VA-15 (1967) Second Vietnam Deployment

This update also includes a description of the memorial brick I am proposing to represent VA-15 Circa 1966/67 at the POW/MIA Museum and Memorial which is located at the Cecil Commerce Center (the old Cecil Field) in Jacksonville, Florida

VA-15 Circa 1967 Began When the Magic Carpet Flight Arrived at NAS Cecil from Cubi Point about October 22nd, 1966

There was quite a crowd of wives, children, girlfriends, and various friends that celebrated our magic carpet flight back home. Most of the VALions walked off the airplane. A few were carried. The flight attendants had kept the champagne and other drinks coming all the way home. We all went on basket leave various places for a few weeks. Many of us had to be back in Mayport to meet the ship in late November to fly our aircraft back to Cecil.

Mary, Heather, Laura and I spent some time in Ridgewood with my family and in Duxbury with Mary's family. Heather was almost three, Laura almost two. It was the first time since I started flight training fours years earlier that I was able to spend any time at home. We had a lot of catching up to do.

Intrepid arrived in Mayport about November 19th or 20th. I think the ship craned our aircraft off. My log book shows that I flew A4B 145001 from Mayport to Cecil on November 21st. We took a brief break for Thanksgiving and then got back to business.

I flew four TF9 Cougar instrument flights with VA-45 (November 29th and 30th, and December 1st and 2nd) to renew my instrument card.

The December Flight Schedule

I flew 14 A4 flights in December. The squadron began flying A4Bs in instrument round robins and weapons training flights.

Instrument round robins were flights that we flew solo or in section where we followed a flight plan to another airfield, flew a TACAN approach and a GCA and then refilled back to Cecil when we completed the approach. This procedure had a fatal flaw. If you had a radio failure and were flying solo, you were required to land at the airfield. Normally, the squadron didn't actually file a flight plan so the destination airport didn't know we were coming. This produced a very humorous but almost dangerous situation on one flight.

Possum's famous instrument round robin flight and my flight to rescue him!

On December 5th, 1966 Possum flew a solo round robin flight to Turner Air Force Base, a B-52 Strategic Air Command (SAC) Base in Albany, Georgia. He had a radio failure enroute so was forced to land. The squadron had not forwarded his flight plan so the Air Force folks were unaware he was planning to land. As a SAC base, security was especially strict. Possum had not brought his wallet with him (wallets get sweaty in flight suit pockets).

Possum had his name tag on his flight suit saying he was LCDR Jerry Terrell. He was flying aircraft 305 with his name on it (he was Rocket #5, the 5th senior pilot in the squadron)

The folks at Turner AFB were not impressed! They let him call the squadron. Possum claims they kept him "spread eagled" and under guard near his airplane.

But, I think it was more likely, they kept him
in base ops once the squadron verified his story.

I was called to the ready room and was directed to get an aircraft and file a flight plan (the flight was not on the published flight schedule) to go rescue my flight leader. Just to be safe, I found Possum's wallet in his locker and brought his and my ID cards along with me. I took off about noon. The weather was clear but a bit cool. It took me an hour to get to the base. The first question they asked me was whether it was my name on my aircraft. I guess Possum almost convinced the Air Force guys that navy pilots only flew aircraft with their name on it. They were hesitant to let Possum take off with an inoperative radio. But Possum had a special instrument card which allows navy pilots to authorize their own flight plans.

We manned and started our aircraft. We used a start cart which provides electrical power and compressed air to start the aircraft. In the changeover from the electrical power of the start cart to my aircraft's own power, there was a power interrupt which caused my ADI (Attitude Direction Indicator) to fail. As a result, my only attitude indication was the yaw/slip needle. But the weather was still clear so I decided to take off. My radio was fine.

But, when we approached Cecil, the air temperature had decreased to the dew point which resulted in a low cloud layer over the base. I decided to shoot a TACAN approach which would allow me to descend through the clouds partial panel. Partial panel approaches are challenging but we practiced them in simulator and I felt comfortable descending below the clouds and limiting any turns by flying a straight path toward the base. The situation became more complicated when we were south of Cecil at about 10,000 feet when Dave Parsons showed up with a radio failure. I probably should have declared an emergency at this point. But, I decided to make the approach with Possum on one wing and Dave on the other. I didn't inform either of them with hand signals that I had an ADI failure. What could they do about it anyway? We made it safely through the clouds and leveled off at 500 feet above the ground about 15 miles south of the field. When we we had the field in sight, I gave them each the 'Kiss Off" signal and they landed, one on runway 36 Left, the other on 36 Right. I made a low altitude VFR turn to the downwind directly over the Navy Exchange; 500 feet is only 100 feet lower than the standard carrier downwind altitude.

I landed safely and taxied back to the squadron ramp. It was about 1700 (5:00 pm) so we decided to debrief the flight at the Rocket 17 bar at the BOQ (Bachelors Officers Quarters). Once we had or beers (or more probably martinis), I told Possum and Dave the facts. This wasn't the last time that I waited to tell "the rest of the story" to Possum at a more appropriate time after a flight. More about that later.

Christmas/New Year's Holiday party at the NAS Jacksonville Officer's Club

We had a Christmas/New Year's Holiday party at the NAS Jacksonville Officer's Club on a Saturday night sometime between Christmas and New Year's Eve. It was a perfect opportunity to celebrate our squadron's very successful 1966 deployment and to reorient ourselves for the challenges ahead in 1967. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures taken at this party.

It was a chance to say farewell to the squadron officers who were leaving:

LCDR Bill Butler- Bolter went on to other things but stayed in contact with the squadron attending squadron reunions regularly.

Lt Dave North (our JO mentor)- I don't know if Dave had another Navy tour before he got out of the Navy. But, when he left the Navy, he began to write for the magazine "Aviation Week and Space Technology" which was the best magazine of its kind in the world. Everyone read it; including the Russians and Chinese. Dave became an editor and the finally the Editor in Chief; a major major (this is not a typo) accomplishment! Dave also continued to be an active participant in squadron reunions until his death in 2021.

John Hawthorne (the AI)- I have no idea where John went after VA-15.

I don't recall a change of command, but in there somewhere after the deployment, CDR Gracy left the squadron. The Executive Officer (XO) Cdr Ike Jones "fleeted up" to be the new Commanding Officer. I don't know where Cdr Gracey went after leaving the squadron. Our new Executive Officer, was Cdr Jim Snyder.

AOM (All Officers Meeting) Sunday morning after the Holiday Party

All VALion officers received a call early Sunday morning to report as soon as possible to the ready room in the hangar at Cecil. No details were given. Once we were all there, we were informed that CDR Jones had committed suicide at his home after the party. No reasons were given. None have since been made publicly. I have no actual knowledge but heard that he was depressed because he had cancer and would miss his CO tour.

Cdr Snyder would remain as XO and we would get a new CO, Cdr Kelly Carr. I think Cdr Carr reported sometime in January.

January 1967- Big Changes

From the Intrepid 1967 Cruise Book

Transition from A4Bs to A4Cs

Illustration by Scott Brown of Bullseye Model Aviation

In the new CAG 10 squadron mix, we were scheduled to have 200 series aircraft numbers. The 200 series tail number is usually for a fighter and the color is usually yellow. We decided that our version of yellow would be gold and we would paint our aircraft rudders gold with some black.

As a result, we were known in the air wing as the "Gold Tails" !

Instead of the traditional Valion decal, we designed a Disneyish Lion in black with a gold background.

Toward the end of December, we began transferring our A4Bs and began receiving A4Cs. In December, I flew 5 A4C flights and 9 A4B flights. In January, I flew 8 A4C flights and my last 3 flights in the A4B. The A4Cs were a significant upgrade. Instead on the one black on black ADI (Attitude Direction Indicator) in the A4B, our A4Cs had a larger white over black ADI and a smaller backup ADI which was black over black. This made night and actual instrument flying much safer.

Our new A4Cs also had the Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) equipment (APR 25/APR 27, ALQ 51) that we would need to accomplish our mission on our next Vietnam deployment. One of our two 20mm guns was removed to accommodate the EW equipment. We were scheduled to be the primary air wing Iron Hand (anti SAM) squadron. To do that mission, we would need the ECM equipment to receive and identify acquisition, search, fire control AAA conical scan radar signals and Fansong SAM radars. We also had the capability to deploy Chaff. Note: Chaff consisted of strips of aluminum foil cut to different lengths to reflect enemy radar signals. Chaff had been around a long time but it had the potential to be effective against the threats we would face in 1967 over North Vietnam.

Model of our VA-15 Gold Tail with a AGM-45 Shrike missile on the left wing weapons station

All my flights in January were MK 76 practice bomb delivery flights.

Light Attack Wing Bombing Derby

It was traditional to have a Light Attack Wing One annual bombing derby in January. I don't know if Light Attack Wing One (LATWING One) was established yet at Cecil. But, in January 1967, all the A4 squadrons at Cecil participated in a bombing derby. There were two pilots at Cecil that were neck and neck to receive the "Best Bomber" trophy; both in VA-15. LCDR Possum Terrell (Rocket 5) and Ltjg Gene Atkinson (Rocket 18, our junior JO pilot). Possum provided at difficult challenge with a CEP (closest error possible or median miss distance) of an incredible 25ft or so. (The fleet average was about 100 ft). Ltjg Atkinson's CEP was zero, zilch- six out of six Bulls Eyes

The LATWING One Bombing Derby Best Bomber in January 1967 was Ltjg Gene "Wimpy" Atkinson of VA-15

Note: Possum and I would both win this competition in A7 Corsairs in later years when Possum was CO of VA-174 and
I would win it in 1978 when I was CO of VA-15. It was different for Possum and me as we were using the A7E inertial Navigation system and heads up display for our bombing! Of course, our respective maintenance folks made sure that we had the most accurate systems in our airplanes.

Job Changes

It is traditional that in a typical two year tour in a squadron, a pilot would have two collateral duty assignments; one for a year; another for the second year. January was the best time to make these changes. I left my Aircraft Division job working for Jerry Tuttle and moved upstairs (literally from an office on the bottom deck of the hangar where all the maintenance shops were to the Operations Department on the second deck of the hangar where the ready room and the administrative and operations offices were located. My new boss was Pete Schoeffel, the Operations Officer. My new job was the Weapons Training Officer (WTO). The WTO was responsible for pilot nuclear weapons and loading training as well as the conventional weapons delivery misions in the squadron training plan (flight schedule). Pete had written a detailed training plan during the transit from the Tonkin Gulf back to Mayport (he was assigned as the senior CAG 10 representative). So, that part of my new job was pretty much a done deal. We did the required number of nuclear weapons loading exercises and flew some profile flights. But that was about it for nuclear weapons part of my job.

My biggest responsibility was to design the electronic warfare and anti AAA/SAM tactics we would use on cruise and create a training plan to ensure that we would be prepared to execute that mission when we arrived on Yankee Station in June. I would also work with Jerry Tuttle, Bob Chaney and our new Avionics Officer, CWO Pilkington in the Maintenance Department to make sure that our new ECM equipment would be as reliable as possible. It was critical that the pilots flying the bombing and Iron Hand missions have absolute confidence that the ECM equipment would be effective.

Another important job change was Miller Detrick moving from the Line Division to Operations as the Flight Officer. The Flight Officer writes the daily flight schedule which is approved by the Ops Officer and signed by the Commanding Officer. The Flight Officer can be a very political position as every pilot wants at least equal if not more than equal flight time and carrier landings.

New Officers in 1967

Commanding Officer

Executive Officer

New Heavies

LCDR Paul McCarthy

LCDR Ron Gibson

New Junior Officers

Lt Steve Smith

Lt Tony Isger

Ltjg Keith Strickland

Ltjg Ron Gerard

Note: Steve Smith was new to our squadron but had a previous Vietnam deployment in VA-12 in 1966 aboard the USS Roosevelt (CVA42).
Tony Isger, Keith Strickland, and Ron Gerard all came form the A4 Training Squadron (VA-44); Tony transitioned from S2Fs and Keith transitioned from helicopters.. Ron was a "nugget" (VA-15 was his first squadron) from the training command.

New Ground Officer

Chief Warrant Officer
Pilkington- Avionics

All the photo is from the USS Intrepid's 1967 Cruise Book

February 1967

I flew only 12 flights in February. Most of them were bombing flights both day and night with a couple of live 6 Mk 81 250# (two TERS) flights to Pinecastle Target.

I flew one cross country at night from Cecil to Andrews AFB on February 15th returning in the evening the next day, February 16th. I think I spent the day (February 16th) looking at my records at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. I really don't know why I did that but I expect that someone advised me that it was a good idea to check your records on occasion. This was the first of only two days in my entire 28 year navy career that I spent in Washington. I consider that to be a highlight in my career although it might have not been a benefit when my record was reviewed for Flag rank.

Tuttle versus Gerard (actually visa versa)

I'm not sure whether this occurred in March, but it is very likely it did. Ron Gerard was flying as Jerry Tuttle's wing man on a flight that required some formation flying (as most flights did). Ron Gerard was executing a rendezvous (a join up for you air force types). To rendezvous on another aircraft, you get inside the turn of the lead aircraft and while keeping the lead visually on the horizon and with some closure speed, the geometry of the situation will allow you to close the distance in a controlled fashion. As you get close to the other aircraft, you fly your aircraft a little below the lead's altitude and as you slide underneath, you control your excess airspeed to decrease so you slide in to the echelon wing position.

In this case, that did not occur. Ron's Skyhawk collided with Jerry Tuttle's aircraft badly damaging both planes. Ron's aircraft was uncontrollable so he ejected shortly after the collision. Jerry Tuttle attempted to get his plane under control but it was a futile effort as most of Jerry' Tuttle's left wing wing was missing. He lost several thousand feet of altitude during his attempt to regain control and ended up ejecting well below Ron. As they were both descending in their parachutes toward Earth, Ron was closing on Jerry Tuttle for the second time. Ron weighed about 200 lbs while Jerry Tuttle was about 150 soaking wet. They nearly collided again as Ron passed Jerry on the way down. Ron looked over and noticed Jerry Tuttle checking his watch. I guess Jerry Tuttle was gathering data for the accident board. Luckily, both were uninjured and were back flying the next day.

It was time to have another squadron party and it was a great one!

All of our new officers had checked in and our underway training was only weeks away so it was time to have a party. I don't remember who came up with the idea of an auto rally type scavenger hunt designed to end up at a barn type dance hall, but it was a great one! We met somewhere, perhaps the Cecil BOQ Rocket 17 bar to pick up the first clue and get underway with an assigned navigator, someone other than your wife. The idea was to drive to the first check point, pick up the 2nd clue and drive to the 2nd check point etc. After a few check points, you would arrive at the final destination which was the square dancing barn. I think we started at the BOQ about 1930 (7:30 pm). The instructions read that if you had not arrived at the final destination (description not given) by 2100 (9:00 pm), you should call a phone number. There were numerous couples who got lost??

The new CO, Cdr Kelly Carr and his wife Pat on the right (new guy Ltjg Ron Gerard on the left

The new XO, Cdr Jim Snyder and his wife Joanne

LCDR Possum Terrell and his wife Sarah

LCDR Moon Moreau talking to Miller Detrick's wife Connie

Bob Hamel and his wife Lynn

John Newman and his first wife

Group square dance; that's Dick Nolte dancing with someone's wife

New guy Ltjg Keith Strickland and his wife Marce

New guy Ltjg Steve Smith

March 1967

The first part of March was devoted primarily to getting ready for our first underway type training period on board Intrepid in the middle of the month. We flew some weapons flights but most flights involved doing day and night field carrier landing practice (FCLP) at nearby NAAF (Navy Auxiliary Air Field) Whitehouse.

In those days, some air wings were located at Cecil. That was the case with Airwing Ten. The CAG 10 LSO, LCDR Fred Hoerner who still flew mostly with VA-15 was present for most of the FCLP sessions at Whitehouse. The CAG 10 squadrons based on the east coast were VAW 121s E1B Trackers based at NAS Nofolk, VAQ 33 Det 11s AD5Qs at NAS Jacksonville, and VA-15 and our "sister" A4C squadron VA-34 at Cecil. I don't know how CAG 10 handled the FCLPs for the west coast squadrons (VSF-3 A4Cs, VA-145 Spads based at NAS Alameda, VF-111 Det 11s F8Cs and VFP-63 Det 11's RF-8s based at NAS Miramar). COMVAVAIRPAC (Commander Naval Air Pacific) probably assisted with those squadrons. The primary emphasis for us and VA-34 was to make sure the new guys were ready. The rest of us only had about one day FCLP session at Cecil and three night FCLP sessions at Whitehouse Field.

I actually had one very close call during one of my night FCLP flights to Whitehouse. The outside air temperature was close to the dew point so there was a good chance that fog would form. The normal procedure was that Cecil would keep the LSOs at Whithouse up to speed with the dew point spread so that if it got close, they would send the aircraft back to Cecil before the field became "socked in" (weather too bad to land). I happened to be on deck at Whitehouse getting some fuel when the decision to return to Cecil was made. In my rush to get airborne, I didn't do my check list thoroughly and I made my take off roll with my flaps up. When I got to rotation speed for take off, nothing happened. Luckily, I determined that my flaps were up (by the feel of the aircraft not the flap guage), and lowered my flaps (to 1/2) in time to get airborne before the end of the runway. Close call. I've never told this story before!.

Our First Underway Training Period

Our first underway training period only lasted 10 days from March 15th through March 25th. I flew only 7 flights during our first underway period. Most of those flights concentrated on practicing the CAG 10 and Intrepid daytime VFR operating procedures. I logged only .3 night hours with two "pinky" night landings during the first underway period. "Pinky" landings are twilight landings which are technically after sunset but with still a visible horizon available. The west coast squadrons stayed on the west coast for the first underway period because their deployment actually started once they moved to the east coast.

April 1967

My AGM-45 Shrike ARM (Anti-Radiation Missile) and Practice Firing at NAF China Lake and NAS Point Magu, California Trip

On April 9th I flew A4C #147670 to China Lake with a fuel stop at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. For the next two days (April 10th and 11th), I received training in basic electronic warfare from personnel (especially the EW "guru" Jud Smith; see Note below) at the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake. I learned how to use our A4C electronic warfare equipment to identify acquisition radars (low PRF low scan rate), AAA "conicl scan" acquisition and tracking high PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency), S Band conical scan radars such as Firecan/Flapwheel systems, and the Fansong E Band SAM control radar with its distinctive raster scan. I was provided with a set of tapes to use for training our pilots to be able to identify these types of radars in the North Vietnam defense system. On April 12th, I flew to NAS Point Magu, California to be briefed on the AGM-45 Shrike missile at the Naval Missile Development Center there. We also went over the procedures we would use for my scheduled test firing of a Shrike the next day at the China Lake Electronic Warfare range.

AGM-45 Shrike missile

Note; It turned out that Jud Smith was an amateur Geologist and knew a lot about the history placer god mining and silver mining in the mountains in the background of the image on the left. I was interested in learning more (my BA degree from Cornell was a BA in Geology). Jud Smih nd I managed to find some time for an afternoon field trip.

