Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #928… ON 19 SEPTEMBER 1968 THE VIETNAM WAR PEACE NEGOTIATORS MET FOR THE 22nd TIME. HUMBLE HOST RELATES THE EVENT IN A 1-2-3-4 MANNER. First, the White House instructions to Cyrus Vance, acting in the absence of American lead negotiator Averell Harrison, then (2) the NYT story by correspondent Anthony Lewis reporting the meeting, (3) the telephone wrap-up from Vance back to Secretary of State Rusk in Washington, and finally (4), the Harriman telegram summarizing the follow-on meeting in Paris of 20 September. But first…
GOOD MORNING… Day NINE HUNDRED-TWENTY-EIGHT of an old warrior’s commemoration of an historic air battle fought over North Vietnam for 44-months by men of brave heart and fighting spirit responding to the orders of leaders who failed our country and the men who took the fight to the enemy.
HEAD LINES from The New York Times for Thursday, 19 September 1968…
THE WAR: “B-52’s INTENSIFY STRIKES ON THE DMZ TO HAMPER INFILTRATION”… “Air Force B-52 bombers are stepping up massive strikes in and around the demilitarized zone once again in an attempt to slow the steady infiltration of North Vietnamese troops into the northern provinces of South Vietnam. In the last two days the bombers, each off which can carry up to 27 tons of explosives, have struck 13 times in the thick scrub jungle on both sides of the Benhai River, which is part of the demarcation line between North and South. Last night there were heavy raids on suspected targets in North Vietnam, a mile north of the northern edge of the buffer zone and slightly more than five miles northwest of Conthien. Targets in the northern part of the six-mile zone were also struck. It was the second successive night of heavy raids on North Vietnamese soil… SEVERAL SHARP BATTLES… In the last few weeks there have been a number of sharp battles all along the southern border of the demilitarized zone, involving North Vietnamese forces and United States marines. In one clash most of a marine company were killed or wounded by mortar and small arms fire…. In addition to the raids in the North, the bombers have continued to strike troop concentrations and storage points in other provinces, notably in Tayninh and Binhlong, west and northwest of Saigon… ground action throughout most of South Vietnam yesterday was light and scattered…. However, in one incident near Tamky in Quangtin Province, a construction party made up of American engineers and South Vietnamese popular forces came under small arms fire while on a road-building projects. A 16-man engineer force sent to reinforce the men under attack, was ambushed on its way. The engineers fought back and 43 enemy bodies were found in the area after the fight in the area after the fight United States losses were eight killed and one wounded.”…. oohrah…
Page 8: “JOHNSON PARLEY WITH WAR ALLIES A POSSIBILITY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS… Page 1: “HUMPHREY APPEALS FOR QUICK ACTION ON NUCLEAR TREATY”…. Page 1: “NIXON GIVES HINT OF SUMMIT MOVE–INDICATES IF HE IS ELECTED, MEETING WITH RUSSIANS MIGHT SOLVE PROBLEMS”…
Page 1: “RAMSEY CLARK AND J.EDGAR HOOVER DIFFER ON POLICE BEFORE U.S. PANEL–Attorney General Warns of Illegalities–Head of FBI Cites Gooding in Chicago”… Page 1: “GUN CONTROL BILL PASSES IN SENATE– Interstate Sales Of Shotguns, Rifles and Ammunition Are Curbed–Vote Is 70-17″… Page 1: “Student Rebels Disrupt Columbia’s Registration”… Page 28: “NASA Rocket explodes on Launching–Communications Satellite Lost”… Page 29: “A SOVIET SPACE MISSION STIRS WORLD CONJECTURE–LOVELL SAYS ZOND 5 PASSED MOON AND IS RETURNING–U.S. Sources Suspoect Failure of Round Trip Attempt”… Page 64: Sports: Cardinals Washburn Hurls No-Hitter, Second Successive No-Hitter at Brant’s Park”… Page 67: “Touring Golf Pro’s Reported In Agreement With Sponsors”…
19 SEPTEMBER 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (20 Sept reporting 19 Sept ops) Page 4: “North of the demilitarized zone, American planes flew 131 multi-aircraft combat mission. A Navy A-4 Skyhawk was shot down nine miles south of Vinh and the pilot was listed as missing. This brought the unofficial total of planes shot down over North Vietnam to 892 planes.” (Humble Host notes there were no A-4s downed between 2 September and 23 September. NYT report probably refers to a Navy A-7 downed on 17 September, LCDR Brian Woods, who was captured.) …
VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were four fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 19 September 1968…
(1) MAJOR ELWYN REX CAPLING was flying an F-105D of the 469th TFS and 388th TFW out of Korat with a flight of Thunderchiefs striking a storage area six miles northwest of Thou Cam Son just north of the DMZ and making his second run on the target when hit by 37mm AAA. He attempted to fly his doomed Thud east to eject over the sea but came up short by three miles. After ejecting he was seen to land and was heard by others in the flight reporting he had a broken leg. That was the last that was ever heard from MAJOR CAPLING. He was listed as Missing in Action and presumed captured but he never arrived at the POW camps. His remains were returned without explanation on 18 march 1977. COLONEL CAPLING rests in peace in the cemetery at the Air Force Academy and is remembered with admiration and respect on this 50th anniversary of his last flight in the service of his country…
(2) CAPTAIN JOHN ALAN LAVOO, USMC and CAPTAIN ROBERT ALAN HOLT, USMC were flying an F-4B of the VFMA-542 Bengals and MAG-11 out of Danang and were downed by small arms fire 13 miles north of the DMZ while attacking a storage area. The Phantom was on a second diving attack when hit and did not pullout, crashing near the target. Neither of the crew were seen to escape the aircraft. In 1994 the remains from the crash site were recovered and returned to the United States. After positive identification both Marines were buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 19 July 1999 with full military honors.”…
(3) An A-37A Dragonfire of the 604th SOS and 3rd TFW out of Bien Hoa blew a tire on take off, the aircraft veered off the runway and was destroyed. The pilot escaped to fly and fight again…
(4) MAJOR ROGER O. CLEMENS and 1LT PETER NASH were flying an F-4D of the 435th TFS and 8th TFW out of Ubon and crashed on a night landing. The aircraft veered off the runway and the back seater successfully ejected. MAJOR CLEMENS perished in the accident… Fate is the hunter…
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) FOR THE FOUR 19 SEPTEMBER DATES OF THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1965, 1967… NONE…
1966… CAPTAIN DONALD G. WALTMAN, USAF… (POW)… and… LTJG DON BROWN PARSONS, USN… (KIA) …and… LTJG THOMAS HOLT PILKINGTON, USNR… (KIA)… and… LT FRANK MONROE BROWN, USN… (KIA)… and… LTJG DAVID ALLEN HENRY, USN… (KIA)…
1968… MAJOR EDWIN REX CAPLING, USAF… (KIA)… and… CAOPTAIN JOHN ALLEN LAVOO, USMC… (KIA) … and… CAPTAIN ROBERT ALLEN HOLT, USMC… (KIA)…
RIPPLE SALVO… #928… PARIS PEACE TALKS Session #22. On 9 December 1971, at Session #138, both sides agreed to give up trying to negotiate. This RTR post on Session #22 presents an example of American diplomacy at work. Humble Host posits that the talks in Paris in 1968-1971 are indicative of the conduct and pace of diplomacy then, now and forever, unless of course one side or the other has the POWER, POSITION and RESOLVE to direct the outcome. It wasn’t until December 1972–and the deaths of 30,000 more brave troops– that the United States found the will to apply the power required to change the enemy’s behavior. Meanwhile, on 18 September 1968 Secretary Rusk sent a set of supplemental instructions to Cyrus Vance in Paris (Lead negotiator Ambassador Harriman was home in U.S.) for his use in Session #22. The lead instruction: “As your previous instructions have made clear, the two critical points on which we seek the highest possible degree of understanding–as the basis for a decision to stop the bombing–are the inclusion of the GVN in subsequent talks under the ‘Your side/our side’ formula, and military activity in and near the DMZ.” Read at:
Document 23. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d23
NEW YORK TIMES, 19 SEPTEMBER 1968:
“HANOI REWORDS BOMBING STAND, BUT U.S. FINDS NO BASIC CHANGE” BY Anthony Lewis…
