I flew the airplane to a point in space below the beautiful Stratotanker where I judged the contact position to be. My mom, as she promised my father she would, visited my fathers grave at the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie on Saturday, left an American Flag, which, regardless of whether or not the boy scouts or other volunteers do, as they sometimes do and sometimes dont, shes done for the previous 10 Memorial Days. Were there any female prisoners of war in Vietnam? Joe, back then. Wonderful story. Model names were normalized in 1962 to UH-1s. Both Fire and Overheat lights were illuminated and all the amber and red indicators on the telelight panel by Scottys right knee were lit. This description of your combat experience and captivity is the first time Ive heard it and that only adds to my admiration for you, Joe. If the MiGs didnt come up, he couldnt have a chance to shoot one down. Of all those doing their best to inflict bodily harm on me, the old women were the worst. Thanks for your story, Joe. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do & die.. Burning American aircraft at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1965. Jim Hestand the AC of the fateful flight gave the eulogy at Bobbys funeral! He is presently a retired airline pilot who originally flew for The Flying Tiger Line in DC-8s and 747s and then MD-11s for FedEx. Jan 12, 06:12 PM. Hope you sre enjoying the golden years. Im an alumnus of the 480th TFS myself ( USAFE, 78-80) and wish you all the best . Im sorry for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on this thread. The four-foot stabilizing chute was severed, my lap belt was opened and the butt snapper straps straightened, booting me out of the seat while simultaneously pulling the ripcord that would deploy my parachute. Having won WWII by the application of enormous industrial power including saving the largest socialist entity in the world from the ravages of the second-largest socialist entity in the world we continued to view the world in wartime terms of us versus them and we prepared for the next war by preparing for the past war with near-total reliance on atomic weapons to win the next war. Theyd be shot up to hell. My draft number was 27. It was then that I could see a shapeless, black mass on the ground. Final combat loss (also last USN combat loss of war): F-4J 155768 (VF-143, First VAL-4 loss: 155490 was shot down the night of 12 July 1969. Global Security, "A War too Long: The USAF in Southeast Asia 19611975", http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/virtual_disk_library/index.cgi/1025775/FID1977/NAVY/Chap_3.pdf, USMC HELO LOSSES(19621973) by aircraft type, "The OV-1 Mohawk Remembered Firsthand: Piloting the Mohawk in Vietnam", "SE Asia and Vietnam: Royal Australian Air Force", "Image Galleries 2009 - Department of Defence", " - - www.skywar.ru", U.S. Air-to-Air Victories during the Cold War, Wars in Yugoslavia, and Anti-Terror War, Widow travels to Vietnam after 40 years and finds her MIA husband's Marine Corps F-4 jet crash site in Que Son Mtns, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_aircraft_losses_of_the_Vietnam_War&oldid=1133364112, First loss: A-1E 52-132465 (1st Air Commando Squadron [ACS], 34th Tactical Group [TG]) shot down during night training mission on 29 August 1964 near, Final loss: A-1H 52-139738 (1st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing) which was shot down 28 September 1972 (pilot was rescued by an, First loss: 710310 (355th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 354th TFW) on 2 December 1972 shot down on a, Final loss: 700945 (354th TFW) shot down in Cambodia on 25 May 1973 (Capt Jeremiah Costello KIA), First loss: B-26B 44-35530 (Detachment 2A, 1st ACG) shot down in IV CTZ on the night of 45 November 1962, killing the 3 crew, Final loss: A-26A 64-17646 (609th SOS, 56th SOW) lost over Laos on the night of 78 July 1969, killing both crewmen, First loss: AC-119G 52-5907 (Det.1, 17th SOS, 14th SOW) which crashed on take-off from, Final loss: AC-119K 53-7826 (18th SOS, 56th SOW out of, First losses were operational (non-combat) mid-air collision 2 B-52F 57-0047 and 57-0179 (441st Bomb Squadron, 320th Bomb Wing), 18 June 1965, South China Sea during air refueling orbit, 8 of 12 crewmen killed, Final loss: B-52D 55-0056 (307th Bomb Wing Provisional) to SAM 4 January 1973, crew rescued from Gulf of Tonkin. Its a tough story to take. Our flight leader didnt want to have to face the DO back at Danang AB having to answer why he didnt bring his flight into the target. Only loss: 51-15565 (432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing) which crashed in Thailand 28 December 1966, both crewmen survived, Only loss: 63-13102 (5th SOS, 14th SOW) shot down 14 August 1969 near Bien Hoa, killing 1/Lt Roger Brown, Final loss: 600282 (38th ARRS) crashed Cam Ranh Bay 7 August 1969, crew rescued, Last losses: four CH-53s (68-10925, 10926, 10927, 701627, all from, C-1A 146016 (Composite Squadron Five VC-5), operational loss (non-combat) 8 August 1967, 3 passengers and 2 crew rescued, Final loss: C-1A 146054 (Carrier Air Wing 11, USS. 149959 AH 300 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) during a combat mission over North Vietnam. In burner, diving out of 20, didnt take long to head toward So China Sea. Its entirely, entirely because of you guys. I enjoyed your write up though I could see you squirming in your seat as it was unfolding. I finally got him to talk and he said, Gary, it was just like Vietnam. When Maj. "Jump" Myers' plane crashed in flames, there was no chance of rescue - yet Bernie Fisher defied the odds and brought him out alive. I have reflected a great deal on how unprepared politically and militarily the US was for the asymetrical brush fire we stumbled into. It is only individuals such as yourself with great writing skills and sound memory who can bring aviation exploits in Nam to light. [23] 2 Mi-4, 5 An-2, 5 Il-14, 1 MiG-15UTI, 1 Il-28, 