On the morning of April 13th, I took off from NAS Pt. Magu and flew back to China Lake. After landing, a Shrike missile was loaded on my aircraft and I took off and made eight simulated firing runs against a conical scan fire control radar similar to the Russian built Firecan/Flapwheel AAA radars. After I landed from that flight, we conducted a briefing for my Shrike firing test on the range. My AGM 45 Shrike scored a direct hit on the target.

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

S Band Conical Scan Target

The next day (April 14th), I flew A4C #147670 back from China Lake to Cecil with one fuel stop (This flight is not in my log book for some reason). This trip to China Lake and Pt. Magu for electronic warfare training and the Shrike firing test were essential for me to be able conduct the training for our squadron pilots in the electronic warfare skills; especially essential for Iron Hand pilots.

During our transit from Norfolk to the Tonkin Gulf, I conducted the EW training of the squadron pilots that we would need as Iron Hand and as bomber pilots to recognize the EW environment we would be flying in. Each pilot would spend hours studying the tapes I got at China Lake. We would also develop the Iron Hand tactics we tactics we would successfully use as the air wing Iron Hand "experts"during our deployment. I will describe these tactics in detail later on in this chapter.

On pages 227 and 228 of his book "Bloody Sixteen, Peter Fey expounds on the expertise of Lt Dave "Rock" Hodges of VA-164 as the CAG Sixteen Iron Hand expert.

His description of Rock Hodges' talents accurately describes the knowledge and tactics hopefully used by anyone who had had the China Lake Shrike and EW training at China Lake.

I would hope that the Navy routinely sent any pilot who would be in charge of Iron Hand mission planning to this training.

Our Second Underway Training Period

Our second underway training was from April 17th through April 25th. I think the west coast squadrons may have come east for that one to get some flying with the rest of the air wing before we deployed on May 10th.

I flew 12 flights during that period. I recorded my 200th landing (trap) on the Intrepid on April 17th. One of my flights was a AGM 45 Shrike training mission. We had "captive" Shrikes on board for these training missions.

An Interesting Night Flight

I was flying a night flight with the XO, CDR Snyder. It was about 0100 (1:00am) when we were about to return to the area of the ship called Marshal to set up a holding pattern at individual altitudes to initiate our instrument approach to the ship. It was on his wing, when he appeared to accelerate ahead of me. It was too early for us to split up so I added power to catch up. Even at full throttle (power), I couldn't catch up with him so I gave up and turned toward Marshall on my own.

I was heading toward the ship observing how spectacular the stars were. To add to the magic, St. Elmo's Fire (you can Goggle it) was flickering around my canopy when I heard a voice in my head:

" Isn't this a beautiful universe I created"

After the LSO debriefed our passes in the ready room, I asked CDR Snyder why he accelerated ahead of me. He replied, "I didn't accelerate, all of a sudden you just accelerated ahead of me" so I went to Marshall. After we discussed it a bit more, we decided that I had experienced autokinesis. Autokinesis occurs at night if you stare at a single point of light ((a star or planet) for long enough, it will appear to move. It turns out that I tried to fly wing on a star.

We flew off from the boat (naval aviators refer to the carrier as the boat rather than the ship) on April 25th.

We would have only 13 days before we would fly to Norfolk to load our aircraft on board Intrepid for deployment; not enough time for a quick trip to the Bahamas this time around. We used the time to get our stuff together with our families for the seven month deployment.

Mary, Heather, and Laura would spend some of that time with Mary's family in Duxbury!

Our Second Deployment

Note: USS Intrepid was officially a CVS during our deployment; although we didn't have any aircraft assets to find or attack a submarine. Our deck load was designed to provide the maximum power projection punch we could; hence three A4C Skyhawk squadrons versus the two A4E squadrons embarked on in the other Yankee Station carriers. Please pardon my inconsistency in referring to Intrepid as a CVA or CV. I'll make those corrections when I can.

Photo from Intrepid's 1967 Cruise Book

Instead of flying our aircraft on board Intrepid after they got underway, we flew our aircraft from Cecil Field to NAS Norfolk on May 9th to be loaded aboard the ship.

After all the air wing aircraft were loaded on board, the ship got underway for our 31 day12,000 mile transit to Cubi Point in the Philippines.

Intrepid left Norfolk May 11th, 1967

Photo from Intrepid's 1967 Cruise Book

Shortly after getting on board, we learned that the Intrepid had been awarded the CONAVAIRLANT Battle Efficiency Award for our 1966 deployment.

VA-15 had been awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation for our participation in our first Vietnam deployment.

The new CAG 10 / USS Intrepid squadrons for the second deployment

CAG Burrows "Eatrthquake" and his staff brought their experience from the first cruise with them for the second deployment

CAG's plane with the gold tail cap, rainbow rudder, our VA-15 "Gold Tails" logo and fancy fuel tanks

LCDR Fred Hoerner CAG 10 LSO flew regularly with VA-15 as he did last cruise.

His name was temporarily added to aircraft 205 (Possum's aircraft) shown here.

The CAG 10 Operations Officer, flew with "Brand X", VA-34

As we were scheduled to fly most of our missions from Yankee Station on this deployment, there was a significant change in our air wing squadrons. This time we had three A4 squadrons instead of two and only one Spad squadron. The Spad squadron would primarily fly RESCAP missions. To provide some fighter capability, we would have a detachment of four F8C Crusader aircraft for the TARCAP mission. We would also have a detachment of three RF8 Crusaders to provide a photo reconnaissance capability. In addition, we would have a detachment of AD5Q Spad electronic warfare support aircraft (Queer Spads) and a detachment of E1B airborne early warning aircraft to provide coordination with the Yankee Station Air Defense ship (PIRAZ), and BARCAP aircraft in support to our TARCAP F8s.

The ship would have a SAR helo detachment and a Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) aircraft.

The Fighter Mission

The Sundowners of VF-111 Det 11 had four F8C Crusader aircraft for the TARCAP mission. Lcdr Foster "Tooter" Teague was part of the VF-111 Sundowners of CAG 16 on the Oriskany on their summer 1966 deployment. Having returned to the states after the Oriskany fire in October, "Tooter had a quick turnaround as our fighter detachment OIC (Officer in Charge) on Intrepid.

On pages 144 and 145 his book "Bloody Sixteen, Peter Fey describes an exciting flight "Tooter" had flying escort for a RF8 mission over Haiphong.

The Sundowners flew a lot of TARCAP during 1966 as as the Coral Sea had F4 Phantoms for the BARCAP/MIGCAP MISSIONS.

Fey also mentioned that "Tooter" was well known among pilots in CAG 16 for his antics on liberty.

A significant addition to our capability for this deployment were the Sundowners of VF-111 Det 11 of four F8C Crusader aircraft for the TARCAP mission. They were home based at NAS Miramar, California. They had three infamous pilots; the Detachment Officer in Charge, LCDR "Tooter" Teague, Lt Tony Nargi, and Lt Joe Satrapa and one not so infamous pilot, Ltjg Rick Wenzel.

Four pilots, four aircraft; so they each had their name on an F8. These guys were the best the fighter community could have given us with the best aircraft for the TARCAP mission. They stayed with the strike group and were not drawn away by PIRAZ (Air Defence Coordination Ship) or by the temptation to leave us in a search for a MIG kill. One of them, "Tooter"was shot down on August 12th by AAA or a SAM during our second line period but was rescued.

The Attack Mission

We had three light attack A4C Skyhawk squadrons

The VSF -3 (Aintisubmarine Fighter Squadron) Chessmen were home based at NAS Alameda, California and flew the A4C Skyhawk. VSF squadrons were created to fly the fighter mission on ASW (Antisubmarine Aircraft Carriers (CVS).

They were added to our air wing to primarily fly as bomber aircraft in major strikes and to conduct road reconnaissance flights and section and division level strikes on targets close to the coast.

They flew A4C aircraft configured like ours with updated electronic countermeasures equipment. Project Shoehorn installed the APR- 25 and the ALQ51 by removing the left 20mm gun and most of the ammunition to make room to install the ECM gear. The disadvantage of this was that only 75 rounds of 20mm for the right gun was left to use only in emergency like in a downed pilot RESCAP mission or in self defense if attacked by a MIG.

VSF 3s A4Cs had side numbers of the 100 series so had the red color as the color on their tail cap.

VA-15 had the 200 series numbers so we were supposed to have a yellow tail color. We chose to change that to gold so we had our rudder painted gold and black and replaced the VALion decal with a gold and black lion logo. We were known in the air wing as the "Gold Tails"

The aircraft in this picture is configured for our Anti SAM Iron Hand mission with the AGM 45 Shrike loaded on both wings with a center line fuel tank. If we had a shortage of Shrike missiles, we flew with one AGM-45 Shrike on one wing and a LAU 10 5" Zuni rocket pod on the other wing.

The third Skyhawk squadron in the air wing was our sister squadron stationed at Cecil Field, the VA-34 Blue Blasters. They flew A4C aircraft configured like ours with updated electronic countermeasures equipment. They had 300 series numbers abnd a blue tail cap.

In addition to participating in bombing missions, their assigned specialty was as flak suppressors, the anti AAA mission. They would attack known AAA sites in the target area just before the bombers initiated their attacks with the hope that it would offer some protection for the bombers while in their bomb runs which was the most vulnerable part of their mission. They were usually configured with two LAU 10 Zuni rocket pods on TERs on each wing for total of 16 "5 inch" rockets to attack the AAA sites.

The RESCAP Mission

We had one A1 Skyraider (Spad) squadron, VA 145 based at NAS Alameda

This is a model of a VA 145 Spad. Ours had had 400 numbers.

VA 145 was based at NAS Alameda, California. Spads were capable of carrying an impressive load of bombs, rockets and guns. Our Spad squadron during on our 1966 Dixie Station line periods were the aircraft of choice due to their weapons load and ability to stay on station for much longer than jet powered aircraft. However they were too vulnerable to SAM and AAA in the north due to their slow speed and were limited during our 1967 deployment to the RESCAP mission where they carried forward firing weapons such as rockets and guns. They assisted in 14 navy and air force pilot rescues during our deployment.

Two VA 145 Spads returning to the ship with a VAW--121 E1B. It looks like the ship is getting ready to launch a regular cycle with the COD on CAT 1 with A4s on the port angle, the relief E1B on the port aft corner, three VA-145 RESCAP aircraft on the starboard side of the landing area, and a VAQ-33 AD5Q EW Spad and a fourth VA-145 Spad aft of the island.

The Photo Reconnaissance Mission

VFP 63 Det 11 RF8 Crusaders

The VFP 63 Det 11 Roadrunners based at NAS Miramar, California provided a photo reconnaissance capability with their RF8 Crusaders.

They were normally escorted by a section of our VF 111 Sundowner F8Cs on their missions.

A VFP-63 Det 11 RF8 (402)

The Airborne Electronic Warfare Mission

The VAQ 33 Nighthawks based at NAS Jacksonville, Florida provided an airborne electronic warfare capability with their AD5Q Spad aircraft.

The Airborne Early Warning and Command and Control Mission

The VAW 121 Bluetails based at NAS Norfolk, Virginia provided an airborne early warning and command and control capability with their E1B aircraft.

"The Angel" HC-2 Rescue Helo Detachment

The Intrepid's COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) Aircraft

Our transit of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea enroute to the Suez Canal

Replenishment at Sea

We didn't make any port visits during our 38 day 12,000 mile transit from Norfolk to Cubi Point. Intrepid and all the ships in our group got all our fuel and supplies by replenishing at sea like shown in the photo here. The ship made a few COD flights enroute to get our mail.

We didn't have to get any weapons during the transit. But once online at Yankee Station, we were along side an AO every few days resupplying bombs, rockets, missiles, and gun ammo.

We spent lots of time in the Ready Room during the transit

We had many AOMs (All Officer's Meetings) and a lot of briefings in the ready room during the transit.

Take note that during this AOM, the only officers paying attention were new guys Ron Gibson in the front row and Dave Moyer in the back row. Shep was reading a magazine, Bob Cheyne was asleep and Bob Hamel was being Bob Hamel.

We could smoke our cigars in the ready room in those days!

We spent lots of time in our staterooms getting ready for our Iron Hand missions by studying the tapes of acquisition radars such as low frequency and low scan rate Spoonrest and Barlock, higher frequency "S Band" AAA conical scanradars in search and lock on modes such as Firecan and Flapwheel, and the "E Band" Fansong SAM radar with it's characteristic "raster scan" pattern.

Some of us who were interested had the opportunity to stand bridge watches during the transit.

The transit also provided lots of opportunity to spend time on the flight deck exercising or just relaxing.

Miller Detrick on the flight deck with his deployment mustache wearing one of the variations of flight suits we used; a green medium cotton shirt and pants with a belt.

Left to right: Dick Nolte, John Newman, me, Dave Parsons, Bob Hamel, Bob Cole, Miller Detrick. The transit provided plenty of opportunities for JO meetings on the flight deck before the evening movie.

We did some flying during the Mediterranean Sea part of the transit

I flew seven flights from May 20th through May 29th; 5 day flights and 2 flights with night landings. We were in range of a bingo field, probably NAS Sigonella on the southern coast of Sicily during these flights.

When we were approaching the Suez Canal, it was June, 1967 and Israel and Egypt were about to get involved in the Seven Day War. So, I'm sure there was a lot of political concern about our transiting the Suez at that time. But for whatever reason, the decision was made at the highest levels and possibly with consultation with both Israel and Egypt for us to make the transit. As all of the jet aircraft were moved to the hangar deck and the hangar bay doors were closed. There was some concern that a weirdo Egyptian extremist might take a few shots at the ship as it passed by. The prop aircraft were left exposed on the flight deck (I guess they were more expendable). We were told to not go on up on the flight deck or exposed catwalks as there was some concern that it was possible that we might take some fire from the Egyptian side. I don't think that we did.

This is a modern map of the Suez Canal.

In June of 1967, the Sinai Peninsula was part of Israel.

So, as we sailed south from Port Said, we had Israel on the left and Egypt on the right.

We did encounter protests on the Egyptian side of the canal where the protesters took off their sandals and held the soles of their shoes toward us; a mark of disrespect.

We were led through the southern part of the canalfrom the Great Bitter Lake by an Egyptian (Russian Made) Komar PT boat with it's two Styx surface to surface missiles clearly visible.

They didn't train the missiles toward Intrepid. They couldn't as the Styx missile tubes are permanently mounted facing forward on the boat. I doubt if they had any fire control radars active.

Picture from the Intrepid 1967 Cruise Book

This is a Komar Boat. Notice that the Styx missile tubes are facing forward!

As we were headed south from Great Bitter Lake toward the Indian Ocean, charts of Egypt were pulled out in CVIC to look at potential targets in Egypt if were called into action.

But, after a brief pause in the gulf of Suez, we continued our transit through the Indian Ocean, through the Straits of Malacca, and then northeast to Cubi Point in the Philippines.

Intrepid arrived in Cubi Point June 15th, 1967
(The transit from Norfolk to Cubi took 31 days to complete)

Back at Cubi Point only seven months after we left after the end of our first WESTPAC deployment.
We wouldn't have much time here though; just a couple of nights at the BOQ and a few visits to the Cubi Point O'Club bar for some Cubi Specials!

Cubi Point BOQ

Cubi Point O'Club

A group of combat bound VALions in various type of flight suits relaxing outside officer's housing at Cubi.

Left to right: Gene Atkinson, Moon Moreau, Miller Detrick, the head of Ron Gerard over Miller's left shoulder, XO, Cdr Jim Snyder, Dave Parsons, CO, CDR Kelly Carr, and me, Bo Smith over Cdr Carr's left shoulder
(I'm sure Moon didn't wear that orange flight suit on combat missions!)

Or possibly, a chance to have dinner at the Marmont Hotel in Olongapo!


Maybe just enough time for a quick trip outside the gate in Olongapo to have dinner at the Marmont Hotel.	The Marmont Hotel was convenient, just outside the gate, and had excellent food.

The new guys might have had a quickie course in Jungle Escape and Survival Training (JEST)!

USS Intrepid left Cubi Point on June 19th after only four days in port.
We flew on the ship that day!

Yankee Station

We arrived on Yankee Station On June 21st during Operation Rolling Thunder 57.

The summer of 1967 consisted of the heaviest bombing of North Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. In addition to the Kep and Hoa Lac airfields and significant industrial targets added during Rolling Thunder 55, the Hanoi thermal power plant and a concentration on the supply lines connecting Hanoi and Haiphong to China during Rolling Thunder 56, sixteen new Alpha list targets all in Route Package 6 were added in Rolling Thunder 57.

Rules of engagement, approved major targets, sorties, and even some tactics were decided at President Johnson's Tuesday lunch with Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara and various non-military staff members. No military representatives were allowed to be present during these meeting, not even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Paraphrased from Peter Fey's book "Bloody Sixteen)

Three aircraft carriers on Yankee Station

The three aircraft carriers on Yankee Station flew different schedules. One carrier flew a twelve hour daylight schedule from just prior to sunrise to just prior to sunset. Another carrier flew approximately the same schedule from 0700 to 1900 (one pinky recovery). The third carrier flew a night schedule from 1900 (pinky launch) to 0700 (pinky to day recovery). That meant that there were two carriers always available to fly strikes in the daytime and one carrier to keep the North Vietnamese up at night. On major "Alpha Strike" days, all three carriers flew the day schedule to be able to bring maximum concentration of our air power for these strikes against Alpha List targets.
We were normally assigned as the day carrier to our lack of two full fighter squadrons and no A6 squadron,

Our Pilots were Ready to Go into Combat over North Vietnam

Front Row: Paul "Black Mac" MacCarthy, Dixie Culler, Gene "Sid" Atkinson, Jerry "Possum" Terrell, Bob Hamel, Keith Strickland, Dave "Thorny" Thornhill, Steve Smith, Miller Detrick
Back Row: Bob "Cozy" Cole, Dick "Nolts" Nolte, Jerry Tuttle, Ron Gibson, Me, Cdr Kelly Carr (CO), Jim Snyder (XO),
Tony Isger, Pete Schoeffel, Ron "Moon" Moreau, Dave "Pars" Parsons, and Ron Gerard

Missing: Lee Cole, shot down (KIA) June 30th; Phil "P.C." Craig, shot down July 4th (KIA)
This picture was taken after July 4th but before October 4th when Pete Schoeffel was sot down (POW from October 4th until March, 1968) when he was released

VA-15 Second Vietnam Deployment Plaque

We set out with the guys on this plaque except LCDR Paul McCarthy who joined us later on cruise.

Our Aircraft Were Ready to Go Into Combat over North Vietnam

We had 14 A4Cs fully equipped with ECM equipment to conduct our mission as the air wing 10 Iron Hand squadron as well as for bombing missions.

I was Ready to Go Into Combat over North Vietnam

Three "bad ass" Valions ready to "kick ass" over North Vietnam

Bo Smith, Moon Moreau, and Possum Terrell

Rolling Thunder during the summer and fall of 1967

USAF Operations over North Vietnam

The Air Force flew their F-105 Thunderchief (Thud) strike aircraft and their F4 Phantom fighter support aircraft from bases in Thailand. The Air Force strike packages would normally inflight refuel over Laos and the enter Route Package Five northwest of Hanoi for their strikes. The hills northwest of Hanoi are known as "Thud Ridge" because of the number of F-105s lost there to SAMs and MIGs.

