Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #486… MEANWHILE, AT YANKEE STATION… a message for the troops and a painful reminder that “freedom is not free”… but first…
Good Morning and Happy Birthday AMERICA: Day FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-SIX of a celebration of the boundless fighting spirit of American warriors, especially those who carried the fight to the homeland of our enemies fifty years ago… (Please see MIGHTY THUNDER’s POST today for the Spirit of ’76 )…
4 July 1967… The New York Times Editorial Staff had this to say: “INDEPENDENCE TODAY”…
“After all these years we are not independent of Great Britain, nor she of us. ‘Man was born free and is everywhere in chains,’ Rousseau wrote a dozen years before our Declaration of Independence–but we are all chained together in this one nuclear world in 1967.
“The spirit of ’76 must, today, be interpreted in terms of responsibility, not independence, when Israel and Egypt fought, it was our battle too. When United States bombers hit the outskirts of Haiphong it was Russia’s war. At the United Nations who is independent? Who stands alone? Who can talk of ‘the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle them,’ when no one of us is separate from the others.
“This does not mean that July 4th could or should be deprived of a profound emotional meaning for all Americans nor does it mean that what happened on that day in 1776 did not set in motion great and thrilling ideas by which succeeding generations were to live. The principles that all men are equal before the law and are entitled to equality of opportunity struck fire in 1789 in the French Revolution. The concept of national sovereignty inflamed this postwar era so that all of Africa fought for and won the right to direct their own internal independence.
“Today when thirteen states have grown to fifty and when American power stretches around the world, July 4th has its warning along with its recurrent sense of pride and triumph. July 4, 1776, was a day of moral greatness as well as a cry of freedom. All men it was said then, were entitled to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ In these days of war in Vietnam and simmering conflict in the Middle East, this should be remembered above all things on July 4th.”
Page 9: “Bells To Ring in a Festive Fourth”… “Low humidity and pleasant temperatures forecast. Bells will ring, fireworks will boom, bands will play and traffic will jam as America celebrates the 191st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A near perfect day for the festivities was forecast for most of the nation…Only two somber notes dampen the otherwise joyous observance: the war in Vietnam which continued without respite despite the holiday and the carnage on the highway which was claiming American lives at a rate faster than the war. By last night almost 500 people had died in traffic accidents, the National Safety Council reported.”
THE ARAB STATES-ISRAELI WAR: Page 1: “U.S. Will Support Latins U.N. Draft on Mideast Reservations on Israel Step on Jerusalem Reiterated by Goldberg in Debate–Holy Sites are Key–France Urging Resolution Favored by Soviets Which Attacks American Plan.”… “The United States said today that if did not recognize Israel’s unilateral action in Jerusalem as determining the future of the holy places or the status of the city in relation to them. Arthur Goldberg, the United States delegate told the emergency session of the General Assembly that those matters should be decided ‘in consultation with all concerned.’ The American position did not oppose Israel’s absorption of the Jordanian part of the city into a single administrative unit.”...Page 1: “Israel Reports Suez Clash for 3rd Successive Day”... “Israel said that Egyptian and Israeli forces exchanged fire across the Suez Canal today for the third consecutive day…the Egyptians opened fire with mortar and machine guns and the Israelis returned fire.”… Page 1: “Refugees Assail Israeli Proposal”… “Palestinian refugees interviewed at a camp in Jordan today rejected Israel’s offer to ‘let them return home,’ and shouted that ‘all Israelis are kazabeen’–liars.”… Page 1: “Arab Area in Aden Retaken by British”… “An armored British division drove into the Arab quarter seized 16 days ago and recaptured it with ease today. Only one Arab was killed in the British blitz. Scottish Argyll Regiment troops marching behind armored vehicles to the tune of bagpipes quickly moved into the mile square maze of narrow twisting alleys of the Crater district… Page 1: “Easing of Mideast Ban Jams Passport Office Here”… “More than 2,700 sweltering people jammed the office of the United States Passport Agency at Rockefeller Center yesterday. The rush had been building for ten days…’The worst day they have ever seen,’ said officials.”…
Page 1: “U.S. Marines Catch By Enemy Force; Artillery Kills 75”… “United States Marines caught a large force of North Vietnamese troops yesterday on the southern edge of the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. Seventy-five were reported killed by heavy artillery barrages. It was believed that the North Vietnamese might have been part of a 3,000 man force that battered Marines Sunday in heavy fighting near the Marine outpost near Conthien…in which 58 Marines had been killed and 170 wounded. Twenty-seven are missing (Tragic story.These Marines will be reported killed: NYT, 5 July, Page 6: North Vietnam said today that nearly 40 United States Marines captured last Sunday were killed later by American air strikes near the buffer zone.) …”
