Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #722… TODAY– A FEW GROUPS FOR THE MEDIUM ATTACK MUD MOVERS… My admiration and respect for A-6A/B Intruder crews knows no bounds. They alone carried Rolling Thunder strikes–and later, Linebacker ops– into the heartland of our enemy every night and led a lion’s share of the Carrier Air Wing Alpha strikes on the JCS targets during the day. No Slack in Medium Attack… My unabashed admiration is not intended to take anything away from my brothers in the Light Attack business or the fighter-bombers who inevitably prefer to be called fighter pilots. But there was only one breed of warrior that flew at 150-feet, at night, in the worst of weather, among the hills, and directly at the enemy’s most heavily defended targets–every night. On USS Enterprise–like every other big deck in the Gulf of Tonkin– VA-35 with 12 A-6As and 15 crews flew eight to a dozen strikes during the six hours of daylight and another eight to a dozen in the dark. After eight days on the noon to midnight schedule, they (we) would shift to midnight to noon. And every 24 days they got a few days off. After five periods “on the line” the survivors got to go home to get ready to come back and do it again. That was Rolling Thunder. Remember?… It was more of the same later in Linebacker I and II ops.
My search for a little support for my conclusion– “Gangway, Intruder Crews”– took me to a great read: Carol Reardon’s Launch the Intruders: A Naval Attack Squadron in the Vietnam War, 1972, a study that “presents a comprehensive operational history of VA-75’s 1972 combat deployment in Southeast Asia.” I quote from the author’s preface:
“… the A-6 is a tactical attack aircraft. Its mission is to drop ordnance on target. The crews did not chase MiGs through North Vietnamese skies or challenge enemy pilots to dogfights. They dropped bombs. Their story–to some–lacks the flash and dash of 1972’s best-known naval aviators, the F-4 Phantom crew of Lt Randall Cunningham and LTJG William Driscoll, who became the Navy’s only aces during the Vietnam War in May. Those who flew the A-6 in combat understand the ‘Top Gun’ spirit that draws many naval aviators and naval historians to the work of the fighter community. But the attack community’s contributions–equally as dramatic and dangerous–merit study too. They boasted: ‘If you’re not attack, you must be support.‘ In time, they came to agree ‘fighter guys make movies, attack guys make history.‘ Except for popular works such as Stephen Coonts’s novel Flight of the Intruder and the movie it inspired, the attack community has languished too long in the shadow of the fighters. This study expands coverage of the naval air war to give the attack community its due.”...
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Good Morning: Day SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO of reflection and remembering Operation Rolling Thunder…
25 February 1968…HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a cold and sunny Sunday in New York…
THE GROUND WAR (“war is a killing business”) Page 1: “SOUTH VIETNAMESE SEIZE HUE PALACE; ENEMY RETREATS–TROOPS AFTER 21-DAY SIEGE, FIND MOST OF FOE GONE–Fight Seems Near End”… “South Vietnamese troops, throwing hand grenades and shouting an exultant war cry, captured the Imperial Palace here. They met no resistance. The North Vietnamese troops who had occupied the palace for 24 days had retreated, probably last night…In Saigon, new fighting broke out along the boundary of Tansonnhut Airfield, with 2 Americans and ten enemy soldiers reported killed… The Capture of Hue’s 700 yard-square walled palace area seemed to signal the collapse of heavy enemy resistance and the battle for the city appeared to be nearing its end. Some fighting continued however, in the Chinese quarter of the city and in the western sections of Hue, both inside and outside the wall that surrounds the major part of the city north of the Huong River, which dissects the city of 120,000.”…
Page 1: “U.S. ADMITS BLOW TO PACIFICATION–High Official In Saigon Says Foe’s Attacks Result In Rural ‘Vacuum’ “... “The United States mission conceded today for the first time that the allied effort to pacify the countryside suffered a ‘considerable setback’ as a result of the Vietcong offensive. ‘There has been a loss of momentum, there has been some withdrawal of security troops from the countryside, there has been a significant psychological setback, both on the part of pacification people themselves and the local population,’ said a high official of the mission.”... Page 1: “Thant Urges U.S. Assumes Hanoi Good Faith In Talks”... “Secretary General Thant declared today that if the United States unconditionally ended the bombing in Vietnam, it could reasonably assume that North Vietnam would deal in ‘good faith’ with the issue of ground fighting. The assessment of Mr. Thant in a report of his inquiry into Hanoi’ views on peace-making and his talks with Soviet leaders, appeared to diplomats here to be an attempt to bridge the gap between President Johnson’s San Antonio formula and North Vietnam’s position.”…. Page 1: “Impact of Vietnam On Europe Grows”... “The Vietcong’s offensive in the cities of the South and the signs of American military vulnerability have made the war in Vietnam burst upon the European consciousness as never before. Reports from correspondents of the New York Times from all the countries of Western Europe show a far greater sense of involvement and far stronger feelings than existed when the ground fighting took place in remote rice paddies and Europeans thought of the war primarily in terms of bombs falling on Hanoi.”…
