Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO…#76… 35MM PIX… but first…
Good Morning: Day SEVENTY-SIX in a marathon review of Operation Rolling Thunder, one day at a time…
15 MAY 1966 (NYT)…ON THE HOME FRONT… A sunny Sunday in New York City…
Page 1: “Ky Forces Fight Dissident Units Occupy Danang Seen In Control”… Premier Ky moved swiftly yesterday to reassert his rule of South Vietnam. Troops loyal to Nguyen Cao Ky now occupy the city of Danang after a fire fight of 75 minutes with anti-Ky forces. Twelve wounded in the short battle. Meanwhile, Ky moved to arrest 40 leftists who were planning an anti-government rally in Saigon. … “Peking Army Chief Seen As Mao Heir”… The current purge of intellectuals and of officials of the Peking municipal party organization continues. An army led campaign against anti-party, anti- socialist elements has been extended to the rest of the country. Best bet to inherit the mantle of Mao is reported to be Lin Pao… “Thousands Seek Draft Deferment In Student Tests”… Anti-war and anti-draft demonstrations marked the day of Selective Service Draft Deferment testing at hundreds of testing sites. One demonstrator quoted: “we feel each of the students taking the test is protesting against the war by taking the test.”… “Slump In Auto Sales Laid to Economic Uncertainty”…Auto sales in the first 10 days of May are off 15% from May a year ago…
Page 7: “Monsoon Near In Vietnam; 5 Months Of Rain May Curb War”… “Before the end of May the southern parts of South Vietnam and the central plateau stretching north along the west side of the Anamese mountain range, which bisects most of the country, will begin to feel the effects of the annual southwesterly monsoon. Cambodia and Laos, including most of the networks of infiltration routes known as the Ho Chi Minh trail, will share int eh torrential downpour. More than 60 inches of rain is expected during the season. The monsoon will last 5 months and then make a one month transition to the annual northeast monsoon season. Monsoon means “seasonal rain. In the season now ending, the northeasterly monsoon has been carrying moist air from the South China Sea over the coastal plains as far south as Cam Ranh Bay. The panhandle and the Red River regions of North Vietnam have been experiencing their wettest, cloudiest months. With the changes in the seasons will come the best flying days in the north.”
Page 8: “Air Force Drops Curbs On Speech”… “Clark field in the P.I. has been told to stop use of Debriefing Certificates that require servicemen to sign a special certificate governing their statements on Vietnam before they return to the United States.” This practice halted as returning service personnel object and threaten law suits. The Army and Navy never used the certificates.
15 MAY 1966…ROLLING THUNDER OPS… Bad weather in North Vietnam limited Air Force and Navy operations to the panhandle region. This day was one of the five days of bombing pause to concentrate on photo reconnaissance by all available photo recce assets. In addition, dozens of other missions were flown during this period to add aircrew eyeballs and hand held cameras to the intelligence gathering cover story for what was a pause in the bombing to allow the President to make an offer to negotiate a mutual reduction in offensive operations with Ho Chi Minh, who stiffed the idea and never even opened the note request form LBJ… While the five day period was a pause without bomb deliveries. records indicate aircraft losses that day that indicate some bombing took place…
(1) CAPTAIN RALPH CAROL BALCOM was apparently Killed in Action flying an F-105D of the 421st TFS of the 388 TFW out of Korat. He had completed an armed reconnaissance mission in the panhandle and along with two wingmen found a hole in the weather to deliver bombs on targets on Highway 1A 10 miles southwest of Dong Hoi. After clearing the target and entering the clouds CAPTAIN BALCOM radioed he was clear, climbing and returning to Korat. He never landed. The Pathet Lao reported downing an F-105 on this date. CAPTAIN BALCOM rests in peace and is gone but not forgotten on this day 50 years after he disappeared.
(2) LCDR R.G. BLACKWOOD and LCDR JOHN COOLEY ELLISON safely ejected from an A-6A from VA-85 on USS Kitty Hawk after completing an armed reconnaissance mission. The aircraft was unable to transfer fuel from a tanker and fuel exhaustion forced the aircrew to eject. they were picked up and returned to duty. LCDR ELLISON was subsequently Killed in Action on 24 March 1967.