Yankee Station was actually quite a bit further north in June 1967.

Yankee Station was actually about 75 miles east offshore of Thanh Hoa (Route Package 4) when we were on station.

The Navy flew missions from Yankee Station in Route Packages 2, 3, 4, and 6B and most of the strikes against Haiphong. The Navy flew some missions in Hanoi coordinated with USAF F-105 missions.

The Air Force flew missions in Route Pages 1, 5, and 6A and the majority of the strikes against Hanoi.

Our First Line Period lasted from June 21st to July 13th (22 days)

In the beginning of our Yankee Station line period, we flew most of our missions in Route Package 2 from the area from Ha Tinh and Duc Tho south of Vinh up through Route Package Three (avoiding Thanh Hoa) and Nam Dinh. Most of these missions were "warm up" type missions in lower threat areas conducting road reconnaissance looking for trucks on the roads or small bridges on Route 1 on the coast or Route 15. The standard bomb load for these missions was a centerline fuel tank with 6 Mk 82 500# bombs three on each wing loaded on a TER (Tripple Ejection Rack).

Replenishment at Sea

We received some critical aircraft parts via the ships COD. But, most of our supplies were loaded aboard while underway from supply ships.

Replenishing Weapons at Sea

We were expending bombs, rockets, and missiles at a high rate while on the line. We had to rearm at sea about every three nights when we were not flying.

Haleaka AE-25

Assembling MK 82s on the hangar deck.
Snakeye fins in the background.

Hoisting an old non thermally coated
MK 111 Fat Bomb

We received bombs, rockets and other ordnance from ships like the Haleakala normally every three days while operating on Yankee Station.

The bombs would arrive on the hangar deck and be stored or assembled and moved to the flight deck.

Some bombs and rockets were temporarily stationed on the starboard side of the island and moved to the aircraft between cycles.

Captain Fair, CO of USS Intrepid sending a note to the North Vietnamese.

The bomb he is signing is an old non thermally coated 1000# bomb from the Korean War or even possibly the World War II era.

With three aircraft carriers flying major strikes at an accelerated pace into North Vietnam, the production of the new thermally coated Mark 80 series bombs fell behind our usage rate and we had to use some of the old non thermally coated bombs until the production rate caught up.

What is it like to be shot at with AAA?

Barrage Fire- Barrage fire is a mass of usually light gray (37mm) or darker gray (57mm) puffs usually at one altitude generated when the shell explodes. This is indicative of non radar controlled fire. The shooters hope that they have guessed right at the altitude selected for the shells to self destruct if they don't get a direct hit. They select the altitude based on information from acquisition radars or oat least on one occasion from observing the incoming aircraft relative to targeting balloons (Phu Ly).

Aimed fire- Aimed fire is indicated when the puffs (dark gray for 57mm) or (black for 85mm or greater) are linear in nature. If the radar isn't locked on, the fire normally isn't very accurate. But solid tone in your headset indicates that the Firecan/Flapwheel is locked on and you can expect accurate fire. Then its time to hope your ECM (ALQ 51) gear will cause the radar to lose lock. But, the wise thing to do is to deploy chaff and change your heading and/or altitude. This is called "jinking". You should not jink if its barrage fire because the best way to avoid being hit in barrage fire is to get out of the immediate area quickly by maintaining your heading. Sometimes, that can be difficult to do.

If you are looking at the ground at the source of the AAA, you can see flashes on the ground and if they are using tracer rounds, you can see the rounds coming at you. If the rounds pass close to you, you can feel the sonic boom of the rounds as they pass by. Are we having fun yet!

What is it like to be shot at by a SAM?

Normally, your first indication is a missile launch alert "warble" from your ECM gear (APR 27). However, on big strikes, a single alert is usually accompanied by many alerts as several SAMs are usually in the air. Then, it's time to have your "head on a swivel" looking out for a trail of smoke heading your way. Usually, if you can see the SAM coming toward you, you can lower your nose to keep your speed and G available and out maneuver the SAM. Once, it has passed by, you turn back toward the target and try to gain back some altitude, check your tail and the 6 o'clock position of the other members of your flight for the second or third SAM. If the whole division is the target, the entire flight may do a split "S" type maneuver as a flight and then recover as a flight. Most often though, the division will loose division integrity. However, it is critical to at least maintain section (two aircraft) integrity. It is the wingman's responsibility to do so.

Due to our 15,000 to18,000' enroute altitude, we did not experience any losses due to medium altitude barrage 37/57mm fire. We stayed above it! We managed to evade most of the 85mm radar controlled AAA and SAM missiles to and from the target using our EW equipment and proper jinking tactics. Most of our aircraft losses were at the roll in point, during the bomb run or while pulling off the target due to a mixture of aimed radar controlled AAA and dense 37mm/57mm non radar controlled AAA when the bombing aircraft were between 4,000 and 12,000 feet.

USS Intrepid Change of Command (June, 1967)
Underway on Yankee Station

We will miss Captain Fair !!
We JOs weren't so sure during the 66 cruise when we got to see him up close and personal on the bridge.
"The pilot of 306 report to the bridge" Oh no, another tongue lashing from the Captain about a one wire or blown tire. He whipped us into shape and had a lot to do with establishing the professionalism of our air wing which would prove invaluable on the second Vietnam deployment.

Now it's Captain McVey's turn!

He's been pretty quiet so far. But, perhaps that is because Captain Fair has handed him a well oiled professional ship and air wing. No one that I know of had been summoned to the bridge so far.

But would change for me pretty soon!

Flight Operations during the First Line Period (June 21st to July 17th)

Our flight operations were mostly "Cyclic Operations", most of our targets were Road Reconnaissance missions to get warmed up at the beginning .

Cyclic Operations. Cyclic Operations are designed to provide constant air assets available for missions throughout the operating session. The carrier begins the cycle by launching 30 or so aircraft at the start of air operations. An hour and a half or so later, the carrier launches a second group of aircraft and the recovers the aircraft from the first group. This pattern can be continued as long as desired.

Our aircraft were normally configured with a centerline drop tank (2,000 lbs of fuel) which combined with internal fuel ave us 7,400 lbs of fuel which was enough to fly the 1.7 flight time of "Cyclic Ops". Our bomber aircraft were configured with a Tripple Ejection Rack (TER) on each wing station which enable us to carry 6 MK81 (250lb) / MK82(500lb) bombs which was enough for our "Recce" msiions.

We might have been short on MK 80 series thermally coated bombs at the beginning of the line period I only carried 3 MK 82s or MK 81 (250 lb) bombs.

From my log book:

June 21st- 1.7 hours, 3 Mk 82's, 1 Mk 81
June 21st- 1.7 hours, 3 Mk 82s, 1 Mk 81

June 22nd,1.9 flight hours, 3 Mk 82s, 1 Mk 81

June 22nd- LCDR "Possum" Terrell was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal (NCM) for he flew as a section leader on June 22nd. After completing an armed reconnaissance mission, he received an urgent request from the Australian destroyer HMAS Hobart which was receiving fire from a North Vietnamese coastal battery at Dong Hoi. LCDR Terrell located the hostile battery and despite receiving hostile AAA fire, attacked the battery delivering his ordnance directly on target, silencing the threat.

June 23rd (my 26th birthday, 3 Mk82s, 1 Mk 81

Note: We must have received some Mk 81/Mk82s through underway replenishment during the night of June 23rd as we began carrying 6 MK81/82s after that.

June 24th, 1.8 hours, 6 MK 81s

June 27th- 1.1, 6 MK 81s- maybe a small strike of some sort

June 27th- 1.3, no weapons load logged, must have been a "Flex Deck" strike of some kind.

Flex Deck Operations: Flex Deck Operations designed to provide a large number of aircraft to provide enough air assets to strike important well defended targets. Flex Deck Operations, the carrier launches as many aircraft as required to support the missions; sometimes as many as 50 or so aircraft. After the aircraft are launched the flight deck landing area is cleared to receive the aircraft as they return from their missions.

Our aircraft were weapons loads were configured in three ways for Flex Deck Operations:

1. Iron Hand aircraft had a centerline tank and either a Shrike missile on each wing station or more likely a Shrike missile on one wing statioin and a LAU 10 5" rocket pod on the other wing station.

2. Bomber aircraft were still configured with a centerline tank with two TERS loaded with 6 MK 82 bombs. This configuration resulted in flight times of 1.3 hour or so for Flex Deck Operations.

3. Occasionally bomber aircraft were cleaned off (no centerline tank, no TERS; just parent racks) and loaded with a MK 83 (1,000 lb bomb) on each wing station and a MK 84 (2,000 lb bomb) on the centerline station. This configuration can be recognized by flight times of less then an hour; usually .8 or so.

June 27th- Ltjg Nolte flew as a section leader on on a major strike against the heavily defended Nam Dinh transhipment, storage, and rail facilities.

June 28th- 1.2, I flew an Iron Hand section leader support of a strike at Nam Dinh

Note: June 28th- Ltjg Nolte flew as a section leader on another major strike against the heavily defended Nam Dinh target area.

June 29th- 1.9, 3 Mk82s, 1 Mk 81 small strike on Camera ?

June 29th- 1.4, Iron Hand mission in support of a 26 aircraft strike against a petroleum storage area near Haiphong . I was awarded my 2nd NCM with Combat V for this mission.
(I received my 1st NCM during our 1966 cruise)

June 29th- Ltjg Dave "Dixie" Culler flew as a wingman in another Iron Hand section in support of the same 26 plane strike against the Haiphong petroleum storage area. Despite being hit by AAA and fuel streaming from his wing, he continued attacking a SAM site causing it to cease emitting. Dixie was ararded an ndivdual Air Medal for this mission.

June30th- 1.6, 1 LAU 10, Vinh, 50 rnds of 20mm. Iron Hand Section leader for a stike at HaiPhong.

Note: June 30th- Ltjg Nolte flew as a section leader on a major strike against petroleum storage area at Haiphong.

VA-15 lost our first pilot 9 days into the First Line Period

Lee Cole was shot down on June 30th, 1967 near Vinh

Lee Cole was listed as Missing in Action (MIA).

His remains were returned by the North Vietnamese On November 3rd, 1988 and identified on March 29th, 1989 at which time he was listed as Killed in Action (KIA).

He wife, Billie Jo Cole was very active in the POW Wives Organization both locally in Jacksonville and nationally.

Lee was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on May 5th, 1989

Billy Jo is buried in Arlington National Cemetery alongside Lee in 2010.

We learned later, the hard way, that Vinh had a very good SAM and AAA defense system. Vinh became known as a location where you didn't get much warning before a SAM launch or very accurate AAA.

D.D. Smith in his book "Above Average: Naval Aviation the Hard Way"
describes how most pilots reacted to the combat loss of a fellow aviator.

"There was no outward show of sorrow, no reminiscences or eulogies, no Hollywood heart-searchings or phony philosophy- It was not callousness or indifference or lack of feeling for a comrade who had been so vibrantly alive and now was to be a name on a war memorial; it was just that there was nothing to be said. It was part of war; men died, more would die, that was past, and what mattered now was the business at hand; those who lived would get on with it. Whatever sorrow was felt, there was no point in talking or brooding about it, much less in making, for forms sake, a parade of it. Better and healthier to forget it, and look for tomorrow."

After about a week of warm up missions, we started flying strike missions to targets from Vinh to Haiphong including Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, and Than Hoa. Yes, the Thanh Hoa Bridge was still standing.

This picture of the Thanh Hoa bridge was taken on May 19th, before we came on Yankee Station.

Image courtesy of the Lawson Collection, Emil Buehler Library, National Naval Aviation Museum, NAS Pensacola, Florida

As the line period progressed, we began participating in strikes deeper into the Red River Valley toward Hanoi including Phu Ly and to Haiphong and Hai Duong, almost halfway to Hanoi. We flew Iron Hand Anti-SAM missions in support of these strike missions as they were conducted into major concentrations of radar controlled AAA and Surface to Air missiles.

We flew numerous missions on the Thanh Hoa Bridge. Despite great hits with our MK 82s, the bridge although unusable remained standing.

When the Thanh Hoa bridge was unserviceable, the North Vietnamese used pontoon bridges which they used at night to transport their supplies.

Iron Hand Tactics

My model shows our normal Iron Hand configuration with an AGM-45 Shrike on one wing station and an LAU10 5" Zuni rocket pod on the other wing station.

Some airwings choose to have the Iron Hand (Anti SAM) and flak suppressor (AAA) aircraft accompany just in front of the strike group and react to threats as they came up. Our tactic was to have the Iron Hand aircraft well out in front and on the flanks of the strike group and have the flak supressors accompany the strike but be slightly ahead so that they could attack the known flak sites just prior to the bomber aircraft rolling in.

Our Iron Hand mission aircraft flew in sections of two A4C aircraft. We never broke section integrity on combat missions. We carried a 2000# drop tank on our centerline station. Our A4C had only one weapons station on each wing which limited our weapons load to two AGM-45 Shrikes or one Shrike and eith rockets or bombs on the other. We normally carried one LAU 10 Zuni pod with four 5" rockets on a parent station to keep our aircraft as "clean" as possible and symmetrically loaded.

Oriskany's Iron Hand section consisted of one A4E from VA-164 (which had four weapons stations so could carry twice as many Shrikes as our A4C aircraft) and one F8 C/E as an escort. (Either to provide F8C from VF-111 for TARCAP for MIG protection or an F8E from VFA-152 with bombs and rockets to provide air to ground weapons against the SAM site or associated AAA).

"Alpha Strike Vietnam"
The Navy's Air War 1964 to 1973

Jeffrey L. Levinson

"Early on we {VA-192 Golden Dgragons} teamed up one Shrike pilot {A4E} with one of the fighter jocks {F8 Crusader) from VF-191 or VF-194 and those two flew together all the time" "Alpha Strike Vietnam", Part Three (1966), Chapter 18, The Golden Dragons, page146

This seems at first glance this tactic seems attractive; one Iron Hand pilot who was well trained in attacking SAMs with Shrikes and rockets and a second fighter aircraft that could escort the Iron Hand pilot if he were attacked by MIGs. I like the idea that they teamed two guys to fly together all the time if on an Iron Hand mission. But, to me, the problem with this tactic is what happens if the section is attacked by MIGs. The Iron Hand aircraft doesn't have the performance to stay with the F8. Does the F8 concentrate on the MIG and leave the Iron Hand pilot to press on alone*.

Oriskany had one Iron Hand mission near Hanoi where this situation did occur. In this case, the F8 escort broke section integrity to engage 2 MIG 17s that threatened the Iron Hand section. I wonder, what was the A4E while the F8 escort and the 2 MIG 17s were having at it. Perhaps Mule can give more details on this!

I prefer the tactic that two Iron Hand aircraft fly with sections integrity. If there is a credible MIG threat, then assign an F8 TARCAP/MIGCAP section or two to protect the Iron Hand aircraft from the MIGs.

When I designed the Iron Hand tactics for VA-15, I chose the option that the Iron Hand mission would be mission would be more effective if the SAM sites were engaged before they were able to fire missiles at the strike group. My assumption was that the North Vietnamese Defense Commander would not want to commit to firing his missiles at us. Rather, he would want to conserve his SAMs for the strike group. We thought we could negatively affect his capability by forcing him to not use his Fansong radar if we positioned ourselves to attack the launching site with our AGM 45 Shrikes. I suspect that they had seen the same video as I had of a Shrike missile exploding just above a SA 2 Guideline Fansong van sending thousands of aluminum cubes at high speed into the radar antennae and the van destroying the equipment and killing any operators in the van. Some other airwings also used this tactic.

We would normally coast in at 15,000 feet of altitude. Approaching the coastline, we would be listening for acquisition (Spoonrest or Barlock) radar signals. The North Vietnamese standard procedure was to first detect the azimuth initially detecting the aircraft by using acquisition radar. Next, the enemy would get altitude information by using a conical scan radar (Firecan/Flapwheel). This information was then passed to various AAA sites on the strike's route of flight so that they could set the altitude that their barrage fire would detonate. A well trained pilot could recognize this change. It was also a sign to the Iron Hand section leaders and the Strike leader of the bomber group to increase altitude to be above the barrage fire. At that altuude, the pilot would only be vulnerable to radar controlled AAA of 85mm or greater, SAMs, and MIGs. Our APR 25 was capable of indentifying the 85mm and greater AAA fire control S band radars and our our ALQ-51 EW equipment was capable of breaking the lock on the Firecan/Flapwheel conical scan radars. If we knew we were detected and locked on by AAA rdars, we would execute a change in course every 4 seconds and expend chaff as we intitiated the turn. This tactic was usually effective in that only real threats remaining at above 15,000 were from SAMs and and MIGs. We had BARCAP fighters and PIRAZ and our own TARCAP F8s to protect us from the MIGs. Also, the same rationale applied in my mind that the defense commander would not want to commit his MIGs to the six or eight Iron Hand aircraft when he had 30 to 40 aircraft in the strike group behind them.

Our Iron Hand sections would fly directly to the SAM sites protecting the target area and on the flanks of the strike group course that our intelligence team had told us were occupied with missiles. The North Vietnamese had both fixed and mobile sites. We went to the fixed sites first and reacted to the mobile sites as they became active. We usually had two or three sections of two aircraft each. Each section was briefed on a specific fixed site to start with. We descended to about 15,000 feet (to stay above the 37/57mm barrage fire and observed the site looking to see if they had missiles on the rails. If so, we reported that to the strike leader with calls such as: "Site number xx occupied, Iron Hand One (or Three or Five) Out. That told the strike leader that not only was a prebriefed site occupied but also that we were overhead the site ready to engage it.

The SAM site commander had to bring the E Band Fansong radar online in order to control and detonate the missile. As soon as he did, the Iron Hand leader would commence a dive attack for a "down the throat" Shrike launch. If the missile commander kept the Fansong radar online, his radar van and the people in it were "Toast". The SAM would then self destruct harmlessly. If he shut down his Fansong radar, he cold not control the SAM.

E Band Fansong radar

Fixed SAM Site

SA 2 Guidline Missiles

If we had only one Shrike (due to a shortage of missiles), we could use a 5" Zuni rocket from our LAU 10 pod to simulate a Shrike "down the throat Shrike shot". Or, we could use Zuni rockets to attack after our Shrike shot if we determined that there remaining missiles and vans in a fixed site. Our Zuni rockets were also available if there was need for our services as a RESCAP aircraft. As we had the centerline tank, we usually had more fuel than the strike aircraft and could stay on scene longer. We could return unused Shrikes and unused or partially used LAU 10 Zuni pod to the ship and land with no problem making them available for another mission.

Note: This tactic had to be changed for Linebacker I in 1972 as the Russians had provided the North Vietnamese a large number mobile quad mounted ZSU 23mm guns. This high rate of fire weapon (the red rope) was very effective upto about 15,000'. So, Iron Hand aircraft couldn't afford to orbit a SAM site waiting for it to fire a SAM. Iron Hand aircraft were forced to fire their Shrikes from a safe distance from the SAM site.

