Bear Taylor 
19 MAY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…Here is how Chris Hobson introduced the tally of aircraft and aviators lost in Southeast Asia this day fifty years ago…“The 19th of May 1967 proved to be one of the blackest days of the war for the US Navy with the loss of six aircraft and 10 aircrew over North Vietnam. The three participating carriers, the Enterprise, Bon Homme Richard, and the Kitty Hawk, each lost two aircraft. The reason for the heavy losses on this day lies in the importance of the targets and the level of air defenses that protected those targets. The strikes on the 19th were the first Navy raids on targets in Hanoi itself. However, the 19th of May was also the birthday of Ho Chi Minh and this may have spurred the defenses to a new level…”
(Webmaster note: The first chapter of my book Across the Wing chronicles the loss of Lieutenant Kelly Patterson and the other nine aviators who went down on this dark day in naval aviation history)
Good Morning: Day FOUR HUNDRED FORTY of remembering all the days of Rolling Thunder, especially the hard days… 19 May 1967 was a very hard day…
19 May 1967…HEADLINES and leads from The New York Times on a sunny Friday in NYC…
Page 1: “Allies In Vietnam Begin an Assault on Buffer Zone”...”United States and South Vietnam troops have launched their first full-scale assault into the demilitarized zone separating North and South Vietnam. The United States has been pounding the southern half of the buffer zone regularly with bombs and artillery on the ground that it is being used by North Vietnam as a jumping off point for attacks on Allied positions in the northern provinces of South Vietnam.”… Page 3: “U.S. Unit Overrun”... “An enemy battalion trapped and overran a platoon of 48 United States infantrymen yesterday in the Central Highlands. Americans called artillery on their own position then fell silent. Three killed, 21 wounded and 24 missing. There was no further word on the lost platoon. The total Americans deaths, killed in action in Vietnam is now 9,916. New casualties have pushed this number past the 10,000 KIA total.”…
Page 1: “United Arab Republic Deploys its Forces Along Border With Israel and two large pictures of armor positioned on the frontier. Movements included convoys of tanks and trucks.”… Page 1: “House Group Backs Curb on Johnson Draft Lottery”… “The House Armed Services Committee approved today new legislation on the draft that would give Congress a potential veto over President Johnson’s power to induct eligible 19-year olds.”… Page 1: “U.S. May Urge UN to Act on Vietnam”...”Secretary of State Dean Rusk said today that the Johnson Administration provided by Mike Mansfield and Senator Majority Leader was considering a new approach to the United Nations to help resolve the conflict in South Vietnam…The Secretary of State added that while Washington had favored such a move at one time, ‘Hanoi and Peking have said that it is none of the United Nation’s business.’ “... Page 38: Editorial: “Holding the Peace Line”... “The sword rattling, the troop movements, the military alerts and the assorted alarms on the Israeli-Arab borders are part of a war of nerves that, by accident or miscalculation, could set off a major conflict that none of the parties want. None of the adversaries have yet gone beyond the point of no return, however, and vigorous efforts by the United Nations and the major powers in urging restraint on all sides may be enough to help keep the powder from igniting.”…
19 May 1967…The President’s CIA Daily TS Brief…1. ARAB STATES-ISRAEL: The situation is explosive and the Syrians hold the match. if Syrian terrorists kill any Israelis, Israel is quite likely to strike first and hard. The Syrians are unpredictable. Nasir for his part is undoubtedly anxious to duck a fight. But he has crawled way out on the limb. He has made one of the best publicized troop build-ups in recent years and he has told the United Nations Emergency Force to go home. With his prestige on the line Nasir will find it hard indeed to bk down if the crunch comes. (Major portions of this briefing note remains redacted after 50 years)…
19 MAY 1967…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (20 May reporting 19 May ops) …Page 1: “TERRIBLE BARRAGE OF HANOI FIRE DOWNED U.S. JETS”… Report by Jaques Moalic, Agence French Presse in Hanoi…” Three or perhaps four United States fighter-bombers were shot down in Hanoi today by one of the most terrible barrages of antiaircraft fire I have ever seen. The planes were downed during the days second American attack against suburbs of Hanoi. A third raid occurred later but a storm rolling into Hanoi prevented me from seeing the attackers and the effects of the anti-aircraft fire. The days air losses promised to be very heavy. The Hanoi radio said four planes had been brought down in the morning raid. according to available information, about an equal number were shot down in the afternoon. The Navy’s first action in the capital was violent raid over the southern suburbs after a 4-day pause in the bombing. At least two waves of planes swept over shortly after 10AM dropping their bombs for a quarter of an hour through a barrage of antiaircraft fire and Soviet made missiles. One plane was apparently shot down and its pilot captured in this raid. Several groups of Soviet made MIG jets flew overhead but it was impossible to see whether they were actually engaged in combat. An American rocket–apparently a Bullpup struck the city’s diplomatic section during this first raid, at about 10:15. It exploded on the curb of the sidewalk tearing to bits a North Vietnamese who had taken shelter a yard away.
