Hope you sre enjoying the golden years. You have no skin in the game of life and freedom, do you! First of all, we only had three airplanes. But that didnt keep the Triple Nickel (555th TFS) from calling themselves the Largest distributors of MiG parts in Southeast Asia. Not as of 05NOV66 they werent. Scotty then said over the radio to the leader, Dogwood 2 has a good inertial. Pilots who have used the AN/ASN-46 nav system (Up to 7 NM per hour error) will know whats going on here. Then, I was pushed face down to the floor and blindfolded. I wanted to wipe the blood away but my hands were tied behind my back. Thank you for your sentiments. Actually, it being a slow weekend day, I was on a break and eating breakfast with a few other controllers at a restaurant not far from the airport when Perky01 or 02 reported that they were going to have to bail out. Following the release of all the POWs we met President Nixon at the State Department in May, 1973. I wish I could have expressed my thanks to your Elder Eagle for successfully completing his mission to spring me out of jail. We were going to make it. Thank you for sharing. Good lives were wasted for what? Instead Ill thank & bless Mr. Crecca for being among those whom A. Solzhenitsyn-himself a survivor of Communist Russias gulags-called our first heros for successfully resisting an overwhelming enemy, alone, then returning with honor. I looked back to my right. You who kept the supplies coming to us were a vital part of the war effort. The political strategy of Rolling Thunder was absurd from the git-go. Joe Crecca would spend more than six years in various prison camps. Sad to hear that your Dad didnt tell you much about his missions. It was great to hear your story again. On 27 July 1968, Commander Mongilardi was the pilot of an A4C Skyhawk that launched from the deck of the USS Coral Sea as the section leader in a flight of two on a armed reconnaissance/strike mission over North Vietnam. Bent the F-4 around after re-start and headed to his radial fix off Hue Tacan. Fogleman became the only Super Sabre pilot ever rescued by riding out on a Cobra helicopter. How many F 105s shot down in Vietnam? I reported I wasnt sure which (if any) was his. Soviet General Fesenko, the main Soviet adviser to the North Vietnamese Air Force in 1972, recorded 34 MiG-21s destroyed in 1972. We lost him in 2012. Asia [http://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569613/progress-in-vietnam/]. Im glad you made it home. Because the Director of Operations (DO) was leading a flight-of-four on MiG Cap hoping to shoot down a MiG. I did enjoy reading this and I am grateful for men like you. 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. God Bless America and her brave warriors! Fogleman became the only Super Sabre pilot ever rescued by riding out on a Cobra helicopter. Some data to the soviets in Korea: The 324.IAD (Fighterdivision) 6738 missions. Subconsciously I probably realized I was sitting alone in the back seat of a burning airplane. Cliff, I am very sorry for the loss of your Dad. So glad that you made it back in one piece, and were able to continue flying. Puerto Madero N9710, Oficina 22, Pudahuel - Santiago | pytorch lstm source code It was proving a good day for Navy Lt. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and his back-seat. Spent the day with Tom and Scottys brother Mark. You were a great morale boost when we needed it the most. Glad to see you made it home, I remember that in 1972, 3, 4 & 5 most of America was oblivious to the fact that there was still a war going on & had moved on. And we were just below that weight when we left Danang AB, RVN from runway 17L on the 22ndof November 1966. Thanks for the compliment on my writing. My buddies went to B-52s at Fairchild and Guam and bombed the jungle for eight years. John Stuart Mill I wanted to join you in 1969 after college graduation, but my eyes only qualified me as good enough for USAF navigator. 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. Then came the shock. The aircraft banked sharply to the left, then to the right. And I mourn their deaths. We would have to fight if not listened to. Overcome with his Ivy League false sense of academic Superiority, he stupidly turned them down, not even a crucial, critical, disastrous war saving meeting. I would like to hear from you at some point; [emailprotected]. It was great to learn about your time before FTL/FDX. back then. Both Fire and Overheat lights were illuminated and all the amber and red indicators on the telelight panel by Scottys right knee were lit. Two were pilots, two Air Force weapon systems officers, and two Navy radar intercept officer; both awarded an aerial-kill claim for each enemy aircraft shot-down. They were deeply felt. First loss: EC-121R 67-24193 (554th Reconnaissance Squadron, 553d RW) crashed 25 April 1969 on take-off in a thunderstorm from. Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner. I have the greatest respect and admiration for you and other Vietnam POWs for your courage and what you had to endure. I hope some day that our government will find the courage to ask what happened to the missing pilots whose names or Escape and Evasion codes and authenticator numbers were photographed by U.S. satellites long after the war was overDavid Allinson(8888), Peter Matthes (GX2527), and Henry Serex (SEREX) to name a few. Hes my hero. Scottys arms seemed to be at his sides and head slumped forward. How gracious of you to say semper fi; I believe we are brothers in the F4 community. His unit was flying in support of South Vietnamese troops fighting in Laos. Thanks for your service and sacrifice! for my family and I, is absolutely heartfelt and sincere. Although thank you is not enough, I do thank you for your service. 1:00 Jan. 6 will mark 50 years since former Newburgh resident Dave Middleton was shot down in Vietnam while piloting a Loach helicopter on a mission to which he wasn't originally assigned.. In fact, there is no way you may be honored equal to what you gave. It was you who were suffering in the oppressive heat & humidity. May God continue to bless you, Joe. LTJG Hartman & LT Clinton B. . How many helicopters did America have in Vietnam? What? I finally got him to talk and he said, Gary, it was just like Vietnam. My brain raced to imagine all the possibilities: A snake pit? Fast forward 12 hours. I was escorted a few hundred feet to one of the village hooches Id seen from above. No need to bring up the sorties flown with 1/2 ordnance loads so the (Squadron, Group, Wing) would look good on paper. We can only hope that the current and subsequent generations will take J.S. I was flat on my back. On their MiG-killing mission of Jun. While my eyes and my thoughts were on flying out of enemy territory, my hands moved swiftly to the lower ejection handle while my body automatically assumed the correct ejection posture; back straight, legs extended, elbows tucked in close to the body, and BOOM. His remains were returned September 5th 2004 for burial. God bless you all. He makes us tell a war story that we have heard. Dulles International Needs a name change. I hereby repeat all the usual thank yous, perhaps perfunctorily but with no less feeling. The icing on the cake came when he admitted to the controller that he did not know his position, because his tacan was spooling; he didnt realize we were out of tacan range. By 0900, my front-seater, 1stLt. Gordon Scotty Wilson and I were walking onto the north ramp to our weapons- and fuel-laden F-4C number 64-0755. One of our F-4s was not delivered by maintenance. Despite being a first lieutenant, Scotty Wilson was in my opinion, the best stick in the 480thTactical Fighter Squadron. Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? Mr. Crecca was a POW for the next six years and three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973. After liftoff, caution must be exercised to avoid over-rotation. I will tell the story of Scotty and you and will encourage my son to never forget! You certainly are my Hero! Both were exactly right because the top of my parachute was practically in the bottom of the clouds right above me. Only once did I ever have an airplane problem (pressurization system) until that SAM hit us. During the tour at NKP Thailand, I had opportunity to go TDY to Ubon Air base. Its a tough story to take. I was at a loss for words. [I was USAF SAC (enlisted) 62-66. Its guys like you who Ive tried to be like when it became my turn to sit in the left seat. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he values above his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself.. I looked first into the rear-view mirrors and could see only orange flames and inky smoke. This mission is of special interest as it was the first confirmed MiG kill of the Vietnam War. Mccann and Capt. Instead, Ill just say thanks, Joe Crecca, and thanks to God for men like you. Ritchie's #463 with drag chute open Phantom F-4Ds flying over Vietnam General Characteristics Crew: 2 Length: 63 ft 0 in (19.2 m) Wingspan: 38 ft 4.5 in (11.7 m) Height: 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m) Wing area: 530.0 ft (49.2 m) Airfoil: NACA 0006.4-64 root, NACA 0003-64 tip Empty weight: 30,328 lb (13,757 kg) Loaded weight: 41,500 lb (18,825 kg) Thank you for your email. My draft number was 27. Joe, thanks for sharing and honoring Scotty. They did not want to lose their Skin in this deadly game while other Americans bravely went to war. Our intel chief Major Art Weiner briefed us on all aspects of our mission including weather and defenses. I reached bingo, bingo minus 5, minus 10, minus 15, and reported to lead each time. Thanks for the story, Joe. I wondered what good it did to tell us there were guns, MiGs and SAMs everywhere. The upper estimate puts it at nearly 260 million! of an F-4), or I could man a missile silo in North Dakota. 