The first two weeks in July were very difficult

We knew we were in for a challenging time because we were going to be flying missions in Route 6B, the most heavily defended route package in North Vietnam except for Hanoi itself. But we were ready. We had a core group of flight leaders and junior officer pilots each with over 100 combat missions. Our new CO, Kelly Carr, although an experienced pilot was not combat experienced. But Kelly's best asset was his great sense of humor and his willingness to let the combat experienced division leaders (Jerry Tuttle, Possum Terrell, Moon Moreau, Pete Schoeffel) take the lead in flying most of the strike leads in the major strike missions until he gained more combat experience. Our new XO, CDR Jim Snyder was an experienced carrier A4 pilot who was a quick learner in the combat environment. LCDR "Black Mac" McCarthy was surprised that he had to fly wing as Number 4 on experienced JOs from the first deployment as his section leader until he got some combat experience. But that was the rule in VS-15; there was no rank in the air. The experienced JO section leaders were the section leaders at first during our second deployment. Black Mac and Ron Gibson became section leaders and division leaders with time. Our junior officers with over 100 missions were the "core" of the squadron. VSF-3 and VA-34 did not have the flight leaders or experienced JOs like we had and the air wing Commander knew it. Therefore, we were given the most challenging missions during the Second Line Period.

We flew a great number of Alpha Strikes in the Hai Duong area. I didn't realize it at the time but this was a significant tactical effort in support the major strategy of Rolling Thunder 57; the isolation of Hanoi and
Haiphong through major strikes against both cities and the lines of transportation between the two.

From my log book:

July 1st- I flew an Iron Hand mission in support of a strike at Ninh Binh (Route Package 4)

July 1st- Ltjg Nolte flew two strike missions on July 1st; the first as a section leader in a strike against a target at Ninh Binh, the second as a section leader against the vital Hai Duong railroad yard between Haiphong and Hanoi.(A Rolling Thunder strategic objective).

July 2nd- I flew an Iron Hand mission in support of a strike at Hai Duong. I fired one AGM 45 Shrike missile.
I was nominated for a DFC for this mission which was downgraded to my 1st individual Air Medal with Combat V.

July 2nd- Ltjg Culler flew as an Iron Hand section leaderof a strike against the railyard and transhipment points at Hai Duong. At first, his section did not detect any SAM activity so he decided to attack an 85mm flak site that was firing at his section and was a threat to the strike group. During this attack two surface to air missiles engaged his section passing close to his aircraft. Despite this, Dixie continued his attack on the gun site silencing it. He was awarded an individual Air Medal for this mission. He might have been recommended for a DFC which was downgraded.

Ltjg Kasch of VSF-3 was shot down on this Hai Duong strike and was not rescued- KIA

July 4th- I flew an Iron Hand mission but did not fire a Shrike.

Ltjg Nolte flew two missions on July 4th; the first as a section leader in a strike against a target at Ninh Binh, the second as a section leader against the vital Hai Duong railroad yard between Haiphong and Hanoi (A Rolling Thunder strategic objective).

July 4th, 1967- LT P.C. Craig did not return from a major strike against the railroad yard at Hai Duong. He was last seen in his dive bomb delivery at the target. His flight leader, LCDR Moon Moreau did not see him resume his normal combat cruise position after rendezvous off the target.

LT P.C. Craig was shot down at Hai Duong on July 4th, 1967

His remains were returned by the North Vietnamese in 1985

He is burried in his hometwon of Oneida, NY

P.C. Craig was unmaried

P.C.'s loss was a real "kick in the gut" for those of us who were with him from the beginning of the new VA-15. It was even worse for Dave Parsons who was his roomate and fraternity brother at the University of Michigan. They went through flight training together. Dave, P.C. and I used to spend a lot of time together on the flight deck after JO chow. P.C. was a member of the "JO Mafia"!
He was an experienced and skilled combat pilot.

PC's loss was personal and it demonstrated to us that if P.C. could be shot down, any of us could.

Do you remember these great smiles on last cruise.
PC's loss changed this! We were in a fight for our lives now. We all knew it but we would never talk about it.

Do you remember this photo of the 100 trap celebration from last cruise?
(PC on the left and Lee Cole on the right)
Two of the eight pilots from Intrepid who were shot down the first two weeks of this line period!

We had lost that feeling of invincibility that commonly allows young men to perform in risky situations.
We had to replace that feeling with an aggressive warrior professional mentality to survive the next four months!

July 5th, 1967

I flew as a bomber section leader against the Don Son Petroleum Storage Area at Haiphong (4 Mk 82s, 2 MK 81s).

This combat chart is from the collection of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and is a
gift from the family of LCDR Keith Strickland

I remember pulling out of my dive through the billowing black smoke from the hits of previous aircraft.

We put a lot of bombs on target on that mission!

I was awarded an NCM with Combat V for this mission.

July 5th- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received a Gold Star in lieu of his second DFC as the strike leader of 22 A4B/C aircraft against the railyard and support facilities at Hai Duong. Desdpite deteriorating weather and heavy AAA, LCDR Tuttle navigated his division to the target effectively delivering their bombs causing the destruction of three boxcars and rail line choke points. Tut's first DFC was awarded for his strike lead to Phu Ly on October 9th, 1966 during our previous deployment.

July 5th- Ltjg Nolte flew two Iron Hand missions as a section leader on July 5th; the first was protecting strike aircraft on a restrike of the Don Son petroleum products area that we struck the day before on July 4th. His second Iron Hand mission of the day was protecting the strike group against the railroad yards at Ninh Binh. These two missions were included in his first DFC recommendation.

I also recorded my 200th trap on Intrepid on July 5th

Cutting the ceremonial cake with Captain McVey after my 200th Intrepid landing

From my log book:

July 6th- I flew as a bomber against the HaiDoung RR/Highway bridge or Ninh Binh strikes. (4 MK 82s, 2 MK 81s)

July 6th- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an idividual Air Medal for as a division strike leader for either the Hai Duong or Ninh Binh strikes.

July 6th- Ltjg Nolte flew a mission as the section leader in the bomber strike group against a railroad just south of Ninh Binh.

July 7th- I flew as a section leader as part of the bomber strike group against railroad yard at Phu LY about 15 miles southeast of Hanoi (4 MK82s, 2 MK 81s)

July 7th- Ltjg Nolte was also a member of the bomber strike group at Phu Ly (4Mk82s, 2Mk81s)

Note: VA-15 provided at least 10 aircraft for the Phy Ly strike group on July 7th (6 bomber aircraft and 4 Iron Hand aircraft). Additionally, VA-15 most likely provided one of the combat mission tankers for the strike. VA-15 routinely provided 10 aircraft for these major strikes for the remainder of our first line period in July. This was only possible through the inspired leadership of the Maintenance Officer, LCDR Tuttle and the hard work of his maintenance personnel. It was particularly amazing considering that the squadron had only 12 aircraft of the originally 14 assigned aircraft due to the two recent losses.

July 8th- I flew again as a section leader in the bomber strike group against at Hai Duong (4 MK 82s, 2MK 81s)

July 8th- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an Individual Air Medal for leading the srike against either Hai Duong or the Army Barracks at Ban Yan Than (I'm betting on the Hai Duong strike!

July 8th- Ltjg Nolte flew as one of the section leaders of three Iron Hand sections protecting a major strike group against the Army Barracks and Ban Yan Than and an associated SAM missile storage area only seven miles east of Hanoi. This was Intrepids's closest strike to Hanoi during our first line period. Despite the fact that the routes to and from the target and in the target area were protected by 23 known SAM sites, his Iron Hand group were so effective that all the pilots and aircraft returned to Intrepid after a very effective strike. This mission was part of Dick Nolte's DFC recommendation!

July 8th- Ltjg Culler also flew as one of the section leaders of three Iron Hand sections protecting a major strike group against the Army Barracks and Ban Yan Than and an associated SAM missile storage area only seven miles east of Hanoi. Quoted from the individual Air Medal award citation by CINCPACLFLT," The success of the strike group in reaching the target in a high threat area, delivering their ordnance on target, and safely returning to the coast was in large measure due LTjg Culler's actions os a missile suppressor."

LCDR Ed Martin, VA-34 was shot down by a SAM sometime in July . He was captured and spent he rest of the war as a POW. He was released in February 1973 and went on to become Commander of the Sixth Fleet and retired from the Navy as a Vice Admiral.

From my log book:

July 10th- I flew a bomber mission south of t the DMZ in South Vietnam, 4 Mk 82s

July 11th- I flew a bomber mission and expended 4 MK 82s

July 12th- I flew two missions that day
The first was an Iron Hand mission in support of a strike at Hai Duong. I expended 8 Zuni rocktets from two LAU 10 pods
The second was a bomber mission. I expended 4 Mk 82s and 2 Mk 81s

July 12th- As a climax to his series of arduous and hazardous major strikes in July, Ltjg Nolte flew as a section leader in the Strike leader's division in a major air wing strike against the My Xa petroleum products storage area just north of Hai Duong and about half way between Hanoi and Haiphong.

As usual, he demonstrated his exceptional abilities a a bomber pilot delivering his ordnance on the target despite the heavy defenses in the target area.

Ltjg Nolte was recommended for a Distinguished Flying Cross for his exceptional performance as a combat pilot and Iron Hand and bomber section section leader during the missions I have described during our first line period.

Five other second combat tour VA-15 junior pilots were also recommended for DFC's by Captain McVey, USS INTREPID's Commanding Officer, for missions flown during this line period: Lt Dave Thornhill, Lt Miller Detrick, Lt Bob Hamel, Lt Dave Parsons, and Ltjg John Newman. Unfortunately not all of the recommendations were approved by higher authority! It is possible that none of these recommendations were approved. I will discuss the awards policy lter in the chapter.

July 13th- I flew as a bomber section leader on a strike to Hai Duong and expended 4 Mk 117s. Mk 117s were old non thermally coated fat bombs. (my 130th mission). I was recommended for an individual air medal for this flight but after a lengthly administrative delay, it was downgraded to an NCM.

Keeping Spirits Positive in the Ready Room

It seems as if Bob Hamel is always the SDO in these pictures. Here he is passing out some information to the next flight: left to right- Dixie Culler, Ron Gerard, Ron Gibson, and Moon Moreau.

Fortunately, we had a professional group of pilots and strong support from the ground officers, Chief Petty officers and sailors.

The atmosphere in the ready room was always positive.

We used humor as a way to keep up our spirits even though we had lost two of our pilots during the second line period.

The junior officers had two objects of our practical jokes, both people who took themselves much too seriously:
Frog Wigent, the CO of VA-34 and
Frenchy LeBlanc, the XO of VSF-3

CDR "Frog" Wigent, CO of VA-34- Frog was humorless and took himself way too seriously. We tried to help him be more cheerful by paying him special attention. We had one of those farm sounds play toys that existed in 1967 in the ready room. It had a frog selection that made a frog sound. At appropriate times, our SDO would select the VA-34 ready room on the "bitch box" and pull the string and out would come the frog sound. We also purchased frog toys at the Navy Exchanges and our wives sent a variety of them. When we got wind (we had an intelligence network) of which airplane "The Frog" would be flying on a mission, we managed to sneak a toy frog on the seat of his ejection seat to greet him when he climbed in. I guess we sort of got under his skin because he expressed displeasure on occasion. There are two more Frog stories to tell but they will come later.

CDR "Frenchy" Leblanc, XO of VSF-3- Frenchy was also humorless and took himself way too seriously. We tried to help him be more cheerful by paying him special attention. We decided to paint the door of his XO stateroom gold rather that the existing color of VSF-3, red. For some reason, this made him mad. He expressed his displeasure to our CO, Cdr Kelly Carr. Kelly enjoyed telling us how upset he was. Frency had his door repainted and posted a guard (paid a Marine) to watch his door at night. Someone bribed the Marine to leave his station and Frenchy's door was painted gold again. Our slogan "Make Frency's Door Gold Again" (not really, sort of a Trump reference). Frenchy was livid. But, what could he do, tell our CO or CAG that he had paid a Marine to guard his door and those VS-15 JO's painted it gold anyway. CAG would have laughed him out of his office.

Biweekly Cartoon Newsletter- Somehow a weekly or biweekly cartoon newsletter was distributed to the ready rooms and CAG office. Who were the subjects of the cartoons? You guessed right; Frog and Frenchy. I don't actually know who was responsible for publishing the cartoon newsletter but my money is on John "Smedly" Newman.

Note: These morale enhancers continued throughout the cruise and beyond in Frog's case.

The Blue Shoes Award

We continued the tradition of the awarding The Blue Shoes Award to the officer who "had stepped on it the most" during the "End of the Line" parities or on stand down days. (about once a line period)

The winner usually received it for some incident "on the beach" (on liberty during in port periods) or something related to the traditional competition for the award between the Senior Officers ("Heavies") and the "JO Mafia".

No JOs ever got the award. But, it was very close on one occasion when Black Mac nominated John Newman. The "heavies" made a concerted effort to flip some of the JO vote. But Smeds turned the tables on Black Mac with a brilliant rebuttal speech which resulted in some of the "heavies" voting for Black Mac. I'll give you the "Rest of the Story" a bit later!

We had only one USO show this Deployment that I can remember.
But it was a good one- Miss America and her troup came visiting at the end of the line period

They arrived by COD.
Captain McVey welcomed them aboard.

They performed on the mess decks and visited the sailors in their work spaces

Relaxing on the flight deck after flight operations were over for the day

Because we had a minimal night capability, we were scheduled as the day carrier (0700 to 1900). The other two carriers n Yankee Station rotated the noon to midnight and the midnight to noon schedules. With three carriers on station, there were always two carrier airwings available for daytime operations and one for night missions.

We usually had time after flight operations for jogging or just getting together on the flight deck.

Shep Shepherd considers his maintenance
plan for the evening while Miller Detrick and Dave Moyer discuss their exercise plans.

Left to right: Miller Detrick, Dave Parsons,
Dixie Culler, and Dave Parsons

Left to right: Miller Detrick, Tony Isger, and Dave Parsons

Our maintenance guys would take advantage of even a short opportunity to remove their shirts and take a break and relax on the flight deck.

July 17th to July 25th- Intrepid's First Port Visit (Yokosuka, Japan)

Intrepid left "the line" about July 14th and after passing Hainan Island, steamed north for a port visit In Yokosuka Japan.

July 17th- I flew A4C 148440 from the ship to NAS Atsugi Japan. (1.1 hours)
July 25th- I flew A4C 149619 from NAS Atsugi to the Intrepid. (1.3 hours)

The Nippon Aircraft Company was located on Atsugi Base. All we had lots of corrosion control work done on our aircraft there during our deployment.

Atsugi

Several other squadron and airwing aircraft also flew in to Atsugi during the Yokosuka in port period. I don't know how many VA-15 aircraft flew in to Atsugi during Yokosuka port visit. Gene Atkinson remembers flying Jerry Tuttle's wing to Atsugi because he remembers flying around Mt. Fuji.

Atsugi is a little northwest of Yokohama.
Yokosuka Base is a little southeast of Yokohama.

Mt. Fuji is located west northwest of Yokohama on the map on the left.

On this trip, we took a sample of an aircraft part (flap indicator hinge) that we were having problems with. These hinges were made out of aluminum and were failing at a high rate. The flap indicator hinge enabled the pilot to see the position of the flaps on a small guage in the cockpit. In peacetime, this would have resulted in a down aircraft. But, as it was a combat situation, we flew without it. We left the flaps up during taxi on the flight deck and then lowered them to the 1/2 flap position for the cat shot. We knew that the flaps were proper for the cat shot because the final checker used hand signals to confirm we had 1/2 flaps for the launch. We used full flaps for landing. We knew that we had good flaps for landing by the feel of the aircraft and the pilot and LSO could tell by the airspeed/attitude of the plane on final approach.

While we were in Atsugi, a Japanese Company copied the hinges and replaced them with steel. We had about 50 of these hinges manufactured which solved the problem.

I don't know how this arrangement was set up but I expect that this work and the corrosion control/repainting work on our aircraft was coordinated through COMFAIRWESTPAC (Commader Fleet Air Western Pacific) which was located at Atsugi.

Atsugi was a nice change from life on the ship. We stayed at the BOQ and enjoyed beers and steak at the Officer's Club. Most of us got haircuts at the BOQ. We also enjoyed getting a "hotsi bath" or two at the BOQ. It included a steam room, bath by an attendant and a complete massage.

My attendant's name was Nancy. She was attractive in her late 20s. I would meet Nancy again 22 years later during my last tour in the Navy when I was assigned duty at COMFAIRWESTPAC. As a senior Captain, I lived in 06 Quarters on the base with my family. My wife and two daughters (Jessica and Lindsay) and I routinely had family "hotsi baths". Our attendant was 50 year old Nancy.

After a day or so at the BOQ, I decided to go to Tokyo for a few days.

I took the Yokosuka/Sobu Line (in dark blue)

I stayed at the Old Sanno Military Hotel in downtown Tokyo not far from the Imperial Palace.

The Sanno was run by the military as a Field Grade Officer billeting facility. I was able to get a room as a Navy Lt. because I was a combat pilot between line periods.

The Sanno was a western style hotel with a great bar and restaurant with affordable rates and prices. Western style hotels in Tokyo were expensive even in those days.

I decided to call the American Embassy. I learned from the junior pilots in VF-143 on my 1st Class Midshipman cruise on the Constellation that if you wanted english speaking female companionship, the best thing to do was to call an embassy or consulate of an english speaking country (US, British, or Australian) in a foreign port. All you had to do was tell whoever answered the phone (if they were female) that there were some Navy carrier pilots in town who were looking for a fun time. The response was usually "how many of you are there and where do you want to meet".

I called the American Embassy in Tokyo and talked to a young female and she set someone up and a time to meet at the Sanno Hotel Bar.

I arrived a bit early and noticed a young woman at a table near the bar and decided it was the person I was looking for. But, I was wrong. She was a reporter for an American newspaper. The reporter was quite willing to keep me company but I excused myself when I noticed whom I thought looked like the right person entering the bar. I left the reporter and said hello to Stephanie. She told me that she was a civilian secretary working for the Air Force at Yokota AFB near Tokyo. She even showed me her blue civilian employee DOD ID card.

After a tough couple of weeks on Yankee Station, I needed some TLC. The loss of PC Craig was game changer for me. I felt that the odds were good that I might also be shot down. I needed something to relieve this stress. She provided it. We visited some temples and shrines and experienced some Tokyo nightlife. We had a great couple of days (and nights). I got her official work phone number and returned to Atsugi.

You might wonder why I think it necessary to relate some of the details of this relationship. Well, I think that I would not be honest to not do so. To be sure, I am not relating all the details; just enough to tell my story. I plan to go into this aspect of my life in future chapters because it affected both my professional and personal life significantly.

Also, this is my story and does not imply that anyone else in the squadron did likewise. I think most of the guys in the squadron went on normal liberty associated with the Gulf of Tonkin experience.