4 JULY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times (5 July reporting 4 July ops) Page 1: “Navy planes attacked the MIG airbase at Kep cutting the runway and the taxiway. It was the first time the base had been hit since attacks against MIG airfields began on 24 April. Navy pilots blasted the field with both bombs and rockets. There were no reports of MiGs either on the field or in the air. Other Navy pilots hit a surface-to-air missile site 31 miles southeast of Hanoi setting off two explosions. Pilots said two of the missiles were ignited during the attack and twisted out of control on the ground. The attackers came with the clearing weather after heavy clouds Monday limited missions to their lowest level in two months. Pilots were limited to 75 missions, the fewest since May 5 when 56 were flown.”…
“Vietnam: Air Losses (Hobson) There was one fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on the 4th of July 1967… An A-4C of the VA-15 Valions embarked in USS Intrepid… See Ripple Salvo #486 below…
Humble Host has selected a great ROLLING THUNDER combat performance by a young fighter pilot flown a few weeks before the 4th of July 1967 to celebrate our nation’s birthday in 2017–fifty years later… FIGHTING SPIRIT IN A BRAVE HEART…
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… HEROISM AND EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT…LTJG WAYNE ALAN SKAGGS, UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE…DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS…19 JUNE 1967…
“The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS to LIEUTENANT(JUNIOR GRADE) WAYNE ALAN SKAGGS, United States Naval Reserve for HEROISM AND EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT in aerial flight while attached to and serving with Fighter Squadron FIFTY-ONE embarked in USS HANCOCK (CVA-19) engaged in combat operations in Southeast Asia on 19 June 1967. Designated as a F-8 Crusader wingman in a four plane flak suppression division assigned to attack anti-aircraft artillery sites in support of a coordinated Air Wing strike on the Hai Duong Railroad Yards, North Vietnam, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) SKAGGS assumed the lead of a two plane element subsequent to launch when his leader’s navigational equipment failed. As the strike force approached the target area Lieutenant (Junior Grad) SKAGGS accelerated his element ahead to attack their pre-assigned targets. Taken under fire by numerous surface-to-air missiles and heavy anti-aircraft fire, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) SKAGGS deftly maneuvered his element to counter the missiles and avoid the flak. Through superb airmanship he successfully avoided the missiles and pressed on to his target. Approaching roll-in point, still under intense fire, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) SKAGGS noted that two serious combat limiting malfunctions had occurred to his aircraft . His afterburner nozzles would not close when he deselected the afterburner position until he reduced his throttle below the full basic engine setting considerably reducing available engine thrust. Additionally, his emergency ram air turbine activated and fell out to operating position, which markedly reduced aircraft acceleration and reduced his maximum range 18-per cent. Despite this handicap and in complete disregard for his own personal safety, he executed a devastating attack on an active flak site silencing it. This act of heroism contributed immeasurably to the success of the attack and safe retirement of all strike aircraft without loss. On his retirement Lieutenant (Junior Grade) SKAGGS, handicapped by his aircraft malfunctions, became critically low on fuel and inflight refueled from a waiting A-3 tanker aircraft as he crossed the enemy coastline with only 10-minutes of fuel remaining. The loyalty, courage, professional airmanship, and devotion to duty demonstrated by Lieutenant (Junior Grade) SKAGGS were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.” For the President, Roy L. Johnson, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet… OOHRah….
RIPPLE SALVO… #486… YANKEE STATION, 4 JULY 1967… A message to the troops from the United States Military Command, Vietnam: “Freedom for the United States of America was won by citizens willing to sacrifice their wealth, their homes, their very lives. It is an inescapable truth that freedom demands a willingness of individuals to make any sacrifice to preserve it. Our soldiers in Vietnam know this full well.” Short form: FREEDOM IS NOT FREE…
Fifty years ago hundreds of Navy, Air Force and Marine warriors took to the skies of Rolling Thunder on the 4th of July to do their duty. All returned safely except one– LIEUTENANT PHILLIP CHARLES CRAIG of the VA-15 Valions embarked in USS Intrepid… Chris Hobson reports:
“An Independence Day raid on the railway at Hai Duong resulted in the loss of an aircraft and its pilot. The raid itself was successful and the aircraft headed back to the coast. However, despite radio calls from LT CRAIG indicating that he had reached the coast (Feet Wet), he did not rendezvous with the rest of the formation and could not be contacted on the radio. A SAR mission was quickly mounted but found no trace of the pilot or his aircraft. North Vietnamese radio later reported that two aircraft had been shot down during the raid. Although this was inaccurate as only one Skyhawk was missing, it was assumed that LT CRAIG had indeed been shot down near the coast to the south of Haiphong. ‘PC’ Craig had flown more than 100 missions on a previous tour. His remains were eventually handed over to the US on 26 November 1985.”
Today we celebrate our nation’s birthday with bells, bands, fireworks, flyovers and family. Joy to the nation. The 4th of July is also a day to celebrate and remember the ten generations of Americans who have provided the “eternal vigilance” that “is the price of freedom.” Honorable, committed and heroic men and women like LTJG SKAGGS and LT CRAIG, who willingly risked their lives in the service of our country, just as the first patriots did at Lexington and Concord…
My country. Sweet land of liberty. Of thee I sing–we all sing– Happy Birthday America.
Lest we forget…. Bear