“Paris, Sept. 18–The North Vietnamese, using somewhat different language, said today that a halt in American bombing would ‘open the way for movement toward a peaceful solution to the Vietnam problem.’ American sources saw this phraseology as a new way of saying that the Paris talks would get into substantive issues after a total cessation of the bombing of North Vietnam. They saw no sign of assurances by Hanoi of a mutual scaling down of the war. President Johnson has made such assurances he condition for a bombing halt. ‘There was no movement,’ Cyrus R. Vance said after today’s session of the talks, the 22d since they began last May. mr. Vance headed the American delegation in the absence of W. Averell Harriman, who is in the United States on personal business (Mother-in-Law’s funeral)…
JOHNSON WORDS PARAPHRASED
“Mr. Vance concluded his formal remarks across the conference table today by saying: ‘As for ending the remaining bombing of North Vietnam, we ask that you give us reason to believe that you intend seriously to join with us in de-escalating the fighting and moving seriously toward peace.’ That was a paraphrase of a sentence in President Johnson’s speech to the Veteran’s of foreign Wars in Detroit August 19. In that speech the President rejected advice from many sides that he stop the bombing on the basis of a summer lull in fighting. But he did keep open the possibility of a future halt without a formal Hanoi pledge by saying he would need only ‘good reason to believe’ in an intention to de-escalate. Today’s new formulation by Hanoi seemed to build on one passage in a speech September 2 by North Vietnam’s Premier, Phan Van Dong. He said that a bombing halt could ‘have a positive effect on the seeking step by step of a political settlement for the Vietnam problem.’
THUY REITERATES DEMAND
“Xuan Thuy, the chief Hanoi delegate, reiterated the familiar demand for an unconditional cessation. He added that this would be a ‘first step opening the way to move toward a peaceful solution on the basis of respect for the fundamental rights of the Vietnamese people.’ The delegation spokesman Nguyen Thanh Le, gave that line several times in slightly varied forms in his press briefing afterwards. He also said one other thing that interested the earnest seekers for significance in verbal nuance here. He was asked whether, after a bombing pause, Hanoi would insist that the United States conditionally do other things the Communists have mentioned–recognized the National Liberation Front, withdraw all troops from South Vietnam and so forth.
“Mr. Le said the bombing must stop ‘without any conditions.’ He then said that the United States must also do the other thing–but he did not add the phrase about conditions, perhaps implying that these subjects were negotiable.”…. End quote…
Even as writer Lewis was filing his story on Session #22, Cyrus Vance was on the phone to the State Department to report that “there was no progress and statement of ‘understanding'” and contended that the North Vietnamese ‘had no authority from Hanoi to respond in the face of our rather precise statements.'” Ambassador Harriman was back in Paris on the 19th and together with Vance met with the two top dogs for the North Vietnamese, (Tho and Thuy) for 3 and 1/2 hours on 20 September. A one-page summary of the meeting is available at the link, State Department, Historical Document 24. Diplomats at work…the search for the right word… The North Vietnamese are adamant that there will be on other subject discussed until the United States stops the bombing. The United States will not stop the bombing until North Vietnam agrees to discuss other things and or make a move to de-escalate in response to the initial 90% reduction of the bombing made by the President on 31 March 1968. Impasse.. “a predicament from which there is no obvious escape.”… (Unless there is the will to apply the requisite amount of power to force the opposition to alter his behavior)… One hundred fourteen sessions, and the lives of 30,000 more American fighting men to go… Read the Harriman telegram of 20 September at…
24. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v07/d24
RTR quote for 19 September: CARL PHILLIPP GOTTFRIED von CLAUSEWITZ: “Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination.”
Lest we forget… Bear
