Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #860… PAUSES IN ROLLING THUNDER OPERATIONS– BOMBING HALTS– WERE PART OF A STRATEGY OF “GRADUAL ESCALATION” THAT BECAME “GRADUAL FAILURE”… The bombing pauses were cease-fires intended to motivate North Vietnam to agree to discuss a negotiated settlement to end the war. Despite the discovery that the bombing halts were a total disaster in the December 1965 pause, they kept coming. From Al Santoli’s anthology, LEADING THE WAY: “…the bombing halts became the epitome of what aviators and infantrymen knew to be inconsistent war-fighting policy. Bombing halts allowed the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong to resupply and intensify their attacks against American forces and their allies, and, in effect convinved the North Vietnamese that if they pursued a war of attrition, a political victory was possible as American casualties mounted. The bitter experience of flying over North Vietnamese resupply convoys during bombing halts made a lasting impression on fighter pilots such as RILEY MIXON, who later commanded all U.S. aircraft-carrier forces in the Red Sea during Operation Desert Storm.”… The views of Rear Admiral MIXON –one of Naval Aviation’s very best warrior leaders– on bombing halts below… but first…
Good Morning… Day EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY of a remembrance from the years of the air war over North Vietnam called ROLLING THUNDER…
HEAD LINES from The NEW YORK TIMES on Saturday, 13 JULY 1968, 50 YEARS GO…
THE WAR: Page 1: “JOHNSON HONORS WESTMORELAND–PRESENTS GENERAL SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL”… “Today’s award was for exceptionally meritorious service from December 1967 until July 1968, during the period that the enemy forces launched their Lunar New Year offensive against Vietnamese urban areas sustaining heavy losses, but shaking public opinion in the United States. General Westmoreland has assumed new duties as Army chief of Staff.”… … (No battle reports)… Page 5: “10- IN NEW ALLIANCE DOOMED IN SAIGON”… “A five-man military tribunal sentenced 10 leaders of the Alliance of Democratic and Peace Forces to death today after a 25-minute trial. The ten, who are in hiding, were convicted in absentia of ‘rebellion’ and ‘attempting to operate for the Communists under the false name of peace and neutrality.”… Page 5: “HANOI IS STRESSING ‘VICTORY AT KHE SANH’ IN ITS PROPAGANDA”… “North Vietnam is carrying out an intensive propaganda campaign to exploit the American decision to abandon the Marine combat base at Khe Sanh. For five days, the Hanoi radio has devoted about 70 per cent of its broadcast time in every Asian language to trumpeting the ‘American defeat and the Communist victory’ at Khe Sanh.”… Page 5: “3 AMERICANS IN HANOI TO TAKE 3 PILOTS OUT”… “…American pacifists are Mrs. Ann Scheer, Stewart Meacham and Vernon Grizzard…. The length of their stay and the names of the 3 pilots to be released for escort by the pacifists back to America have not been announced.”…
PEACE TALKS: Page 30: OpEd… STRAWS IN THE WIND…
“The Paris peace talks have been virtually stalemated for two months because Hanoi continues to insist on a complete halt to the bombing of North Vietnam before moving to substantive discussions. Repeating a theme that has been voiced by American spokesmen since President Johnson announced a partial limitation on the area of bombing last March 31., Ambassador Averell Harriman said in Paris this week that the bombing would be stopped as soon as North Vietnam gives some sign of reciprocal ‘restraint.’ Mr. Harriamn accused the North Vietnamese of ‘continuing escalation and expanding of aggression.
“There is no question that Hanoi has openly boasted of it intention to ‘fight while talking’ and that it has engaged in aggressive action, most notably the guerrilla and rocket attacks on Saigon, since the peace talks began. But it is not clear that the United States has really ‘reduced the level of hostilities,’ as American Government spokesmen claim. And it is possible that the other side is making gestures of restraint that have so far been ignored by the United States. These are the latest Pentagon figures:
“The number of United States air missions against North Vietnam increased from a total of 2,654 in March, before the President’s peace overture, to 3,593 in May and 3,792 in June. Is this reducing the level of hostilities?
“The number of United States troops in South Vietnam has increased by 19,000–to 535,000–since Mr. Johnson first invited North Vietnam to match American restraint. During the same period the Pentagon’s estimate of enemy troop strength has remained unchanged–between 207,000 and 222,000–despite repeated charges of heavy enemy infiltration that merely maintains enemy force levels when the allies are continuing to expand their own forces.
“Last week the number of American casualties dropped to the lowest level in six months; estimated enemy deaths fell to the lowest figure ion eighteen months. A dispatch from Saigon observed: ‘the weekly casualty report reflects a prolonged lull in the ground war which senior U.S. officers blamed on refusal of the enemy to be drawn into combat.’ American officials have said the allies are pursuing a ‘fight hard’ strategy, but the enemy does not want to fight.