We flew our aircraft from Atsugi back onboard Intrepid on July 25th

Intrepid must have been about 300 miles or so south of Atsugi because the flight lasted only 1.3 hours. The ship returned to Yankee Station on June 29th and began combat operations on July 30th.

This is a comparison of the USS Oriskany's schedule with ours, including details of Oriskany's combat and operational losses. I used Peter Fey's book "Bloody Sixteen" and Mike "Mule" Mullane's book "Dead Men Flying" to accomplish this!

I was very interested in reading DMF as Mule was on his "nugget" deployment to Yankee Station with VA-164 aboard USS Oriskany CV-34 and would provide a junior pilot's perspective. It also gave me the idea to try to compare the experience of our "small deck" carrier USS Intrepid with Oriskany, another "small deck" carrier.

In process of trying to document Oriskany's losses, I discovered the Peter Fey had done the job for me in Appendix 1 of his book "Bloody Sixteen". The descriptions of the combat and operational loses experience by Oriskany are almost word for word with a little "wordsmithing" by me on occasion. Thank you, Petr Fey!

Intrepid and Oriskany Line Periods and Liberty Ports
The are staggered to show where there was some overlap on Yankee Station

Intrepid Oriskany

1st Line Period June 21st-July 13th
                    Yokosuka, Japan

2nd Line Period July 30th-August 25th                                                                1st Line Period July 14th-August 7th
                Cubi Point/Hong Kong                                                                                   Subic Bay/Cubi Point

3rd Line Period Sept 16th-October 12th                                                               2nd Line Period August 18th-Sept 5th
                Sasebo, Japan                                                                                              Sasebo, Japan

4th Line Period Nov 1st-Nov 21st                                                                         3rd Line Period October 4th-Nov 3rd
                Cubi Point/Home                                                                                            Yokosuka, Japan

Cubi Point/Home                                                                                                    Dec 5th-January 11th-4th Line Period

Oriskany/CAG 16 Composition

Squadrons                                Aircraft Type        Number of Aircraft          Call Sigh

VF-111 (Sundowners)                                 F-8C                                    ?                        Old Nick
VF-162 (Hunters)                                 F-8E                                     ?                                      Super Heat
VA-163 (Saints)                                        A4E                                   14                                   Old Salt
VA-164 (Ghost Riders)                             A4E                                      14                                   Magic Stone
VA-152 (Wild Aces)                                   A-1H/J                                  ?                                      Locket
VAH-Det G (Four Runners)                        KA-3B                                     ?                                   Holly Green
VFP-63 Det G (Eyes of the Fleet)                RF-8A                                    ?                                    Cork Tip
VAW-II Det 34 (Early Elevens)                     E-1B                                       ?                                    Over Pass
HU-1 Det 1 Unit G (Pacific Fleet Angels)    UH-2A                                     ?                                            ?

Note: I only know the number of initially assigned A4Es in VA-63 (14) and VA-164 (14) because Mule mentions the number for his squadron (14) in DMF. I am particularly interested in the number of aircraft initially assigned F8Cs in VF-111 and of F8Es in VF-162.

Mule- Which type of F8 was used to escort your VA-164 Iron Hand aircraft? Or did it depend on the location of the Iron Hand mission; F8Cs where the MIG threat was the greatest ie: Hanoi for Phuc Yen strikes or F8Es for less MIG threat areas where you could use air to ground weapons of the VF-162 F8Es?

USS Oriskany's First Line Period, July 14th to August 7th (24 days)

Oriskany experienced it's first combat loss on their first day on Yankee Station!

July 14th: Combat loss; VA-164. A4E lost, pilot recovered- The aircraft was hit by AAA while attacking barges on a river near Gia La about 15 miles southeast of Vinh. His A4E was hit in the nose and parts we sucked in to the engine. By the time he made it back to Oriskany, his aircraft was on fire. Unable to land aborad, he ejected alongside and was recovered by an SH-2.

July 15th: Combat loss; VA-152. A1H lost, pilot KIA- The pilot was killed during an armed reconnaissance (armed recce) mission along the coast near Thanh Hoa. He began attacking small boats and barges near the village of Hon Ne and was hit by small arms fire from the boats. The pilot radioed that he had been hit. His aircraft crashed into the water shortly thereafter. His remains have not been recovered.

July 16th: Combat loss; VF-162. F8E lost, pilot rescued- The shoot down occurred while three F8E Crusaders were on a flak suppression mission for a strike on a railroad yard at Phu Ly south of Hanoi. Approaching the target, his aircraft was targeted by SAMs. Although he successfully evaded two missiles, a third struck his aircraft as he descended through 5,000 feet. He ejected landing 16 miles from Hanoi. After spending fifteen hours on the ground, most of it in the vicinity of a 37mm gun emplacement, he was rescued by an HS-2 Sea King from USS Hornet.

July 18th: Combat loss; VA-164, 2 A4Es lost, one pilot rescued, one pilot died in captivity- 18 July was a bad day for VA-164 as they struck the bridge at Co Trai. Before reaching the bridge, the section leader LCDR Dick Hartman and his wingman, Ltjg Larry Duthie evaded several SAMs that drove them to lower altitudes. Before they could climb to safer altitude, Dick Hartman was hit by 37mm AAA. With his aircraft on fire, he ejected at 1,000 feet. Because of the successful rescue of the F8E pilot the day before in the same area, a SAR (Search and Rescue) mission was organized while Hartman's wingman, Larry Duthie attempted to orbit over Hartman's position.
Next, Duthie was hit by the same 37mm battery. He headed for the Gulf of Tonkin with his aircraft on fire. Next, both his hydraulic systems failed. However Duthie continued to fly his aircraft as the engine was working and he was able to control the aircraft using trim. He continued for about 12 miles until his Skyhawk became uncontrollable. Duthie ejected near Nam Dinh in a region known as the hour glass (due to the near merge point of two main rivers in Route Pack 6B). Nam Dinh is a small populated area about 45 miles southeast of Hanoi (about 15 miles from Hartman's position.
The North Vietnamese were ready for a rescue attempt for Duthie from the east by Navy assets. As a result, this attempt was aborted due to heavy ground fire. Several helicopters and their fixed wing escorts were damaged. However, the North Vietnamese did not anticipate a second rescue effort from the west. Duthie was eventually rescued by an HH-3 "Jolly Green" helicopter from Detachment 1, 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (AARS) which was flown from a small "secret" CIA airfield in Laos. On their flight back to Laos, they flew close to Hartman's position. After getting some fuel and fixing up a few holes in their helo they took off to attempt a rescue of Hartman. The weather was good and they knew the position of Hartman. When the AARS helo was closing in on Hartman's location, they asked the Admiral in charge of Yankee Station, call sign "Jehovah" for clearance into the area to make a rescue attempt. The "Admiral comment was, negative "The Navy takes care of it's own so they were forced to abandon the rescue.

This timely at the rescue attempt of Hartman the same day he was shot down had a good chance of success. Hartman was located in a karst ridge west of Ph Ly which was an ideal location for the pick up. The AARS helo command pilot was familiar with the area having recently flown near it. They had radio contact with Hartman on the ground. The North Vietnamese were not well organized yet to find Hartman or to defend the area. However the attempt was not permitted because some "Admiral" wanted the Navy to do the rescue. The decision by "Jehovah" ,CTF 70, to not permit the rescue attempt of Dick Hartman by the AARS helo from Laos the afternoon of July 18th cost Dick Harman his life!.

The Command Pilot of Jolly Green 37 received an Air Force Cross for the mission.

I am using the names of the pilots involved because not only Peter Fey provides the names but more Importantly both Mike "Mule" Mullane in his book DMF and Larry Duthie in his book "Return to Saigon" provide exceptional descriptions of the events July 18th and use the pilot's names.

July 19th: Combat loss; one A4E from VA-164 lost, pilot recovered, SH3 helo lost, 4 crew members KIA- On July 19th, SAR efforts for Dick Hartman resumed as 6 A1s from VA-152 escorted a Sh-3 Sea King helo toward Hartman's position.. The RESCAP was also escorted by A4E's from VA-164 (Note-their mission was most likely flak suppression but it could have been Iron Hand). One of the A4s was hit in the fuel tank which leaked enough fuel that the aircraft could not get back to Oriskany. (Note- was there no mission tanker to get him fuel). At any rate, he ejected 8 miles off shore and was recovered by a small boat from the SAR destroyer, USS Richard B. Anderson.

When the SH-3 helicopter arrived to rescue Hartman, it flew over AAA emplacements which had been deployed during the night. The SH-3 was shot down killing everyone aboard. Due to the loss of the helo and its crew, the rescue attempt was called off. The decision was made not to conduct any further attempts to rescue Dick Hartman; possibly by the same "Admiral"who prevented the rescue attempt of Hartman by the AARS helo from Laos on July 18th!

Hartman remained in radio contact throughout the events of July 18th and 19th and was able to evade capture until July 20th. He was either killed when he was captured or died in a POW camp later. His remains were returned in March 1974. The remains of the SH-3 helo crew were returned in 2012.

tanks in the wings and caused a partial loss of the hydraulic systems. He flew the aircraft to the Gulf of Tonkin and attempted to land on the USS Bon Homme Richard (not the Oriskany). He hit the deck too fast and hard enough to shear off the landing gear. The Crusader broke apart on impact, skipped the arresting gear wires, and plunged over the side of the ship. The pilot was found dead floating under the water in a partially deployed parachute.

USS Intrepid arrived back on Yankee Station on July 29th but did not conduct flight operations until July 23th due to the Forrestal fire.

The USS Forrestal (CV 59) Fire on July 29th, 1967

The Forrestal fire occurred sometime on July 29th. I think it was about noon or so. We were only a few miles from Forrestal when the accident happened. Captain McVey maneuvered Intrepid about a mile or so from the Forrestal to assist in any way possible.

This is what happened based on what I saw, watching the Navy flight deck video, and discussions with Dave Dollarhide who ejected from one of the A4s directly involved in the fire.

As the aircraft on the flight deck were conducting their prelaunch cycle, an F4B Phantom fighter on the starboard side aft of the island had a Zuni rocket fire across the deck; due to a radiation from one of the ship's radars or being overheated by a starting unit next to the aircraft. the Zuni rocket hit Dave Dollarhide's A4 aircraft which was on the port side of the ship and was fully fueled and loaded with bombs. Some of the aircraft had old non thermally coated bombs due to the shortage of MK 80 thermally coated bombs discussed previously. Dave manaded to escape from his burning aircraft before it was fully consumed by fuel fed fire and bomb explosions. Several of the other A4 pilots on the port side had to eject to svsid getting caught up in the rsging fire. Johh McCain's aircraft was nearby in the fire zone. But John decided to climb up and to the right of the cockpit and grab the inflight refueling probe and swing down to the deck and run away from the fire narrowly escaping serious injury. Initially the fires consisted of fuel fed fires. But, as flight deck fire fighters and supervisors approached the burning aircraft in an effort to put out the fires, the bombs began exploding killing and injuring many of them; 134 officers, chief petty officers, and sailors were killed and 164 were injured.

A destroyer from the Forrestal Battle group and a helo helping to fight the fire.

The Forrestal limped into port at Subic Bay after the fire. She returned to the states for repairs and made a Mediterranean deployment in 1968.

VA-15 was one of the squadrons in the air wing for that deployment.

Pilots from the Forrestal airwing were given the option to return to the states with the ship or cross deck to one of the other aircraft carriers on Yankee Station.

LCDR Ron Boyle chose to cross deck to the Intrepid and fly with us in VA-15

Our Second Line Period (July 30th - August 25th) (27 days)

There were four carriers assigned to Yankee Station during the summer of 1967:
The USS Constellation (CVA-64) which had F4Phanton fighters on board, The USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) which also had F4s, Both the F4 capable carriers were able to execute the MIGCAP/BARCAP missions. The USS Oriskany (CVA-34) and USS Intrepid (CVA-11) only had day VFR TARCAP and ESCORT mission F8C Crusaders. Usually three carriers were on station and the othe fourth was on a break at a liberty port.

The Intrepid was always on the day carrier schedule. Oriskany flew days and occasionally at night when either Constellation or the Coral Sea were off station. All three carriers on station flew the day schedule for major "flex deck" major Alpha" strikes to targets in Hanoi and Route Package 6B. The Intrepid,. Coral Sea, and Constellation airwings had similar tactics for approaching major strike targets. We believed in the effectiveness of our ECM equipent and chose to fly at 18,000 feet or so enroute to the target avoiding the 37mm and 57mm AAA non radar controlled barrage fire. The USS Oriskany Airwing 16 chose to fly lower enroute altitudes similar to their 1966 tactics.

USS Oriskany (CV 34)

The Oriskany lost 33 aircraft and 23 pilots and 2 crew members due to combat operations during their deployment using the medium altitude enroute tactics.

The Intrepid lost about half that many aircraft during our Yankee Station deployment using the higher altitude tactics.

Oriskany lost an additional 7 aircraft, 3 pilots and 4 crew members due to operational incidents; especially catapult related accidents.

Intrepid did not lose any aircraft or pilots due to operational incidents.

Oriskany loss rates from "Bloody Sixteen" Appendix 1

Intrepid's Second Line Period (July 30th - August 25th) 26 days

From my log book:

July 30th- I flew a regular cycle bombing mission and expended 4 MK 82s

July 31st- I flew a regular cycle road recce mission and expended 4 LAU 3 pods of 2.75 rockets

July 31st: Combat loss; one Oriskany F8C from VF-111, POW- CAG 16 was tasked with a major strike (Alpha Strike) against the North Vietnamese air defense headquarters in a place called Ngu Nghi about 5 miles southeast of Hanoi. The F8C Crusader pilot was either flying as an escort for an Iron Hand mission (according to Fey, "Bloody Sixteen" or as a TARCAP according to Mule in DMF). Whichever, he avoided one volley of SAMs and was climbing through 11,000 feet when his aircraft was hit by another SAM. With his plane on fire, he ejected and landed near Ngu Nghi. He captured and was returned by the North Vietnamese in March, 1973

August 1st: Two Spads from VA-152 (flown by Lt "Foxy" Wolfe and Ltjg Ray Bensen) flew a RESCAP mission east of Cat Ba Island (east of HaiPhong). They helped rescue Lt Dave "Thorny" Thornhill, a down A4C pilot from VA-15 from Intrepid by attacking North Vietnamese boats enroute to the scene. It turned out that Thorny and Foxy knew each other when "Foxy" was a pilot in VA-145 on Intrepid's 1966 Vietnam deployment.

August 1967

We had two VA-15 aircraft shot down during the second line period in August.

Dave Thornhill (Thorny) was Shot Down and Rescued on August 1st

The family of LCDR Keith Striickland donated a combat chartt o the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.

I used a portion of Keith's chart and provided the ingress/egress route lines, the texts of Hon Gai and Cat Ba Island and the "X" for the rescue position.

This is Thorny's Description of the Mission
(with some "word smithing" from me)

A4C Buno 147670; 4 Lau 3 (gun pods, 27 2.75 rockets each), 2 LAU 10s (four 5" rockets each) Target: Warehouses on the north side of Hon Gai
Strike Group: Strike Leader CDR Jim Snyder(VA-15) ; three A4 divisions (bombers); one from VA-15, one from VA-34, one from VSF-3, one section A4 Iron Hand from VA-15, one A4 section flak suppressors from VA-15 Note: Total 16 aircraft; 8 from VA-15, 4 from VA-34, 4 from VSF-3. There were no fighters in the strike group. But, there were F4 MIGCAP in the area under control of PIRAZ between strike group and Hanoi. Jerry Tuttle was the lead flak suppressor with Dave Thornhill as his wing man.

Note: Thorny recalls that Bob Hamel was Cdr Snyder's wingman in the lead bombing division (I have not been able to determine who the VA-15 pilots were in the second VA-15 bomber section). Dave Parsons was one of the Iron Hand pilots (I don't know who the other one was). There is some confusion here as the USS Intrepid's recommended rewards (discussed below) have Bob Hamel as a Iron Hand Section leader and LCDR Ed Gilreath (CAG 10 OPs) leading af our plave VA-34 flak suppressor division.

""We coasted in around Cam Pha then turned west. When north of Hon Gai, we turned south toward the target. There was no flak when we arrived so Tut and I wagon-wheeled around the target then rolled in after the third bomber division. Of course now the AAA started. We fired our rockets into the same warehouses and jettisoned the empty pods as we pulled off the target.

I (Thorny) was tail end charlie. As we egressed jinking, we were near the VSF-3 division and there was plenty of flak. I felt a big thud as a 57mm hit me and transmitted to Tut that I've been hit and have a Fire Warning Light. My O2 was super hot so I knocked my mask away and turned off the O2 switch. I pulled the Emergengy Jettison handle to get rid of my C/L (centerline fuel tank) and two TERs. I don't think the jettison worked as my airspeed never got over 350 knots.

"I had long before decided that if the aircraft was flying, I wasn't going to eject over land even if it was on fire!"

Tut had maneuvered over to me to take a position aside and behind me as I took the shortest course to the nearby coast. There was a lot of karst in the water and I wanted to get beyond that. Tut said, "Thorny, you think about getting out." I knew I needed to but wanted to get passed that karst. Then, I lost my flight controls- my stick no longer worked.The longitudinal trim still worked and I could keep my wings level with the rudder pedals. So, I did not try to disconnect to manual since what I had was enough and the manual might have been damaged anyway.

Next, Tut told me that pieces were falling off my aircraft and then in an authoritive voice said, "THORNY EJECT!"

I put my O2 mask back on and pulled the face curtain (primary ejection handle which extended over the pilot's face). I was at 4,000 feet altitude and 350 kts airspeed. As I ejected, I had to keep my elbows in to keep my arms from flailing. As I separated from my ejection seat, I could see my aircraft.

"The trailing flames were more than two times more than the length of my aircraft!"

When the chute opened it was one heck of a jolt. I was somewhat stunned but then back to reality as I could see AAA racers as they I was east of the southern half of Cat Ba Island where the AAA was coming from. I wished I had ejected lower. I had to pull on the risers and manner to avoid smacking into the side of a high karst rock. I landed in water surrounded by karst rock "islets".

The water was warm and clear.

Fortunately, Tut kept me in sight and had the SAR (Search and Rescue) forces on the way. Two A1 Spads showed up and sank two boats that were after me. (See Note) When the helo was near, I was told to pop a smoke and did so. The helo sped in with machine guns blazing from both sides and dumping fuel. It flared to slow down as a man jumped out wearing fins and a mask. The the helo sped away to circle back. Once back, I quickly got into the sling, the swimmer snapped us on to the cable, and the helo sped off as it reeled us in with its machine guns still blazing. The crew of the helo gave Thorny two miniatures of brandy enroute to the USS Fox DLG-33, a Belknap Class guided missile destroyer. The crew from Fox's HC-1 detachment were; Lt Andrew Curtin, Lt Jaque Melling, At2 Michael Rigby, and AME3 Richard Haus.

