RIPPLE SALVO… #391… “It is the historical destiny of the United States to expend itself….”…but first…
Good Morning: Day THREE HUNDRED NINETY-ONE of a return to the air war over North Vietnam, a footnote of American history…
31 MARCH 1967…HEAD LINES and LEADS from the Ogden Standard-Examiner on a rainy Friday on the roaring Ogden River …
Page 1: “Rockets, Mortars Roar In Heated Jungle Fight”... “U.S. troops battled for four hours in ‘War Zone C’ today against a hardcore Communist regiment believed to be protecting a divisional headquarters then pulled into defensive lines for the night under a rain of bullets, rockets and mortars. Two battalions of the 1st Infantry division, almost 1,400 men were involved in the battle five miles from the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon, against an army force tentatively identified as the 70th Regiment, known as the palace guard of the Vietcong’s 9th Division. In the savage ground action the enemy…stopped the Americans cold.”… Page 1: “Wrecked Tanker Finally Oil Free”... “Britain wrote the Torrey Canyon off as scrap iron today. The government turned its attention to the battle to drive the supertanker’s oil from England’s southern beaches and a campaign for international legal action to deal with repetitions of the disaster.”… Page 1: “Humphrey Splashed By Paint In Rome”... “Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey told Italian leaders today that failure of the Kennedy tariff talks could stir a wave of protectionism in the United States. A reinforced police guard surrounded Humphrey’s activities after youths protesting the Vietnam war hurled yellow paint at him Thursday night at the Rome Opera House. Humphrey didn’t appear bothered as the plastic container of paint missed him.”… Page 1: “Death Takes Soviet Defense Minister”…”Marshall Rodion Y. Malinkovsky, Soviet Defense Minister has died Moscow radio reported today. The World War II leader was reported to have been stricken by cancer. He was 68. The burly, gruff voiced soldier was known for his tough speeches delivered from Lenin’s Tomb at May Day and Bolshevik Revolution anniversary parades through Red Square.”… Page 1:”Bobby Appeals For Unity as Democratic Chairmen Meet”... “Senator Robert F. Kennedy, D-NY, appealed today for Democratic unity behind President Johnson’s and Vice President Humphrey to ensure a Democratic victory in the 1968 election. ‘I know you all are going to work as hard as I am. We are brothers together, we can work together. We have a strong team in President Johnson and Vice President Humphrey. I think we face a tough campaign. We must work together and show a sense of unity–a show of purpose.’ “…
31 March 1967… The President’s Daily Brief… CIA (TS sanitized) SOUTH VIETNAM: Thieu will announce the “national reconciliation plan” tomorrow, along with the official promulgation of the constitution. The draft of his proclamation offers the enemy political and economic integration, but does not spell out the specific rights and benefits returning Viet Cong can expect… COMMUNIST CHINA: We now have evidence that the meningitis epidemic, noted in southeast China in February, is affecting most of the populous eastern portion of the country. It has been spread by the constant movement of Red Guards. The regime is sending medical teams into the countryside from many of the large cities. The epidemic should run its course by about the end of April, but in the meantime will almost certainly put further crimps in the economy.
31 MARCH 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… Ogden S-E (1 Apr reporting 31 Mar ops)… Page 2: “In the air war the United States announced destruction of the Thainguyen steel plants blast furnace. Air Force jets led by Colonel Robin Olds of Washington, aq World War II ace who downed aq North Vietnamese MIG in January, blasted the furnace of the industrial complex 37 miles north of Hanoi earlier this week.”…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) There were two fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 31 March 1967.
(1) CAPTAIN HARRY J. HENNIGAR was flying an F-105D of the 421st TFS and 388th TFW out of Korat on an armed reconnaissance mission 70 miles northwest of Vinh and was hit by automatic weapon fire while attacking barges in the Song Ca River. He was able to fly the doomed Thunderchief several miles to the west before having to eject. He was rescued by a USAF HH-3 and went on to fly 85 more missions.
(2) An F-4C of the 480th TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang encountered a flight control failure requiring the crew of two to eject, and survive to fight another day…
RIPPLE SALVO… #391… THE HISTORICAL DESTINY OF THE UNITED STATES... Humble Host goes tangent to Rolling Thunder this evening… My day started with email, as usual, and this one titled “Broken America” from a financial outfit full of doom and gloom– and a picture of our beloved country that goes like this:
“Is this the beginning of the end of the United States? It has been said that a house divided against itself will surely fall, and today we live in a shattered union. In all my years, I have never seen so much strife, discord, bitterness and resentment in this country. Everyone can see what is happening, but nobody can seem to stop it. Politically, you have got tens of millions of people trying to pull America one way, and you have tens of millions trying to pull it the exact opposite way. As I discussed in a previous article, the term ‘civil war’ is now being thrown around by some pundits even though nobody has started shooting yet. We are a deeply divided and broken nation, and if we don’t find a way to fix things America will not survive.”
Decades ago I sighted in on a declaration by a historian named Stausz-Hupe that concluded that “it is the historical destiny of America to destroy itself establishing that a democratic republic is the most desirable form of government.” Destiny: “a predestined course of events.” Another historian did some arithmetic and figured out that the average life of a democracy in world history is about 235 years. Let’s see, 1776 to 2020 equals 244 or if you prefer, 1789 to 2020 equals 231. Conclusion: our democratic republic is in the zone.
I sat through a lecture here in Utah in April 1998 by Hyrum Smith the CEO of Franklin-Covey. back when it ws a booming business. His subject was “The Rise and Fall of Civilizations.” By his telling, a think tank or university gathered a summer seminar group of renowned historians together to identify the cause of greatness and failure of civilizations, societies, nations. What’s the formula for success ? for failure? the learned group narrowed the field of “civilizations” in history down to 22 to identify six common grounds for both greatness and failure… The great ones were blessed with resources, a set of values, respect for the law, moderation in behavior, hard work was rewarded, and service for the country or “civilization” was voluntary.
Mr. Smith then listed the six common causes greatness was lost by the examined 22 civilizations…
(1) They discarded the values, principles and religious convictions that bound them in purpose.
(2) They became obsessed with sex and flouted their morality. Excess replaced moderation.
(3) They misused their wealth and frittered away the abundant resources that were the foundation for their success.
(4) Honest work ceased to be a virtue.
(5) Respect for the law disintegrated and violence became an acceptable method to achieve individual goals.
(6) Their citizens ceased to be willing to serve their country, including the military.
In short, Mr. Smith’s group of historians provided both a path for catastrophe and a path for recovery. They boiled down history to produce six reasons for both success and failure. Ignore them at risk. History is the teacher.
“BROKEN AMERICA”… “We are a deeply divided and broken nation, and if we don’t find a way to fix things America will not survive.”
Is it too late? Are we spent? We all recognize the direction our beloved nation is going. And Humble Host contends that the roots of our current state of national affairs can be traced to the range of divisive events of 1966-68, including the Vietnam war. A wise mentor of mine argues it all began with Woodrow Wilson and his progressive politics and philosophy.
The question for 2017 is: do we, as a nation, a civilization, have the moral courage and time to restore what has been lost over the last fifty years? Or will we join the dozens of great nations that failed on the trash heap of history?
CAG’s QUOTES for 31 March: FOCH: “They shall not pass.”… PATTON: “Battle is not a terrifying ordeal to be endured. It is a magnificent experience wherein all of the elements that have made man superior to the beasts are present.”…
Lest we forget… Bear