Bear Taylor 
On this day HUMBLE HOST SALUTES: BGEN KENNETH WALTER NORTH, USAF (1930-2010) and the dynamic duo of F-8 Crusader gladiators who put a MiG-21 in the dirt this week–50 years ago: LT GEORGE HEISE got the first shot and possible damage, with LT NORMAN McCOY getting the kill shot and the credit… oohrah…
RIPPLE SALVO… Humble Host sustains his life-long and lonely vigil waiting and hoping there will come a day when a member of the national press with the guts of an Ernie Pyle will ask the President this question. In fact, I suggest that it be the opening exchange of every White House press conference. “Good Morning Sarah, are we having fun yet?”…or… “Good Morning, Mr. President. Are we having fun yet?”…It would sure beat starting out every Q&A muster with the press with the usual rack of darts, quiver of arrows, and a dozen spears every day….
Back to RTR… On 31 July 1968 President Johnson held an impromptu press conference in the Cabinet Room of the White House. He used the occasion and his bully pulpit to scold the steel industry for their 5 per cent increase in steel prices contrary to his repeated requests that they hold off… Then he took some questions. Robert Pierpoint, on the Presidential beat for CBS asked: “Mr. President, I would like to ask a question about the Vietnam situation. At the time of the enunciation of the so-called San Antonio formula, as I understand it, I believe that you said that the United States, in order to get the talks started, was willing to assume that, while the discussions take place, the Communists would not take advantage of a halt to the bombing. Since that time, specifically in the Honolulu Conference, President Thieu, and yesterday Secretary of State Rusk, seemed to have changed the Administration’s position to one of requiring some kind of formal commitment by the Communists before we would agree to a halt to the bombing. Is there a change, indeed, in our position?”…. See the President’s response below… but first…
GOOD MORNING…are we having fun yet?…Day EIGHT HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE of a return to the “year the dream died”…1968… and Rolling Thunder in Route Packs One and Two, only, sigh…
HEAD LINES from The New York Times on Thursday, 1 August 1968…
THE WAR: Page 1: “PRESIDENT THINKS FOE IS PREPARING ‘MASSIVE ATTACK’–SAYS U.S. MAY HAVE TO TAKE MILITARY MEASURES IF TROOPS ARE IMPERILED”… “In an unscheduled news conference in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Mr. Johnson said he could not halt the present limited bombing of North Vietnam while there was danger of a major offensive in the south (see Ripple Salvo below)”… Page 15: “ALLIES STAGE RAID INTO MEKONG DELTA”… ” Joint task force of United States and South Vietnamese military units struck deep into enemy-held territory yesterday in the southern Mekong Delta. At least 50 Vietcong soldiers were reported to have een killed in the fighting in the tributaries of the Cailon River, 34 miles east of the Gulf of Thailand….In addition to the successful strike against enemy troops the task force captured a large amount of weapons and ammunition. The Task force included South Vietnamese marines, U.S. navy gunboats, two battalions of American infantry and army helicopter gunship support… Page 15: “PATHET LAO REPORTS SEIZURE OF U.S. BASE”… Page 15: “U.S. USES B-52 AS TACTICAL WEAPON IN VIETNAM”…
PEACE TALKS: Page 1: “HANOI NEGOTIATORS SCORE RUSK VIEWS AS ABSURD”… “North Vietnamese negotiators brusquely rejected today what they termed an ‘extremely absurd demand’ voiced yesterday by Secretary of State Dean Rusk for authoritative word that Hanoi would exercise restraint if the United States stopped all the bombing of North Vietnam. As they met for the 15th time with American delegates, the North Vietnamese seemed stung by the tone of Mr. Rusk’s comments yesterday at news conference widely regarded here as hardening of the American position on the bombing issue. Colonel Ha Van Lau, the Deputy leader, who headed the North Vietnamese delegation today, accused Mr. Rusk of a’a warlike and aggressive stand’ that ran counter to ‘the peaceful aspirations of the American people.’… He derided Mr. Rusk’s comments as new evidence of ‘the obduracy of U.S. aggressive ruling circles.”…
