First of all, we only had three airplanes. I then drew my .38 caliber service revolver, opened the cylinder, emptied all the ammunition and threw it away. How far did he go on in the Air Force? In that instant, I realized how I would die; they were going to slice my head off. Sir, the airplane was in a SAM break two days ago. Its a tough story to take. I was a young 23 year old J-79 Engine Mechanic at Homestead AFB in 1972,sent toThailand in late Summer of that year to participate in LinebackerII Our F-4s along with McDills flew Mig CAP for the B-52s of which several were lost.Homestead lost one Phantom,I believe McDill lost one. Joe. Muhammad Mahmood Alam was a Pakistani Air Force jet fighter pilot in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. I was a classmate with him in 64-C but the other flight. Our TOT (Time Over Target) was scheduled for 1153. The plane was unveiled . I thought to myself, Im dead. I just didnt know what the moment of death would be like. We lost him in 2012. Mills words to heart whenever necessary. Misty FACs operated from 15 June 1967 to 19 May 1970. 17, 1965, Commander Lou Page (pilot) and Lieutenant JC Smith were flying F-4B bureau number (buno) 150646 not 151488 as sometimes reported. I hope that this article and your word of mouth/teachings help other people stand up against stupidity and question the orders of those place in authority. Were there any female prisoners of war in Vietnam? The 366th TFW Gunfighters consisted of three squadrons; 389th, 390th and the 480th. Twenty-one aircraft carriers conducted 86 war cruises and operated 9,178 total days on the line in the Gulf of Tonkin. Charge of the Light Brigade. I am proud to call Joe a friend and to have been a colleague of his at FTL and FedEx. Approaching what should have been Point Alfa on our planned route, I noticed the nav pointer was off to the left when it should have been dead center straight up. Jim witnessed the other pilot CW2 Richard Bauman and crew chief Craig Dix being captured. Secondly, everybody else all the other strike flights, 15 of them, one after the other were calling, Outbound for weather meaning the target area was socked in and it would be just plain stupid to drop into the clouds where it would be hard to locate the target and easy to get nailed by a SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile). I was starting to get the idea. Pilot Clyde Romero, 19, rests between flights at Khe Sanh in February 1971. Ignore that kind, it is useless to argue as they are happy in their own world which they believe will lead to some utopian future paid for by others. Thanks for the story, Joe. I know exactly how you feel about combat decisions driven by hubris. SGT Sam Tenorio [G] 2 injured. It was great to see you as our paths crossed as we travel the world. There will always be those who dont get it. 3 crewmen were KIA. In addition to the roof, the toilet was destroyed! We can assume NVN radars were tracking us and if I had disclosed the secret tacan, it would be simple to backtrack to the tacan location. Phew! And Ill always remember how you and Tom Nordberg stood up for me in Anchorage. Dulles International Needs a name change. Hopefully you have not seen this magnificent video I recently came across, and for a man in love with flight like you proved, I hope it will bring back nothing but happy memories https://vimeo.com/199142621 . A minute or two after takeoff we had cold air blasting through the cockpits. It was moving and changing shape ever so slowly. Despite our brief conversation enroute to the tanker about pilots who had ejected from their burning airplanes prematurely (their aircraft flew on for long distances before going out of control) what happened next got my attention. Mccann and Capt. That may be the biggest benefit from Viet Nam, a conflict which many would say yielded very few benefits, as you suggest. I am forever beholding to you on so many fronts. Its entirely, entirely because of you guys. He called me to come back coming out of a Split S spin. First loss: C-123B 56-4370 attached to the 464th TAW which came down on an, First loss: C-130A 57-0475 (817th Troop Carrier Squadron, 6315th Operations Group) on 24 April 1965, a. I was in the tower in Saigon and F-4s would come pouring in. Dog boned Six and direct hit, had to send some Russian Techs to the Beyond. Lt Cmdr Frederick P Crosby had been deployed on the Bon Homme Richard, an Essex-class aircraft carrier stationed off the Vietnam coast His planed crashed in 1965 in front of Pham Van Truong's. The direct hit had felt like wed had a collision with a fully-loaded cement truck. back then. Im thinking, How does anybody know how their INS is doing when they cant see the ground? We were at 25,000 feet above a solid, 10,000-foot undercast. A sub-standard OER means you dont get promoted on time. We were only two minutes from the target, descending through 14,000 ft. at a speed of 540 knots or about 650 miles per hour. Jan 12, 06:12 PM. I could feel them loop a rope around my neck, then attach the rope to my wrists and again, in similar fashion, to my ankles. Wonderful story. Permission was granted and I promptly made a big hit with the youngsters in attendance. Wasnt much left for my remaining Six. Joe could have saved lives and saved 6 years of his own if had just stayed home. Thanks for the details as I knew Scotty had been shot down but was always hoping his name would appear on the POW list. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. He wasnt much of a story teller and I didnt think to ask him about his service until after he died. Ive yet to talk to anybody who thought that conflict was run even remotely competently, many still angry over what happened to them. Looking down toward my feet, I could see dozens of hands. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. It was -55F at 32,000 feet for over two hours and pressure breathing 100% Oxygen in a summer flight suit. It was another scene of temporal distortion. He is someone that I have always respected and admired. By The Associated Press. Joe many of the IPs in the 4435th remember you from your smooth ride getting back in the Phantom. But, I stuck to my story answering the same question in the same way each time. April 16, 1968 : C-130A 56-0480, c/n 3088, of the 35th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crash landed at Special Forces Camp Bunard, 80 kilometers north of Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. He took off the next several days. There are plenty of other places to rant and vent. I slipped off the right wing of the tanker into a spot 50 feet aft of where Id have to be for the boomer to plug into my receptacle. Youve earned it. for my family and I, is absolutely heartfelt and sincere. My father was lost in 64-0771 out of Cam Rahn 9/3/66. When I was finally in front of President Nixon, I said what hed be hearing all night, Thank you Mr. President for bringing us home with honor. Then without missing a beat I said, And Im really sorry about that F-4. It was the darkest moment of an amazing three weeks in Vietnam and I was quite happy to leave that place. Phew! Served in SAC during early fifties and proud of our commander. 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. It was very kind of you to drive the 40 miles and spend the time to honor the memory of my brother, your fellow employee at Flying Tigers and FedEx. [9][10]:268. Yep. According to what looks like a reasonably well-sourced page on Wikipedia, a total of 3,032 aircraft were lost to hostile action during the Vietnam War (the actual total was considerably higher, as these numbers don't include Army rotary-wing aircraft), which means at least that many pilots were shot down (yes, some were shot down more than once, but they are way more than offset by the many aircraft that had two pilots). Black Hills just changed So. His remains were returned September 5th 2004 for burial. This fighter aircraft, flown by various pilots, was credited for 14 kills during the Vietnam War. The terror I felt just moments before vanished. (I would have loved to get into the left seat of a C-130, but if theyd assigned me to an O-2 Skymaster, that would have been fine too.). His remains were returned to the USA in April, 1986, and he is interred at the Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Just as we were positioning ourselves for the right-hand turn at Bravo, the lead aircraft unexpectedly turned to the left. All commenters here need to start this needed movement for due change. of an F-4), or I could man a missile silo in North Dakota. Was the F 14 used in Vietnam? Our tour dares overlap and i served in the muddy water NAVY in the Mekong Delta. I always enjoyed flying with you and sharing a beverage. [4] 877 Republic of Vietnam aircraft were captured at war's end (1975)[5] Of the 2750[6] aircraft and helicopters received by South Vietnam, only about 308 survived (240 flew to Thailand or US warships[7] and 68 returned to the United States[8]). Your story sheds much light on what his experiences must have been like. A well? The pilot Lieutenant Commander John S. McCain III, successfully ejected and was made Prisoner of War. They all worked too. The U.S records showing 5,607 helicopter losses[2]. when the canopy rails are parallel to the ground, the nose is 10-12 degrees up. They were deeply felt. Presently it dishonors over 50,000 dead and how many maimed and wounded? I knew from some of the other Tigers that you had been a POW, but never heard the details of your harrowing tale. At 2,500 ft. Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner. I flew Marine Corps F-4s out of Da Nang and Nam Pong, Thailand in 1972; unfortunately not much had changed in six years. Glad to hear you are on frequency. Yes, it is tainted with much uncertainty to which you allude. Million-dollar wound some would call it through the knee, with the bones barely nicked. I wanted to join you in 1969 after college graduation, but my eyes only qualified me as good enough for USAF navigator. Remains of fighter pilot shot down in WWII identified. 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Saved lives and saved 6 years of his own if had just stayed home like... Death would be like teller and I, is absolutely heartfelt and..

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