Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… B-52s FOREVER (?)… but first….
Good Morning: day FORTY-THREE of a return to 1966 and Operation Rolling Thunder… “the air war with North Vietnam”…
12 APRIL 1966 (NYT)… ON THE HOMEFRONT… A fair weather Tuesday in New York…NYT, page 1: “Vietnam Turmoil Now Slows War, Washington Says”… reduction in ground war and fewer air sorties attributed to the country wide political turmoil and an interruption in bombs and other material caused by a refusal by both civilians and soldiers in the Danang area to unload U.S. vessels… slowdown acknowledged and sorties cut by one-third but, “bombing of North Vietnam has not been affected,” says Washington… Middle of page 1: “B-52s Make Raid on North Vietnam,”…. B-52s, in their first attack outside of South Vietnam hit the approaches to the Mugia Pass on the North Vietnam side of the border with Laos. The raid was approved on a one time basis. Apparently, the heavy bombers were attempting to close the road with a saturation bombing attack.” One spokesperson said, “They are pulverizing that pass with craters 20-feet deep and 30-feet across.’…American fighter-bombers have been striking North Vietnam on an almost continuous basis since February 7, 1965, but there had been on previous use of B-52s… Also on page 1: Jack Nicklaus won his third Masters and second in a row beating Tom Jacobs and Gay Brewer in a Monday 18-hole playoff…FHA mortgages increased to 5 3/4% from 5 1/2%, the highest rate in 32-years except for a short period in 1959… Page 4: “Air Force Limiting Pilots North Vietnam Missions,”… limit of 100 missions against targets in North Vietnam during any one tour of duty in the war zone… i.e., tours to be 12 months or 100 counters…no limit on missions flown in the south…Navy and Marine Corps continue no mission limit policy, north or south… Navy noted that its fighter-bombers rotate in and out of the combat area with their carriers, and since carriers rotate every six to nine months they already serve a shorter combat tour…Marine Corps continues to hold to a 13-month tour in country… Page 80: An entire page advertising a 12-page section of the April 16, 1966 issue of Newsweek… Teaser paragraph…”Last week, just as it was finally beginning to appear that American sacrifices would ultimately be rewarded with military success, South Vietnam once again erupted politically and with ominous tones of anti-Americanism.”…
12 APRIL 1966… ROLLING THUNDER… Limited operations due to weather… News dominated by the loss of a Navy KA-3B and entire crew…I quote from Chris’ Hobson’s, “Vietnam Air Losses…”
“KA-3B 142653 Detachment C, VAH-4, USN USS Kitty Hawk: Crewed by: LCDR WILLIAM ALBERT GLASSON, PILOT; LTJG LARRY MICHAIEL JORDAN, CO-PILOT; PRCS KENNETH WARD PUGH; and ATCS RUEBEN BEAUMONT HARRIS. Killed in Action….On the morning of 12 April 1966 a Skywarrior tanker took off from Cubi Point NAS in the Philippines (where it had been undergoing minor repair) to return to the Kitty Hawk. When the aircraft became overdue a search was organized by the Kitty Hawk and Enterprise together with USAF aircraft but no trace of the aircraft or crew were ever found. Soon after the aircraft disappeared the Chinese claimed that an American aircraft had entered Chinese territory near Hainan Island and had been shot down by MiGs. It was later determined that the Navy KA-3B had indeed been shot down by the Chinese over Luichow Peninsula in Kuangtung province. Despite protests from the US State Department nothing more was ever heard until 16 December 1975 when the Chinese handed over ashes said to be those of KENNETH PUGH, one of the crewmen of the Skywarrior.” To err is human, but errors by pilots carry unmerciful penalties. “Fate is the Hunter” (Ernest Gann). And pilots are the hunted. Today we remember four brave warriors who served with honor and gave their lives for their country fifty years ago…
RIPPLE SALVO… B-52s FOREVER (?)….. B-52s: welcome to Rolling Thunder… You are awesome… And as I read the news of today –fifty years later– I note that the venerable B-52 is still a weapon of choice in 2016 in carrying the fight to the enemy. The movement of B-52s to the mid-east for use in support of national policy is overdue and will make a difference, wherever employed. Pounding is a great tactic and is just the right medicine for changing the behavior of our gutless enemies in Syria and Iraq. Good hunting…
Lest we forget…… Bear …………..–30– …………..