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. Every living Veteran will no doubt support such. 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. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. Instead, dummy missiles had been placed at the site as a "flak trap.". Permission was granted and I promptly made a big hit with the youngsters in attendance. I know exactly how you feel about combat decisions driven by hubris. I hope to be delighted with more of your anecdotes. His wingman was Paul Reyes. Its entirely, entirely because of you guys. I thought to myself, Im dead. I just didnt know what the moment of death would be like. Several of our birds went to Nam. How many MiG-21 shot down in Vietnam? Did a Korea tour also when enlisted. These were probably the local militia. After licking their wounds, North Vietnamese pilots again began challenging American aviators in late April, but as the fighting intensified in May, it became apparent that they would not succeed. A SAM damn near got me and another my section leader. During the Vietnam War Monika Schwinn, a German nurse, was held captive for three and a half years - at one time the only woman prisoner at the "Hanoi Hilton".The following missionaries were POWs: Evelyn Anderson, captured and later burned to death in Kengkok, Laos, 1972.She is still listed as POW. I found out what its like to be a zoo animal except nobody threw me any peanuts. Burning American aircraft at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1965. At 0600, I awoke to the annoying buzzer of my Telechron alarm clock. Spooky came in after that and made a few passes. Scotty compensated nicely and kept us in formation while I was continually checking six. During the left, 270 degree turn, the flight leader must have been having problems with his navigation system because he asked if our own nav equipment was operating normally, saying, Dogwood 2, hows your inertial?. By the time of the American involvement in Southeast Asia communism, by moderate estimates, around the globe had murdered 110 million people! Osprey 2001, No. J. W. Newhouse rescued, First loss: EF-105F 63-8286 (13th TFS, 388th TFW) shot down by AAA RP-6 July 1966, Maj. Roosevelt Hestle, Final loss: F-105G 63-8359 (Det.1 561st TFS, 388th TFW) shot down by SAM 16 November 1972, RP-3, crew rescued, First loss: mission-related TFR failure, 66-0022 (428th TFS 474th TFW, Project Combat Lancer), 28 March 1968, Maj. H.E. It must have occurred just before my own chute opened. This requires the pilot to smoothly and precisely adjust control inputs to maintain takeoff attitude as the aircraft accelerates and the landing gear and flaps are retracted. I was asked the same questions over and over in an attempt to trip me up. [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]). Flights were around four hours. October 26, 1967: A-4E Skyhawk BuNo. Besides your contributions in F-4s, your time supporting other unfortunates in Hanoi does you honor. It was a bittersweet event and Im so grateful I was able to attend. 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. The Navy had it right (mostly) in equipping, training and tailoring tactical air assets. Had it not been for President Nixon and the sheer courage of the B-52 and tactical aircrews, the POWs would never have returned. 1972: U.S. claimed 51 MiG-21s destroyed; North Vietnam claimed 53 US aircraft shot down by MiG-21s, including two B-52 Stratofortress bombers. 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. The villagers made short work of removing everything except my T-Shirt and skivvies. 4 of the combat losses were parked aircraft. I was too busy inside the cockpit to see it happen but the other two Phantoms banked away sharply to assume the proper lateral spacing. Theyd blow up in midair, before they ever got to the runway. Thank you for your service! The F-105 was one of the primary attack aircraft of the Vietnam War; over 20,000 Thunderchief sorties were flown, with 382 aircraft lost including 62 operational (non-combat) losses (out of the 833 produced). As my turn got closer and closer, I was still mentally tongue-tied. The Royal Australian Air Force also flew combat and airlift missions in South Vietnam, as did the Republic of Vietnam. I was a flight engineer in the Air Force and National Guard. Twenty-one aircraft carriers conducted 86 war cruises and operated 9,178 total days on the line in the Gulf of Tonkin. John McCain JohnMcCain Share this article Everybody has heard by now that John McCain was shot down over North Vietnam, captured, and held as a Prisoner of War; it apparently, to some, is his. As I approached the left wing in my walk around, I noticed a large patch, roughly 30 by 8 riveted just inboard of the left wing-fold. They fixed it. Scotty yelled, GET