Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #909… THE WEEKLY U.S. CASUALTIES ARE IN: 308 KIA AND 1,134 WIA…BUT THAT’S OK, THE OTHER SIDE IS LOSING MEN AND BOYS AT A RATE OF MORE THAN 15 TO 1 COMPARED TO OUR LOSSES. IN FACT, OUR SPECIAL FORCES TROOPS ARE KILLING VIETCONG AND NORTH VIETNAMESE AT THE RATE OF 78 TO 1… So far, in looking back at 1961-1968, the U.S. had lost 27,101 KIA. Yet to go, 1968-1972, 31,000+ to reach the final tally of more than 58,000 “Names On The Wall”… WAIT!!! The Fallen are more than names on a wall. Every one of these men left Mothers, Wives, Children, the pursuit of Happiness to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. THEY DIED FOR WHAT?… THEN THIS TODAY 29-Aug-2018: “DOD: AFGHANISTAN OPERATIONS COULD HIT 22 YEARS”… THEY FIGHT FOR WHAT?… but first…
Good Morning… Day NINE HUNDRED NINE of another look at the war behind us to highlight lessons that might be useful in addressing the now and future of our nation… We sure don’t want to repeat that Vietnam disaster… (?or are we?)
HEAD LINES from The New York Times on Friday, 30 August 1968…
THE WAR: Page 1: “SOLDIERS OF THE UNITED STATES 101st AIR CAVALRY DIVISION moving along canals and swamps, fought for the third consecutive day 32 miles northwest of Saigon, in an area used by the enemy for infiltration of new troops. The fighting against a sizable enemy force, was supported by helicopter gunships, tactical fighters and artillery. the enemy soldiers were reported to be dug into bunkers and rice paddies about four miles north of the city of Trangbang. Contact apparently broke off late yesterday as the enemy evaded American forces and withdrew. Military spokesmen said that 16 Americans had been killed and 25 wounded. The fighting began Tuesday morning, broke off in the evening and began again Wednesday at noon….In the Central Highlands, a platoon of American soldiers in search of a downed helicopter came under intense enemy fire 12 miles west of the city of Banmethuot. Helicopter gunships supported the platoon during the fight. Ten North Vietnamese were reported killed and one American was dead and nine wounded…. In the northern provinces soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division repulsed an attack on an artillery base four miles from Hue. The attack was launched by a North Vietnamese platoon of about 30 men. It was followed by a heavy barrage of 82-mm mortar shells. The American paratroopers halted the enemy ground assault with machine-gun fire and artillery fired at point blank range from which the base. Helicopter gunships also aided in the defense. Ten North Vietnamese were reported killed and American casualties were described as light.”… Page 7: “ENEMY TANKS SPOTTED”… “A column of North Vietnamese tanks was seen northwest of the provincial capital of Quangngai today deep in South Vietnam.”…
Page 1: “HUMPHREY BARS RIGIDITY IN VIETNAM POLICY AND FLOUTING OF LAW–MUSKIE ON HIS TICKET–Rioting Assailed–2 Nominees Speak At Tumultuous Final Session of Democrat convention”…”Hubert H. Humphrey accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination tonight with a promise that on the issue of Vietnam ‘the policies of tomorrow need not be limited by the policies of yesterday.’ In an emotional speech interrupted 75 times for applause, with some boos heard on three occasions, Mr. Humphrey pledged to unify his divided party and nation and call them to ‘new sense of purpose as a free people.’…”..Page 1: “MUSKIE BIDS PARTY RESPOND TO YOUTH–Vice-Presidential Candidate Strikes Conciliatory Tone in Acceptance Speech“… “Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine, accepting the Democratic nomination as Vie President, called on the Democratic party tonight to respond o the protests of youth by attempting to build a society in which there would be equal respect for all as well as respect for law and order.”… Page 1: “THOUSANDS MARCH–SCORES ARE ARRESTED, SOME DELEGATES– Tear Gas Used”… “More than 150 people, included nine convention delegates were arrested last night after National Guardsmen halted 3,000 persons marching toward the International Amphitheater.”… Page 1: “McCARTHY PLEDGES DRIVE WILL GO ON–Tells Peace Demonstrators he’ll Campaign For Doves, but Not Humphrey”… Page 1: “DALEY DEFENDS HIS POLICE–Humphrey Scores Clashes–Criticism Angers Mayor”…
Page 1: “CZECHS TO RENEW CURBS ON PRESS AND NON-RED CLUBS–Smrkovsky Discloses Plan For Restraint On Reform Under Moscow Pact –Moscow Says Foes Peril Czech Accord–Economic Losses of Czechs Heavy–Prague Experts Say 2 Years Are Needed To Recover–Trade Dislocation Cited”…
30 AUGUST 1968…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times: No coverage of air ops in the north… VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There was one fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 30 August 1968…
(1) LCDR HARVEY A. EIKEL was flying an A-4F of the VA-93 Blue Blazers embarked in USS Bon Homme Richard and leading a flight of A-4s on an armed reconnaissance mission in the area northwest of Vinh and encountered an active anti-aircraft gun position. While maneuvering to attack the position LCDR EIKEL’s A-4 was hit by ground fire and in short order lost control of the new Skyhawk and had to eject 25 miles northwest of Vinh, 30 miles from the relative safety of the sea. He was rescued by a Navy SH-3 helicopter crewed by some of the bravest of the brave.
