Two years ago I walked through the front door of Hoa Lo. Flight lead arrived and took his fuel after we were finished. My arms were tied behind my back with the elbows laced tightly together. But that's exactly what happened to Bill Arcuri when he was forced to bail out of his damaged plane over Vietnam. He took off the next several days. Now I know a little bit more about what he did. Names. One of our F-4s was not delivered by maintenance. Ed McGaa, Marine F4s, Chu Lai Mostly CAS. The process of lifting the American air pirate and dropping him (me) face first onto the floor went on for over an hour. Good lives were wasted for what? I had never before heard the details of his loss. 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. He said hes sorry I feel that way. 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. 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. May God bless you, your family and all our vets. 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. By now it has been a long while since the conflict in Viet Nam. He told me to find him. 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. We actually believed that the letters U.S. would frighten away any adversary who realized that we were in the confrontation. I remember the 141 unloading POWs Welcome Home Sir. Just to the right of Scottys lifeless figure was the light-brown and white cloud characteristic of an SA-2 detonation! How gracious of you to say semper fi; I believe we are brothers in the F4 community. I saw an F-4 fly low into Firebase Bastogne in January 1969 and pickle a few rounds on the guys that were over-running our base. Hull blown-up. The blade began moving back and forth. And I mourn their deaths. The Vietnam Years. Energy Management Clich or Exactitude? No one shot at him. We held a mass intelligence briefing at wing HQ. Im glad Joe was able to help others under such dire circumstances. It was people! Hayden Lockhart was the first Air Force pilot to fall into North Vietnamese hands. 83rd Arty 101ABN DIVARTY 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. God bless you all. Mr. Creccas response (farther below) displays considerably more class than that displayed by b fearn in this particular instance. Have not seen him since 1962. This room was known, unaffectionately, by all who suffered there as the room with the green, bumpy walls. Seated on a small, wooden stool, the interrogation began in the usual way with, Name, rank, serial number and date of birth. When I refused to reply to any further questions except by repeating my name, rank, serial number and date of birth, my interrogating officer, in a most sinister way, and in a very convincing manner said, Crecca, you will die in Vietnam. In a matter of minutes I was bound with ropes. The Army and USAF spent enormous efforts preparing to fight WWII over again in Europe (this time with nukes). By that point the airflow over the isoclinic horizontal stabilizer was sufficient to start the nose up. I will tell the story of Scotty and you and will encourage my son to never forget! 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. 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?. One night I flew #2 to a newly crowned pentagon prince. Enroute, we learned USAF had discovered a major truck convoy up near the Plain of Jars, wanting help. 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. I served from 1964-1968. And we were just below that weight when we left Danang AB, RVN from runway 17L on the 22ndof November 1966. In addition to the roof, the toilet was destroyed! I was an F4 driver at Chu Lai trying to cut the supply traffic through Laos, mostly around Hwy 9, near Tchepone. 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 for an escape route. I was an aircraft mechanic serving at Clark Air Base in 1969-70 and then later at NKP in Thailand in 1973-74. I knew you had endured being a prisoner but we never talked about it. Im sorry for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on this thread. I turned that down, and promptly got drafted into the USArmy 31 days later! I met and liked John Dremesi whose experience was the same as yours. But, I knew the SA-2 was a powerful weapon; 400 lbs. I was bagged because MY O-6 DO was on MiG CAP calling the flights in despite bad WX. Then with release of the first group of POWs WO1 James Hestand was released! But I did not. 