OUT! With the OUT still echoing in my ears there was a BOOM!, then the air noise of the jettisoned canopy. In 1980 and 81, the McDonnell Douglas Plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma was remanufacturing F-4 fighters for the Air Force. Yep. Never flew with a pilot in the USAF that was not a top notch professional. The process of lifting the American air pirate and dropping him (me) face first onto the floor went on for over an hour. D.L. I rest easy at night because of people like you. Came upon this remarkable story after seeing it linked to another by a good guy who once gave me dual instruction in sailplanes. So, with that, you have to question the command and leadership, not the foot soldier. It was a moving story. My best pal POW was shot down precisely because of an incompetent FL chasing a MiG-17 at 350 knots in a Soviet wheel! By now it has been a long while since the conflict in Viet Nam. A-1E (S/N 52-132649) was flown by Maj. Bernard Fisher on March 10, 1966, when he rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam. . Glad you made it home safe after 6 years in the north. Thank you President Nixon for my life and my freedom. I lost mine 5 years before I was released. During the Vietnam War, thousands of U.S. aircraft were lost to antiaircraft artillery (AAA), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and fighter interceptors (MiG)s. The great majority of U.S. combat losses in all areas of Southeast Asia were to AAA. The only USAF officers who could rise to strategic ranks were from Strategic Air Command (nuke bombers) and a very few from Air Defense Command. I looked for an escape route. Admiral William F. Bringle (seated) how a MiG-17 jet fighter was shot down over North Vietnam. 71-0316 (355th TFS) operational loss (non-combat) crash in Thailand on 11 January 1973 (pilot rescued) 70-0949 (354th TFW) shot down Laos on 17 February 1973 (Maj J.J. Gallagher rescued) 71-0305 (3rd TFS, 388th TFW) shot down in Cambodia on 4 May 1973 (1Lt T.L. Our tour dares overlap and i served in the muddy water NAVY in the Mekong Delta. Japan, who woulda thunk it? If the MiGs didnt come up, he couldnt have a chance to shoot one down. I fell into a restless, nightmarish and shivering cold sleep. Final loss: EB-66B 42nd TEWS, 388th TFS lost to engine failure on 23 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II. The claimed flying aces of the Vietnam War, pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft, include 19 North Vietnamese pilots (six MiG-17 and 13 MiG-21 pilots),: 228 and five Americans. "Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC. Graham MIA, Final loss: 670111 (474th TFW) mid-air collision over Cambodia, 16 June 1973, both crewmen rescued, First loss: 515287 to unknown cause 19 June 1965, 51-0071 (33d ARRS) shot down by AAA 14 March 1966, two crewmen killed, Only loss: KB-50J 48-0065 (421st Air Refueling Squadron Detachment) at, Two crashes in 1968, one 1969, all operational (non-combat), First loss: YQU-22A 68-10531 (554th RS, 553d RW) crashed due to engine failure on 11 June 1969, Final loss: QU-22B 70-1546 (554th RS) on 25 August 1972, pilot killed, First loss: 64-17969 (Det OL-8, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) suffered engine failure over Thailand on 10 May 1970, both crewmen ejected safely, Final loss: 64-17978 (Det OL-KA, 9th SRW) crashed on landing at, Only loss: 566690 (349th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron 100th SRW) which crashed on 8 October 1966 near Bien Hoa, SVN, Maj. Leo J Stewart ejected and was rescued. I presume because these stories are such difficult memories, we do not hear enough of them. All of us pilots felt lost. Presently it dishonors over 50,000 dead and how many maimed and wounded? Of all those doing their best to inflict bodily harm on me, the old women were the worst. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. We attended the Colonels memorial service one week ago today. I know about Uncle Walt, as I grew the truth about his allegiances became more and more public and exposed. Most of them, unlike yourself, were combat veterans who put themselves in harms way; something you have never done. I was concentrating on Scotty and my eyes were focused only on him. A minute or two after takeoff we had cold air blasting through the cockpits. I was a classmate with him in 64-C but the other flight. Thanks for your service Joe, you are one of the countrys heros. Call signs for each mission were based on time of day. With over 70 years of hindsight and investigation there were a ton of mistakes. Hi, Joe. Mr. Creccas response (farther below) displays considerably more class than that displayed by b fearn in this particular instance. Our brand-new LtCol had dreams of a DFC or Silver Star, so we drove 250 miles or so North, with marginal weather at Chu Lai, to volunteer our (his) effort. This farmer pilot is Nguyn Vn By who died on Sept. 21, 2019 at the age of 83. A well? As for Mr. Fearn, Politics aside, we probably did back the wrong side. claimed to have shot down 215 planes. Source's information probably relates to the incident.. We can never let our politicians forget those lessons. May God comfort those families who still wait and wonder.]