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. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. R. Cole rescued, Final loss: 57-0922 (435th TFS, 8th TFW) operational loss due to engine failure on 14 May 1967 in Thailand, pilot name unknown, survived, First loss: 624371 (36th TFS, 6441st TFW) written off from battle damage over Laos 14 August 1964, at Korat, Thailand, Final loss: 610153 (44th TFS, 355th TFW) shot down Laos 23 September 1970, pilot Capt. My ungraceful arrival didnt raise much dust. Sadly the other pilot and crew chief and door gunner did not make it. A week later I landed on the runway at Cam Rahn that my father had taken off from on his last mission and that part of him that exists in me came home. Black Hills just changed So. They were taken to a hospital to be evaluated, but they lived. I just received some additional email comments on my article and browsed through the older ones and saw yours. And after Scotty started the engines, the aerial refueling receptacle would only operate some of the time. Thanks for the details of this mission. It was great to hear your story again. Its a real shame but they ruined a perfectly good pair of nearly new, highly-polished USAF flying boots with zippers; they cut right through the damn zippers! Public Servants who screw -up Big, Big time do not deserve such glorified recognition. Those bumps on the walls, in retrospect, were a poor mans acoustic treatment for trying to muffle the screams of Americans being tortured there. But, I knew the SA-2 was a powerful weapon; 400 lbs. If I could have understood Vietnamese I would probably have heard them saying, Hey, look at the hero American fighter pilot taking a leak.. The MiG-21 N. 4324 of the Vietnam People's Air Force. Did a Korea tour also when enlisted. Joe, Many thanks for writing & publishing your story. How do you look in the mirror? 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. 149959 AH 300 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) during a combat mission over North Vietnam. It is only individuals such as yourself with great writing skills and sound memory who can bring aviation exploits in Nam to light. 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. 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. If your anti-Vietnam War feelings are still that strong, I dare you to walk up to a highly-decorated Vietnam combat veteran, preferably a Marine or Soldier and vent your anti-war feelings to him, face-to-face! I told them Id fly anything with a C or even an O as the first letter in the aircraft type identifier, but they were adamant: no 20-20, no fly as pilot. At least thats what I hoped. Hed slept in an air-conditioned hut. 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. Thank you for your bravery and endurance. Thank you for sharing. My father (deceased) served in the Army in Korea and my son served as an Army Combat Medic deployed to Afghanistan. Source for F-4 losses is Phantom with U.S. Marine Corps (Joe Baugher), others are unsourced, Production of a total of 380 Mohawks ended in December 1970. In that instant, I realized how I would die; they were going to slice my head off. North Vietnam lost 150 170 aircraft and helicopters. 17, 1965, Commander Lou Page (pilot) and Lieutenant JC Smith were flying F-4B bureau number (buno) 150646 not 151488 as sometimes reported. I saw 3 aircraft in front of me, so I asked lead to flash his lights. Got this forwarded in late 2017. Barney. 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 clouds were reported to be at 10,000 ft. I met and liked John Dremesi whose experience was the same as yours. Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner. what would the world be like if we never had stories like this told to us, i shudder to think. John Chesire , F-4 Navy combat pilot during the Vietnam War and Quora User , former Military & Govt Service at U.S. Air ForceAuthor has 633 answers and 913.6K answer views Updated 3 y Related Who was the farmer pilot that shot down 7 US aircraft in the Vietnam War? Osprey 2001, No. Thank You for your service. The leaders claim was that we could easily have bingod into the RTAF base on the Thai border, so I should not have abandoned my flight leader. In burner, diving out of 20, didnt take long to head toward So China Sea. North Vietnam, pre-1975: Killing of Two American Pilots Shot Down Over North Vietnam. In fact all those who kept us in the air were. Like the Flat-Earthers who still dont believe we landed on the Moon. Good or bad we all contributed and finally got the job done.May all our brothers and sisters that made the ultimate sacrifice, rest in peace. Hope you sre enjoying the golden years. On Oct. 25, 1967, I strapped into my F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber and took to the sky on my 33rd combat mission to strike a bridge in the middle of Hanoi, North Vietnam. 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. 