Page 1: “JOHNSON ASSAILS BETHLEHEM STEEL FOR 5% PRICE RISE–FEARS INFLATION–Asks Other Producers Not To Follow Suit–Company Defiant”… “…he mae clear at hastily arranged news conference that it was the Bethlehem Steel action that the Government opposed. He did not denounce the selective price increase on tinplate announced by USS Steel. The president of Bethlehem responded: ‘In our opinion, our price increase is absolutely necessary, and we do not intend to withdraw it.”… Page 1: “CONSUMER PRICES UP SHARPLY IN JUNE“… Page 1: “HARRIS POLL GIVES ROCKEFELLER A LIFT–REVERSING GALLUP REPORT–SHOWS HIM BEATING EITHER RIVAL, EITHER NIXON LOSING”… Page 1: “Optimism Voiced By Czechs As End Of Parley Nears–Communique On Conference At Cierno With Russians Expected Today–Mood Of Talk Eases–Tone Called Matter of Fact After Polemic Speeches–Brezhnev Is Harsh“… Page 1: “TITO AND CEAUSESCA SAID TO HAVE MET TO SUPPORT DUBCEK”… Page 2: “SOVIET TROOP MOVES IN POLAND BELIEVED COMPLETE LEVEL-OF-BUILDUP IS TERMED SUFFICIENT TO CARRY BRUNT OF MARCH INTO CZECHOSLOVAKIA– Budapest Appears Wary–East Germanuy sees Grechko”… Page 3: West Germany Abstaining In Prague Crisis–Brandt Says Doing Nothing Is Best Now For Czechs”… Page 3: “Dubcek, Sleepless, Walks At 3, Takes Workers to Eat and Chat”…
1 AUGUST 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (2 Aug reporting 1 Aug ops)… Page 5: “2 U.S. PILOTS DOWN A MIG”… “Two United States Navy pilots teamed up today to blast a MiG-21 from the sky over North Vietnam, American military spokesmen reported. They said the pilots of two F-8 Crusaders from the carrier Bon Homme Richard had run into the MiG interceptor about 25 miles northwest of Vinh and six miles south of the 19th parallel, which has recently been the northernmost limit of Untied States bombers. One flier, Lieutenant GEORGE HEISE, fired a missile that exploded just short of the MiG and damaged it. The MiG-21 headed north attempting to escape, the spokesman said, and the second Navy pilot, Lieutenant NORMAN McCOY, bored in and scored a direct hit that destroyed the plane. The MiG was the 110th downed by American pilots in the war. There have been 48 U.S. planes lost in dogfights with MiGs.”…Page 5: “In the north, jet fighter-bomber flew 109 missions against targets in North Vietnam south of the 19th parallel.”…
VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were two fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 1 August 1968…
(1) LTJG EDWARD JAMES BROWN was flying an A-4C of the VA-66 Waldomen embarked in USS Intrepid in a flight of four A-4 Skyhawks on a strike on a target about 30 miles south of Vinh near Dong Dun. LTJG BROWN reported intense ground fire as he rolled into his dive on the target. That was his last transmission and the other three in the flight lost visual contact with the #4 A-4 over the target. There was no beeper or radio call and an extended search in the area failed to locate a parachute of aircraft wreckage. There was however a report by Hanoi radio of the downing of an A-4 that correlated with the Brown disappearance. LTJG BROWN was declared MIA with the hope he would return with the all our POWs but he was a no-show on the March 1973 homecoming. He was subsequently classified as Killed in Action, body not recovered… LTJG BROWN died on the attack and perished on the battlefield glory gained, duty done. He is remembered on this 50th anniversary of his final flight.