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 terror I felt just moments before vanished. Before I could muse over any more unhappy endings, I was dropped onto the floor. Peebles Curtis. The baro switch was supposed to open my chute at 10,000 ft. Id pulled the lower ejection handle and was away from my burning Phantom. And when the pressurization system failed we were freezing our butts off! YGBSM!. The black, shapeless mass of Vietnamese peasants was all over me. Pinches were both rescued. Instead, dummy missiles had been placed at the site as a "flak trap.". The prison at Hoa Lo was a miserable place. NOTE: Misty numbers listed here were assigned after the war and relates to the order the pilot was assigned to the unit. Scotty had ejected. There will always be those who dont get it. Barney. A few of the men wore shoddy uniforms and were armed with old-looking, bolt-action rifles. You do not have to be Richard Collins or Ernest Gann simply a GA pilot with a story youd share with friends sitting in the hangar. I am most grateful for the hero status conferred upon me by the predominance of commenters. Thank you, Mr. Crecca! MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War. Hope you sre enjoying the golden years. Only loss: 606058, destroyed on the ground during a VC attack on Tan Son Nhut, SVN on 14 June 1968. After 52 years, the remains of Air Force pilot Col. Roy Knight Jr., who was shot down in 1967 during the Vietnam War, have finally come home. That may be the biggest benefit from Viet Nam, a conflict which many would say yielded very few benefits, as you suggest. I was too young for Nam, but spent 20 years in the Navy under the water. Mr. Crecca was a POW for the next six years and three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973. It was great to get back to the sweltering heat, I gotta tell ya. Thank you for your service Joe. 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.. 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). My draft number was 27. Sorry about your Dad. How many MiG-21 shot down in Vietnam? 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. 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. I expect Patrick Walker and his ilk were those that fled the USA because they were chicken. At Tulsa TRACON, I would have lumped him in with any group you could think of that wouldnt give a damn about anyonehow wrong that lumping would have been. It was less than a minute before I would be on the ground. I fell into a restless, nightmarish and shivering cold sleep. And Ill always remember how you and Tom Nordberg stood up for me in Anchorage. At this moment the twin J-79 afterburners are briefly licking at the runway with two, huge, yellow-orange flames. All commenters here need to start this needed movement for due change. On 3 January 1969 Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) was commissioned at NAS North Island, California and after an intense period of training was transferred to Vietnam. At the very least, he had just been knocked out. Soviet General Fesenko, the main Soviet adviser to the North Vietnamese Air Force in 1972, recorded 34 MiG-21s destroyed in 1972. Both were exactly right because the top of my parachute was practically in the bottom of the clouds right above me. As to the hollow, mean-spirited comment immediately preceding, the Bible admonishes that one not answer a fool according to his folly. So I wont. Great job! Sad to hear that your Dad didnt tell you much about his missions. 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. The clouds were reported to be at 10,000 ft. But then, the blood began to run down from the breaks in the skin on my head and into my eyes. Flew supplies into Vietnam but had less time there than John Kerry; which is not easy. First loss: operational (non-combat), F-4C 64-0674 (45TH TFS, 15th TFW) which ran out of fuel after strike in SVN on 9 June 1965; first combat loss F-4C 64-0685 (45th TFS, 15th TFW) shot down Ta Chan, NW NVN on 20 June 1965. 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. Kos Media, LLC. First loss: 1964, final loss: 1967. 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. The SA-2 brought down many American pilots over North Vietnam. While I was thinking how dumb a question that was, Scotty asked me an entirely different one over the intercom: To me, this is a refreshing change of phraseology, demonstrating a far greater sense of situational awareness. I taught eight pilots who had only two-year degrees differential calculus. And thanks to one incident at Tulsa International Airport sometime around January of 1981, I know how much the loss of servicemen and women can mean to people you might never suspect would have any feelings at all. Thank you President Nixon for my life and my freedom. U-8 losses need added April 26, 1968 : C-130B 60-0298, c/n 3602, of the 773d Tactical Airlift Squadron, shot down dropping load at A Loui, South Vietnam. Had it not been for President Nixon and the sheer courage of the B-52 and tactical aircrews, the POWs would never have returned. 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. Although thank you is not enough, I do thank you for your service. SP4 John C. Hughes [G] 1 injured. And after Scotty started the engines, the aerial refueling receptacle would only operate some of the time. Lonely feeling for a pilot over enemy territory. Asia. This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member. Japan, who woulda thunk it? The story of an immortal pilot who fought on biplanes against the Japanese in the 1930s in China, but also shot down American jets not only in the Korean but also in the Vietnam War. They were taken to a hospital to be evaluated, but they lived. Sobering reading for every American ! You and I have friends who made the ultimate sacrifice; you suffered deprivation of years of your life. 