Bear Taylor 
Good Morning… Day TWENTY-SEVEN of a look back at Operation Rolling Thunder…. 50 Years Ago…
27 MARCH 1966 (NYT)… A sunny, clear Sunday in New York. Page 1 and jumped to page 32 was an article on “the air war in the North” (Rolling Thunder to those with a security clearance). The targets remained highway bridges, ferry crossings, highway bypasses and the transportation system. Three aircraft reported downed: an Enterprise A-4 went down attacking a ferry landing 17 miles north of Dong Hoi, the pilot was listed as MIA; an F-8 and an F-4 were downed north of the DMZ with three aircrew KIA….Also on page 1 were stories about the anti-Vietnam war demonstrations waged around the world on 26 March( see my blog)… “thousands of anti-war demonstrators paraded down Fifth Avenue yesterday as a part of an international protest against the war in Vietnam and the role of American troops….the New York out pouring was the largest peace demonstration since the protests began last year (1965)…The parade was marked by sporadic violence and egg throwing.” Demonstrations elsewhere in the United States included: San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, Oklahoma City, Detroit, Cambridge, “…and scores of other cities throughout the nation.”…Overseas demonstrations: Tokyo, Stockholm, London, Oslo, Lyon (France), and in Ottowa and Toronto, Canada….Ho Chi Minh addressed the Chinese muster of communists in Peking: “There will be difficulties ahead in the struggle against U.S. aggression and for national salvation.” He added: “The United States is bound to fail, and Vietnam is bound to win.”…On page E10 of the editorial section: a story on C-in-C Pac, Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp’s command, was sized at 600,000people, 440 ships and 5200 aircraft “… supported by an immense nuclear deterrent.” The strategy of the command “…aims at containing communism. In both east and west this policy, expressed as ‘forward strategy,’ is designed to repel any aggression close to its take-off point.” …
27 MARCH 1966…ROLLING THUNDER… Two aircraft lost; and F-4C of the 433rd TFS at Ubon. The aircraft pulled out low attacking a target on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and hit trees on the recovery. The engines failed and the crew ejected and were recovered by helo. An A-4E from VA-212 embarked in USS Hancock suffered an engine failure on a combat mission. The pilot ejected and was recovered….
RIPPLE SALVO…. HOW THE HECK DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS???…
A quick review… (Source: Hobson: “Vietnam Air Losses,” page 4)…”Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia”
“When President Kennedy took office in January 1961 the most pressing problems in Southeast Asia appeared to be in Laos and he soon became aware of the need to make a firm stand against communist aggression but decided that South Vietnam stood the best chance of success. However, President Diem refused to institute the political and military reforms that the United States recommended and his position as President deteriorated. In September 1961 President Diem finally asked the USA for a bilateral defense treaty which opened the way for the gradual influx of American military units in to South Vietnam. The first American unit, the Farm Gate air commando detachment, arrived in South Vietnam in early November followed the next month by two companies of US Army H-21C helicopters. Deployed under the guise of ‘advisors’ or ‘trainers’, these units and the ones that followed fought the war while attempting to train and encourage the South Vietnamese military. There were noticeable improvements in the organization and performance of the ARVN VNAF soon after the Americans started their work. There was also a willingness to adopt new strategies and tactics including the concept of creating fortified hamlets that formed a network of bases from which operations could be mounted and protection of the local populace could be protected.
“However, despite improvements in South Vietnamese military performance President Diem remained alienated from his people and military. A major government defeat at the hands of the Viet Cong at Ap Bac in January 1963 and the growing repression of Buddhists throughout South Vietnam brought matters to a head later in the year. Several ARVN generals planned a coup against Diem in August but were unsure of American support at that time. However, in September the Americans announced restrictions in military and economic assistance as a consequence of Diem’s actions against the Buddhists and on 1 November (1963) the generals finally acted and Diem was removed from his office and shot dead. Three weeks later President Kennedy was also assassinated leaving the quagmire that was to become the Vietnam War to his successors.”
“The Quagmire”…. U.S. Military Personnel in Southeast Asia…
South Vietnam + Thailand
1960 = 875 + 319 = 1194 1965 = 184314 + 14107 = 198421
1961 = 3164 + 542 = 4248 1966 = 385278 + 34489 = 419767
1962 = 11326 + 4353 = 15679 1967 = 485587 + 44515 = 530102
1963 = 16263 + 4126 = 20389 1968 = 536134 + 47631 = 583765
1964 = 23310 + 6505 = 29815
Lest we forget ….. Bear Taylor …
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