(2) MAJOR WILLIAM JAMES THOMPSON and 1LT JOSEPH SHAW ROSS were flying an F-4D of the 389th TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang led a section on a dusk/night armed reconnaissance mission north of the DMZ. MAJOR THOMPSON located some vehicles just east of the Ban Karai pass, about 15 miles southwest of Dong Hoi. He made a flare drop and followed with a diving attack on the trucks under the flares. The wingman holding high observe a large explosion and called the leader aircraft. In short order a SAR effort made contact with the two downed aviators. At daybreak an airborne command post monitored emergency electronic signals seemingly emanating from the crash site. Further search effort could not establish the whereabouts or the source of those signals. Likewise, they fond no trace of the aircraft’s wreckage . However, they did locate the flare parachutes dropped by MAJOR THOMPSON near the target. Search and rescue efforts were terminated on 6 August and both aviators were listed as missing in action. The terrain of the crash site is mountainous with peaks ranging up to nearly 6,000-feet and deep valleys with dense mountain canopy jungle make searches extremely difficult. nevertheless, ground search teams were used over the years to fullfill the obligation to keep looking. In January 1992 a Vietnamese government document was released tht logged the shoot down of “an F-4 on 1 August 1968 in the Xuan Son B ferry area by Battalion A of Regiment 280.” In September 1993 a joint survey team conducted an air search of the location but was unable to develop a valid search area. another search team returned in April 1995 to conduct a ground search. again, no crash site was located. Concurrently, interviews with indigenous people failed to locate a witness to the crash or knew of any crash sites in the mountainous areas. Today, 50 years after their last flight MAJOR THOMPSON and young 1LT JOE ROSS remain where they fell in the service of their country. They are remembered and Humble Host is awed by the persistent effort of the Joint Recovery teams exhaustive effort over the decades of time to find and bring these two fallen warriors home… oohrah (Night dive bombing in mountainous terrain is risky business!)….
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) FOR THE FOUR 1 AUGUST FLYING DAYS OF THE OPERATION…
1965… CAPTAIN ROBERT NOLAN DAUGHTREY, USAF… (POW) … and… MAJOR WILLIAM WARREN HAIL, USAF… (KIA)…
1966… CAPTAIN JOHN CHARLES KWORTNIK, USAF… (KIA)… and… CAPTAIN KENNETH WALTER NORTH, USAF… (POW) … and… LCOL ARTHUR THOMAS FINNEY, USAF… (KIA)…
1967… CAPTAIN CHARLES C. WINSTON, USAF… (KIA)…
1968… LTJG EDWARD JAMES BROWN, USN… (KIA)… and.. MAJOR WILLIAM JAMES THOMPSON, USAF… (KIA)… and… 1LT JOSEPH SHAW ROSS, USAF… (KIA)…
HUMBLE HOST salutes and adds most respectfully the following summary of the extraordinary contribution of BRIG GENERAL KENNETH WALTER NORTH, USAF, to the RTR archives… CAPTAIN NORTH was downed by AAA on 1 August 1966, captured and imprisoned as a POW until 4 March 1973. He emerged from the Hilton in Hanoi as a LCOL and returned to the cockpit and command of troops and operational squadron duty. He completed his distinguished career as a Brigadier General in 1985. He went west, glory gained, duty done, on 21 September 2010… A short summary of his 1 August 1966 final flight in an F-105 is posted in the RTR archive at that date, but the entry doesn’t do BGEN NORTh’s performance as a fighter pilot and leader of warriors the justice it deserves.
Among GENERAL NORTH’s awards include the AIR FORCE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL, SILVER STAR, LEGION OF MERIT with Bronze Ok Leaf Cluster, DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, BRONZE STAR MEDAL with V device and two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the AIR MEDAL with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, and the PURPLE HEART with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.
Humble Host refers you to the public record for the citations that accompany GENERAL NORTH’s awards. However, I post an excerpt from the GENERAL’S DFC because I believe this is the one he held highest in his own esteem. The DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS Citation reads in part: “…while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam on 21 June 1966. On that date, CAPTAIN NORTH flew his aircraft in support of a combat mission on a petroleum storage depot deep in hostile territory. Despite intense ground fire, surface-to-air missile threats and MiG aircraft over the target. CAPTAIN NORTH pressed his attack to score direct hits on the petroleum storage tanks. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by CAPTAIN NORTH reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
Finally, this salute includes a few of the General’s own words, written shortly after he regained his freedom in March 1973. Addressed to “the children of America” … “You have a right to be proud of more than just American fighting men, you can be proud of America. In spite of some of our ills which are too quickly and too frequently pointed out, we are the greatest nation on earth. Be proud and help to build an even greater country.”... oohrah…
RIPPLE SALVO… #879… PRESIDENT JOHNSON responds to the question posed by Robert Pierpoint, CBS (Humble Host rephrases: It seems to me the Administration’s position has changed with regard to how North Vietnam will respond to a halt in our bombing. You were thinking it would be OK to make the pause and they would follow with a reciprocal deescalation. Now you are saying no-way will you pause or cease the bombing. You contend the 19th parallel limit on our Rolling Thunder bombing is as far as you will go until the North comes back with some sort of appropriate response to deescalate the war. That seems like a policy change. Right?) … I quote the President’s lengthy and factual –and probably classified– response from the 1 August New York Times, page 16…
“Mr. Pierpoint, I would think the key word in your question is ‘seem.’ It does not seem that way to President Thieu. It does not seem that way to Secretary Rusk. As Mr. Christian informed you yesterday, it does not seem that way to the President. We have no information it seems that way to North Vietnam. I don’t know how else to get at it. You no doubt are aware that they have rejected the San Antonio formula. Since then– in the March 31 speech– we have made additional proposals which brought us to the conference table in Paris. Those negotiations are now going on there. There has been no change. Nothing. Secretary Rusk said yesterday no changes to our position. The facts are very clear to those who have the information on them. The number of North Vietnamese soldiers now entering South Vietnam at the end of the Ho Chi Minh Tral is now greater than at any other time in this war. We estimated that 30,000 or more North Vietnamese soldiers entered South Vietnam in July. We estimate that even more, Mr. Pierpoint, will come in August.