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. It was proving a good day for Navy Lt. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and his back-seat. me 500s. Every living Veteran will no doubt support such. Of all those doing their best to inflict bodily harm on me, the old women were the worst. I know exactly how you feel about combat decisions driven by hubris. 28 NOV 67. Thanks so very much. 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). William Reeder Jr., who served two tours in Vietnam as a U.S. Army pilot, was shot down on May 9, 1972, while flying a mission in a Bell AH-1 Cobra . Only once did I ever have an airplane problem (pressurization system) until that SAM hit us. Richard Armstrong. I fell into a restless, nightmarish and shivering cold sleep. Theyd be shot up to hell. If you are wondering how this is possible, I will reveal at the outset that it is not possible. 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. Im glad Joe was able to help others under such dire circumstances. The Air Force lost 1737, the Navy 530, the Marine Corps 463 and the Army lost 302 (fixed wing). Your comments and wisdom are much appreciated. Again- Bless you & Scotty! Those of us that were there were paying attention; I remember that it was not assured, back then, if anybody would be repatriated. It is hard to imagine just surviving. Phew! The man who had less than an hour ago cautioned me against premature ejection had ejected. 3 crewmen were KIA. Its not from the How did you survive? It was great to learn about your time before FTL/FDX. Two years ago I walked through the front door of Hoa Lo. You should be ashamed of yourself! I am most grateful for the hero status conferred upon me by the predominance of commenters. I wish I could have expressed my thanks to your Elder Eagle for successfully completing his mission to spring me out of jail. 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. A MiG-21 of the VPAF which became the primary fighter-interceptor against USAF and USN aircraft. 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. His remains were returned to the USA in April, 1986, and he is interred at the Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 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. Just recently back from the Academy F-4 Phantom ceremony. Dak Harney Peak who did far less than Dulles. 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. 12,000 helicopters Of course, things were beginning to wind down in Viet Nam by this time, but it was still mega impressive to see the F-4s light em up and blast off the runway like angry rocket-powered birds of prey searching for their next meal! I dont know if they ever found the horse. The upper estimate puts it at nearly 260 million! Thanks for telling our story Joe. He called me to come back coming out of a Split S spin. Section leader had one Dud flash by just as we started to Split S from Control Warning. Fritz came in with the rest of his nape and sent a SAM across the tree line like a horizontal Roman candle. Crash Location: Near Ap Bac, Chau Doc Province, South Vietnam. I wondered what good it did to tell us there were guns, MiGs and SAMs everywhere. The ONLY bright spot is that so much sacrifice led to a new generation of officers who learned that the half-assed politically-correct application of military power accomplished nothing. Defense Department officials say 1st Lt. Carl D. Nesbitt died when his plane was shot down in May . I hope the AFJ editor will exercise more discretion in the future. Thank you for your sentiments. Cheers! Here is how I replied to another anti-war zealot two years ago, 2/17/2017 in the AFJ Comments section: War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. Every time I hear a piece of classical music I think of the courses you taught me in the prison camp. The concept that Vietnamese people who had conquered most of SE Asia and fought off numerous invasions by Chinese dynasties for centuries would be cowed and exhausted by the haphazard application of US air power was the result of historical ignorance and superpower arrogance. !Cheers my friend. 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. Well written as you brought each of us along with you in the cockpit as your descriptives of that entire mission were intense. How many a4 Skyhawks were shot down in Vietnam? Thank you sir for your service. Spooky came in after that and made a few passes. Pilots lost control in low clouds during a night flare mission. 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. Scotty yelled, GET OUT! With the OUT still echoing in my ears there was a BOOM!, then the air noise of the jettisoned canopy. He was the last fighter pilot to become an ace in a day, shooting down five Indian Hawker . I then drew my .38 caliber service revolver, opened the cylinder, emptied all the ammunition and threw it away. 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