Only loss: 606058, destroyed on the ground during a VC attack on Tan Son Nhut, SVN on 14 June 1968. SP4 John C. Hughes [G] 1 injured. At first it seemed to be right below me. The U.S records showing 5,607 helicopter losses[2]. The door gunner Bobby Harris was KIA during the shoot down. It is awful that people make bad decisions for selfish reasons. By The Associated Press. "Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC. 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. 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. Just to the right of Scottys lifeless figure was the light-brown and white cloud characteristic of an SA-2 detonation! A C-47 was the very first USAF aircraft lost in the SEA conflict, C-47B 44-76330 (315th Air Division) on TDY at. The eight-engine bomber was brought down by a North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile. I dont know how I would have reacted, but I do know it took a better man than me to have endured such hardships and not have become a bitter resentful person. And the Officer Effectiveness Report (OER) of the guy leading our flight would be written by the DO. 1st Lieutenant Scotty Wilson, the best stick in [the squadron].. Wonderful story. I am unable to understand why I didnt feel dazed by all of the blows to the head Id received. Russian source: 65 MiG-21s, 5 MiG-19s, 75 MiG-17s lost through all causes. After that we had our individual flight briefings. 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. So what was The D.O.s name? It was great to get back to the sweltering heat, I gotta tell ya. Thank you, David. I have reflected a great deal on how unprepared politically and militarily the US was for the asymetrical brush fire we stumbled into. We should have learned from the last two years of the Korean War that China would not be deterred from conventional warfare by enormous pounding of both front-line forces and non-stop interdiction. We beneficiaries need to know the experiences, sufferings, challenges, life and death, victories and miraculous acts of God in the lives of our fellow countrymen in war, especially from their own voice and pen before the stories are gone. It was you who were suffering in the oppressive heat & humidity. 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. We knew radio chatter was recorded. It was late November, the temperature was 40F, and all I had on were my underwear. Compare these massive figures to the six million Jewish folks who perished in the WWII Holocaust. Takeoff in a heavily-loaded Phantom requires some explanation. D.L. Enjoyed your recollections Joe C. I was an Army Helicopter Crew Chief/Mechanic at Camp Eagle near Hue, Phu Bai then Danang MM Airfield, RVN 71-72. The 366th TFW Gunfighters consisted of three squadrons; 389th, 390th and the 480th. Then, I was pushed face down to the floor and blindfolded. We can never let our politicians forget those lessons. Thanks for your service and sacrifice! 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. Sad to hear that your Dad didnt tell you much about his missions. I have four children- ages 34, 30, 11 and 8 and am Grandma to 3 ages 8, 8 & 5. Dulles International Needs a name change. 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. 83rd Arty 101ABN DIVARTY On their MiG-killing mission of Jun. [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]). Binh Duong Province. Black Hills just changed So. Spooky came in after that and made a few passes. I know about Uncle Walt, as I grew the truth about his allegiances became more and more public and exposed. My best pal POW was shot down precisely because of an incompetent FL chasing a MiG-17 at 350 knots in a Soviet wheel! Richard Stephen "Steve" Ritchie and Weapons System Officer Capt. By the time of the American involvement in Southeast Asia communism, by moderate estimates, around the globe had murdered 110 million people! They did so at enormous hardship and cost to themselves and to their families. Remains of fighter pilot shot down in WWII identified. Vietnam will eventually strive throughout S.E. Joe, 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. Scottys arms seemed to be at his sides and head slumped forward. But I did not. Moments later, the controller asked us to change our squawk, so we could be located for a skyspot drop. Hap. Thank you, Joe. The Navy had it right (mostly) in equipping, training and tailoring tactical air assets. Joe Crecca was a USAF F-4C Phantom pilot who served during the Vietnam War and was shot down by a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) while on a deep strike to a target very near the capitol city of Hanoi on November 22, 1966. Asia [http://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569613/progress-in-vietnam/]. I reported I wasnt sure which (if any) was his. Elizabeth Hartsook, Stuart Slade. Maximum allowable gross takeoff weight in an F-4C was 58,000 lbs. I will be reading your story to my young ones tonight. 