Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #858… NEW YORK TIMES, 12 JULY 1968, Page 4: “2nd MIG SHOT DOWN OVER NORTH VIETNAM”… “Saigon, South Vietnam, July 11–A United States Navy pilot (and Radar Intercept Officer) over North Vietnam shot down a MIG-21 over North Vietnam during a mission south of the 19th Parallel, it was reported today. Another enemy fighter was reported today. ‘I’ve been waiting all my life for this,’ said LIEUTENANT ROY CASH, Jr. of Memphis, the pilot who shot down the North Vietnamese plane on his return to the carrier (USS America) on Yankee Station. LIEUTENANT CASH said that his F-4 Phantom’s air-to-air missile exploded in the MIG’s tailpipe and that the plane went down in flames.”… In the back seat of the F-4J was LTJG JOE KAIN operating the Phantom’s systems. The other MIG mentioned in this short article was a MIG-17 downed on 9 July by LCDR JOHN “Pirate” NICHOLS. Humble Host, a light attacker, salutes the fighter guys who cover the dive bombers backs in this post. Also appreciated and saluted is COLONEL LEWIS SHATTUCK, who was downed near Kep 52 years ago on 11 July 1966 and served the remainder of the air war as a Prisoner of War, where he served with the same fortitude and distinction he had as an F-105D dive bomber. This is a post of the real stuff of Rolling Thunder… but first…
GOOD MORNING: Day EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT posting blogs that bring to the fore the events and heroics of the air war fought fifty years ago in the skies of North Vietnam…
HEAD LINES from The New York Times on Thursday 11 July 1968…
THE WAR: Page 4: “ALLIES PUSH DRIVE TO PREVENT THE ENEMY BUILD-UP NEAR SAIGON”… “American infantrymen clashed with enemy troops 19 miles southwest of Saigon today and B-52s pounded the surrounding jungles in a continuing effort to find and break up concentrations near the capital. Nineteen enemy soldiers were reported killed in the fighting which began when the enemy opened fire on helicopters reconnoitering the paddies and scrub jungles. United States infantrymen were airlifted into the area, and sharp fighting developed…”… Page 5: “SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CLIFFORD VISIT EXPECTED”… Page 3: “Three On Way To Hanoi To Get U.S. Airmen“… “Three American critics of the war in Vietnam left for Hanoi today to receive custody of three captured American pilots whose release has been promised by North Vietnam.”…
PEACE TALKS: Page 5: “HANOI AT PARLEY SAYS U.S. SPREADS RUMORS OF GAINS–HARRIMAN DISPUTES THUY–American Offer Of Post-War Help Is Brushed Aside”… “North Vietnam accused the United States Government today of ‘spreading rumors’ of forward movement in Vietnam talks here ‘to appease American public opinion.’ In the 12th session of the official conversations since 13 May, Xuan Thuy, Hanoi’s chief representative, brushed aside American offers, which were renewed today, of economic aid to Southeast Asia after the war. He charged that the offers were an American device for avoiding the issue: North Vietnamese demand for a halt in United States bombing as the first step toward a settlement…A North Vietnamese spokesman said this ‘little carrot will not hide the black barrel of the cannon’ used by American forces in Vietnam.”… Page 5: “THIEU SAYS HE WILL TALK PEACE AFTER NEXT DRIVE–Saigon Leader Expecting Big Offensive soon–He Visits US Carrier Off North Vietnam” (Aboard USS Constellation)…
Page 1: “DOCTOR BENJAMIN SPOCK AND THREE OTHERS GIVEN 2-YEAR TERMS IN DRAFT CONSPIRACY”… Judge: “Where law and order stops, anarchy begins.”… Page 1: “JOHNSON MAY ASK CONGRESS TO MEET AFTER CONVENTION–URGES ACTION ON UNFINISHED LEGISLATION HE REGARDS AS VITAL TO THE PEOPLE–Lawmakers surprised–House Approves President’s $5.3-Billion Bill To Provide 6 Million Housing Units”… Page 1: “WORK FORCE GOES ABOVE 80 MILLION–Figure a Record–Includes 77.3 Employed and 3.6 Jobless”… Page 17: “NAVY HALTS WORK ON F-111B– Congress Had Denied Funds For Controversial Plane”… Page 11: “CZECHS NERVOUS ON PRESENCE OF SOVIET TROOPS–Czech General Says ‘New Situation’ Delays Exit”… Page 11: “Soviet Assails Czech Manifesto”… Page 13: “CZECH’S KEY ISSUE IS REFORM–But Slovaks Strees Nationalism”…
11 JULY 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (12 July reporting 11 July ops) Page 4: Short article on MiG-21 shootdown by CASH and KAIN… VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) there were no fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 11 July 1968…
SUMMARY OF OPERTION ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) ON 11 JULY FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF THE AIR WAR OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1965, 1967, 1968… NONE…
1966… CAPTAIN LEWIS WILEY SHATTUCK, USAF… (POW)… A previous RTR post for 11 July 1966 provides specifics of COLONEL SHATTUCK’s fateful flight. On that day he was part of a stream attack on the Vu Chula Bridge four miles north of Kep, one of the most heavily defended areas of the war… He was hit by a round of 85-mm over the target and the aircraft was uncontrollable requiring an ejection 25 miles north of the target area. He was immediately captured and interned from 11 July 1966 to release on 12 February 1973. It was his second ejection, having been shot down 10 days earlier but able to fly his damaged F-105D over the Gulf where he was rescued to fly and fight again. Bad luck for a warrior of the right stuff…
AMONG THE BRAVE… GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY… LCOL LEWIS WILEY SHATTUCK, USAF… the SILVER STAR… NORTH VIETNAM, JULY 1966…
The Citation…