Page 1: “NEW DRAFT RULES ANGER GRADUATES–CONFUSION AND RESIGNATION ALSO FOUND–Minority Is Seeking To Defy The Law”... “College Seniors and first year graduate school students across the nation have responded to the new draft regulations with a mixture of anger, confusion and resignation, but without panic. An outspoken minority is debating means of defying the draft–even at the cost of going to jail–or evading it by moving to Canada, taking teaching jobs without first completing their studies, or finding legal loopholes. From 160,000 to 200,000 undergraduate students and first year graduate students are now eligible for the draft.”… Page 1: “McNAMARA SAYS DESTROYERS IN 1964 WARNED OF ENEMY–Tells Senators That 2 Ships Remained on Patrol Despite Threat of Hostile Action”... “Some 15 hours before they came under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1964, two American destroyers warned higher command that North Vietnam regarded them as enemy craft. Despite the warning, Congressional testimony disclosed today, the destroyers were not instructed to break off their intelligence-gathering patrol off the coast of North Vietnam. About 15 hours later–on the night of August 4, 1964–they became involved in a naval encounter with North Vietnamese patrol boats that was to mark a turning point in the American involvement in the Vietnam war.”…
Page 1: “JOHNSON UNIT ASSAILS WHITES IN NEGRO RIOTS– WILL URGE DRIVE ON PREJUDICE, NEGLECT AND IGNORANCE”… “The President’ National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders plans to recommend drastic changes in the operation of city governments, police departments and other institutions to help stem rising militancy and estrangement between whites and Negroes in urban areas. The Commission, appointed by President Johnson last July 27, has found that the primary cause of last summer’s riots was a massive failure of the white majority, through prejudice and neglect, to deal justly with the Negro community.”... Page 1: “TOP BUSINESSMEN JOIN U.S. EFFORT TO FIND NEW JOBS–President At Ranch, Gives Names of 60 Leaders–Meets With Henry Ford–Aid for Slums Mapped–But Auto Executive Doubts That Employment Alone Would Avert Rioting”… “President Johnson announced today that 60 leading businessmen had agreed to join a private-public effort to find jobs for the hard-core unemployed in the nation’s slums… “
25 FEBRUARY 1968… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (26 Feb reporting 25 Feb ops) Page 2: “RAIL YARD AT HAIPHONG BOMBED”… “The United States command reported today that American planes attacked a major North Vietnamese railroad yard yesterday only 1.7 miles northwest of the center of Haiphong. The raid was the first on the yard since December 15. It was carried out by all-weather A-6 Intruder bombers from the carrier Enterprise. The yard is along the main railroad line leading from Haiphong to Hanoi. Military supplies arriving at Haiphong’s docks are carried over the line to Hanoi. War materials arriving in Hanoi by rail and truck from Communist China also are channeled along the railroad. A little more than two weeks ago, President Johnson lifted a month-long suspension of the bombing of targets in and around Hanoi and Haiphong. He was said to have imposed the suspension with word to the North Vietnamese that it was a sign of American interest in the opening of peace talks.”… Page 2: “RAID ON HANOI DESCRIBED”… (Agence France-Presse) United States planes bombed a working class district in the heart of Hanoi at 3 A.M. yesterday (24th), killing 12 persons and injuring 16, the North Vietnamese press agency said today. Many houses were destroyed and damaged, according to the dispatch, which was monitored here (Hong Kong). The agency said that the bombed area was in the Haibathung district of Hanoi ‘right in the center of the city.’ It said the raid lasted 20 minutes and that several delayed action bombs had been dropped.”…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were three fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 25 February 1968…
(1) CAPTAIN BERNARD E. FLANAGAN was flying an F-100D of the 355th TFS and 354th TFW out of Phu Cat on a mission in Steel Tiger about 25 miles east of Saravane and was hit by 37mm AAA on his second attack on North Vietnamese troops. CAPTAIN FLANAGAN ejected a few minutes and miles closer to Saravane and was rescued by Air Force HH-3E with an hour…
(2) MAJOR I. J. SEVERSON was flying an O-1E Bird Dog of the 20th TASS and 505th TASG out of Danang providing FAC support 10 miles southwest of Danang and was hit by ground fire. MAJOR SEVERSON made a forced landing and was rescued by an Army helicopter ahead of the Vietcong who were headed his way (within 10 miles of Danang!!!).
(3) MAJOR V.P. HART, USMC was flying an A-4E of the VMA-211 Avengers and MAG-12 out of Chu Lai to strike a Vietcong bunker position 10 miles southeast of Danang. On his fourth ordnance delivery pass on the target MAJOR HART was hit by small arms fire and had to eject immediately in close proximity to the Vietcong position target. He, too, was rescued by helicopter before he was found by the Vietcong.