“The explosions occurred opposite the residence of the East German Embassy staff. As the rocket fell it went through the high branches of a tree on the grounds of a neighboring villa…
“Other attacks followed that raid. Early in the afternoon three or four United States fighter-bombers were shot down in a matter of seconds….
“In a sky dotted with exploding missiles I suddenly saw an F-105 blow-up. In a second, it was transformed into a ball of fire that fell twisting downward over the western suburbs.
“An alert sounded at 2:15 and a few seconds later the first wave of planes flew right over the center of the city. Phantom jet fighters were diving to roof top-level as if trying to draw the heavy antiaircraft fire toward them and enable the bombers to reach their targets… “Everywhere around the planes little black clouds scattered in all directions with bursts of anti-aircraft fire and the reddish flash of exploding surface-to-air missiles…”
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were eight fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 19 May 1967…
(1) MAJOR ROY ABNER KNIGHT was flying an A-1E of the 602nd ACS and the 56th ACW out of Ubon on a mission in northern Laos and went down about 10 miles east of Sam Neua. MAJOR KNIGHT was listed as missing in action for several years before a presumptive finding of death changed this to Killed in Action. He lies where he fell fifty years ago…left behind…
(2) COMMANDER RICHARD RICH and LCDR WILLIAM ROBERT STARK were flying an F-4B of the VF-96 Fighting Falcons embarked in USS Enterprise providing fighter cover for a strike group attacking targets near Hanoi. Their aircraft was taken under fire by SAMs and hit by two SAMs within two minutes of each other. LCDR STARK ejected and was seriously injured. He survived to be captured about 20 miles south of Hanoi and was imprisoned as a POW for six years, returning home in March 1973. The remains of COMMANDER RICH, XO of VF-96 were returned in April 2000 and identified 1o months later... Well done, JTF-FA recovery folks…
(3) LTJG JOSEPH CHARLES PLUMB and LTJG GARETH LAVERNE ANDERSON were flying an F-4B of the VF-114 Aardvarks embarked in USS Kitty Hawk providing fighter cover in the same area near Hanoi an hour later and were met with a volley of SAMs, one of which scored a direct hit on their F-4. Both ejected and were captured to be imprisoned as POWs until released in 1973…
(4) LT EUGENE BAKER McDANIEL and LT JAMES KELLY PATTERSON (featured image) were flying an A-6A of the VA-35 Black Panthers embarked in USS Enterprise as part of a formation of six Intruders in a strike group headed for the Van Dien complex a few miles south of Hanoi. Their aircraft was taken under fire by SAMs twenty miles southwest of Hanoi and LT McDANIEL was unable to evade one. He was subsequently unable to control the damaged aircraft and the two aviators ejected. LT McDANIEL was captured and imprisoned as a POW. He was released in 1973 and returned to resume his Navy career. His telling of his life and this event on 19 May are included in his books “Before Honour” and the updated reprint, “Scars and Stripes.”