“This fighting lull has continued for more than a month. The enemy has even stopped, at least temporarily, his rocket attacks on Saigon which some American officials have said are impossible to prevent. Are these not possibly signs of restraint the United States has been calling for–‘straws in the wind’ have been largely overlooked?
“The only way to find out is to stop the bombing of North Vietnam, which is of marginal value anyway, and to call on Hanoi’s negotiator to get down to substantive business at last in Paris. If the foe is merely regrouping for fresh assaults, allied ground forces–aided by the massive air support they will continue to enjoy in the South–should be able to throw back any challenge. But the possibility that these are serious signals, opening the way to peace, should not be allowed to go untested.”…
Page 1: “SENATOR EV DIRKSEN DEFENDS PRESIDENT JOHNSON’S NAMING FRIENDS TO SUPREME COURT…Rebukes Senator Griffin For Attempt to Block Nomination of Fortas and Thornberry”… Page 1: “VICE PRESIDENT HUMPHREY URGES U.S. STOP TRYING TO CONTAIN REDS–He Calls For Reconciliation In East-West Relationships Stressing Soviet Union–Omits Mention of Asia… Asks New Look At National Interests–Says ‘We Are Not The World’s Policeman””… Page 1: “GUNMAN IS FOILED IN JET HIJACKING–Crew, Told To Fly To Cuba Persuades Him to Yield–Senator Eastland Aboard”… Sports: Billy Casper leads the British Open after two rounds…
13 JULY 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times: No coverage of air operations over the North…VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were three fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 13 July 1968…
(1) CAPTAIN JACK CLARK HURST, USMC and 1LT LEONARD ADRIAN BIRD, USMC were flying and F-4B of the VMFA-115 Silver Eagles and MAG-12 were delivering ordnance on a close air support target 10 miles south of Khe Sanh. On their second pass at 500 feet and 450 knots were hit by ground fire and burst into flames, went out of control and crashed without ejections by CAPTAIN HURST and 1LT BIRD… They were killed in action facing the enemy on a famed battlefield in the service of our country…Glory gained, duty done– they rest in peace and are not forgotten on this 50th anniversary of their last flight…
(2) 1LT GARY R. CONFER was flying an F-105D of the 34th TFS and 388th TFW out of Korat on a strike on the POL transshipment point just north of the Mu Gia Pass. As he was rolling in for an attack on the target his aircraft was hit by AAA in the aft section of the fuselage. 1LT CONFER was able to keep the cripple Thunderchief flying and was successful in reaching a divert destination at Udorn. However, on landing the aircraft sustained additional damage and was deemed unsalvagable. 1LT CONFER completed a flight he has circled in his log book as one to remember…
(3) MAJOR ROBERT KEITH HANNA was flying an F-105D with “Panda flight” of the 333rd TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on a night strike on truck traffic north of Dong Ha. He was hit by 37mm antiaircraft fire at 8,000 as he was about to roll-in on a target. The aircraft was in flames and he was forced to eject west of Dong Ha near the village Ha Loi. He broke an ankle on his night landing but was able to evade capture until he was rescued on 15 July by Jolly Green 37 of the 40th ARRS out of Nakhon Phnom. He had a lot of help Several F-105s flew cover and ordnance delivery missions in support of the rescue operation in hostile country. LT DAVID THOMAS DIVAN, III of the 34th TFS and 388th TFW was one who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his 14 July support flight. “On that date, LT DINAN was a member of a flight diverted from a preplanned mission to support the rescue of a fellow pilot downed in a heavily defended area in North Vietnam. In a constant barrage of deadly anti-aircraft fire, LT DINAN without thought of his own personal safety, made repeated passes in close proximity to the survivor, successfully silencing the fire and halting the advance of hostile ground forces attempting to capture the downed airman. The profesional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by LT. DINAN reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”…
SUMMARY OF OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) ON 13 JULY FOR THE FOUR YEARS OF THE AIR WAR OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1965, 1966, 1967, 1968… NONE…
RIPPLE SALVO… #860… The bombing halts employed during Rolling Thunder were meant to provide an opportunity for diplomacy to work. The bombing halt of December 1966 that extended into the last week of January 1967 provided all the experience a second lieutenant needed to draw the conclusion that bomb halts were and are a bad idea. Between 24 December 1965 and 3 February 1966, a few days after Rolling Thunder ops had been resumed, the Air Force RF-4Cs and RF-101s had flown 498 photo reconnaissance missions and the Navy had flown 283 photo flights. In addition, the Air Force flew dozens of RB-57 and EB-66 missions to gather infrared data, electronic intelligence and electronic countermeasures. Included in a summary of the intel collected: the enemy was rebuilding routes and freely moving supplies and troops southward in daytime, 24/7; ten more SA-2 sites were detected during the suspension, bringing the total to 60; forty more anti-aircraft sites had been added to defend the northwest rail line from Hanoi to China; and twenty-six more anti-aircraft positions had been added to the defense system around Vinh.