THE RESCUE OF RAVEN 316 on 30 August 1968… HC-7 RESCUE 53… by RON MILAM, HS-7 Historian…
Big Mother 74, an SH-3A of HC-7 Detachment 110 aboard USS Sterett (DLG-31) at-sea in the Gulf of Tonkin…Crew: Pilot: LTJG JEFFRIE E. WIANT; CO-PILOT; LTJG PASKELL D. JANUARY, JR.; 1st CREW; ADJ-2 GEORGE A. SMELLIE; 2nd CREW; AMH-3 DONALD G. BURLESON. Alert received at 1730, 1815 over survivor, survivor on deck 1913… Narrative: LTJG WIANT/ PETTY OFFICER DON BURLESON…
“Another aircraft was lost in the Vinh Son regions when a section of Skyhawks was scouting over the area on an armed reconnaissance mission. The section found an antiaircraft gun position and were jinking to avoid its deadly fire prior to commencing a bombing run on the site. LCDR EIKEL’s aircraft was hit as it was in a turn at 5,000-feet causing a partial loss of control. All the aircraft’s systems failed in quick succession leading to a total loss of control forcing LCDR EIKEL to eject 25 miles northwest of Vinh. Despite being some 30 miles inland, the pilot was rescued from capture by a Navy SH-3 helicopter …
“At 17:30 on 30 August 1968 I (BURLESON) received ‘SAR Alert’ over the 1MC aboard USS Sterett. The crewmen raced from below decks to the helo, arriving at the same time as the pilots. At 17:33, we manned and I executed an ASE on take-off without incident. ASE came on the line after bout 1 1/2 minutes in the air. Burleson donned his swim gear, as they did not know the location of the SAR. I (WIANT) proceeded to my orbit point and awaited my RESCAP. We were given a position of the downed pilot in relation to the USS Sterett locating him about 220 degrees at 62 miles inland from our present position. a straight line route was impossible due to AAA sites and other fortifications. The crewmen arranged their equipment, cleaned the M-60s, as they learned the SAR was inland..
“We examined the charts and decided on a route well to the south over the Vinh Hills and west to the mountains where we turned north along the ridge line to the SAR location. We sighted our A-4 escorts 3 miles off shore an I started my penetration at 5,500-feet on a heading of 270-degrees. Prior to crossing the beach I called for IFF and lights off. The crewmen handed us our armor and I authorized them to clear their weapons. As I crossed over the beach I called ‘feet dry’ and turned UHF communications over to my copilot.
“Following the RESCAP vectors and interpreting our Flak charts, we proceeded to the ground without opposition or incident. The communications were very cluttered until we came under the direct control of the on-scene commander. He switched us to guard and everyone else to SAR primary. At the time Big Mother 74, the on-scene commander (in an A-4), and the downed pilot (EIKEL) were the only ones on guard and communications were excellent.
“I turned east on my first approach and the on-scene commander (VA-94) flew by my starboard side in a dive and marked the spot by voice call and a steep pull-out. We marked it as 18-45 and 105-20. I had the survivor localized now and called for a smoke marker as I began my descent through 3,500-feet and approach. At this point, we received very heavy 37-mm, 85-mm and 100-mm AAA fire sufficiently enough for me to make a high speed 270-degree approach into what wind there was. He was about 2000-feet in a bamboo grove at the foot of a ridge. The survivor had a day smoke going which was immediately seen.
“From 2 miles out, the survivor did an excellent job of calling us over him. We started receiving small arms fire at this time and I had to increase my hover altitude due to the dead leaves coming up. Co-pilot had a hard time holding number two-engine on the line, the friction control was weak.
“We used forest penetrator and my crewman put it at about 10-15 feet from the survivor. Crewman SMELLIE directed the pilot over the survivor. He made his way to the penetrator and attempted to deploy the seat and experienced problems so he detached it and hooked himself up by his d-ring. The high speed hoist performed as advertised and when SMELLIE called ‘survivor clear- break hover’ at 18:25, I exited the area. The survivor trailed behind the helo for 15-20 seconds, while the crewman winched him inside. The survivor stated that he was too tired to work the zipper on the forest penetrator so he took it off and attached the hook to his torso harness ‘D’ ring. Crewman placed a flak jacket on the survivor and seated him. WIANT asked the crewman to provide the survivor a bottle of brandy from the first-aid box. Survivor drank one and later a second, with 3 cups of water. He was in shock and extremely exhausted. His knee was injured, no noticeable bleeding.
“We were in the hover about three minutes and received small arms fire rounds through the after fuel cell, cabin deck, part of the fuselage skin, and number two main rotor blades. The self-sealing cell worked satisfactorily and we headed south along the route we came in on. The crewmen stuffed a rag in the hole watching the gauges, with no noticeable imbalance between the tanks. At this point, it was suggested I use a route into Thailand, and declined because I was informed of the Air Force SAR elements airborne already to escort us to Nakhon Phanom. I also considered our available SAR A/C and decided that if I went to Thailand our SAR assets would be pretty impaired.