Notes:
The Spads were from VA-152 on the Oriskany. The flight lead was Lt "Foxy" Wolf who Thorny knew from our '66 cruise when "Foxy"was with VA-165. "Foxy" was also our Engines ground school instructor in Pensacola when we went through Pre-Flight. Thorny met the Spad wing man. Ltjg Ray Benson after the cruise in Jacksonville through mutual friends in VA-176 (one of the Spad squadrons on our '66 cruise) but had no idea Ray had been the other VA-152 Spad pilot from Oriskany. Later Thorny was an instructor pilot with VA-43 at NAS Oceana and Ray was transitioning to the A6 Intruder. They shared a Virginia Beach apartment and during a conversation one evening the two learned that Ray had been flying the other Spad from VA-152 when Thorny was saved from being captured or killed.

It turns ouy that the helo pilot (Andrew Curtin) who picked up Thorny was a Naval Academy class mate of of Tony Isger. I have emailed that helo pilot asklng him him to give me any details of the pick up sch as verifying the location of the pick up.

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) Recommended Awards that I know of for this mission:

DFC- LCDR Tuttle as a section leader in the flak suppression element and as SAR On-Scene Commader. His wingman (LT Thornhill) was hit upon pull off from an effective rocket attack. LCDR Tuttle eascorted his wingman's heavily damaged aircraft enroute to a safe ejection area while alerting SAR forces and advising his wingman concerning possible courses of action. Upon crossing the coastline, LCDR Tuttle directed the rescue effort as On-Scene Commander, agressively attacking enemy AAA emplacements, coordinating forces, and by
initiating low passes drawing enemy fire duiring the rescue.

DFC- LT Dave Thornhill- For his exceptional performance throughout the conduict of the mission including an effective attack on the target, outstanding professional performance as a combat pilot flying his badly damaged burning aircraft to a position at the coastline for an attempted rescue, and courageous conduct throuhout the miasion and rescue.

Air Medal- Lt Bob Hamel as an Iron Hand section leader was acting as a SAM shield between the strike group and the threat sectors of at least seven SAM sites in an effort to draw their fire. Noting two lifting missiles, he issued a warning to the strike group while attacking the SAM site. As the strike group departed the target, Lt Hamel positioned his section between the damaged aircraft and the SAM threat. Despite having expennded his available weapons duiring the SAM site attack, Lt Hamel remained in the rescue arera making simulated rocket attacks against enemy AAA positions in the area drawing their fire.

Air Medal- LCDR Ed Gilreath: CVW-10 Operations Officer flying a VA-34 A4C aircraft; As leader of the four plane VA-34 flak supression group for outsanding peformance in the target area and active participation in the rescue effort.

Thorny was transferred from the Fox back to the Intrepid after a shower and his flight suit was cleaned.


Thorny arrives on the HC-1 det helo from USS Fox	The USS Fox added their ship's patch after cleaning and drying Thorny's flight suit. Bob Hamel is to the right	Bob Cole is pictured above Thorny's right shoulder; Ron Gibson over his left. The squadron CO, Kelly Car is facing Thorny.

Thorny is super happy to be back aboard Intrepid !
Left to right: Bob Cole, Thorny, me, Keith Strickland. Pete Schoeffel is over my left shoulder.
Photo is copied from Intrepid's 1967 Cruise Book

This is one of my favorite pictures while we were on Yankee Station.
For my family: note that I do not have a mustache. Apparently, I didn't start growing it until about September, 1967.

Ron Gerard was shot down and rescued in August. I'm not sure about the date but here is his story:

This combat chart is from the collection of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and is a gift from the family of
LCDR Keith Strickland

This combat chart shows the area east of Ninh Binh in Route Package 6B. Ninh Binh is well defended by a SAM Site at the town and a few AAA sites (like #73) between NInh Binh and the coast.

I'm not sure if this is the area where Ron Gerard's aircraft was hit but it will do as an example for now. Ron's aircraft was hit by 37mm or 57mm while conducting road reconnaissance to the southeast of Ninh Binh. The AAA hit the aircraft in the nose blowing it off the aircraft. The radio which was located in the nose was blown away. The only thing between Ron and the wind was a piece of armor plating which saved his life. The aircraft also suffered a hydraulic failure resulting in reduced hydraulic pressure to operate the landing gear and flight controls.

Ron's section leader advised the ship that Ron had no radio and that his aircraft was damaged and that he would be making a straight in approach to the ship. The flight lead did not know that Ron had limited hydraulics. Ron used a back up compressed air system to blow the landing gear down. For some reason the LSO did not know that Ron's aircraft was damaged. Ron's aircraft was trailing light brown smoke which wasn't typical of an A4C. It was typical of the A4Es on the other carriers on Yankee Station.

The LSO thought that Ron''s aircraft was an A4E from another carrier making a pass on the wrong ship so waved him off. Ron did not have enough manual flight control to execute a turn to the down wind leg so he ejected as he went past the LSO platform. (Wave me off will ya. I'll show you!) Ron landed in the water abeam the ship and was picked up by the Plane Guard Destroyer and returned to the ship by helo (The Angel).

Ron Gerard wet but back on deck.
Bob Cheyne in his red flight deck shirt is over Ron's right shoulder.

From My Log book:

August 1st- I flew a regular cycle mission and expended one pod of LAU 3 2.75 rockets

August 1st- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an Individual Air Medal as either the strike or bomber division leader for a strike

August 2nd- I flew a short cycle mission to Cam Pha and expended two pods of LAU 3 2.75 rockets
August 3rd- I flew two missions on August 3rd:

In my first mission, I flew a regular cycle mission but did not expend any ordnance. I logged over an hour of actual instrument time. I suspect that this mission was a weather reconnaissance flight. When we had bad weather, one of the Yankee Station commanders CTF-70 or CTF-77 would order a section of aircraft to check out the enroute weather to the North Vietnam coastline and radio back a weather report.

See A Weather Recce Sea Story below

My second missison was a regular cycle mission. I expended 4 Mk 82s

A Weather Recce Sea Story

This as good a time as ever to tell a sea story about such a weather recce that I remember flying. The weather was terrible and there was no chance that we were going to fly any missions over the beach. I think the North Vietnamese knew that also. I think my wingman on this particular flight was Bob Hamel but Dick Nolte claims he was my wingman on the flight. All I know is, whoever it was, he was the typical VALion outstanding wingman.

I worked us below the overcast, only about 500 feet above the water and got sight of land at the mouth of the Red River. I didn't hear any Barlock acquisition radar as we coasted inland. I figured that the AAA and SAM sites would stand down in the bad weather. I made a gradual left turn over some rice paddies to the southwest at about 450 kts about a little distance from the coast inland.

I saw some workers in the paddies and I thought they actually waved at us (I doubt it but perhaps they were shooting at us!). Next, I made a turn back to the south feet wet off shore east of Than Hoa and then flew just off the shoreline at Tinh Gia and just to the west of the Hon Me Island.

Then I saw that there was a high point of land a very short distance from us extending into the clouds (Cape Falaise). I had no choice but to initiate a hard left rate of turn to about 60 degrees angle of bank and about 3Gs or so. Bob (or Dick) was on my left wing so the turn was into him. He tucked in to a perfect cruise wing position. I could see his eyes trained on me as his wing tip was about 100 ft above the water. I remember thinking that only in a squadron that had this much experience could I have no doubt that he could safely fly such a perfect wing position under these circumstances.

Reporters

Occasionally, the Navy would allow reporters onboard to interview pilots. It was not one of our favorite things to do. It usually would occur on a stand down day when we would prefer to be relaxing, not subjected to the questions of reporters. Most of them were well meaning and their stories were intended for local newspapers featuring pilots from a particular local area. They often contained factual errors but basically accomplished the Navy's "pubic affairs" mission.

he two articles I have included below are examples.

However, there were other reporters; usually from big newspapers or national magazines, whose mission was to get a "hot story" which involved political issues. They refused to understand that the great majority of the pilots flying missions over North Vietnam were simply "doing our jobs" flying the flight schedule. These types of reporters were not interested in that. They wanted a "big story" with their byline. They worked very hard incessantly asking questions to try to get us to express an anti-war narrative. I was not interested in talking to this type of reporter. Some of us took a more aggressive attitude. I remember Moon Moreau threatening to throw a particularly offensive French female magazine reporter over the side if she didn't leave the 2nd deck officers mess.

Two Newspaper Articles

This reporter did OK until he reported that I would roll in at 40,000 feet and pulled out at 500 feet. Our normal roll in altitude in 1967 was between 15,000 to 18,000 feet. We normally pulled out by 4,000 feet

It was frustrating bombing little bridge targets which the North Vietnamese simply built temporary floating pontoon bridges that they kept hidden alongside the bank in the day and then floated across the canal or small river at night. They didn't need strong bridges as most of their supplies were carried by individuals on bicycles or in ox carts.

A Story about how the warm humid summer weather on Yankee Station affected life on the Intrepid

This reminds me about another interesting aspect about flying on Yankee Station in the summer. It was hot. It was humid. The water in the Tonkin Gulf was very warm, about 87 degrees or so. The Intrepid did not have air conditioning. So, the coolest you could get the ship was about 87 degrees. The Captain did his best to drive the ship into any rain squalls that were around the ship as planes were being respotted between cycles so that the rain and a little bit of wind might cool the ship down a bit. He got very good at having the ship break out of the weather just in time for the launch and
recovery of aircraft.

Still, we had to learn how to sleep under these conditions. We were tired but our staterooms were hot and humid. So, we learned to get into a shower briefly (so to speak) in our skivvies (whitey tightees and a T shirt) to get wet and then get into our bunk with a small fan evaporating the water. The evaporation of water cools the surface of the skin. It worked.

But, some very strange organisms decided to grow in areas of our bodies we preferred they not grow. Possum had written Sarah about our problem. One day, a case of House of Fuller foot spray (about 90% alcohol) arrived in the mail. Imagine this scene. The person with unacceptable growth of organisms in body creases would get naked and lean over holding himself steady against a bunk with one hand and grabbing his private parts with the other. His shipmate would spray the affected area. I think you could hear the screams from a few decks away. But, it worked!

A great source of information about the life of a A4 Skyhawk pilot aboard Intrepid during the 1967 deployment from the prospective of a junior officer is this book:

"Tripple Sticks" by Bernard Fipp

Bernie was a pilot in VA-34 in our sister A4 squadron, VA-34.

His tale recounts such details as life in a junior officer bunk room and attempts to cool their living space in the warm and muggy conditions of the summer in the Gulf of Tonkin among other subjects.

From My August Flight Log Book

August 4th- More bad weather. I flew a night flight under Mk 24 parachute flares and expended 2 Mk 82s and 1 Mk 81

August 4th: Combat loss; A4E from VA-163, pilot KIA- The pilot was shot down while attacking a POL storage site at Luc Nong. His flight was attacked by a SAM site 8 miles northwest of Haiphong. The site launched a volley of 4 missiles.His aircraft was hit at about 10,500 feet. Remnants of his aircraft were observed falling in a large ball of fire before crashing. No one in his flight saw a parachute and no emergency beeper or voice communications were received. Between 1998 and 2004, joint US and Vietnamese teams conducted investigations and surveyed the crash site. The remains of an unknown pilot were exhumed from the local cemetery and a positive identification was finally made in 2008.

August 7th- Oriskany ends her first line period and headed for Subic Bay/ Cubi for some liberty

From my log book:

August 5th-   Another night flight. I did not expend any ordnance and flew an actual instrument night approach and trap
August 7th- I flew a regular cycle mission and expended 4 MK 82s and 50 rounds of 20mm. It must have been a RESCAP situation.
                    (My 140th mission)
August 8th- I flew two regular cycle combat missions. No mission details.
August 9th- I flew a bomber mission and expended 6 Mk 82s

August 10th- It was an interesting day. There were several major strikes to Hai Duong from all three carriers that day. I flew two missions.

I was a bomber on a major strike to Hai Duong on my first mission early in the day.

On my second mission, I expended 8 Zuni rockets (2 LAU 10 pods worth) and 50 rounds of 20mm flying an Iron Hand mission with Possum.
It must have started as an Iron Hand mission but turned into a RESCAP mission What wasn't debriefed in CVIC at the end of the flight was that only 7 of those rockets were fired at the target.

I fired the 8th towards Possum early in the flight. I was flying in combat cruise switching sides during some extreme maneuvering when I
inadvertently fired a single Zuni. It went harmlessly below and behind Possum and he never saw it. There was plenty of action going on at the time. I didn't tell him about it until several nights later when we were sharing some Johhy Walker Black in his stateroom.

August 11th- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an Navy Commendation Medal (NCM) for a strike on this date.

August 12th was a busy day in Route Pack 6B

I flew two missions on August 12th.

The first was an Iron Hand mission in support of a major strike to Phy Ly. I expended four 5" Zuni rockets.

This combat chart shows the strike groups' area of ingress over the Red River over SAM site #35 at Nam Dinh and on to the northwest to Phu Ly where SAM site #88 is located. There were two important targets at Phu Ly; a railroad yard and the railroad bridge over the tributary of the Red River which flows to the northeast. Phu Ly is well defended by SAMs located at Nam DInh enroute (Site #35) as well as a radar controlled 85mm AAA site (# 174) northwest of Nam Dinh and a SAM Site at the target (Site #88). Phu Ly is also within the normal range of the MIG threat. Hanoi is located a short distance to the northwest from Phy Ly. So, significant Iron Hand, BARCAP, and TARCAP support were required for strikes at Phu Ly.

This combat chart is from the collection of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and is a
gift from the family of LCDR Keith Strickland (I have highlighted key areas)

My second mission on August 12th was an Iron Hand mission in support of a major strike to Haiphong.

I expect that we had three Iron Hand sections assigned to that strike; one to the west of Haiphong at site #99.

My section's assignment was to eliminate the SAM threat from sites #137 and #228 to the southeast of Haiphong.

I expended one AGM 45 Shrike on that mission. It was on that strike that I observed an SA 2 launch from one of the sites but it was command detonated over the site when I fired my Shrike "down the throat". It was exhilerating to watch that Guideline missile explode raining debris over the missile site below.

The third section was probably assigned to the south of Haiphong at site #389.

This combat chart is from the collection of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and is a gift from the family of LCDR Keith Strickland

August 10th- Ltjg "Dixie" Culler participated in an air wing strike against the Kien An airfield southwest of Haiphong. Despite heavy AAA, Dixie "maitained a flawless wing position and expended his ordnance wuth devastating effect on a complex of storage buildings". Dixie was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal (NAM) for this mision.

August 12th- LCDR "Possum " Terrell received a DFC for a mission he flew as the leader of a 6 plane Iron Hand group supporting a major strike against the Kien An airfield southwest of Haiphong. During the strike, he positioned his aircraft for an attack on one of the SAM sites and fired his Shrike missile which was observed to impact in the vicinity of the site silencing it.

On August 12th, LCDR "Tooter" Teague, the VF-111 Sundowner Detachment OIC was shot down while flying his F8 Crusader on a TARCAP mission.

I received an email from Michael Bell providing the following details of mission which he found on the "Vietnam Air Losses Search' website. I have summarized this "official version" of the flight:

Tooter Teague's F8 Crusader section was flying TARCAP for a strike on a road bridge at Ke Sat about 15 miles southeast of Hanoi. He took evasive action when his section was engaged by a SAM battery. While executing a high G turn to avoid the SAM, his aircraft (Old Nick 117) took a hit probably by AAA fire. His aircraft flew normally for a few minutes but then the hydraulics and flight control systems started to fail. He headed east toward the coast. He lost control of the aircraft and ejected just off the coast about 15 miles southeast of Haiphong. He was rescued by a helicopter while under fire from North Vietnamese coastal defenses.

His wingman, Ltjg Rick Wenzel provided these additional comments:

"We shadowed the strike group to the target and then moved north of them as MIGs were reported north of the target. While we were on the lookout for MIGs, we were kept busy dodging SAMs and the constant and distracting black flack bursts floating between us. No joy on the MIGs. When the bombers retreated back to the ship, we turned to follow them.

On the way out, Tooter started into a strafing run on Vietnamese patrol boats he located at the mouth of the river. I switched to his left side in our standard Navy fighting position and began firing my cannons with him at the target. While in our strafing run, he started streaming smoke from his aft fuselage. I reported that he was hit, and I followed him as he pulled up in a climbing left turn toward the sea. The smoke was rapidly increasing, so he shut down the engine and attempted a relight.

As he did so, flames erupted and completely engulfed the aft fuselage. I called out the fire, and he ejected. As he floated toward the water, some North Vietnamese boats started toward us from the river. They quickly retreated after seeing the helo and its escorts. As his chute collapsed when he hit the water, the helo passed over him and dropped a swimmer in the water next to him. Once I knew he was safe, I headed back to the ship."

The "rest of the story", also related verbatim by Ltjg Wensel:

"I was called on the 1-MC as I arrived in the ready room and was ordered to come to the air combat center. When I opened the door, everyone turned to look at me. I was a very junior pilot, and this was my first cruise, so I was a little flummoxed when greeted by the Admiral, the Captain, the CAG, and other officers staring at me. I wasn't sure what to say when asked JUST WHERE WERE YOU when Tooter got shot down. We were not where we were supposed to be, probably not authorized for a strafing mission, so I wasn't quite sure what to say; I hesitated, and using both hands, I just blurted out, 'Sir, I was right where I was supposed to be, about 1,500 abeam of Tooter in combat position'.

There was total silence in the room, and they just looked at me. Dismissed. I left the room. I was told later hat after I left the room, everyone laughed. It became a favorite joke the rest of the cruise."

USAF Strike on the Paul Doumer Bridge in Hanoi on August 12th, 1967

The Johnson administration began approving Alpha Strikes against some major targets in the Hanoi and Haiphong areas.

On August 12th the Air Force flew a major strike against the Paul Doumer Bridge in Hanoi. F-105 Wild Weasel Iron Hand aircraft attacked SAM sites and about twenty F-105 strike aircraft attacked the bridge.

There were five Air Force Crosses awarded to pilots in the Doumer Bridge mission.One for the Wild Weasel flight leader and four for the strike division leaders.

One of the division strike leaders to get the Air Force Cross was Col. Harry Schurr who was the Commander of my squadron, the 4591 Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS) during my Air Force Exchange tour flying the F105 Thunderchief in 1968-1970.

From my log book:

August 13th- I flew one regular cycle mission on August 13th and expended 4 MK 82s

August 15th- I flew two missions on August 15th:
The first mission was a regular cycle mission. I fired a MK 4 gun pod on that flight. (It was my 150th mission)
The second mission was a short cycle mission on which I expended 4 Mk 82 bombs
August 16th- I flew a regular cycle mission and expended 4 Mk 82 bombs
August 17th- I flew a regular cycle mission and expended 4 MK 82s and 2 Mk 81s.

Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA)

The strike leader gives a debrief in CVIC immediately after landing which includes what damage he thinks we did on the target; reports like 100% bombs on target". But how do we know for sure that the target has been destroyed and we don't have to go back and hit it again. There were various photographic collectors outside the ship that provided such information but usually too long after the fact to be useful in the short term. If the target is important enough and near real time feedback is desired, an airwing RF8 will fly a BDA flight immediately after the strike. The film is developed and then evaluated by the photo interpreters in CVIC. In this case, the center span of the bridge is confirmed to be broken and the bridge is out of service for now.

