Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #944… ON 5 OCTOBER 1965–53 YEARS AGO THIS DAY– MAJOR DEAN ANDREW POGREBA, USAF, 36th TFS, was flying an F-105D out of Takhli and leading a division of Thuds against a Rolling Thunder target, a road bridge at Lang Met, 40 miles northeast of Hanoi and just 7 miles from Kep. Both he and his wingman CAPTAIN BRUCE SEEGER were shot down while attacking the bridge. CAPTAIN SEEGER ejected and was captured. MAJOR POGREBA was last seen on a northerly heading in his battle damaged aircraft. CAPTAIN SEEGER was to serve 2,687 days in the North Vietnamese prisoner of war system, as were two other Thud drivers bagged bombing the same target right behind the POGREBA division. CAPTAIN JAMES OTIS HIVNER and 1LT THOMAS JOSEPH BARRETT, of the 47th TFS out of Ubon, also showed up in the POW system to serve 2,687 days under the heel and boot of the NVN torturers in Hanoi. Unfortunately, and tragically, MAJOR POGREBA remains missing, categorized as XX, “presumptive finding of death.” The story, a mystery without end, below. But first…
GOOD MORNING…Day NINE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR of a return to an era of the bold and brave who carried the Vietnam war into the heartland of the enemy in support of the war in the South… They were saving lives by exposing their own to the most lethal guantlet of guns, missiles and MiGs in the world of the 1960s…
HEAD LINES from the Ogden Standard Examiner on Saturday, 5 October 1968…
THE WAR: Page 1: “ALLIES SURPRISE ENEMY–KILL 159 IN RED CAMP–3 COPTERS STRUCK BY ENEMY FIRE”…”More tha 1,000 U.S.infantrymen and scores of warplanes attacked a Vietcong base camp in the marshlands southwest of Saigon and killed 159 enemy soldiers while suffering one American dead…A company of infantry men from the 9th Infantry Division apparently caught the enemy troops by surprise in the sparsely populated marshes and canals 58 miles southwest of the capital Friday. Another 1,000 U.S. troops were rushed to the area by helicopters and threw a cordon around the camp. Three American helicopters were hit by enemy ground fire but managed to land on their own power. Field reports said some Vietcong troops still entrenched in bunkers along the Kinh Tung Duc Loc canal began coming out this afternoon, apparently unable to withstand the massive American firepower being poured at them. As they tried to escape helicopter gunships flying low cut them down with rockets and machine guns… TIGHTEN CORDON… Since Friday morning, jet fighter-bombers, Army and Air Force gunships and artillery have poured thousands of pounds of explosives into the enemy positions while the infantry tightened the cordon around them. The enemy force was estimated at perhaps a battalion of 300 to 400 troops. Some of the enemy soldiers may have slipped out of the cordon after dark Friday. Helicopter gunships were still drawing ground fire today from the surviving enemy troops…. In addition to one U.S. infantryman killed, 24 were wounded… Most of the action reported in allied communiques today centered on the delta south of Saigon, although in another cordon operation far to the north of Saigon, American paratroopers reported killing 80 enemy soldiers and seizing 152 suspects. American casualties were reported light… About 50 of America’s bombers, Air Force B-52s, pummeled enemy base camps, troop concentrations, bunker complexes and supply areas along the jungled invasion routes north and northwest of Saigon. The eight Stratofortresses unleashed some 3 million pounds of explosive Friday night and today in strikes ranging from 27 to 35 miles from Saigon.”…
PUEBLO INCIDENT… On 5 October 1968 Walt Rostow forwarded a memorandum to the President from #2 in the State Department Secretary Katzenbach updating the President on the ongoing, oh, so slowly, talks at Panmunjom. The memo outlines four paths for American discussion with North Koreans and recommends alternative D. The President agrees… Read at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v29p1/d317
HEAD LINES… Page 1: “CZECHS SIGN ACCORDS WITH REDS”… “Czechoslovakia leaders returned from Moscow Friday night after agreeing to sign a treaty for the ‘temporarily stationing’ of Warsaw Pact troops in their country, giving final legality to the occupation, Premier Oldrich Cernik asked a welcoming group at a military airport, ‘Why are you so sad. There is no reason to be sad.’ But on the question of how many occupation troops would leave and when, he added little to an official communique reiterating earlier Soviet pledges for a eventual withdrawal by stages of the forces that invaded Czechoslovakia August 20.”… Page 1: “GUNFIRE IN MEXICO CITY CLAIMS TWO MORE LIVES–MORE UNREST”… Page 1: “GUNFIRE RIPS STREET AFTER GEORGE WALLACE RALLY IN BUFFALO”… Page 2: “PROTESTERS RAISE VOICES HECKLE MAJOR CANDIDATES”… Page 2: “Peru’s Military Junta Nullifies Contract With U.S. Oil Company”… Page 2: “Coal Miners and Industry Continue Bargaining”… Page 4: “Cleaner Air Drive Moves Ahead–Goal To Have Air As Clean In 1978 As It Was In 1928″… Page 7: “JUDGE LIFTS PORTION OF ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL GOLFER’S RULING”… “A training program set up in Florida by the rebel Association of Professional Golfers here in Wilmington. Chief Judge Caleb Wright or U.S. District Court reserved a decision Friday on the bulk of his temporary injunction which the PGA has obtained against the APG (top golfers including, Palmer and Nicklaus, are challenging the PGA hierarchy for a piece of the big money coming with TV, etc)…
