Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… “WHEN THUNDER ROLLED…” … but first…
Good Morning: Day FORTY-FOUR of a look back at the “air war” with North Vietnam –Rolling Thunder… 50 years ago…
14 APRIL 1966 (NYT)… ON THE HOMEFRONT… A mostly cloudy Thursday…Page 1: Lead story and headline: “Saigon’s Junta Agrees to Hold Early Elections…Buddhists Gain…Possibility They Will Win Control of Regime”… Lieutenant General Nguyen Thieu, the Chief of Staff, signed a decree late this morning promising elections for the assembly within three to five months… Also on page 1: “Pan Am Buying 25 – 490 Seat Boeing 747s,” at $525 million apiece… the “air war’ update included the identification of the four member crew of the Navy KA-3D shot down by China on April 12 and a report that the B-52 attack on the Mugia Pass, 66 miles south of Vinh has bottled up and slowed North Vietnam infiltration through the pass and enabled Air Force and Navy fighter bombers to target truck parks north of the pass…Criticism of the use of B-52s was answered by State Department Deputy Secretary Robert McCloskey: “… the use of the B-52s is the best use of the equipment.” He also denied that “the raids were a step-up in the war leading to an attack on Hanoi and Haiphong.” He said, ” the air defense of the two cities — with missiles and MIG-21 planes — is believed so formidable as to make it very costly, though not impossible, for the use of heavy bombers to raid them.” … The SAM shoot-down of a Navy A-1H 33 miles south of Vinh on the April 13 was reported as the 14th U.S. loss to a SAM and the furthest south of all 14 successes to date…. Page 6: “Dr. King Denounces Ky” and bids U.S. weigh Vietnam pullout…Also page 6: “Loyalty Oath Rule on Medicare Eased,” announcing that a failure to sign the traditional oath would not in itself disqualify elderly persons from Social Security benefits…The oath: “Are you now a member of any organization which is required to register under the Internal Security Act of 1950 as a Communist action organization, or a Communist infiltrated organization?”…
14 APRIL 1966… ROLLING THUNDER… Operational accidents claim three aircraft, no lives…On USS Ticonderoga, ENSIGN G.W. RIESE of VF-51 flying an F-8E struck the ramp while landing at night, pulled up and ejected. He was rescued by helicopter… Two B-57B Canberras of the 8th TBS mid-aired over Danang while practicing formation flying. All four crewmembers survived… No combat losses in executing a reduced frag...
RIPPLE SALVO… “WHEN THUNDER ROLLED”….. for the reader who desires to go full monty on reviewing Operation Rolling Thunder, there isn’t a better read than Ed Rasimus’, “When Thunder Rolled: An F-105-Pilot over North Vietnam.” A fellow from the Wall Street Journal, who reviewed the book when it was published in 2003, called it: “One of the finest combat memoirs I have ever read, from any air force in any war.”...I buy that… Here is a short teaser from page 77, after Rasimus returns from his first F-105 Rolling Thunder strike mission…
“That left the flight debriefing. It wasn’t very long either. Van quickly recounted the high points of the flight and corrected only a couple of things that I had or hadn’t done to his satisfaction. I asked him if that was a typical mission on a typical target. He gave me the tolerant look of an old-timer guiding an ignorant child and shook his head.
“‘No,’ he said, ‘they’re all a bit different. This was fairly easy because the weather was good and we only had each other to worry about. The target has been struck a lot, and we’ve lost a few airplanes in the area. Don’t be lulled by the fact that you don’t see any shooting. They’re shooting at you all the time. Keep your speed up. Keep your aircraft moving. Don’t be predictable. Don’t be stupid. Keep your head on a swivel. They are shooting every mission.”
“That was all. Now the question was whether I could do it again. I thought I could. Just one more time. Two would be better than one.”
Scores of copies of “When Thunder Rolled” available at abebooks.com for six bucks and up… great reading and the real flavor of Operation Rolling Thunder…
Lest we forget… Bear …………….. –30– …………….