“I have an unclassified portion of a report today that gives some insight into what our men, fighting for our freedom there, are confronted with. (The President reads from the unclassified portion of a report). ‘North Vietnam’s efforts to expand and diversity its military and logistic capabilities continue unabated. These are not assuming things, these are the facts. All indicators of traffic movement are at high levels with observed water traffic activity reaching record levels. Flight activity south of the 20th Parallel has increased during recent weeks and days. More than 1,200 small watercraft were sighted south of the 19th Parallel–four times the weekly average observed since April of 1968. Truck sightings were 25 per cent above the weekly average since April 1. Pilot reports of the trucks destroyed–40 per cent above the average; although rear service traffic has decreased somewhat the total traffic for the month of July will probably be three times greater than that detected during the month of March.’
“To give you an illustration, the week of 15-21 July we sighted 947 trucks as compared to the weekly average of 717 in April. That gives you some insight into what we can assume and what we need to know. In March the short-term-tons per day traffic was 107 tons. In April it was 215, in May it was 238. In June it was 274, in the first 19 days of July, it was 320. In North Vietnam itself, the movement of troops and war material south appears to be down from the all-time high of recent months, but it is more than twice as high as the 1967 average.
“Our bomber activity in very restricted areas that we placed upon it on March 31 results in our damaging many of these trucks tht are headed south on the infiltration routes. That means to all you that many of the enemy soldiers that are being sent South never have a chance to shoot an American soldier. They don’t get there . It means a great deal of ammunition that is carried on those trucks is not available to them to unload on your boys there. It means that many of the bullets and the rockets and the shells are destroyed and never get fired.
“We have every reason to believe in a cable this morning from our commanders which indicates that the enemy is preparing a massive attack on our fores and those of our allies. That is the lesson that we draw from infiltration that is taking place. That is what the captured prisoners tell us, that is what their plans are an their orders are and their instructions are. That is what we havre learned from the documents that we take from those prisoners when they give dates, times and places. That is the apparent purpose of the huge arms caches that we have discovered and that we are daily destroying. That is what we are told from other forms of various secret intelligence that we have. That is the unanimous judgement of your best military leaders in that area.
“There is, therefore, evidence that a massive enemy effort is under way to re-equip–the President has this evidence where he can see it–and to retrain for massive attacks upon South Vietnam an particularly on certain specified major cities. We were hopeful on March 31 and we are still hopeful that the substantial set of restraints against the enemy that we took would be matched by some similar acts of restraint on their part. But the regrouping and rebuilding of thousands of men and deployment grounds a few miles from Saigon, the launching of 100-odd rockets on Danang the other day–just last week–the activity that we encounter and that we observe makes us discouraged and we would hope the enemy offensive which seems imminent could be aborted.
“I cannot ignore this evidence. I cannot order the cessation of further unilateral acts of bombing of the infiltration routes that are leading toward our men–which are crowded today with men and war materials that the enemy needs. I cannot just step aside and leave our men in the lurch. Everyone, I think is clear on one thing: We are prepared to halt the bombing when we feel confident that the halt in the bombing will not lead to the loss of heavy American and allied casualties. More than that, I cannot do, and more than you should not have me do.”
RTR Quote for 1 August: PRESIDENT LYDON B. JOHNSON: “North Vietnam’s efforts to expand and diversify its military and logistic capabilities continue unabated.”
Lest we forget… Bear