1 L-29, 1 Lisunov Li-2 lost through all causes[24] Total: 159 aircraft and 2 helicopter lost. The eight-engine bomber was brought down by a North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile near Vinh on the day when B-52s flew their heaviest raids of the war over North Vietnam. Russian source: 65 MiG-21s, 5 MiG-19s, 75 MiG-17s lost through all causes. Joe, I fly a POW/MIA flag below Old Glory everydayin honor of you, Scotty, and all the other heroes that sacrificed so much in that war. According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, a total of 11,846 helicopters were shot down or crashed during the war, resulting in nearly 5,000 American pilots and crew killed. Just a wild guess but you just enjoy your freedoms while you let others do the fighting and take the risks. My head, no longer protected by my helmet, was now receiving direct hits from clubs, rocks, rifle butts and God-knows-what. He did this all without missing a beat. Thank you for your service Joe. Despite my state of lingering shock, my reaction to his command was to pop the Rat and restart. At the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Danang AB, RVN, four two-man crews were hand-picked to deliver the lethal ordnance onto both targets selected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). They did not want to lose their Skin in this deadly game while other Americans bravely went to war. Hes my hero. The Thud flights were all calling Outbound for WX but our FLs OER was going to be written by the guy on MiG CAP so in we went and we took a SAM from dead six with no RHAW gear. Our flight should never have been going into the target. He had the smoke trail spotted and wanted revenge. North Vietnam, pre-1975: Killing of Two American Pilots Shot Down Over North Vietnam. The first thing I looked at was the horizon and I could almost hear the words of The Vanquished as if they were spoken to me. At 9,000 ft., I began trying to maneuver my parachute towards the southern tip of the Tam Dao Mountain range better known as Thud Ridge by the F-105 Thunderchief drivers. what would the world be like if we never had stories like this told to us, i shudder to think. Muhammad Mahmood Alam was a Pakistani Air Force jet fighter pilot in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. A C-47 was the very first USAF aircraft lost in the SEA conflict, C-47B 44-76330 (315th Air Division) on TDY at Vientiane, Laos which was shot down by the Pathet Lao on 23 March 1961 killing 7 of the 8 crewmen. When the Vietnam War ended in 1973, Mohawk losses were: one shot down by a MiG, one destroyed by mortar fire, 27 lost to ground fire and 36 destroyed in operational accidents. Col. Jack Broughton had stated in THUD RIDGE that a few days of bombing Hanoi set them back 6 months in ammo and people coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail which we were shelling every night with 8 inch artillery. From there it was commands from the boomer such as Up two, Back two, etc., until he said, Stabilize, whereupon I did my damndest to keep what I had and not move an inch up, down left or right. Defense Department officials say 1st Lt. Carl D. Nesbitt died when his plane was shot down in May . May God continue to bless you. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. Cliff, I am very sorry for the loss of your Dad. How did the Vietnam shot down the B-52? First loss: Canberra A84-231 disappeared on 3 November 1970 on a night bombing mission in the northern 1st Corps Tactical Zone region of. What? When my feet hit the floor with my elbows on my knees at bedside, a feeling of total despair came over me. By this time I was at 1,500 ft. You certainly are my Hero! Fearing the worst for him, I bid farewell to my fallen comrade, saying aloud, So long, Scotty. With only 300 feet to go, I prepared for my parachute landing. I was falling towards the Earth and still attached to my Martin-Baker (made in England) ejection seat below a four-foot drogue chute to stabilize my rapid descent. Fritz was Nape. Between January and July, U.S. Air Force fighters flying air-to-air missions shot down 29 MiGs while losing just two of their owna 14.5-1 kill ratio. records. I hope the AFJ editor will exercise more discretion in the future. It suddenly dawned on me that he would not surrender his place on the controllers list and lose the chance for his Silver Star! Great job! Hed slept in an air-conditioned hut. Then, I was pushed face down to the floor and blindfolded. Misty FACs operated from 15 June 1967 to 19 May 1970. No one shot at him. [9] Another source claims that the U.S. attributed losses to surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire because it was considered "less embarrassing". Looking down toward my feet, I could see dozens of hands. The baro switch was supposed to open my chute at 10,000 ft. The MiG-21 N. 4324 of the Vietnam People's Air Force. But the effort proved futile. We were going to make it. I turned that down, and promptly got drafted into the USArmy 31 days later! He summed up his experience in Vietnam as It was f****d. You guys are the best we have. At this point I could only pray he would revive by the time he reached the ground. There are plenty of other places to rant and vent. The political strategy of Rolling Thunder was absurd from the git-go. Very sadly, according to the DOD, 1,616 of our brothers are still missing in S.E. Our trip to Corregidor and visit to the USS Houston are two of my greatest memories. Scotty was probably hit by shrapnel from the missile. Mr. Crecca was a POW for the next six years and three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973. Call signs for each mission were based on time of day. The United States lost 578 UAVs (554 over Vietnam and 24 over China). It was great to see you as our paths crossed as we travel the world. All I was aware of was a short, sharp ringing sound and my white, silk parachute billowing above me. 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