5 OCTOBER 1968…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… Ogden Standard Examiner/AP (6 Oct reporting 5 Oct ops) Page 1: “Good weather ovrer North Vietnam enabled American fighter-bombers to fly 117 strikes… antiaircraft fire was lilght to moderate. Air crews reported they destroyed or damaged 21 trucks, 14 supply craft, four storage structures and eight bridges.”… VIETNAM: AIR LOSSES (Chris Hobson) There were two fixed wing aircraft downed in Southeast Asia on 5 October 1968…
(1) CAPTAIN S.L. LUSTFIELD and 1LT R. E. WALKUP were flying an F-4D of the 480th TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang on an alert launch to strike an active mortar position near Giang Hoa, 15 miles southwest of Danang, and were downed on their initial bomb run by ground fire. The aircraft became engulfed in flames and the crew ejected a few miles from the target area. A USAF helicopter rescued the pair of unlucky fighter-bomber pilots…
(2) A B-57B of the 8th TBS and 35th TFW out of Phan Rang went down due to engine failure. Both aviators were rescued.
SUMMARY OF ROLLING THUNDER LOSSES (KIA/MIA/POW) FOR THE FOUR 5 OCTOBER DATES OF THE FOUR YEARS OF THE OPERATION OVER NORTH VIETNAM…
1968… NONE…
1967… ENSIGN DAVID PAUL MATHENY, USN… (POW, accepted early release)… CAPTAIN KONRAD WIGAND TRAUTMAN, USAF… (POW)… Refer to RTR archive entry for 5 October 1967 (Ripple Salvo #578). COLONEL TRAUTMAN received the AIR FORCE CROSS for his extraordinary heroism as a POW. He was among the bravest of the brave–P-51s in World War II, F-84Gs and 20 combat missions in Korea, and was downed on his 62nd strike mission in a F-105D in Rolling Thunder…. HE RESTS IN PEACE, GLORY GAINED DUTY DONE…
1966… CAPTAIN WILLIAM RICHARD ANDREWS, USAF… (KIA)… and … LTJG JAMES ALVIN BEENE, USN… (KIA, lost at sea)… Refer to RTR archive entry for 5 October 1966 (Ripple Salvo #218)…
1965… CAPTAIN JAMES O. HIVNER, USAF… (POW)… and… 1LT THOMAS J BARRETT, USAF… (POW)… and… CAPTAIN BRUCE GIBSON SEEBER, USAF… (POW)… and… MAJOR DEAN ANDREW POGREBA, USAF… (MIA…
AMONG THE BRAVE… EXCEPTIONAL HEROISM…LCOL DEAN ANDREW POGREBA, USAF…AIR FORCE CROSS… 5 OCTOBER 1965…
Citation: “The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the AIR FORCE CROSS (Posthumously) to LIEUTENANT COLONEL (Then Major) DEAN ANDREW POGREBA, United States Air Force, for EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM in military operations against an opposing armed force as Pilot of an F-105D aircraft while serving on temporary duty with the 36th Tactical Fighter Squadron… in action in Southeast Asia on 5 October 1965. On that date, LIEUTENANT COLONEL POGREBA participated as a pilot and mission coordinator for a strike on a highly significant military target. Despite the extreme difficulty of overcast cloud layers, haze, and rain showers, LIEUTENANT COLONEL POGREBA flew at low level through mountain passes to the target area while encountering devastating automatic weapons and anti-aircraft fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, LIEUTENANT COLONEL POGREBA climbed to 9,000 feet into low overhanging clouds, which made him highly vulnerable to the hostile ground fire, and delivered his ordnance directly on the target. LIEUTENANT COLONEL POGREBA then emerged from the clouds and though still subjected to intensive ground fire, assisted the other members of his flight in their weapons delivery, assuring complete destruction of this vital target. His courageous actions and determination are in keeping with the highest traditions of the American fighting man under attack by an opposing armed force. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness, LIEUTENANT COLONEL POGREBA reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
Unfortunately, Major Pogreba was hit by anti-aircraft fire in the target area and turned north in distress and was never seen again. Or was he?… the following is quoted from a 1992 document obtained from Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire. Title: “U.S.POW/MIAs HOW MAY HAVE SURVIVED IN CAPTIVITY”… ‘Prepared by the office of Senator Bob Smith, Vice Chairman, Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, December 1, 1992.