VFP-63 RF8

A photo interpreter at work

Barracks Before the Strike

Barracks After the Strike

My brief R&R (Rest and Recreation) at Chu Lai on August 18th, 1967:

My mission on August 18th was an interesting one. After flying my mission, I returned to the ship and entered the break for a normal recovery. But as I initiated my turn from the 180 position opposite the LSO platform on the port aft end of the flight deck, I noticed that my elevator trim would not increase with my decrease in air speed. I had to hold a lot of back pressure to keep the nose at the correct attitude. I notified the Air Boss in the tower (Pri Fly) about my problem and after consultation with our ready room, they decided to bingo me to the Marine Corps base at Chu Lai. It turned out that if I should bolter on my pass that I would not be able to rotate the aircraft and would have to eject resulting in the loss of the aircraft. I needed fuel for the bingo so I found a tanker and got some fuel before leaving the area of the ship.

Chu Lai was located in I Corps in South Vietmam just south of Da Nang and Hue.

The Marines flew A4 Skyhawks there so they had the
maintenance capability to resolve the problem.

I flew to Chu Lai and landed without incident. I talked to the maintenance guys there and it turned out that they had only A4Es and did not have the part for an A4C. I asked them if they could use the A4E part to set the trim to just below landing trim (about 6 degrees nose up) and then disconnect the trim. That way I could fly the plane dirty (gear and flaps down) to the boat at 150 kts or so and then land. The aircraft trim of 6 degrees of nose up would allow me to comfortable fly the aircraft to the ship at 150 kts. This would be a little under trimmed for landing which would allow me to ease the nose down in close if I needed to. They agreed to my plan but said they wouldn't have my plane ready until the morning. So, I checked into the BOQ and then went to the Officers Club to get something to eat. I discovered that I had arrived on steak night. So, I had steak and a fresh salad with some beer. That was my brief R&R.

I did have a pleasant surprise though. Remember that Marine who drove with me after we got our wings in February, 1965 from Kingsville, Texas to Memphis for Maintenance Officers training? (see Chapter Three) Well, he was there at the Officer's Club in Chu Lai. He was there for his Vietnam tour. He spent the first part of his tour flying Skyhawks in support of ground operations. He was now in the second portion of his tour, being a ground FAC (Forward Air Controller) with Marines in the field. He was taking a break enjoying steak night also. What a coincidence!

I got up early (August 19th) and flew with the landing gear and flaps partially down (dirty) to the ship and landed with full flaps with no problem at the end of the second cycle time. Our maintenance guys replaced the A4E part with an A4C one and the plane was as good as new.

Oriskany's 2nd Line Period- August 18th to September 15th (29 days)

From my log book:

August 19th- I flew a second mission and expended 6 Mk 81s (This mission qualified me for my 14th Strike Flight Air Medal)

August 19th- Ltjg Keith Strickland flew a mission as the division leader's wing man to the Hong Giap military headquarters and barracks area complex fourteen miles southeast of Nam Dinh. Despite haevy AAA fire in the target area, he delivered his ordnance direcly on his assigned target destroying two buildings and setting fire to a third. He was awarded an NCM for this mision.

August 21st- I flew a regular cycle flight to a place called Port Wallut near Cam Pha northeast of Haiphong.

Port Wallut is well northeast of Haiphong on the east side of the Cam Pha peninsula.

I expended a pod of Zuni rockets on the regular cycle flight (1.5 hours).

I suppose the target might have been a boat or two in the Port Wallut harbor area.

August 21st- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an Navy Commendation Medal (NCM) for a strike on this date.

August 21st- Ltjg Dave "Dixie" Culler was an Iron Hand section leader for a coordinated airwing strike against the Van Dien Army Supply Depot faciiies located four miles south of Hanoi. "Deliberately placing his section as a decoy for the main striking force, LTjg Culler unselfishly exposed himself to the initial onslaught of enemy anti-aircraft fire and fourteen missiles"...." While evading three missiles that were tracking his section, Ltjg Culler observed three other missiles being launched at the strike force".... "Ltjg Culler positioned positioned himself for an attack on the firing site. Seconds later, Ltjg Culler's ordnance wwas observed destroying the radar van in the center of the surface-to-air missslile site and the three airborne missiles fell back to earth clear of the strike force". "Dixie" was awarded a DFC for this mission.

USS Oriskany Strike on the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant on August 21st, 1967

A major strike was flown by CAG 16 from the Oriskany. It was a six plane strike strike by VA-163 against the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant on August 21st, 1967. The planners determined that they needed a Walleye direct hit on four aim points in order to knock out the power plant. Figuring that someone might miss or was unable to reach the target, took six pilots {A4E Skyhawks)". The VA-163 Commanding Officer, Bryan Compton lead the strike with future four star Admiral Jim Bussy, Cramer, LCDR Jerry Breast, Vance Schufeldt, and Ltjg Fritz Schroeder. Each pilot had a different location on the main generator remembers Bussy. Two were hit on the way in to the target area. .... Five Walleyes were fired and five bulls-eyes resulted, three striking the generator Hall and two the boiler house.... Official accounts of the strike report Bussy's aircraft had more than 125 holes.... and was on fire. Cramer, who never made it to the target made it back to the ship on fire and with an assortment of aircraft damage. ("Alpha Strike Vietnam" ,pages 207, 208).

Silver Star

Navy Cross

VA-163's Commanding Officer and future Rear Admiral, Bryan Compton, received a Navy Cross. Jim Bussy and future four star Admiral was put in for a Silver Star which was upgraded to a Navy Cross. LCDR Jerry Breast who was the Walleye expert and future two star Admiral received a Silver Star". I wonder what medals were awarded to the other two pilots who had direct hits?

This was another Alpha Strike which was part of the Rolling Thunder 57 strategy. In this case, lifting the restrictions on Hanoi with a major strike on a military target downtown Hanoi. The strike was executed masterfully without the loss of an aircraft.

From my log book:

August 22nd- I flew a mission to the Nam Dinh area and expended one LAU 3 pod of 27 2.75 rockets. It was probably a road recce flight.

August 24th- I went back to Port Wallut. This time though the ordnance was 2 MK 83 1000 # bombs.

Apparently, one of the photo interpreters must have discovered a hard target (a high priorty target qualifying for MK 83 1000# bombs)

It was my last mission of the Second Line Period and my 160th mission.

I don't remember what the target was that justified the Mk 83 1000# bombs.

"Rig the Barricade" - "This is Not a Drill"

Every once in awhile after the last aircraft has landed in a recovery, the Air Boss will call out to the flight deck crew to "Rig the barricade".

The crew responds in a clockwork like performance to see if they can rig it properly in a faster time than during the last drill.

After the barricade is rigged, the Air Boss will make a call like "Great job, bravo zulu 1 minute and 57 seconds". Or perhaps, "Airman Jones, what were you thinking of when you ....."

However, occasionally, it is not a drill. Like one day when VSF-3 aircraft 110 could not not lower any of his landing gear. Perhaps he had a complete hydraulic failure and the back up system didn't work. If he had been able to get only one main landing gear down, the Air Boss would have directed him to eject alongside of the ship because it was too dangerous to try to make a trap or to use the barricade. But, in this case, with no gear at all, it was safe to use the barricade. When using the barricade, the pilot made a normal carrier approach only instead of getting a wire, the aircraft is brought to a stop with the barricade. The only difference is that you cannot wave off in close because being snagged by the top of the barricade could be disastrous.

VSF-3 aircraft 110 making a gear up approach to a barricade landing.

A barricade landing normally causes relatively little aircraft damage. In this case, the centerline drop tank and both TERs have impacted the deck. The airframe damage to the leading edge of the tail and wings is usually repairable in a couple of days.

Jerry Tuttle Makes a Statement about VA-15's Maintenance Prowess and Combat Readiness

Again, I'm not sure on what date this event took place. But, it is most likely that it occurred a few days prior to our Cubi/Hong Kong port visit at the end of our Second Line Period. The scene; the airwing was scheduled for a major strike sometime after noon. Every weapons capable/"up" aircraft that wasn't blocked in the hangar bay would participate in the mission. VA-15 was scheduled to fly 12 of the 14 aircraft aboard.

The first thing Jerry Tuttle did was to make sure that none of our aircraft were blocked in the hangar bay. Next, he made sure that we had our 13th aircraft was ready to be launched as a mission spare in case either VA-34 or VSF-3 had an aircraft that went "down on deck" (developed a maintenance problem that precluded it from going on the strike) and didn't have a spare on deck to take it's place. Then in a show of confidence in our maintenance folks, he arranged for our 14th aircraft to be launched to Cubi for "corrosion control" earlier in the day before the big strike.

Sure enough, during the pre launch sequence, either VA-34 or VSF-3 had an airfcraft go down prior to launch and they didn't have a go spare available. So, our spare was a go bird and was launched along with all our 12 scheduled aircraft on the strike. That meant we had all 14 of our aircraft off the ship at the same time. As soon as the last strike aircraft was launched and the flight deck was clear, our Maintenance Control Officer, Lt Morris E. Shepard, brought a folding "beach type" chair out on the flight deck along with a newspaper. The crowd went wild! Every member of the VA-15 Maintenance Department "beamed" with pride. Jerry Tuttle had made a statement about our high level of maintenance prowess and combat readiness.

I remembered this and when I was CO of VA-15 in 1978 on an ORE (Operational Readiness Evaluation), I followed Jerry Tuttle's lead and had all our A7Es launched on the final big strike mission. The Commanding Officer of the USS America (CV-66) got on the mike from the ship's bridge and using the the shipwide communication system (1MC) announced that VA-15 had just launched every one of it's aircraft on the final strike of the ORE. The morale of our maintenance troops rose accordingly with pride in their accomplishment.

August 28th to September 14th- Intrepid's Second Port Visit (Cubi Point/Hong Kong)

August 27th- I flew off the ship from the Tonkin Gulf in A4C 148446 to NAS Cubi Point (2.2 hours). The other airwaing aircraft may have flown off to Cubi also.

Intrepid arrived at Cubi Point on August 28th or 29th for a day or so and then went to Hong Kong for about a week. Intrepid returned to Cubi Point for a day or so before leaving Cubi about September 13th before returning to the Tonkin Gulf about September 15th.

Political concerns didn't allow a ship to go directly from Yankee Station to Hong Kong for liberty. It was required that the carrier first go to Cubi for a day or two before going to Hong Kong.

This schedule gave Jerry Tuttle the opportunity to play a practical joke on Frog Wigent, the CO of VA-34

Because the ship was required to come into port at Cubi before going to Hong Kong, it provided the Maintenance Department the opportunity to leave a corrosion control detachment at Cubi Point while the Intrepid was in Hong Kong. So, Jerrry Tuttle decided to play a "practical joke" on VA-34. I don't know who he left behind to coordinate this "nefarious plan, but I suspect it might have been Shep. VA-34 only left a "skeleton crew" behind to provide security for their aircraft. As it turned out, their skeleton crew" was insufficient to provide adequate security. Perhaps their people were more focused on liberty in Olongapo than standing the required line security watches.

When the VA-34 security people "had their backs turned", our people drove an aircraft tractor up to one of their aircraft and towed it into our corrosion control hangar. They stripped the existing paint with the VA-34 markings, did whatever corrosion control was required, and repainted the aircraft with the VA-15 paint scheme with side number 313 (the numbers X08 and X13 were not traditionally used for some reason). When the work was complete, they towed the aircraft to the VA-15 line. When it was time to fly to the aircraft back to Intrepid for the Third Line Period, VA-15 flew 15 aircraft back to the ship. VA-34 sent 14 pilots to fly back to the ship but they were one aircraft short. The 14th pilot had to fly out to the ship on the COD.

Frog Wigent was more than upset. He was livid. He went to CAG Burrows and demanded that Jerry Tuttle be court marshaled. CAG through Frog out of his office saying that if Frog had better control of his aircraft, it would never have happened!!

I did not participate in the Hong Kong Port visit. Instead, I lead a section of squadron aircraft from Cubi Point to Atsugi via Kedena AFB in Okinawa. My wingman was Bob Hamel. His wife Lynn was able to fly to Tokyo meet Bob.

August 28th- Bob Hamel and I flew from Cubi Point to Kadena AFB, Naha, Okinawa (2.3 hours)

Map of Okinawa

Kadena AFB, Naha, Okinawa

August 28th- I made a phone call from Kadena AFB to Yokota AFB to arrange a meetup with Stephanie in Tokyo.
Then, Bob and I flew from Kadena to the Japanese base at Atsugi (2.7 hours).

Map ofJapan

Atsugi Base

Upon landing at Atsugi, we turned the two aircraft in to Nippon Aircraft Company for repainting. I think I was selected for this responsibility because I was a qualified section leader and because Jerry Tuttle had confidence in me due to my experience as the Aircraft Division officer last cruise.

Bob and I checked in to the BOQ. I probably sure we went to the O'Club for a few beers and a steak and, most likely, got a haircut and a "hotsi bath"at the BOQ; possibly with Nancy again. Bob took the train to Tokyo to meet Lynn.

Atsugi BOQ

Hotsi Bath
The water was very hot!

Hotsi Baths always included a message
and a manicure if you wanted one.

After the short stop at Atsugi, I took train to Tokyo to meet up with Stephanie.

This time I stayed at her apartment

On some days, she had to work. So, I slept in and then took the subway to some shrine or other touristy location on my own and then met her at a restaurant after she finished work. We enjoyed both Japanese and western style restaurants and food.

On a couple of occasions we met up with Bob and Lynn Hamel. On one night, the four of us visited various clubs around Tokyo. We had a great time. Lynn recently told me how we would never have been able to do that without Stephanie as our guide. On another day, Stephanie took us on a guided tour of Tokyo including the American embassy. Of course, Bob and Lynn knew I was married; Stephanie did not!

Being with Stephanie was an opportunity to have a great time while relieving relieve the stress involved in combat flight operations.

One night, toward the end of this Tokyo visit, someone broke in to Stephanie's apartment and stole all my cash; I had (about $300). We discovered the break-in when she was getting up for work. After she left for work, I decided to report the break in to the building manager who spoke pretty good English. Stephanie was upset that I reported the theft but wouldn't say why. I'll reveal that a bit later. She gave me some cash get by on during my trip back to Atsugi and the ship.

I returned to Atsugi to meet up with Bob to pick up the newly repainted aircraft .

September 11th- We flew from Atsugi to Kadena (2.3 hours) and then from Kadena to Cubi Point (2.2 hours).

The ship left Cubi Point and returned to Yankee Station to begin our third line Period.

Oriskany Losses While we were in Hong Kong/Tokyo

August 31st; Combat losses; 2 A4Es from VA-163, both pilots POW; one A4E from VA-164, Pilot KIA- Oriskany launched 10 Skyhawks from VA-163 and VA-164 to bomb the railway bridge at Vat Cach about 13 miles southwest of Haiphong. The formation was engaged by an unknown SAM site. One of the SAMs exploded directly in front of one of the VA-163 sections. The force of the explosion blew the section leader out of his cockpit still strapped to his ejection seat. Though badly injured, he survived due to the automatic functions of the ejection seat which deployed his parachute. The explosion of the SAM destroyed the engine of the wingman's aircraft and he ejected as the aircraft was consumed by fire. Both pilots were captured and spent the rest of the war as POWs . They were released in March, 1973.

The same volley of SAMs also hit the VA-164 Skyhawks. The SAM that hit one of VA-164's aircraft came up nearly vertically and was not seen until the last moment. It detonated under the aircraft causing severe damage. Streaming fuel, the pilot turned toward the sea and jettisoned his external stores. Two miles off the coast, his aircraft began an uncontrolled right hand roll. As the plane rolled upright, he ejected. The pilot was seen hanging limply in his parachute, and after he entered the water he never resurfaced. Although a helicopter arrived at the scene, the pilot's body was entangled in the parachute lines and the North Vietnamese were firing at the helicopter. The rescue swimmer was forced to leave the 's body in the water.The pilot's remains were returned in February 1987.

September 8th: Operational Loss; One F8C from VF-111, Pilot recovered- The pilot was on a recce mission among the islands east of Haiphong when he suffered an electrical failure. Compounding the problem was that his emergency generator failed as well. The pilot decided to eject alongside of Oriskany due to the fact that he was unsure about the amount of fuel he had available and a flameout at the ramp would have disastrous consequences. He was recovered by Orikany's SAR helo.

September 10th: Operational loss; A4E from VA-163, Pilot recovered- The pilot was launching on a tanker mission when his engine failed during the catapult shot. He ejected safely and the aircraft crashed into the sea in front of the Oriskany. The pilot was recovered by Oriskany's SAR helo shortly after he entered the water.

September 11th: Operational loss; One F8E from VF-162, Pilot recovered- The pilot realized that he could not drop his bombs while on a recce mission in Route Package 4. Rather than risk a landing on Oriskany, he was divered to Da Nang located on the coast in the northern portion of South Vietnam. Due to navigational errors, he ejected because he ran out of fuel prior to reaching the base. The pilot was recovered.

Oriskany's Second Line Period ended September 15th

They would enjoy liberty in Sasebo, Japan

Intrepid's Third Line Period (September 16th - October 12th) (26 days)

We had three carriers on station during this time frame so that we could normal cyclic operations and have three carriers participate in Alpha Strikes to major Targets in Route 6B such as Hanoi, Phu Ly, Hai Duong, and Haiphong.

The North Vietnamese countered with expending their SAMs freely and sending their MIGs almost to the coast on occasion.

There were several engagements with MIGs including one which involved many MIGs and twelve A4s during one strike to the Hai Duong Railroad and Highway Bridge between Hanoi and Haiphong.

Our Third Line Period was Action Packed!

From my log book:

I flew 22 combat missions and 3 non combat missions during the third line period.

September 16th- Regular cycle, bombing mission, 4 MK 82s

September 17th - Regular cycle, bombing mision, 6 MK 81s
September 17th- Regular cycle, bombing mission

There were at least airwing strikes in the Haiphong area on Spetmber 18th using "flex deck"operations.

September 18th- I flew a mission as a an Iron Hand section leader expending 2 AGM-45 Shrikes on one of them.

September 18th- Ltjg Strickland- On the morning of September 18th, 1967, Ltjg Strickland was a member of a 23 plane strike group assigned to attack warehouses and a vital east/west rail line leading out of the center of Haiphong. He was the number four man in the first division of the bombers. As the strike group was crossing the coastline, Surface to Air missiles engaed the strike group. Ltjg Strickland's division was forced to take evasive manauvers to avoid a SAM coming directly at them. Due to the loss of altitude to about 1,500 feet during the evasive maneuvering, Ltjg Strickland's aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire shattering the canopy showering pieces of plexiglasss and steel throughout the cockpit. Disregarding the damage to his aircraft, he maintained flight integrity by flying his wing position toward the target area. His division managed to climb to 7,000 feet prior to rolling in on the target. Despite heavy enemy ground fire bracketing his aircraft, he delivered his ordnace directly on his assigned target. Only after crossing the coastline, did he inform his section leader about the damage to his aircraft. Ltjg Strickland managed to return his aircraft aboard USS Intrepid preventing the loss of an aircraft. He was awarded a DFC for this mission.