“The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the SILVER STAR to Lieutenant Colonel LEWIS WILEY SHATTUCK, United States Air Force, for GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY in action in connection with military operations against an opposing armed forces during July 1966, while a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam. Ignoring international agreements on treatment of prisoners of war, the enemy resorted to mental and physical cruelties to obtain information, confessions, and propaganda materials. Lieutenant Colonel SHATTUCK resisted their demands by calling upon his deepest inner strengths in a manner which reflected his devotion to duty and great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”…
COLONEL SHATTUCK was awarded the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters in lieu of Second and Third awards in the process of completing 63 missions during his tour with the 354th TFS… His second DFC award is cited here…
“The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu fo a Second Awrd of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat ‘V’ to Captain LEWIS WILEY SHATTUCK, United States Air force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 Pilot near Hanoi, North Vietnam, on 29 June 1966. On that date, Captain SHATTUCK was a member of a flight assigned to destroy the heavily defended Hanoi petroleum products storage facility. Despite encountering defensive fire of intensity unparalleled in this conflict, Captain SHATTUCK fearlessly pressed his attack, placing his ordnance precisely on his assigned target. The resulting fireball contributed to the ensuing firestorm that totally destroyed the complex, crippling Hanoi’s petroleum fed industries and transportation system. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain SHATTUCK reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
Among Colonel Shattuck’s other awards are two awards of the Legion of Merit with Combat V device…
Upon his return to his beloved country after the six years of cruel and tortuous imprisonment Colonel Shattuck wrote an essay for inclusion in the book WE CAME HOME by Captain and Mrs. Frederic A. Wyatt. The following is quoted from that composition written from the heart… Would that every American could see our beautiful nation as Colonel Shattuck has recorded for posterity… I quote…
“I gained a deep, deep appreciation for this country, for the beauty of it, for the beauty of our way of life, the beauty in our form of government–a real tribute to a small group of men who sat down and drew up a document that was so flexible, so capable of growing for future generations.
“My country is a mosaic or a kaleidoscope; in that mosaic I see tiles of the Kansas wheat fields, of the California sequoias, the Douglas firs of Oregon and Washington, the pines of the east coast. I see the character of the waters change that surround our borders. I see the different soldiers that we’ve had in our time, each in their battle garb, marching off to defend the country, sometimes not understanding what it was all about, but going anyway, on the faith in our way of life. I see our succession of Presidents, congresses, and officials that run this country. I see the frontiersmen, the Indians who had their own frontiers; the Africans who were brought as slaves but are now becoming a part of society; I see the Spanish people through California, New Mexico and Arizona; I see the modern people who cross their own frontiers, frontiers of space, and medicine and progress. And then I look at my whole mosaic, I see that it is a rectangle with red and white stripes and a blue field of fifty stars.”…
RTR and Humble Host salute one of the bravest of the brave …
RIPPLE SALVO… #858… COMMANDER JOHN BENNETT NICHOLS III (1931-2004) “was THE last gunfighter.” He was not only “a legend in his own time,” as we say of Naval Aviators we admire while drinking beer at Happy Hour, “Pirate” NICHOLS remains a legend forever… His MIG kill on 9 July 1968 was a Sidewinder kill with 167 rounds of 20mm to finish off the young 23-year old North Vietnamese pilot and his green MIG-17. It appears to me that a claim to be the “last of the gunfighters” is on the record for good as missiles and science take to the skies. COMMANDER NICHOLS logged more than 350 combat missions in the skies of the Red River Valley and North Vietnam. His story is well told in his book ON YANKEE STATION: The Naval Air War over Vietnam, written in cahoots with the brilliant aviation writer, BARRETT TILLMAN. I hold ON YANKEE STATION as the premier record of the Navy’s participation in the air war fought with North Vietnam for a decade at one level of anger or another. NICHOLS was there for more than his share, and he and Barrett have put together the best one volume history of the war. Since it was my war too, ON YANKEE STATION is centerpiece of my library. As a “bookaholic”, I have multiple copies. For less than $10 bucks, abebooks.com has about 50 copies available. Naval Institute can provide pristine copies for keepers for about $30 bucks… Of course, you can do it another way–Kindle for $13, then you’ll have it handy when you are waiting for your next Doctor’s appointment… This is a book that never tires–the Last Gunfighter’s memoir and analysis of the naval air war… To present a teaser I zeroed in on two episodes of NICHOLS numerous classic descriptions of Rolling Thunder action. One was his 26 April 1967 flight as fighter escort for Ironhand whiz LCDR MIKE ESTOCIN on Mike’s last flight, which, combined with his earlier Ironhand flight on 20 April, resulted in his award of the Medal of Honor (Posthumously).
