal Smith and Wesson was located in a museum in Hanoi. In 2017 the wreckage was found and on 17 June 2017 the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that CAPTAIN now COLONEL HOLTON’S remains had been recovered. He rests in peace at Sunset Memorial Park, Gregson, Montana. COLONEL HOLTON’s intrepid bravery was recognized with the award of the Silver Star, two awards of the DFC, and twelve Air Medals… COLONEL CAMPBELL was also returned to the United States in 2017 and was buried with his wife, who had passed in 1995, in Arlington National Cemetery on 18 May 2017. Humble Host suggests a reading of the testimony of his daughter Cathy at:
https://www.virtualwall.org/dc/CampbellWE01a.htm
(5) On 29 January 1969 an RF-4C of the 16th TRS and 460th TRW out of Tan Son Nhut crewed by MAJOR HARPER BROWN KEELER and MAJOR LUDWIG GEORGE BUAMANN were downed on a photo reconnaissance mission five miles south of Nha Trang. The Phantom crashed into a hill and the cause of the loss is unknown. MAJOR KEELER rests in peace at the West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York. MAJOR BAUMANN rests in peace at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and is memorialized at the New Jersey Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial…
(6) On 30 January 1969 an OV-10A of the 19th TASS and 504th TASG out of Bien Hoa suffered an engine failure on a FAC mission and the pilot, CAPTAIN REMI HENRICUS GREEFF was killed in the resultant crash. He is buried in New Jersey. His legacy is his son, who was a company commander in Iraq in 2012, and two grandsons serving in the Army. He is remembered with respect and admiration on this 50th anniversary of his last flight…
(7) On 31 January 1969 an F-100C of the 188th TFS and 31st TFW out of Tuy Hoa piloted by CAPTAIN J.N. WILLIAMS on a close air support mission striking a Vietcong base camp near Song Be city was hit on a diving attack by small arms fire at the target. CAPTAIN WILLIAMS was able to fly the aircraft clear of the target area and was fifteen miles from home base at Tuy Hoa when his luck ran out and he was forced to eject. He was rescued by the Tuy Hoa HH-43 Pedros…
(8) On 1 February an O-2A of the 23 TASS and 504th TASG out of Nakhon Phanom and operating out of Ubon on that date, piloted by MAJOR DONALD ALFRED LUNA on a COMMANDO HUNT FAC mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail and disappeared 15 miles west of Tchepone. It was presumed he had been shot down. An extensive visual and electronic search failed to find any clue of his location. He was listed as Missing in Action. When he was not reported as a POW his status was changed to presumed killed in action, his remains still missing. In November 1999 his remains were found, recovered and positively identified in October 2000. LCOL LUNA rests in peace at the Mahomet Cemetery, Mahomet, Texas, glory gained and duty done. He is also memorialized and remembered by his FAC brothers from the Vietnam war…
(Webmaster note: Notice the increased number of FACs lost during Command Hunt? They were the eyes of the fast movers, and thus a constant target. FACs were unsung heroes and saved many a life on the battlefield, often at the cost of their own)
RIPPLE SALVO HISTORY LESSON… SNIPPED FROM: Graham A. Cosmas’ …
THE UNITED STATES ARMY in VIETNAM: The Joint Command in the Years of Withdrawal, 1968-1973, Chapter V (141-5)…
Redeployment and Vietnamization…
“When he inherited the Vietnam War from his Democratic predecessor, President Richard M. Nixon inherited also a general course of action and limited room for maneuver. President Johnson had stopped the bombing of North Vietnam, committed the United States to the Paris negotiations, topped off the American force in South Vietnam, and set the goal of reducing American involvement and turning the fighting of the war back to the South Vietnamese. The state of American public opinion made any reversal of this course unthinkable. In addition, the new administration faced a Congress controlled by Democrats, who were free as they had not been under President Johnson to take radical anti-war positions…. (Nixon) and his advisors were determined to extricate the United States from Vietnam on terms that would give the Saigon regime at least a chance to survive and that would demonstrate to allies and enemies alike America’s will and ability to maintain its international commitments.