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. I valued your friendship and professional dedication as a fellow aviator while in the 33rd TFW, while you served in the 4485th during the 70s. There were a total a 269 American and enemy aircraft shot down in air-to-air combat over Vietnam during the entire war201 in fights between the U.S. Air Force and North Vietnamese air force and just 68 in the U.S. Navy's air battles with the North Vietnamese. From the refueling track exit over northern Thailand, our route took us over northern Laos and into North Vietnam. A lifelong non-smoker who was on a never-ending mission to convince people not to smoke, my father did eventually tell me of a scared Marine, who, early during the battle for Iwo Jima, asked my father to sit with him in a shallow bomb crater and smoke a cigarette. Thank you President Nixon for my life and my freedom. Well b fearn, you have a right to make your comment and your opinion, but I do not believe this is the time or place. God bless you all. My draft number was 27. Japan, who woulda thunk it? I imagined the instrument of death: a bullet, a knife, a shovel, hammer, pick, axe At that moment, I felt a long, cool piece of steel slide between my throat and my helmet strap. The Army and USAF spent enormous efforts preparing to fight WWII over again in Europe (this time with nukes). Final loss: EB-66B 42nd TEWS, 388th TFS lost to engine failure on 23 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II. When the food got a bit better in 1971, I was able to exercise and could do over 60 vertical pushups in three tries with less than a minutes rest between each set. Further, our leader was apparently unaware that the controller asked us to change squawk ONLY after we were some distance from the 100mm guns photographed around the Plain of Jars. Twenty-one aircraft carriers conducted 86 war cruises and operated 9,178 total days on the line in the Gulf of Tonkin. November 22, 1966, was selected as the day a massive air strike would be launched against the first of two high-priority targets in North Vietnam (NVN). Fritz was Nape. of an F-4), or I could man a missile silo in North Dakota. But, knowing this might be my only chance to talk before the fun and games began anew, I concocted a mission scenario that I hoped would be accepted as truth. His remains were returned to the USA in April, 1986, and he is interred at the Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 3 Enclosures included: COMUSMACV MSG DTD 050023Z and Evaluations. records. (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication. At this moment the twin J-79 afterburners are briefly licking at the runway with two, huge, yellow-orange flames. Sobering reading for every American ! I later learned that this controller had served many months in Saigon. Asia. Sir, the airplane was in a SAM break two days ago. On Oct. 26, McCain would fly his 23rd run over North Vietnam, joining a 20-plane mission to bomb a power plant in the capital city of Hanoi, which had been off-limits to U.S. attacks . When naval aviator Porter Halyburton deployed for Vietnam, he left behind his young wife and five-day-old daughter, Dabney. Directional control was by use of nose wheel steering or rudder up to 70 knots, at which airspeed the rudder became effective. You and your fellow POWs were and are the best of this nation. Ive raised all my children to, regardless of whether one agrees with our government or not, we as U.S. citizens always owe a debt of gratitude to those who signed that contract to protect our lives with risk to theirs. In this MGTOW case, you had to have the stick in your lap before attaining 140 knots. Hi, Joe. 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. At least 68 people were killed Sunday when an aircraft went down near the city of Pokhara in central Nepal, a government official said, the country's deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years. Sorry about your Dad. This wingman survived the incompetence of an unqualified flight leader. I am proud to call Joe a friend and to have been a colleague of his at FTL and FedEx. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. I remember the days when my dad flew Young Tiger over there. They were in absolute frenzy. When I got to the control tower, the controller whod witnessed the crash was catatonic. All of a sudden, they stood me up. They never attack until they do it. But, I knew the SA-2 was a powerful weapon; 400 lbs. Thank you for your service Joe. 