Despite the flow of evidence that there was a whole lot of cheating going on, Secretary of Defense McNamara and Secretary of State Rusk held to hopes for a compromise between Hanoi’s “four point” position and the “fourteen points” of the American position. During the pause, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Wheeler testified to a House committee that the “North Vietnamese worked around the clock rebuilding bridges, building fords, and otherwise improving LOCs, and they were moving things … in daylight. During the 37-day period Wheeler noted that “the halt’s adverse military impact had to weighed against the President’s effort to find peace and against the domestic and foreign relations gains that flowed therefrom.”(Staaveren’s GRADUAL FAILURE) Humble Host’s experience from two USS Enterprise deployments 1966-1968 convinced me that when we increased the tempo of ops in periods of good weather, on the third day of pounding targets in an area like Than Hoa, the intensity of the flak, number of SAMs fired, and MIG sightings all fell off and the dive bombers’ hits got better. Conversely, the days and nights immediately after a pause were loaded with opposition—AAA, SAM and MiGs– indicating the supplies of ammo at the sites was more than plentiful.
Here’s what REAR ADMIRAL MIXON recorded for author Al Santoli on the subject: I quote:
“My first crisis participation was the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. I was a young lieutenant on the Atlantic Coast, flying off the straight-deck aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain. I heard President Kennedy’s speech on the severity of the Soviet missiles in Cuba. I thought there was possibility of a major war.
“Along with the other carriers and ships that were sent down to the waters around Cuba, we were involved in enforcing the maritime quarantine. Taking photos of every ship that went into and came out of Cuba. It was sort of like the Gulf War embargo of Iraq. Out mission at sea was to make sure that any ships that went into Cuba were empty. And any ship that came out had missiles on it.
“I couldn’t see Vietnam on the horizon. I didn’t think about political or geographical matters. I was just happy to be flying. I wasn’t committed to a naval career. I was seriously considering the commercial air lines. What tipped the balance in my decision to stay was when the Navy chose me for postgraduate school to earn my master’s degree. Vietnam began while I was in naval postgraduate school.
“My first tour of Vietnam was flying A-4 Echoes aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany in 1969. That was an eight-and-a-half-month deployment. We came back from that and transitioned as a squadron to A-7Es, brand new airplanes. We redeployed to Vietnam on the carrier USS Kitty Hawk from the fall of 1970 to July 1971.
“Both deployments came after tactical bombing cutbacks. Every time there was a bombing halt over the North, it enabled the North Vietnamese to intensify the shipment of weapons and soldiers to the South. They moved many of their convoys through the forested mountains of Laos at night. We didn’t have the kinds of night vision technology like we used in Desert Storm. So there was no way that we could stem the flow of supplies by attacking through the dense forests. It was very dangerous. But we tried anyway. As a result, we lost pilots who crashed into the sides of steep mountains.
“I also flew escort missions for reconnaissance overflights of North Vietnam while there was no bombing allowed. We basically monitored the flow of supplies to the South and any kind of antiaircraft missile buildup.
“In 1971, I participated in General John Lavalle’s (Commander, 7th Air Force and Chief of U.S. Air Operations in Vietnam) retaliatory strikes into North Vietnam, mostly against the heavy air defenses around Vinh. This was in retaliation for their abuse of the bombing halt by firing at our reconnaissance aircraft. The general eventually got fired over it because the strikes were not sanctioned by the White House.
“The hallmark of that period was the lack of common sense in targeting packages and the restrictions being placed on the U.S. air campaign. At that point I was just a lieutenant commander. But in my mind, the targeting made no sense at all. Targets were selected in Washington, almost down to the types of ordnance we should use. You couldn’t shoot at SAM sites at one time, unless they shot at you first. You couldn’t attack their resupply ships at a port if there was a third country (usually a Soviet bloc or Chinese) ship in the area. Unlike Desert Storm, we were not permitted to systematically take down the air defense. That cost us a lot of lives…and possibly the war.
“Year later, going into Desert Storm, the common theme among all senior leaders who had been involved in Vietnam was, ‘We want to do this one right.'”…
End quote from LEADING THE WAY: How Vietnam Veterans Rebuilt the U.S. Military: An Oral History…
RTR Quote for 13 July: PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, 1 August 1963: “I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile I think I can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: ‘I served in the United States Navy.'”…. oohrah…
Lest we forget… Bear