Nixon Sets His Course…
“Nixon and his foreign policy team–National Security Advisor Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State William P. Rogers, and Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird–lost no time in reviewing the Vietnam situation and the available policy choices. Immediately after the inauguration on 20 January 1969, the administration issued National Security Study Memorandum (NSSM) 1. Addressed to State, Defense and CIA Director Richard Helms, NSSM 1 posed a set of (24) detailed questions on six aspects of the war: NEGOTIATIONS, THE ENEMY SITUATION, THE CONDITION OF THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE ARMED FORCES, THE STATUS OF PACIFICATION, SOUTH VIETNAM POLITICS, and AMERICAN OBJECTIVES. The agency answers, presented to senior policymakers (at a subsequent meeting of the NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL on 25 January) reflected consensus on some points but also many disagreements in fact and interpretation.”… End Cosmas Snippet…
The questions were delivered by Kissinger to the three agencies–State, Defense and CIA–at a White house meeting on 21 January, the day after Nixon was inaugurated. A note from that meeting: “…the President emphasized that while he did not believe in changing policy for change sake alone that he felt with respect to Vietnam that we must rethink all of our policy tracks by reviewing all past instructions and determining whether or not we are proceeding down the correct tracks. He stated we do not want the enemy to assume that we are locked on the same old tracks as the previous administration, emphasizing that we will change if the situation dictates.” (State Department, Foreign Relations, Vietnam, 1969-1976, Volume VI Page 20, Editorial Note, Washington, 21 January 1969)….
https://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1969-76v06/pdf/frus1969-76v06.pdf
The questions concerning “U.S. Operations,” including COMMANDO HUNT:
24. How do military deployment and tactics today differ from those of 6-12 months ago? What are the reasons for changes, and what has the impact been?
25. In what different ways including (innovations in organization) might U.S. force-levels be reduced to various levels, while minimizing impact on combat capability.
26. What is the evidence on the scale of effect of B-52 attacks in producing VC/NVA casualties? In disrupting VC/NVA operations? How valid are estimates of overall effects?
27. What effect is the Laotian interdiction bombing having: a. In reducing the capacity of the enemy logistic system?…b. In destroying material in transit?
28. With regard to the bombing of North Vietnam: a. What evidence was there on the significance of the principal strains imposed on the DRV (e.g., in economic disruption, extra manpower demands, transportation blockages, population morale?)… b. What was the level of logistical through-put through the Southern provinces of North Vietnam just prior to the November bombing halt? To what extent did this level relfect the results of the U.S. bombing campaign?… c. To what extent did Chinese and Soviet aid relieve pressure on Hanoi?… d. What are current views on the proportion of war-essetial imports that could come into NVN over the rail or road lines from China, even if all imports by sea were denied and a strong effort even made to interdict ground transport? What is the evidence?… e. What action has the DRV taken to reduce the vulnerability and importance of Hanoi as a population and economic center (e.g., Through population evacuation and economic dispersal)?…)
During 1969 Nixon and his brain-trust developed a two-track policy of negotiation on the peace front and “Vietnamization,” of the war– unilateral withdrawl of American troops while strengthening South Vietnamese fighting capability–on the war front. On the peace track Nixon and Kissinger had initiated secret talks with Hanoi even before they were in office (collusion?) and continued these efforts in addition to the open talks in Paris. Nixon hoped to disengage from the war on acceptable terms while retaining South Vietnamese confidence as they assumed the full burden on the battlefield. Kissinger saw developing an acceptable interval between America’s withdrawal and departure, and whatever the fate of South Vietnam may ultimately be, as the objective of American policy. When Nixon was unable to obtain Soviet help in bringing Hanoi to terms he gave up on both a military victory and a non-Communist South Vietnam, settling for “self-determination” of the South Vietnamese people.
While Nixon and his “wise men” implemented negotiations in Paris and Russia and “Vietnamization” in south Vietnam, a third alternative was developed and put on a shelf. The third possibility was: ESCALATION OF THE WAR. Massive air strikes on North Vietnam and large scale attacks by air and ground on the ever-expanding Laotian and Cambodian sanctuaries. From Cosmas: “More political than military in purpose, these campaigns could be used to retaliate for Communist violations of the 1968 bombing halt “understandings” or to shock and batter Hanoi toward a diplomatic settlement. The sanctuary attacks also would assist Vietnamization by disrupting enemy offensive preparations. Early in 1969 (January), after the Communists launched a nationwide offensive that included renewed bombardment of Saigon and South Vietnamese cities (in violation of “the understanding’) the Administration put the JCS, CINCPAC, nad COMUSMACV to work on contingency plans for bombing North Vietnam and mining its ports. In response to this offensive, and as a signal of resolve to the Communist powers, President Nixon in mid-March began a publicly unacknowledged bombing of the Cambodian base areas. Aside from the Cambodian bombing, however, during the administration’s first year, escalation remained an option only, although one which ultimately would shape the final act of the war (in 1973)’…
Is short, action taken as a consequence of NSSM 1, on Nixon’s first full day in office, included a contingency plan for a massive attack on North Vietnam. Humble Host has obtained copies of the plan as it evolved between January and October 1969 in the COMMANDO HUNT WEEK 13 post. It might be considered the “early version of Linebacker.”…
Lest we forget… Bear
