Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #493… “The side that is winning should not take the first step.”… but first…
Good Morning: Day FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-THREE of a return to the air war with North Vietnam code named Operation Rolling Thunder…
11 JULY 1967…HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a Tuesday under cloudy skies with rain coming…
Page 1: “Johnson Reviewing Bid For Contacts With Red Chinese– Seeks to Convey His Views Through Romanian Chief and Other Visitors–President Trying To Sound Peking on the Prospects of Nuclear Accord”...President Johnson appears to be trying to signal to the leadership of Communist China his revived interest in reducing tension between Washington and Peking.”
SIX-DAY WAR: Page 1: “Hussein Joins Arab Talks in Cairo”... “A Conference of leaders of Arab nations got under way here today after King Hussein of Jordan arrived from Amman to join President Gamal Abdel Rahman and Houri Boumediene of Algeria. Abdel Rahman Arif of Iraq and President Nureddin el-Attassi of Syria to join.”… Page 2: “Israeli Guards Halt Refugees Trying to Return to return to the West Bank of the River Jordan over the Allenby Bridge. Israel had announced refugees could return but sentries said, ‘We have no orders to admit anyone.’ The Red Cross is working on the ‘snag in procedure.’ “… Page 3: “Cairo’s New Arms Stir U.S. Concern–Size of Soviet Commitment Yet to be Determined...reports suggest that Egypt has made up some of the sizable losses of the six-day war against Israel but the pace of the shipment is unknown. The concern is a possibly of a new arms race in the Mideast. Main concern–aircraft. The Egyptians lost 100 of their 163 MIG-21s. In the last month they have received 10 new ones from the Soviet Union and 20 from Algeria . They lost 30 of their 40 MIG-19s. None of these have been replaced. She lost 95 of 100 MIG-15 and MIG-17s she had at the start of the war. She has received 50 replacements from the Soviets and 20 from Algeria. They also lost 30 of 45 Ilyuskin-28 light bombers: 14 of 55 Sukhoi-7 fighters and 25 of 25 Tupolev-16 bombers. The Egyptians also lost 500 of their 1,000 tanks. United State said for Israel has not been divulged.”…
Page 1: McNamara Said to Doubt Sharp Build-up By Enemy”… “A qualified informant said yesterday that Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was doubtful about United State intelligence reports that the North Vietnamese were sharply building up their manpower in South Vietnam and that he felt the enemy ‘was only replacing men lost in battle.’ The report tended to cloud the issue whether Washington would agree to major troop reinforcements in Vietnam as requested by the United States command. Mr. McNamara commented that troops moving across the demilitarized zone from time to time make their attacks and then return to North Vietnam…there has been no increase in North Vietnamese troop strength for the last 6 to 9 months.”… Page 12: “On the Battlefield United States Troop Lost 26 Killed in action and 38 wounded in a two-hour clash in the Central Highlands near the Cambodia border. Six enemy bodies were found after the battle.”… Page 13: “McNamara Critical of Pacification”… “Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, touring the Mekong Delta by helicopter expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of the effort to pacify the country’s rural areas. ‘We must be realistic and recognize that the pacification effort is proceeding slowly. But I am encouraged by the improvement in the organization that has taken place and I hope to see more rapid progress soon.”…
SUMMER ’67: Page 17: “Wilkins Assails Riot Bill Backers”… “Roy Wilkins said here (Boston) tonight that Congressmen opposing current civil rights legislation are creating the atmosphere for racial violence. He was delivering the keynote address to the annual NAACP convention. He defended the role of ‘militants’ in spurring the civil rights movement. In spite of their raucous activity, their shock techniques and oversimplification of complex issues they have shaken up Negroes and whites, both of whom badly needed the treatment. Their service outweighs their disservice. Too many people in the general public want to make the Negro behave but do not want to give him justice. They think riot control consists of crackdown laws and crackdown police. They refuse to pass civil rights legislation, but seek riot control legislation is poor choice. There can be no progress by the riotous few, or the responders, who focus on the rioting vice the issues. So if anyone is waiting for the civil rights movement to collapse of disintegrate in a crisis or to just plain die, my word is don’t hold your breath.’ “...Page 17: “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Group To Restudy Role–To Decide Whether It Will Enter Partisan Politics”… “Southern Leadership Conference will consider partisan politics at convention in Atlanta in August 14-17. Organization has never endorsed candidates in the past. Dr. King: ‘In August we will reassess our roles.’ “…
11 JULY 1967…The President’s TS Daily CIA Brief…CONGO: Government forces continue to delay their attack on the mercenary contingent at Kisangani. The mercenaries still control the airport and are apparently holding a large number of women and children as hostages. NORTH VIETNAM: The outlook is not good for the spring rice crop. Less than usual was planted, and the harvest has encountered numerous difficulties.