(3) NYT reported the loss of an A-1E Skyraider 20 miles south of Dong Hoi…no other info on this incident…
(4) Eight warriors perished in their AC-47D gunship from the 4th ACS of the 14th ACW out of Tan Son Nhut. The aircraft disappeared on a mission over Southern Laos. the pilot made a transmission at sunset from a position 30 miles west of the DMZ. A SAR mission failed to find the aircraft on a three day search of the area. The Pathet Lao later claimed to have downed a C-47. Between 1994 and 1997 a joint US-Lao team found and excavated the crash scene and the eight warriors remains were returned to the United States and identified in 1999. They rest in peace in their homeland as a consequence of a dedicated effort by our country to “leave no man behind.”… KILLED IN ACTION:
RIPPLE SALVO #76… HAND HELD PHOTOGRAPHY… In the 1960s the camera of choice was a Japanese or German 35mm with a variety of lenses. So when the President launched the five day bombing pause to gather photos of activity in North Vietnam, hand held photography made a significant contribution to the mission. The Air Force flew 175 visual, hand held photo sorties and the Navy flew 36, to add to 85 sorties by RF aircraft. What did all the photos record?…
“Initial photo and visual reconnaissance disclosed little rail or road traffic from Thanh Hoa to the junction of Routes 1 and 17, but yielded substantial indications that the Vietnamese were taking advantage of the strike-free period to increase daylight movements from the Vinh area southward. Approximately 329 vehicles, 263 railroad cars, 221 barges, 387 boats of all types, and 24 ferries were sighted below the 20th parallel. Except for 55 trucks spotted in one convoy, most vehicles appeared to travel in small groups. Traffic on highways 1,8, and 12 crossed rivers at fords where the bridges had been destroyed, and there appeared to be no traffic obstacles along Route 7. Most of the daylight air sightings were obtained in the first three days, then–presumably in anticipation of renewed bombing or to minimize aerial detection–the North Vietnamese reverted to moving most of their vehicles and watercraft at night.” (“Gradual Failure,’ Staaveren, p.133)
(Humble Host note… Do you think the bad guys knew what was going on for those five days and adjusted accordingly?? Sure. Check out General Pete Piotrowski’s recollection of Secretary Dean Rusk’s admission that: “We didn’t want to harm the North Vietnamese people, so we passed the targets to the Swiss embassy in Washington with instructions to pass them to the NVN government through their embassy in Hanoi.” ((https://www.truthorfiction.com/general-pete-piotrowski)) ).
Today’s aviators are recording the glory of flight using incredible technology. The best a Rolling Thunder warrior could manage was the trusty 35mm. The product was usually shown to family and friends, and Air Intelligence officers, as 35mm slides. The Vietnam War produced a mountain of 35mm slides and slide shows. One producer stands out above all others… MY CANDIDATE FOR “PHOTOG OF THE AIR WAR”…LTJG CHARLES CLAYTON NELSON, Attack Squadron 164…
Here is his Distinguished Flying Cross citation, awarded for just one of his many feats of multi-tasking while in great danger… The DFC CITATION…
“For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as a jet attack pilot attached to and serving with Arrack Squadron ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-FOUR, embarked in USS ORISKANY (CVA 34), in the successful participation in a combat aerial engagement against enemy aircraft over North Vietnam on 14 December 1967. While initiating an attack on a surface-to-air missile site near the city of Nam Dinh, Lieutenant (junior grade) NELSON’s IRON HAND section was attacked by four MIG 17 fighters. Although his A4 aircraft was heavily laden with ordnance, he nevertheless remained with the ensuing engagement assisting his F8Cescort against overwhelming odds. As the enemy unsuccessfully expended their ordnance and disengaged, Lieutenant (junior grade) NELSON caught sight of one of the straggling MIGs. He immediately gave pursuit and forced the enemy into violent defensive maneuvers while he vectored fresh friendly fighters in on their position. With amazing skill and determination while still heavily burdened with ordnance, he maintained an offensive position over the extremely maneuverable enemy until the fighters, under his precise direction, arrived on the scene and engaged the enemy. Throughout the long engagement that followed, Lieutenant (junior grade) NELSON maintained position over the fight helping coordinate the attack against the elusive enemy while calmly recording the aerial battle with his hand held 35 millimeter camera. Despite the increasing deadly threat of hostile ground fire, as the battle moved up the hazardous Red River Valley toward Hanoi, Lieutenant (junior grade) NELSON remained on scene until the engagement was terminated with the destruction of the enemy aircraft. Only then did he detach to deliver his remaining ordnance against a lucrative target and provide surface-to-air missile suppression cover for the retiring fighters under fire. His courage under fire, heroic action and extraordinary achievement were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
The series of photos LTJG Nelson took on this flight are in the archives, as are countless other pictures of SAM explosions, battle damaged aircraft, MIGs, and bombs hitting targets all over North Vietnam… oohrah… PS… LTJG NELSON was blessed on this flight to be in the company of an equally gutsy Crusader IRON HAND escort fighter pilot… goes by the nickname Brownbear…
Lest we forget….. Bear ….. –30– …..