LT PATTERSON was injured in the ejection but was able to evade the enemy search teams long enough for an attempt to use the Fulton Extraction Kit. Unfortunately, he was captured before this effort could be completed. The rest of LT PATTERSON’s life is unknown. He was never seen by any of the American POWs and his disappearance has led to many theories including one that has him taken to a Soviet debriefing facility in Kazakhstan. LT PATTERSON was presumed to be dead and was declared Killed in Action… Where he lies at rest, at peace is unknown… left behind…Read the Task Force Omega report on James Kelly Patterson.
(5) CAPTAIN HAROLD JAMES HELLBACH, USMC was flying an F-8E of the VMF(AW)-232 Falcons and MAG-11 out of Danang in support of operations near the DMZ and was attacking an ammunition depot when hit by ground fire. CAPTAIN HELLBACH announced he was hit and attempted to turn and fly toward the coast. Unfortunately, the aircraft rolled inverted and flew into the ground. CAPTAIN HELLBACH’s remains were recovered in 1997 by JTF-FA, eventually identified, and CAPTAIN HELLBACH was buried in Arlington in 1998…
(6) LCDR KAY RUSSELL was flying an F-8E of the VF-211 Checkmates embarked in USS Bon Homme Richard and leading a flight of six F-8s to provide fighter cover for the all-important initial attack by Walleye on the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant. When the MIGs came up a melee developed. LCDR RUSSELL was hit by ground fire then a SAM in the fight. He was able to eject and complete the war as a POW returning home in 1973. Bon Homme Richard F-8s shot down four MIGs in the melee on 19 May 1967…
(7) LTJG WILLIAM JOHN METZGER was flying an F-8E of the VF-24 Checkertails embarked in USS Bon Homme Richard in a flight of six flak suppressors on the Hanoi TPP strike. In the ensuing melee with the MIGs LTJG METZGER dodged the MIGs and the SAMs but was hit by intense anti-aircraft fire including a round or two in the cockpit. Seriously injured and flying a burning aircraft, he ejected about 10 miles west of Hanoi and was immediately captured. He was released from POW captivity in 1973.
(8) LCDR JAMES LLOYD GRIFFIN and LT JACK WALTERS were flying an RA-5C of the RVAH-13 Bats embarked in USS Kitty Hawk and tasked with post strike BDA on the Hanoi TPP strike four hours earlier. As the aircraft closed Hanoi at 3,500-feet at 700-knots it was hit by ground fire and burst into flame. LCDR GRIFFIN and LT WALTERS were able to eject about ten miles from Hanoi but were captured and taken to prison in Hanoi. Both died a few days later. The remains of both LCDR GRIFFIN and LT WALTERS were returned to the United States and identified in 1974…
RIPPLE SALVO… #440… On 19 May 1967 at 5:00 PM there was a meeting at the White House to discuss “bombing policy.” It was a two-hour meeting that included the President, Rusk, McNamara and Rostow with Tom Christian the note taker (no notes ever found)… Humble Host hopes you can find the time to read two important Rolling Thunder documents pertaining to this cross-roads moment in the air war… Read at:
Memorandum from Asst Sec of State to Sec State of May 19, 1967 #175…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d175
Memorandum from Rostow to the President of 19 May 1967, 3PM #176…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments//frus1964-68v05/d176
19 May 1967 was a great day for some. However, the Bonny Dick losses of LCDR KAY RUSSEL, VF-211, and LTJG WILLIAM JOHN METZGER, VF-24, to the enemy to spend the rest of the war, six years, as POWs made the day a bitter-sweet memory for all. In addition, losses on USS Enterprise and USS Kitty Hawk on that day totaled four aircraft lost and eight aviators KIA or POW… It was called Black Friday…
CAG’s QUOTE for 19 May: MACARTHUR: “The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor Country,”
Lest we forget… Bear