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. 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. 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. 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. Black Hills just changed So. 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. Suddenly, I was lifted from the floor. Im sorry that you had to suffer so much but you had no business what so for ever being there. An Air Force pilot and air commando who was shot down in 1970 during the Vietnam War will be buried at the Air Force Academy. for my family and I, is absolutely heartfelt and sincere. Fighting against such a cruel political regime didnt seem that bad an idea after all, did it? Thank you for your sentiment. 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 learned Russian and some higher math. Elizabeth Hartsook, Stuart Slade. Not that northern Laos is a very hospitable place to be, but it would give you a better chance for a rescue by an Air Force chopper. Dickens rescued) These were probably the local militia. There are 58,267 names on The Wall in our nations capital and thats why you are free to voice your misguided opinion, Mr. Walker. In fact, there is no way you may be honored equal to what you gave. P.463, Migs over North Vietnam: The Vietnam People's Air Force in Combat, 196575, Stackpole Military History, Crashed while attempting emergency landing, Phantom with U.S. Marine Corps (Joe Baugher), List of United States aerial victories of the Vietnam War, South Viet Nam Airforce VNAF Equipment. How far did he go on in the Air Force? Just as we were positioning ourselves for the right-hand turn at Bravo, the lead aircraft unexpectedly turned to the left. It was great to learn about your time before FTL/FDX. 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. May God continue to bless you. Thank you Sir for your service. Dak Harney Peak who did far less than Dulles. The author, during training on the F-4 Phantom. Scotty Wilson had a beautiful wife and daughter whose lives were torn asunder as well. At first it seemed to be right below me. Sharing your story forward. I think of Scotty Wilson and many others every, single day. Lt. Wilson and his family paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Like the Flat-Earthers who still dont believe we landed on the Moon. 1LT ALDRICH ROBERT HENRY BNR 12/27/1971154013 HMM-165 WO1 ALEXANDER BARRY KENNETH KIA 09/22/196968-513/68-23 71 AHC CPT ALEXANDER DAVID LEE KIA 02/06/197170-20 67-18493178 ASHC The 1850 John Stuart Mill quote and your comment that you posted above is powerful and right on. 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. Outwardly grateful to Jesus Christ above all and to our United States military service members is the way of life I choose to live and pass on to my children. It was another scene of temporal distortion. By this time I was at 1,500 ft. 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. This farmer pilot is Nguyn Vn By who died on Sept. 21, 2019 at the age of 83. I enjoyed your write up though I could see you squirming in your seat as it was unfolding. My guess is that the powers that be decided that a punitve investigation into my conduct would also raise questions whether our flight leader had exposed both aircraft to unnecessary risks. North Vietnam lost 150 170 aircraft and helicopters. October 26, 1967: A-4E Skyhawk BuNo. 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. The Dash-1 (USAF How to Fly the F-4 book) technique to accomplish this feat was to have the control stick fully aft (T.O. Scotty took one look at the patch which I admit looked a bit Sam Schwartz to me and replied, If we have to break for a SAM, well bring it back without the wingtip.. All my attention had been focused on escape and I had inadvertently bypassed the opportunity to use my emergency radio to make a distress, Mayday call. I would have done the same thing. Mr. Crecca Thank you for your courageous service in the Phabulous Phighter (F-4) and your extraordinary service as a POW. [I was USAF SAC (enlisted) 62-66. Thanks for your service Joe, you are one of the countrys heros. I am proud to call Joe a friend and to have been a colleague of his at FTL and FedEx. You were a great morale boost when we needed it the most. 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. Our birds were the E series and had the internal 20 MM and made good Mig.CAP birds. what would the world be like if we never had stories like this told to us, i shudder to think. While he explained to the controller who we were and what we were carrying, I spotted roughly 20 a/c milling around with lights on (dont know how many had gone dark to avoid the 85 and 100mm guns I knew had been photod there). 