“My crewmen expended M-60 ammunition throughout. They each had their weapons jam at least once.
“We started out at 6,300-feet and received 37-mm, 55-mm, 85-mm, 100-mm fire throughout the entire route. A-4 RESCAP did an outstanding suppression job and got several secondaries. My co-pilot fired two clips from his M-16 at several people on the deck as I broke hover, but I had to make him stop because the empty cases were bouncing off the windscreen into my face.
“SMELLIE: ‘On the way out we drew more flak. I think it was 57-mm as we were about 5,000-feet and it was bursting at 7-8,000-feet. Three salvos of about eight rounds each were aimed at us… I saw two A-4s start in on a run and the flak was suppressed. About 5 minutes later we drew some flak but it was bursting at least 1,000-feet below us. An A-4 made a run on the site, dropped one bomb and suppressed the site. BURLESON: I knew for sure they saved our skins. We did not draw any more fire after that.”… “On post flight we found three hits on the helicopter.”… End quote…
(Webmaster note: Holy hell! What a story! However, this type of heroism and bravery is typical of the all-volunteer rescue forces who day after day put their asses on the line for their fellow Americans. The debt owed to them, by so many, can never be repaid)
Harv Eikel would be back in the air to fly and fight with the VA-93 Blue Blazers. He would return to the war in 1972 as the CO of the VA-94 Mighty Shrikes. He would be shot down again and be rescued from the harbor in Haiphong,
RIPPLE SALVO… #909… NYT, 30-AUG-68, Page 1:
“WEEK’S U.S. WAR DEAD AT 308 HIGHEST OF SUMMER–Wounded Are Put at 1,134 and 4,255 of Enemy Are Listed as Dead”…
“The United States command said yesterday that 308 Americans were killed in action last week and 1,134 wounded, the highest level of the summer. The number of deaths was almost double the total for each of the three previous weeks and was the highest since 324 American servicemen were killed in the week that ended June 15. The command said that the number of enemy dead for the week that ended August 24 was 4,755, almost double that of the previous week. The figures brought to 27,101 the total number of American servicemen killed in action in Vietnam. The total of wounded rose to 169,296.
“The command also disclosed a slight decrease of 3,500 men in the total number of American forces in Vietnam. A spokesman said there were now 539,500 servicemen in Vietnam. A week earlier, the number was 543,000. [In Washington, a Defense Department spokesman said Thursday that the decrease in manpower was not politically significant. He said the decrease represented a fluctuation in rotation schedules and that the long-term trend remained one of increasing United States troop strength to the authorized total of 550,000 men.] The casualty figures reflected the fierce fighting last week in the Mekong Delta region and the northern provinces, which continued yesterday….”…
Military Times for 26 Aug 2018 is the source for pertinent quotes… Secretary of Defense Mad Dog Mathis: “Would we still have troops in Afghanistan five years from now? I can’t give you an answer to that,’ Mathis said. “We have to wait and see what the situation is, because it will be situational dependent.”… Change of Command in Kabul this week with LGEN Scott Miller, USA taking charge… “Airstrikes in Afghanistan are reaching historically high numbers despite the lighter footprint of U.S. ground troops in the country. Miller will be “charged with overseeing the approximately 23,000 U.S. and NATO forces now operating in Afghanistan, and their now more than a decade-long mission to stabilize the country, build up ist security forces and challenge cyclical increases in Taliban offensives.”…”Of those 23,000 forces, about 14,000 are American. about half support the NATO train and advise mission under Resolute Support. Another 7,000 U.S. forces are operating under Freedom’s sentinel, operations to counter Islamic State and the militant groups that have taken root there. Congress has marked $46.3-Billion in the 2019 defense bill to pay for the upcoming year’s operations.”… CJCS Dunford: “We have permanent interests in South Asia, diplomatic interests and security interests. And we’re going to maintain a presence to have influence in that region.”
“Since the U.S. first responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks by launching Operations in Afghanistan in October 2001, about 900,000 individual soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines or Coast Guard have deployed to Afghanistan and filled 1.2 million tours there, according to the Congressional Record Service. The U.S. has spent more than $1-Trillion since 2001 on combat operations, Afghanistan reconstruction, aid, and training.”…
Casualties in Afghanistan 2001 to 27 July 2018: killed in action 1,893 plus 412 due to non-hostile action, total= 2,305. There have been a total of 18 engagements in the 17 years where more than one American was killed. 30 Americans died, including 22 SEALS, in the 6 April 2011 helicopter loss (shot down)…
(Webmaster note: The Taliban laid a trap which led to the loss of the Chinook and lives aboard on 6 April 2011. It is speculated that the shoot-down was in retaliation for the well-deserved elimination of Osama bin Laden)
RTR Quote for 30 August: COLONEL ERICH “BUBI” HARTMAN: “Of all my accomplishments I have achieved during the war, I am proudest of the fact that I never lost a wingman.”…
Lest we forget….. Bear