RIPPLE SALVO… #722… GANGWAY INTRUDER WARRIORS… three EXTRAORDINARY HEROES… Awarded the NAVY CROSS for missions flown on 24 February 1968 to targets in Hanoi… RTR for yesterday posted the NAVY CROSS citation for VA-35 SKIPPER, COMMANDER GLEN KOLLMANN. His partner and B/N on the night strike on the Hanoi port facilities and wharf was LT JOHN GRIFFITH…
AMONG THE BRAVE…EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM… LIEUTENANT JOHN GARY GRIFFITH…the NAVY CROSS… 24 FEBRUARY 1968… HANOI, NORTH VIETNAM…
“The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the NAVY CROSS (Posthumously) to JOHN GARY GRIFFITH, Lieutenant Commander (then Lieutenant), U.S. Navy, for EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM in aerial flight on 24 February 1968 as a naval flight officer in Attack Squadron THIRTY-FIVE (VA-35), embarked in U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)-65). As leading Bombardier/Navigator, Lieutenant Commander GRIFFITH flew on a night air strike against a vital and heavily defended port facility in the heart of North Vietnam. Navigating his aircraft at perilously low altitudes in the monsoon weather, he successfully penetrated intense and accurate enemy defenses en route to the target. Disregarding the threatening surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft artillery defending the target area, Lieutenant Commander GRIFFITH maintained a steady radar tracking of the target until bomb release, thereby ensuring an optimum bombing solution. Because of his daring and highly professional navigation and radar-bombing skill, his bombs found their mark, inflicting heavy damage upon the port facilities. By his technical competence, courage, and loyal devotion to duty in the face of intense opposition, Lieutenant Commander GRIFFITH contributed materially to United States efforts in Southeast Asia and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”…. oohrah…
(Webmaster note: For the Silver Star citation of Commander Glenn Kollman see the 24 February 1968 RTR entry)
AMONG THE BRAVE… EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM…COMMANDER JERROLD MATTHEW ZACHARIAS…the NAVY CROSS… 24 FEBRUARY 1968… HANOI, NORTH VIETNAM…
“The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the NAVY CROSS to Commander JERROLD MATTHEW ZACHARIAS, United States Navy, for EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM on 24 February 1968 as a pilot in Attack Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE (VA-85) embarked in U.S.S. KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) and launched from U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)-65) in a joint attack with Attack Squadron THIRTY-FIVE (VA-35). Commander ZACHARIAS participated in a coordinated low-level strike against the heavily defended port facilities within the city of Hanoi, North Vietnam. Soon after launching, he developed serious systems difficulties in his aircraft. Through the professionalism and determination of Commander ZACHARIAS and his bombardier/navigator, this discrepancy was overcome and they rejoined the flight to continue the attack. En route to, and in the target area, extremely heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire was encountered and the aircraft received a hit in the left wing. Notwithstanding the battle damage, Commander ZACHARIAS aggressively piloted his aircraft to the target through multiple surface-to-air missile attacks which he successfully evaded through extremely low-altitude maneuvering. He then delivered his ordnance directly on the target area. During egress from the target area he again came under an intense attack from surface-to-air missiles and was forced to maneuver violently at very low altitude. One missile was seen to explode aft and below the aircraft, buffeting it violently. By his daring action, exceptional skill, and loyal devotion to duty in the face of intense enemy opposition, Commander ZACHARIAS upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”… oohrah…
AMONG THE BRAVE… EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM… LIEUTENANT COMMANDER MICHAEL RICHARD HALL… the NAVY CROSS… 24 FEBRUARY 1968…HANOI, NORTH VIETNAM…
“The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the NAVY CROSS to MICHAEL RICHARD HALL, Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy, for EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM on 24 February 1968 as a Bombardier/Navigator in Attack Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE (VA-85), embarked in U.S.S. KITTY HAWK (CVA-63), and launched from U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)-65) in a joint attack with Attack Squadron THIRTY-FIVE (VA-35). Lieutenant Commander HALL participated in a coordinated, night, low-level strike against the heavily defended port facilities within the city of Hanoi, North Vietnam. Soon after launching, serious systems difficulties developed in his aircraft. Through the professionalism and determination of Lieutenant Commander HALL and his pilot, this discrepancy was overcome and they rejoined the flight to continue the attack. En route to, and in the target area, extremely heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire was encountered and the aircraft received a hit in the left wing. Notwithstanding the battle damage, Lieutenant Commander HALL aggressively navigated his aircraft to the target through multiple surface-to-air missile attacks which were successfully evaded through extremely low-altitude maneuvering. He then delivered his ordnance directly on the target. During egress from the target area, he again came under an intense attack from surface-to-air missiles and was forced to maneuver violently at very low altitude. One missile was seen to explode aft and below his aircraft, buffeting it violently. By his daring action, exceptional skill, and loyal devotion to duty in the face of intense enemy opposition, Lieutenant Commander HALL upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”… oohrah…
Humble Host is proud to present and include the heroic achievements of these four intrepid Intruder aviators to this log of what went on in the skies of North Vietnam fifty years ago. I do so with respect, admiration and appreciation for the courage and commitment it takes to carry the fight to and kill the extremely capable and equally determined enemies of our country... I close this post with a quote from a poster hanging on a briefing board in the VX-5 Squadron spaces at China Lake that defines “The Mission–Attack” in ten sentences. #10: “Finally, and this is the bottom line: real men fly attack because they understand the most fundamental law of wartime negotiations. You negotiate with the enemy with your knee in his chest and your knife at his throat.”….
Lest we forget… Bear