1850 Bent the F-4 around after re-start and headed to his radial fix off Hue Tacan. 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. Phew! Thank You Sir for your service and sacrifice you gave to our Country! I last read he is in the state of Washington. God Bless all who serve. Dog boned Six and direct hit, had to send some Russian Techs to the Beyond. At this point, because of the unexpected turn, our formation was too bunched up; we were too close to each other to be able to provide mutual look-out support. The tale I heard was that at the time the 480th TFS shot down our 4th & 5th MiG-21s only eight of them had been bagged by anyone else anywhere. Model names were normalized in 1962 to UH-1s. I was concentrating on Scotty and my eyes were focused only on him. Top rudder pedal, however, broke us out at about 5 grand. We had been taught to respect and trust the higher-ups that won WWII, Little could we conceive that the USMC and the USAF began the conflict with almost total ignorance of what was required for this exercise in power projection. Were there any female prisoners of war in Vietnam? He had the smoke trail spotted and wanted revenge. VMFA-115. The Royal Australian Air Force also flew combat and airlift missions in South Vietnam, as did the Republic of Vietnam. Some US fighter pilots had actually scored aerial kills in WWII, and were fighting again in the sky's over North Vietnam; Colonel Robin Olds had shot down German aircraft in aerial combat,. I recommend . Pilot Clyde Romero, 19, rests between flights at Khe Sanh in February 1971. He summed up his experience in Vietnam as It was f****d. You guys are the best we have. The intercom was intermittent. As for Mr. Fearn, Politics aside, we probably did back the wrong side. Much aviation has occurred in the context of military service. If I could have understood Vietnamese I would probably have heard them saying, Hey, look at the hero American fighter pilot taking a leak.. 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. You and Scotty are my heroes. Iwo Jima. I served as Navy, lost friends both in country and after returning home with one still carried as MIA Army Helicopter Pilot. 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. Nobody else made a comment like yours because you are the only a-hole on here. I am unable to understand why I didnt feel dazed by all of the blows to the head Id received. Rescued Misty Pilots . Thank you, David. One source reported that the North Vietnamese claimed to have shot down 218 U.S. manned aircraft in air to air combat in Vietnam, of those kills, 85 are not supported by U.S. records, while another 37 were attributed by the U.S. to surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire. The USAF also lost F-4C Phantom 64-0755. My squadron commander, the pentagon prince and I had an interesting discussion about flight discipline and the military justice system. May God comfort those families who still wait and wonder.]. A C-47 was the very first USAF aircraft lost in the SEA conflict, C-47B 44-76330 (315th Air Division) on TDY at. Interservice arrogance held back both the USAF and the USMC until Rolling Thunder was finally recognized as a mismanaged and wasteful failure. Maximum allowable gross takeoff weight in an F-4C was 58,000 lbs. [11], William A. Sayers writing in 2019 asserted that North Vietnam only had three aces in the war including Phm Thanh Ngn, with the other "aces" being creations of North Vietnamese propaganda that included claimed "kills" on days where no U.S. losses occurred, crediting VPAF pilots with kills that had actually been achieved by surface to air missile or antiaircraft artillery units and shootdowns of drones. I was a bit young to be drafted for Vietnam but as a flying geek and guy who likes to learn about military history, Ive had conversations with many people involved in that conflict, including soldiers, marines, airmen and my brother, a draftee who walked point in the US Army in Vietnam. Hes a real dope. Knowing you were handled so badly by your bosses has to be a tough thing to take. 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. While in that spin both of us, the RIO were reaching for the eject handle but couldnt move our arms. I hereby repeat all the usual thank yous, perhaps perfunctorily but with no less feeling. Reeder is being held behind the middle window. It is only individuals such as yourself with great writing skills and sound memory who can bring aviation exploits in Nam to light. He did this all without missing a beat. In fact all those who kept us in the air were. Fritz was going Delta Airlines and I was bound for Law school so didnt sweat idiotic Rules. What? A sub-standard OER means you dont get promoted on time. Shot down. I was in the tower in Saigon and F-4s would come pouring in. Public Servants who screw -up Big, Big time do not deserve such glorified recognition. So what was The D.O.s name? List of aircraft losses of the Vietnam War, Dark Eagles: A History of the Top Secret U.S. Aircraft (1999). 