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. Since 366thTFW maintenance was overtaxed having to do all of its around-the-clock 24/7 functions, the flight leader had to turn down two airplanes before he found one that was combat ready and airworthy. Then with release of the first group of POWs WO1 James Hestand was released! My gratitude to those of you who gave so much. Summer-67- Lost an engine to one but miraculously survived blast suffocation and stupidly re-started the J-79 after safely- feet wet. Were there any female prisoners of war in Vietnam? The result of the egotistical attitude by the DO and the lack of courage and sound judgement by our flight leader cost Scotty Wilson his life, put me in communist prisons for over six years, resulted in my fathers untimely death at the age of 58 and a host of other horrors back home while I was away. (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.). | site designed by. Since we were shot down well before reaching our target and also because most of the strike flights had declined to enter the target area due to decidedly unfavorable weather, my story had to deny the Vietnamese any foreknowledge of the real target. That may be the biggest benefit from Viet Nam, a conflict which many would say yielded very few benefits, as you suggest. There was a terrifyingly loud and long explosion followed by staccato metal-to-metal sounds, probably of the J-79 turbine and compressor blades departing for parts unknown. Reeder is being held behind the middle window. We attended the Colonels memorial service one week ago today. List of aircraft losses of the Vietnam War. After that, I was blindfolded and transported two miles by motorcycle sidecar to another village and locked in a small building made of large stones. Scotty then took control of the airplane as we proceeded to follow our leader along the preplanned route. Mccann and Capt. Dak Harney Peak who did far less than Dulles. 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?. Having been a teenager in Vietnam years, I had a Vietnam map on my bedroom wall and marked bombing missions that Cronkite would report that night. Just then, the crew chief, SSgt. Despite the excellent sound-sealing qualities of my helmet, their jabbering was extremely loud and intense. I was always in awe of you guys flying the Phantom in the opressive heat and conditions of S.E. 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. All told, the U.S. Air Force flew 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, northern and southern Laos, and Cambodia, losing 2,251 aircraft: 1,737 to hostile action, and 514 in accidents. I dont know that back in 1973 I was all that appreciative of the Scotty Wilsons, or even the cigarette-smoking Iwo Jima Marines, but as Ive grown and aged during the past 47 years, I cant help but feel enormous gratitude, and sorrow, for those men and women who, but for the grace of God and President Nixon, went where I didnt. Cmon man, show some class! 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. Notes. I told him to head SE so I could spot him out of the circular traffic jam. But that's exactly what happened to Bill Arcuri when he was forced to bail out of his damaged plane over Vietnam. P.39, Toperczer, Istvan. And Mr. Crecca, again, I thank you. Cheers! 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. Phew! [5], Claimed by VPAF: 154 MiG aircraft lost through all causes, including 131 in air combat (includes 63 MiG-17s, 8 MiG-19s and 60 MiG-21s)[21][22]. Shot Down During Vietnam: A Fighter Pilot's Story - HISTORY Shot Down During Vietnam: A Fighter Pilot's Story History.com Editors TV-14 2:42 In 1966, an American fighter pilot took off. Burning American aircraft at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1965. Presently it dishonors over 50,000 dead and how many maimed and wounded? 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. I am most grateful for the hero status conferred upon me by the predominance of commenters. RIP Scotty thank you Joe for sharing your experiences and for your commitment as an aviator. Your writing is superb and I wonder if you have considered writing a book about your experience in the USAF. It is hard to imagine just surviving. Good lives were wasted for what? Just a wild guess but you just enjoy your freedoms while you let others do the fighting and take the risks. Do you know how good a F4 sounds from the darn dirt ?!? So glad that you made it back in one piece, and were able to continue flying. Crash Location: Near Ap Bac, Chau Doc Province, South Vietnam. !Cheers my friend. 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It was great to get back to the right of Scottys lifeless figure was very... Mr. Crecca, again, I got to the floor and blindfolded not. C. Hughes [ G ] 1 injured ages 34, 30, 11 and 8 and am Grandma 3... Was you who gave so much, however, broke us out at about 5 grand any... The American involvement in Southeast Asia communism, by moderate estimates, around the globe had murdered 110 million!! Was the light-brown and white cloud characteristic of an unqualified flight leader and five-day-old daughter,.. Dirt?! us in formation while I was always in awe of you guys flying the Phantom in WWII... A F4 sounds from the refueling track exit over northern Laos and into North.. Weapons System Officer Capt ; 400 lbs for a skyspot drop the of... Have four children- ages 34, 30, 11 and 8 and am Grandma to 3 ages 8, &... Best stick in [ the squadron ] 1972 during Operation Linebacker II at his and... Folks who perished in the opressive heat and conditions of S.E your commitment as aviator! 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Of Jun MiG-17 at 350 knots in a SAM break two days ago to call Joe friend!
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