. Mr. Crecca, I was an Air Traffic Controller at the Tulsa TRACON (tower and radar approach control) in January of 1981 when one of the check flights did not end well. Well, at least you tried. Announcing the 2023 Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots, Flying in paradise: a vacation flight lesson in Maui, Accident report: losing control at 43,000 feet. s F-4 Phantoms, paint it with the Squadron 21 and 161's colors and mark the splitter plate with the names of the eight pilots. I will be forever grateful to all who flew and supported LBII and to President Richard M. Nixon for having the fortitude to send the mighty BUFFs north. But I promise if youll just give me another one, Ill take much better care of it. He squeezed my hand so hard I thought he was going to break all the bones in it as he said with great gusto, I want you in one!, The next evening at the receiving line at the White House he recognized me and said, Youre the man who wanted an F-4. I said I was and he said, Youve got it!. [12], List of United States aerial victories of the Vietnam War, "US Air-to-Air Losses in the Vietnam War", "How North Vietnam claimed more aces than it really had", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Vietnam_War_flying_aces&oldid=1101889530, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 August 2022, at 09:45. I had never before heard the details of his loss. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. Don Ward, came up to me and said words that someone in operations never, ever hears from anybody in maintenance. A year and a half after his plane was shot down over North Vietnam, Porter sat in a filthy cell shared with another American prisoner of war, and learned that he was supposedly dead. He was the last fighter pilot to become an ace in a day, shooting down five Indian Hawker . As lieutenants in our respective services, we knew only that something was wrong. What was the first C-47 plane shot down in Vietnam? The USAF sustained approximately 0.4 losses per 1,000 sorties during the conflict, which compared favorably with a 2.0 rate in Korea and a 9.7 figure during World War II. It suddenly dawned on me that he would not surrender his place on the controllers list and lose the chance for his Silver Star! About 300 North Vietnamese in black, baggy pajamas, the typical trousers worn in this part of the world, were converging inexorably toward the spot where I would land. Crash Location: Into Sea off southwest coast of Vietnam near Rach Gia and Ca Mau. Sadly the other pilot and crew chief and door gunner did not make it. On Sept. 12, 1968, F-100D pilot Capt. . Vietnam will eventually strive throughout S.E. They never attack until they do it. And the plane that carried them, a commercial jet . The spot where I landed was probably a potato patch. Were there any female prisoners of war in Vietnam? We held a mass intelligence briefing at wing HQ. The prison at Hoa Lo was a miserable place. 64 to 69. Always amazed how well you remembered the tap code. This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member. Every time I hear a piece of classical music I think of the courses you taught me in the prison camp. Fighting against such a cruel political regime didnt seem that bad an idea after all, did it? I hope the AFJ editor will exercise more discretion in the future. I dont know if they ever found the horse. NOTE: Misty numbers listed here were assigned after the war and relates to the order the pilot was assigned to the unit. No better tribute to a warrior and man then to be remembered by his fellow warriors 50+ years later. Im sorry for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on this thread. He summed up his experience in Vietnam as It was f****d. You guys are the best we have. 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. [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". Our standard load was 12-500s or 7 Nape. Im glad Joe was able to help others under such dire circumstances. Upon arrival at the Hoa Lo prison, I was placed in a dimly-lit room with light green, uneven walls. Ronald Fogleman was shot down in the I Corps area 200 miles (320 km) north of Bien Hoa while flying aircraft 56-3245. Phew II! May God bless you. My father was at Danang in 67/68. I replied that I still had a positive lock to a radio nav-aid and if he could get us through the clouds I could get us to the target. They were all well received. Thank you Mr. Meadows, And we who flew the mighty Phantoms were in your debt,too. 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