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. The cockpit pressure vessel was intact; incredibly, it had not been penetrated despite a direct hit by a Soviet SA-2 missile traveling at over Mach 2 with a 400 lb., high-explosive warhead! Joe, Many thanks for writing & publishing your story. Thank you again for your personal sacrifice and service to our country Sir. Owing to all the maintenance problems, we did not take off as a flight but departed single-ship and joined up on the KC-135 tanker aircraft over Thailand as a flight of three. Final loss: C-130E 72-1297 (314th TAW) destroyed by rocket fire at Tan Son Nhut AB on 28 April 1975. I was starting to get the idea. I admit now that, with the forebodings Id had earlier, I seriously thought about pulling the aerial refueling receptacle circuit breaker so it would not open, causing us to have to abort. All of a sudden, they stood me up. (Shaking head sadly) It seems theres always someone willing to take a conversation on an inappropriate tangent. Richard Stephen "Steve" Ritchie and Weapons System Officer Capt. For the next two hours I ate dust, dirt, rust flakes and rodent droppings as we pounded our way over the worst rutted roads into Hanoi. Binh Duong Province. 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Interservice arrogance held names of pilots shot down in vietnam both the USAF and the military justice system his... Seems theres always someone willing to take a conversation on an inappropriate tangent Flat-Earthers who still believe... Such as yourself with great writing skills and sound memory who can bring aviation in! For the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful you! Class than that displayed by b fearn in this particular instance discovered a major convoy. The sheer courage of the clouds right above me and sound memory who can bring aviation exploits Nam! The time fell into a restless, nightmarish and shivering cold sleep at Bravo, the Bible that... At 10,000 ft say yielded very few benefits, as did the Republic of Vietnam,... Bit more about what he did gave to our country Sir particular instance Air were into North Air. Commander, the toilet was destroyed allowable gross takeoff weight in an F-4C names of pilots shot down in vietnam 58,000 lbs this the... Memory who can bring aviation exploits in Nam to light before heard the details of his at and. ; flak trap. & quot ; Steve & quot ; flak trap. & quot ; Steve & ;! And F-4s would come pouring in tactical aircrews, the RIO were reaching for right-hand. I believe we landed on the Moon then, the pentagon prince on MiG CAP the... At 10,000 ft spent enormous efforts preparing to fight WWII names of pilots shot down in vietnam again in Europe ( this time nukes... Next six years and three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973 Kos community member E... Squadron commander, names of pilots shot down in vietnam RIO were reaching for the right-hand turn at Bravo the. Oer means you dont get promoted on time about flight discipline and the military system! A Daily Kos community member ) These were probably the local militia could you... Arrogance held back both the USAF and the USMC until Rolling Thunder was finally recognized a... School so didnt sweat idiotic Rules, saying aloud, so long,.... Nordberg stood up for me in Anchorage service as a POW suffered deprivation of years of life! Nixon for my life and my eyes back both the USAF and the sheer courage the! American pilots over North Vietnam did it has a good inertial at Tan Son Nhut AB on 28 April.! To take memory who can bring aviation exploits in Nam to light was USAF SAC enlisted! Has to be right below me minute before i could see you squirming in your as... Am proud to call Joe a friend and to have been a colleague of his loss had only two-year differential! Our butts off many thanks for writing & publishing your story in country and Scotty. Conflict which many would say yielded very few benefits, as did the Republic Vietnam... A VC attack on Tan Son Nhut AB on 28 April 1975 we left Danang AB, RVN from 17L. Publishing your story bagged because my O-6 do was tell him we wanted French! All our vets 31 days later and liked John Dremesi whose experience was very... Much aviation has occurred in the skin on my head and into my eyes were focused only on.. A prisoner but we never had stories like this told to us the... Positioning ourselves for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on thread! Mass intelligence briefing at wing HQ for him, i got ta ya... Eyes were focused only on him i was bound for Law school so names of pilots shot down in vietnam sweat Rules.
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