The second is NICHOL’s account of his 9 July 1968 MIG kill, which I post here… I pick up his storytelling on my Kindle at loc 1515… Quote:
“We were about twenty miles inland, and, given the gunfire, I thought the RF-8 (I was escorting, pilot LT WILLIAM KOCAR) was a little too low for comfort–only about 2,000 feet above the ground. Consequently, I was stepped up higher than usual, maybe as much as 3,000 feet, in a right-hand loose-duece. Our airspeed was good, between 475 and 500 knots.
“Looking back toward seven o’clock, I saw a green MiG-17 about two miles behind Kocar, closing very fast. The overtake was probably 150 knots or more, and there wasn’t a lot of time to act. I shouted, ‘You got a MiG behind you, Corktip!’
“I quickly followed with a repeat, ‘We have a MiG out here,’ to the shipboard controller. Well to the south, orbiting in another F-8, was Tico’s air wing commander, Phil Craven. a former squadron CO and long time friend, Phil never carried any strain. His deep voice penetrated the chatter: ‘All right, settle down. Come on up with your call sign.’
“‘This is Feedbag One. stand by, I’ll get him!’
“While all this conversation went on, Kocar pulled a fantastic hard port turn, causing the speeding MiG to overshoot badly. I had already started a hard low turn as tracers sparkled past my right wing. So there were two bandits. I ignored the wingman to gain position on the leader.
“I got a good Sidewinder growl with about five-Gs on the airplane and look-down of about 30 degrees. Those extra feet of insurance altitude were now evident as a mistake; I was just a shade too high to get a really good angle on the MiG.
“The AIM-9 tried hard. It guided toward the 17 and almost made the turn. Flying outside the MiG’s tilted starboard wingtip, the ‘winder exploded but inflicted no visible damage.
“Then the MiG driver made a fundamental–and fatal–error. He reversed his turn from port to starboard, lighting his afterburner as he rolled wings level. I fell in trail at one mile, one G, and fired my second Sidewinder. It was a direct hit, I believe, right up the tailpipe. The sky suddenly filled with what looked like small pieces of metal but the MiG was still flying in one piece.
“However, the 17 was decelerating very fast and I was closing quickly. I popped the speed brakes to avoid an overshoot and, in the limited time available, acquired a decent sight picture. With the pipper on top of the MiG I fired 167 rounds, scoring about six to ten hits. The airplane was raked from fore to aft across the top and came apart. I passed close aboard, cleaning up the F-8 and accelerating to start looking for the MiG’s friend. Later we learned that when the wingman saw his leader go down, he called it a day.
“Kocar saw the 17 fall and exclaimed,’Way to go, Feed-bag!’ Thirty-five second had passed.”….
The NICHOLS/TILLMAN prose is supported with a Top Gun style 3D drawing showing the Mig engagement from beginning to end… Great stuff…
COMMANDER JOHN NICHOLS is remembered and applauded for his lasting contributions to Naval Aviation…
JOINING “PIRATE” NICHOLS in this post of admiration are MIG-KILLERS ROY CASH and JOE KAIN, who bagged a MiG-21 on this day 50 years ago. Their story is told in great detail by CAPTAIN CASH in an earlier post. In fact, one of the very first RTR’s– FIND IT IN THE RTR ARCHIVES AT 9 MARCH 1966. It is a great story… Thanks, Roy for a great CAG tour on Coral Sea on our around-the-world accident-free cruise of 1983… youdaman…
RTR Quote for 11 July: STEPHEN COONTS, Foreword to ON YANKEE STATION: “Under the leadership of Johnson and McNamara, the Vietnam experience became an insoluble, bloody conundrum. How does one fight hard enough to force the other side to bow to America’s will, but not hard enough to ‘win’? Is such a thing possible? Indeed, if war is the imposition of one nation’s political will upon another by violent means, what in the world is a ‘limited aim’? In politics words are often used to create political dynamics, not describe objective reality. Politicians tend to forget while political dynamics cause armed combatants to take the field, objective reality kills and maims them.”….
Lest we forget… Bear