“Pogreba, Dean A. USAF…Believed shot down and captured in China (Thorsness debrief T03)…Supporting data from Select Committee deposition points toward shootdown and possible capture of Pogreba in China…Several additional returned POWs reported Pogreba was believed to have been shot down over China.”
“SMITH 324 COMPELLING CASES”…
North Vietnam: Dean A.Pogreba (0162)
“On October 5, 1965, Major Pogreba was the pilot of an F-105D, the lead in a flight of four aircraft on a strike mission over North Vietnam. There was heavy anti-aircraft fire over the target area in Lang Son Province land rain showers in the target area intermittently obscured it. After completing his bombing mission through dense cloud cover, Major Pogreba was last seen rolling off target, still and area of heavy anti-aircraft fire from which three surface to air missiles were launched. He radioed he was departing the area on the pre-briefed exit route. The members of the flight also used the pre-briefed exit route and maintained radio silence until reaching the coast (well to the east of the target)… Major Pogreba never arrived and was declared missing. Visual and electronic search failed to disclose any evidence of either him or his aircraft.
“Returning POWs were unable to provide any information on Major Pogreba’s precise fate. However, one returnee offered his view that while in prison in North Vietnam, ‘it was thought that Major Pogreba was down in China but no one knew the origin of this story. Major Pogreba was not identified alive in captivity by any returning U.S. POW and in November 1977, retired U.S. General Tom Lacy told Major Pogreba’s next of kin that he had spoken with Major Pogreba and knew where he was. General Lacy said Major Pogreba was downed over China and he, General Lacy, had made two failed attempts to rescue him.
“According to the next of kin, the People’s Republic of China stated that an F-105 had strayed into Chinese air space. The available record documents that on October 6, 1965, Radio Hanoi and Beijing reported U.S. aircraft were shot down in certain areas of North Vietnam and pilots captured on October 5th. No names of any captured pilots were given and the areas in which aircraft were reported shot down did not correlate to an area where Major Pogreba was operating when declared missing.
“On October 5, 1965, the People’s Republic of China announced that four U.S. aircraft had intruded into Chinese air space over Kwansi Province on that date and one had been shot down. There was no mention of the type aircraft involved. Although Pogreba was last known to be approximately 40 nautical miles from Kwangsi Province and was lost on that date, two other aircraft were also shot down on October 5th, crashed inside North Vietnam and approximately 30 miles from China, and in that general area where Pogreba was lost which was not known to be in Chinese air space.
“In 1985, China acknowledged it had deployed over 300,000 of it’s forces in northern Vietnam during the war years, many of whom were in the northern tier of provinces which included the area where Pogreba was lost. Chinese units included various anti-aircraft forces.”… (Humble Host asks, what’s the connection? Is the implication that the Chinese deployed in NVN captured Pogreba and hijacked him to the PRC?)…. more below…
RIPPLE SALVO… #944… The POW Network folks maintain a six page collection of information on the Colonel Pogreba saga. A table full of pieces of the puzzle– where is, or where did Dean Pogreba go?– are on the table for examination. After 53 years there are only suppositions. Humble Host concludes: find the F-105D wreckage on “the side of a mountain” and you will find the remains of a noble warrior… read the six pages and meet “Brig. Gen. Thomas Edwin Lacy, Sr.” at…
https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/p/p082.htm
Read the Task Force Omega report on Dean Pogreba.
RTR Quote for 5 October: Deposition Question for BGen Lacy: “…you are saying that you saw a live American prisoner of war and that you spoke with him, and you identified him (as Pogreba).” Answer: “In January of 1989.” Question: “In 1989. In January?” Answer: “Yes, sir.”…
Lest we forget…. Bear