STATE DEPARTMENT, Office of the Historian, FRUS, 1964-68, Volume 5, Vietnam, 1967. SecDef made his ninth visit to Vietnam 7-11 July 67. This Memorandum for Record documents conversations with several of the major players including Thieu and Ky concerning the hot issues at the time: the election, troop strength, pacification and a few comments on the bombing of the North. General Wheeler is the author. Worth a look at:…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d236
11 JULY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER... New York Times (12 July reporting 11 Jul ops)… Page 2: “In the air war United States Air Force and Navy pilots flew 138 missions over North Vietnam striking at petroleum storage areas, bridges, rail lines, an army barracks, and truck convoys. Pilots of F-4 Phantoms found a convoy of 70 trucks just before dawn near the Mugia Pass and destroyed at least 37.”… Page 12 (from 11 Jul): “U.S. Plane Toll Is 1,460″… “…have been lost over North and South Vietnam during the war: 602 shot downed over the North and 191 over the South. The remainder of the losses are accidents/mechanical failures (667)… “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were no fixed wing aircraft losses in Southeast Asia on 11 July 1967.
34 TFS/F-105 History (Howie Plunkett) 11 July 1967: “Twenty-one pilots graduated from the F-105 course…at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The pilots began training on 23 February 1967 and were assigned to Class 68-A …Most of the students had come from overseas bases and all received assignments to the 388 TFW at Korat or the 355 TFW at Takhli. Before the end of the year, seven pilots (one third of the class) were shot down; three were killed, and four became POWs”…
RIPPLE SALVO… #493… Eight Republican Congressmen led by Representative Morse of Massachusetts came up with a plan to de-escalate the Vietnam War. Admiral U.S.Grant Sharp, CINCPAC , wasn’t impressed: “…a poor idea…the side that is winning should not take the first step.”
NYT, 11 July 1967, Page 1: “8 In GOP Propose Phasing Out War–Representatives Would Halt Bombing in 5 Steps if Hanoi De-Escalated.”...
“Eight liberal Republican members of the House offered a plan today for a mutual deescalation of the Vietnam war by the United States and North Vietnam. The plan developed by Representative F. Bradford Morse of Massachusetts was presented by the Representatives at a news conference in the Cannon Office Building this morning. Mr. Morse contended that the plan was moderate and practical and avoided the extremes of rapid American withdrawal from Vietnam or drastic escalation of the war. He said that it offered as well an alternative to what he termed the inflexibility of the current policy of the Johnson Administration. Representative Carl Albert of Oklahoma, House Majority leader, opposed the plan and supported the Johnson policies.
“The Morse plan would begin with a United States initiative–a 60 day suspension of bombing raids against the upper most fifth of North Vietnam above the 21st parallel.
“This area includes the Hanoi, but not the Nam Dinh and Haiphong areas, which contain major logistic complexes fort the support of the war in the South.
“If Hanoi undertook a commensurate de-escalatory step within the 60-day period, the United States would suspend bombing for 60 days against the area north of the 20th parallel. If the move was in turn followed by another commensurate North Vietnamese step forward, de-escalated bombing would be suspended north of the 19th parallel for 60 days, and so on down to the 17th parallel.
“Equivalent steps could include: (1) the cessation of shipments to and from specific military supply depots in the southern portion of North Vietnam; (2) the erection of barriers on and the non-use of specific supply routes in the southern portion of North Vietnam; (3) the cessation of all territorial attacks in specific portions of South Vietnam; and, (4) The release of all American prisoners of war.
“Each step to be ‘clearly visible to and measurable by the other side.’
“Morse: ‘If it is successful a spirit of confidence might emerge. That spirit of confidence could provide a real opportunity for fruitful and honorable negotiations for a similar staged de-escalation in South Vietnam itself.’ “
“The White House was non-committal. Congressional leadership is with the Administration. In late June 57 democrats requested the President to take the issue to the UN Security Council. The White House has taken no action on the Democrats request.”
Humble Host note. This Morse plan was a non-starter, but indicative of the degree of scrambling going on in every corner of Washington looking for a way out of the war. Unfortunately, it took another six years… and the lives of 47,000 warriors.
RTR QUOTE for 11 July: CICERO: “An army is of little value in the field unless there are wise counsels at home.”
Lest we forget… Bear
