ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED 29 APRIL 1966

RIPPLE SALVO… PRESUMED DEAD … but first…

Good Morning: Day SIXTY-ONE of the long look back to Operation Rolling Thunder…50 years ago…

29 APRIL 1966 (NYT)… ON THE HOME FRONT… Friday…Page 1: “Fulbright Warns of Fatal Course by U.S. in Vietnam”…Senator J.W. Fulbright, in a speech to newspaper publishers, said the nation shows signs of over extending power and that “war hysteria” is affecting the public. Senator Fulbright said the nation cannot reach social goals while paying the price of fighting….”America is showing signs of that fatal presumption that over extension of power and mission, which brought ruin to ancient Athens, to Napoleonic France, and Nazi Germany. In concrete terms, the President simply cannot think about implementing the Great Society program at home while he is supervising bombing missions over North Vietnam.” Fulbright also said that Congress “has lost interest in the Great Society and psychologically it has become a war Congress.”…On the same program, Vice President Hubert Humphrey defended the Administration and said that the nation “can have guns and butter, and billions for schools and cities, and transportation, and eliminate air and water pollution, and spend tens of billions on an Asian war.”… Also on page 1: “Dominicans Clash With U.S. Troops”…A major incident developed in the Dominican Republic during a demonstration marking the one year anniversary of American troops presence in Santo Domingo. Some among the thousands of demonstrators fired on the troops, and in the return fire seven “leftists” were wounded. Signs included “Go Home Yankees.” …Also page 1: “President Alone To Decide on Pursuit of Red Planes” … The warnings of yesterday were qualified today to limit the decision to execute hot pursuit across national boundaries to the President. Senators Ev Dirksen and Henry Jackson affirmed their support for the Sate Department announcement… Page 3: “U.S. Finds MIGs Do Little Firing” in the five encounters with Air Force F-4s while losing eight MIGs to American pilots. so far Air Force pilots report that the enemy has fired no missiles and few cannon rounds. There were no MIG sightings on the 28th while F-105s struck a SAM site south of Vinh. B-52s hit Mugia Pass again causing major landslides as on 12 April…

Page 22: …carried the full text of an LBJ message to Congress urging new Civil Rights legislation… “Last year I came before the Congress in an hour of crisis to recommend new and powerful guarantees of the right to vote. I asked the Congress on that March night in 1965 to strike down all restrictions to voting in all elections…Less than five months after I spoke, the Congress perfected and passed our Voting Rights Act of 1965… We are engaged in a great adventure–as great as that of the last century when our fathers marched to the Western frontier. Our frontier today is human beings. Not land… Success rests in the heart of every American.”… a NYT editorial, “President Has Moved Firmly in the Right Direction,” included: “President Johnson’s civil rights message carries the nations long campaign for equality into the last bastions of segregation and racial privilege–the jury room and the residential neighborhood. There are many signs that this ultimate battle may be the hardest fought of all.” 

29 APRIL 1966…ROLLING THUNDER OPS…As Chris Hobson notes in his monster record, “Vietnam: Air Losses“—“The 29th was another bad day for the US in Southeast Asia with six aircraft and their pilots lost (5 KIA and 1 POW).”

(1) CAPTAIN WILLIAM FRANCIS MULLEN of VMA-223 based at Chu Lai was Killed in Action while flying an A-4E Skyhawk in a strike on gun emplacements near the Ban Karai Pass west of the DMZ. He was hit on his first pass and was last seen going north and into heavy cloud cover. He disappeared without a trace. His wife Barbara authored a book, “Every Effort,” that tells of her fruitless search for her husband.

(2) LTJG THOMAS EDWARD BROWN of VF-211 embarked in USS Hancock was Killed in Action while flying an F-8E Crusader on a coastal reconnaissance mission and conducting a strafing pass on a large vessel east of Dao Cat Ba Island east of Haiphong. The young aviator inadvertently collided with a karst rock on his first pass and perished with the aircraft at the site.

(3) LCDR WILLIAM PATRICK EGAN of VA-215 embarked in USS Hancock was Killed in Action while flying an A-1H Skyraider on a Steel Tiger road reconnaissance mission. He was shot down near Ban Senphan while attacking a vehicle. No trace of either he or his aircraft has ever been found.

(4) MAJOR ALBERT EDWARD RUNYAN of the 20 TRS at Tan Son Nhut was shot down while flying his F-101C Voodoo on a post strike photo mission 15 miles southwest of Yen Bai and 65 miles northwest of Hanoi. He ejected and was captured. He was released and returned to the United States with other POWs on 12 February 1973. His was the eighth F-101 to be lost in Southeast Asia in the first four months of 1966.

(5) 1LT DONALD WILLIAM BRUNCH of the 333rd TFS from Takhli was shot down while flying an F-105D Thunderchief as part of a large strike on the Thai Nguyen steel production complex. He was hit over the target and continued to fly his aircraft westward for twenty miles before the aircraft was seen to suddenly and inexplicably dive into the ground. 1LT BRUNCH was Killed in Action and perished in the service of his country. Gone forever, and oh so young.

(6) CAPTAIN LEO SYDNEY BOSTON of the 602 ACS out of Udorn was flying an A-1E Skyraider on a SAR mission associated with the search and rescue of 1LT BRUNCH. As he was crossing the Laotian border and entering North Vietnam airspace he was jumped by, and shot down by a MIG-17 in mountainous terrain 10 miles east  of Na San. He was listed as MIA until 1978 when his status was changed to presumed dead. CAPTAIN BOSTON was Killed In Action in the service of his country and perished in the mountainous jungles of North Vietnam. Gone but not forgotten on this day fifty years after his last sunrise.

RIPPLE SALVO… MISSING AND PRESUMED DEAD… 29 April 1966 was more than a bad day. Five young men in their prime died for their country in the most painful of all deaths. They didn’t just die, they disappeared and left behind a permanent and never ending void in the lives, minds and hearts of their families and close friends. It must not be lost on any of us that on this day fifty years ago five American aviators died alone in the service of our country and were lost forever. They perished. Their remains turning to dust where they died. No marker except their names etched into the magnificent Vietnam Wall– thank God for that. No man left behind? Wishful thinking, but a purposeful goal for those who continue the search, including the families, and especially those loving soul partners and children left behind to cope. Our nation is very good at search and rescue and relentless in seeking the return of POWs and the remains of the missing. Let this day–29 April 1966 — and the disappearance of five brave warriors serve to reinforce our quest to leave no warrior behind. There are thousands to be returned. Thank you, ROLLING THUNDER, NATIONAL and the thousands of bikers who continue to support the endless search for the nation’s missing in action. Lest we forget…   Bear                                        ………….  –30–  ………….