September 18th- I flew a second mission as an Iron Hand sectionleader expending one AGM-45 Shrike and 4 Zuni rockets (LAU 10)

September 18th-Lt Steve Smith was aasigned as section leader in a 16 plane strike against the railroad yard and support facilities in Haiphong. The strike group was required to conduct evasive maneuvering to avoid SAMs enroute the target. Three missiles passed above, below and behind Lt Smith's divison. The strike leader diverted Lt Smith's division to silence the missile site. Despite heavy AAA, they attacked the site destroying three lauchers and damaging support equipment.
Lt Smith was awarded a Navy Acievement Medal for this mission. YGTMSM. If the write up is even close to the truth, this sounds like an NCM or even an individual Air Medal to me.

Daring Rescue Attempt

Somewhere during our time on Yankee Station, a small special forces team arrived onboard Intrepid by helo one evening after our last recovery. The team consisted of a combination of American special forces and Montagnard tribesmen. They caused quite a stir on the mess decks when they had a meal before their operation. The team departed by helo during the dark and were inserted somewhere in the vicinity of Thanh Hoa. Their mission; to find and extract an Air Force F4 crew who had been shot down on a Thanh Hoa bridge strike. The team encounterd numerous North Vietnamese army personnel during their mission. There were many enemy soldiers KIA without any friendly casualties. Unfortunately, the were unable to find and rescue the F4 pilots. The team was extracted by helo and returned to the ship before sunrise.

The Montagnarg (AKA Degar, AKA People of the Mountain in French) are an indigenous people of the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

The Montagnards were well versed in the jungle environment (like the Negredo in the Phillipines). The Montagnards were trained by American special forces early in the war and were invaluable in our efforts against the Viet Cong and North Vietnam regulars. The Montagnards were especially helpful in the defeat of the North Vietnamese during the Tet Offensive in 1968.

Back to "Routine" Flight Operations

From my log book:

September 20th- Regular cycle, bombing mission, 4 MK82s (my 15th Strike Flight Air Medal)

September 21st- Short Cycle, Iron Hand mission, Haiphong, 1 AGM-45, 4 Zuni rockets (LAU 10).
I was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V for this mission.

September 21st- Ltjg Keith Strickland flew a mission as the section leader in the lead division of 4 stike aircraft on the Kien An highway bridge in the heavy defended area of Haiphong. Despite heavy AAA, he maintained flight integrity during evasive maneuvering to the target, he lead his section to the target releasing his ordnance directly on target. Post strike damage assessment revealed that two spans of thje bridge were destroyed and a third damaged. He was recommended for a DFC by USS Intrepid for this mission which was later downgraded later by higher authority.

September 26th- Short Cycle, Iron Hand Mission, Haiphong, 1 AGM-45 Shrike. I was awarded my 1st Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat V for this mission.

I believe this DFC may have been in recognition of several Iron Hand missions flown between September 18th and September 26th where I expended 5 AGM-45 Shrikes and numerous Zuni rockets from LAU 10 pods against North Vietnamese SAM sites in the highly defended Route Pack 6B area.

I consider it as a recognition that our SAM tactics were effective!

Note: I do not recall taking any hand held photos of SAM sites for Bomb Damage Assessment (I never carried a camera); nor do I think I conducted any straffing attacks on AAA sites after the strike group left the area as I would never do anything as unprofessional or as foolish as this!

We had a few days where we flew close air support missions for US Marines at Con Tien and other US military bases just south of the DMZ.

From my log book:

September 26th- a 2.0 combat mission (50 rnds 20mm) with landing at Da Nang Air Base, "I Corps" South Vietnam
September 26th (my third flight that day), a non combat flight from Da Nang back to Intrepid

September 26th- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an Navy Commendation Medal (NCM) for a strike on this date.

September 26h- Dave Parsons flew as a flak suppression section leader for a srike aganinst a target at Haiphong. He was awarded an NCM for that mission.

September 28th- a 1.3 combat mission from Intrepid landing at Da Nang (my 170th combat mission)
September 28th- a non combat mission from Da Nang landing at Da Nang
September 28th (my third flight that day)- a non combat flight from Da Nang landing back on the Intrepid

We saw lots of action during the two week period from September 29th through October 12th

Most of our missions were in Route Package 6B in the Haiphong to Hai Duong area

From my log book:

September 29th- a 1.3 combat mission
September 30th- a 1.8 regular cycle, probably a RESCAP mission or Close Air Support Mission to I Corps", 2 LAU 10 rocket pods, 2 LAU 3 2.75" rocket pods , 50 rnd 20mm

October 2nd- a 1.8 mission carrying 2 Mk Gun pods, probably a close air support mission for the Marines south of the DMZ

October 3rd- a short cycle (1.3) Iron Hand mission to the port of Hon Gai (well to the northeast of Haiphong). The Port of Hon Gai consisted of numerous kearst type islands.

Note: I would fly mine laying missions to Hon Gai as part of Operation Pocket Money during Linebacker One in the summer of 1972.

October 3rd- A major 26 plane strike against a railroad/highway bridge near Haiphong. The strike encounted at least nine SAMs and heavy AAA during the strike. One A4C aircraft from VF-3 was lost but the pilot was rescued.

October 3rd (my second mission)- I was an Iron Hand section leader mission in support of a 26 plane strike to Haiphong. I fired one 1 AGM-45 Shrike and 4 Zuni rockets (LAU 10) against either SAM or AAA sites. I was awarded an NCM for this mission.

October 3rd-Lt Dave Parsons also flew as an Iron Hand section leader for the same large strike near Haiphong. He also was awarded an NCM for that mission.

October 3rd- Lt Steve Smith was a bomber division wingman for this strike. Despite the nine SAMs and heavy AAA which targeted the strike group, he maintained an excellent combat wing position expending his bombs on target. After leaving the target, Steve's section provided proection for an active SAR situation just off shore Haiphong. Steve was awarded an NCM for the mission.

October 3rd- The was shot down was from VSF-3. Although hos A4C was lost, the pilot was rescued.

October 4th- A short cycle (1.3) Iron Hand mission which turned in to a RESCAP mission for Pete Schoeffel

October 4th- A short cycle (1.2) Haiphong, RESCAP , 4 Zuni rockets, continuing RESCAP for Pete Schoeffel
I was awarded an NAM with Combat V for this mission.

October 4th,1967

Our Operations Officer, LCDR Pete Schoeffel was shot down while conducting flak suppression in support of a strike on a ferry crossing just south of Haiphong.

Pete was conducting an attack on a flak site to the south and east of the target, not far from the coast. He had had a load of 500 lb MK 82 bombs for the flak suppression mission. Due to a switch selection error, he only released half of his bomb load on his first run.

He decided to climb back to the roll in altitude and make a second run to complete dropping his bombs on the flak site.

Pete was hit by enemy AAA during his pullout from his second bomb run. The result was a fire in the cockpit in the vicinity of the oxygen hose connection on the left side of the cockpit. Pete thought that the fire in proximity to the source of oxygen might result in an explosion so he ejected over the coastline. While descending in his parachute, he was close enough to the water that he was able to throw his firearm into the water; he didn't want the North Vietnamese to get it. A mild sea breeze carried Pete in his parachute further inland where he was captured.

Comment: The NATOPS procedure for fire in the cockpit is to EJECT. But that is in peacetime. To EJECT in the vicinity if a AAA site that you just bombed might not be the best idea. It might have been better if Pete stayed with the aircraft over the water and to try to get to an area that might provide a rescue.

I'm trying to determine who was Pete's wingman on this mission. He might be able to provide additional information. I know it wasn't Pete's regular wingman, Bob Hamel!

The next day, a picture of his military ID Card was on the front page of the Hanoi newspaper. It was confirmed sometime later that he was a POW.


Pete was fortunate that North Vietnamese army soldiers got to him before the local people had a chance to hurt him severely.	The North Vietnamese transported Pete to the main prision in Hanoi for processing; The Heart Break, T Bird.

Pictures taken by the North Vietnamese

Pete was moved to the "Zoo" annex of the Hanoi Hilton where he was incarcerated from October 1967 through February 1968. He was moved around to various prisons in the six years and five months as a POW before being released on March 14th, 1974. I thought a lot about Pete "in jail" as I progressed through my navy career. During my third Vietnam cruise with VA-82 during the summer and fall of 1972, I thought about him particularly when we struck a target near Hanoi.

I'll try to get Pete to tell me what it was like in "The Hilton"when the B52s were bombing Hanoi during Operation Linebacker Two.

This is a picture of Pete enjoying his freedom on the flight back from Hanoi to Hawaii on March 14th, 1973.

Shortly after his release, Pete visited Mary and me in our quarters in Bracknell, England while I was attending the Royal Air Force Staff College.

LCDR Pete Schoeffel, Operations Officer
Attack Squadron Fifteen VALions

Shot down October 4th,1967
POW October 1967- March, 1973

Commanding Officer of VA-82 (A7E Corsairs)
1974-1975

Retrired as a Captain US Navy on September 1st, 1982

Pete and I have grown to be very good friends. He and his wife Jane live nearby in Jacksonville, Florida. Pete and I ride together to two or three Navy functions a month; the monthly meeting of RETCAPS (Retired Captains Group) and the Bald Eagle Squadron of the Association of Naval Aviation. We share an interest in reading especially in Naval History. He is an exceptionally fine gentlemen.

Comment: I wish that Pete had stayed with the aircraft longer and had been rescued; not a POW for 61/2 years! He told me that during POW out processing, he was interviewed (one time) by a psychologist. During the interview, Pete requested that he be hypnotized so that he could relieve his decision making following being hit by AAA. The reaction of the psychologist was negative; What good would come of that, he said? The job of the psychologist should have been to assist the returning POW in any way he could, not just check the boxes he was assigned!

October 5th, 1967 MK 36 Destructor Mining Mission, Hai Duong Railroad and Highway Bridge
An Exciting Day for Me!

This mission was a major airwing strike flown to the Hai Duong Railroad and Highway bridge. Hai Duong was located west of Haiphong on the main road/railroad access to Hanoi. The target had been struck many times and the bridge was destroyed and the bridge parts, road rubble, and railroad tracks were on the banks and in the river. This bridge was exceptionally important to the Vietnamese as the primary logistics link with Hanoi. So, the objecive of the misson was to mine what was left so that the North Vietnamese could not repair it. We used a new technology weapon called Destructor Mines. There were two sizes of Destructor MInes; a modified Mk82; called a MK 36 and a modified MK 83 called a MK 40. We only had the MK 82 version. Destructor Mines had a special infuence fuse whiich could detect metal objects (tools, even nails in work boots) and detonate the mine at the closest point of approach (CPA) of the metal object.

Destructor Mines had Snakeye fins which slowed the rate of descent of the bomb and decreased the impact force with the ground.

The snakeye fins would open up increasing the angle of the bomb at impact.

We had about 18 "bomber" aircraft (8 from VSF-3, 8 from VA-34, and 6 from VA-15) each loaded with 4 MK 36s for a total of 72 mines. One of the other carriers provided 4 BARCAP aircraft (2 sections) between Hai Duong and Hanoi. Our VF-111 Det 11 Sundowners flying all four of their F8C Crusaders flew two sections of TARCAP. VA-34 provided a division of Flak Suppressors (4 aircraft) and VA-15 provided three sections (6 aircraft) of Iron Hand anti SAM aircraft. In total, the strike group consisted of 4 BARCAP, 4 TARCAP, 4 Flak Supessors, 6 Iron Hand, and 18 bombers, a total of about 36 aircraft. VA-15 flew 12 of its 14 aircraft on this one strike.

A Message from God?

On my way to the catapult for launch, I heard this message in my headset;
"You shouldn't go on this mission today"!

Was this a message from God? Does he know something that I should be afraid of? Should I down my aircraft and abort the mission? I've never considered aborting a mission before.

I decided to go on the mission. If Jerry Tuttle found out that I downed a perfectly good aircraft, I'd be in big trouble.

The Bottom LIne: I was more afraid of Jerry Tuttle than God!

The 18 mining aircraft with the 4 Flak Suppressor aircraft just ahead of the mining group flew on the ingress route at the mouth of the Red River indicated on the chart above. The two sections of F4 Phantom BARCAP were stationed to the west Hai Duong toward Hanoi under control of PIRAZ (the Yankee Station Air Defense ship, a cruiser). VF-111 Det 11's two sections of F8C TARCAP were on our left between the main body and the MIG threat. The sections of Iron Hand were orbiting their assigned SAM sites ready to fire down the throat Shrikes should a SAM lift off. LCDR Jerry Tuttle was the leader of the main body with his 4 aircraft. The VSF-3 and VA-34 miners followed Jerry Tuttle. I was the section leader of the last section planned to deliver mines on target (Tail End Charlie). Because we were the last to roll in, I briefed my wingman, Steve Smith, who I hadn't flown with before, that I was going to pull off opposite to whatever direction most of the sections of aircraft used for their pull off.

We had been briefed at the preflight briefing that Ken An airfield was no longer active and that the SAM site and AAA sites there were no longer a threat. As a result Jerry Tuttle had planned his enroute track over the airfield. The flight did not experience any SAMs or AAA when passing Ken An. However, Red Crown was reporting MIGS just to the north.

The flight went well with no SAMs launched along our route. We had some Firecan/Flapwheel AAA search indications but no lock ons. This was an indication that MIGs might be coming. The North Vietnamese didn't tend to fire when their own aircraft were in the area. The PIRAZ ship announced the code word for MIGs airborne when we were about a third of the way from the shoreline to the target.
Our Sundowner TARCAP did not get distracted and stayed with the strike group!

When we were southwest of the abandoned Ken An airfield, Jerry Tuttle thought he saw a Beagle (Russian airborne command and control aircrfaft) toward our northwest, so he called out a boggy in that direction. The TARCAP went to investigate. The TARCAP found nothing and by the time they turned back, we were almost to the target. As it turned out, none of the F8s saw any MIGs!

Then it got interesting. The division of Flak Suppressors lead by LCDR Eddie Gilreath (CAG OPS Officer) were engaged by 4 MIG 17 aircraft. The MIGs overshot (like they did with our Spads the last cruise) and the Flak Suppressors fired their Zuni rockets at them; no hits. The MIGs bugged out. Two other MIGs engaged a section of the main body sometime in the fray; no hits by either side. The rest of us descended in to our roll in points and delivered our mines. Destructor Mines do not supply any spectacular BDA, they just hit and stick in the mud. They explode later when the repair workers arive with their tools.

There was a lot of non radar controlled 37mm and 57mm at the roll in altitude and in the bomb runs!

Most of the bombers pulled off to the left away from Hiphong (traditionally, aviators prefer to pull off left rather than right some reason). I pulled off to the right as "tail end charlie" hoping to confuse the optical AAA gunners. But as I pulling off to the right (about 4,000 ft), I felt an impact and knew that I was hit I didn't know it at the time, but it hit just aft of the tail the hook attach point, went through the bottom of the engine shroud (tail pipe), behind the engine turbine (thank goodness) and continued through the top of the engine tail pipe and out the tail in fragments. Some of the hot engine exhaust was routed where it wasn't supposed to go burning the aluminum skin of the aircraft and turning on the yellow Master Caution Light and the red Fire Warning Light (the fire warning light sensors are attached to the engine shroud. I continued my high G turn to the southeast and glanced at my engine instruments; all normal- EGT (exhaust gas temperature) and RPMs (near 100% and steady). I transmitted that I was hit and had a fire warning light. Steve Smith said "You're on fire". He saw black smoke from the tail. A4Cs don't normally leave a smoke trail; A4Es do. I didn't think I was on fire because my engine instruments were normal. I reduced power a little to see how it would react and to let Steve catch up. He was a mile or two back. After a while, my fire warning light went out; appparently the sensor burned up. I transmitted that my fire waning light was out. Steve transmitted, "you're still on fire"; he saw smoke not fire! I was flying at 4,000 feet because I wanted to stay as fast as I could to get "feet wet" (over the water) as soon as I could. I was doing about 550 kts. I didn't want to gain altitude at the cost of slowing down.

When I was passing a couple of miles to the east of the abandoned Ken An airfield , I saw two MIG 17 aircraft flying in the oppostite direction below my altitude. I think they were about 3,000 feet. They were really no threat to me (we had a closure rate of about 1,000 kts or so) and I didn't think they would want to engage in a fight that would take them close to the coast. I did call out "Pouncer 2, MIGs at 3 0'clock low". I had adopted the personal call sign "Pouncer" even though that was the Iron Hand mission call sign.

I took this picture of this MIG 17 ion display at the "Mighty 8th Air Force" Museum just off Interstate 95 near Savannah.

There were two MIG 17s. One was painted in a cammoflage paint scheme like this one currenlt on display at The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum.

The other one was in the original non painted aluminum scheme; probably a Russian aircraft and pilot or at least a newly arrived MIG.

After my debrief with the Air Intelligence Officers in CVIC, they concluded that they were MIG 17 Frescos.

I don't remember which MIG aircraft had the lead.

I thought thought that the MIGS would not engage us until I saw both aircraft start a turn up and light their afterburners. I knew that I wasn't the target because of our closure rate. But, it occurred to me that Steve might be the target because he was somr distance behind me.

Note: Steve still thinks I was crazy to engage the MIGs! didn't, an still doesn't understand that my rationale was that he was the target and that by attacking them, they would have to ignore him and counter my attack.

Of course, the MIGs didn't know that I had only a few 20 mm in one gun and wasn't much of a threat to them. The momentum of the engagement was to the southeast toward the water. After a couple of turns, the MIGs bugged out to the northwest.

As soon as we got about 10 miles or so "feet wet", I started a climb to higher altitude and slowed down so that Steve cold rendezvous with me and check me out. He inspected the jagged holes in the tail of my aircraft; AAA holes were usually bent in from a shell going from outside the aircraft in, not inside out. I was trailing some smoke but no fire. On return to the ship, I had to wait until last to land because there was some concern that the area where the tailhook was attached might have been damaged heating of the area. No one ever mentioned that they were considering having me eject by the side of the ship rather than take a chance that my hook might separate from the aircraft on the arrestment.

Just "Another Day at the Office"

This was probably my finest hour as a combat pilot.

I was awarded my second DFC with Combat V for this flight.

I actually received the award on my next tour of duty as an Air Force Exchange F-105 Thunderchief instructor pilot.

The Thud pilots were amazed that it wasn't a Silver Star as it would have been in the Air Force. Air Force awards were about one level higher than in the Navy.

Note: I was the section leader of the "tail end charlie" section, not the wingman. After I was hit and we were heading toward the coastline, while passing Ken An airfield, I observed the two MIG 17s below and to our right. I was not concerned at this point as my airspeed was abot 550 knots and I was 1,000 feet or so above the MIGS. However, I became concerned when the MIGs lit their after burners and started a right hand turn up toward our section. I realised the the MIGS may be going after Steve Smith, my wing man who was a short distance behind me. I decided to turn into the MIGS to force them to ignore Steve and engae me instead. After a few turns (no shots were fired), the MIGS departed the area to the northwest and we continued back to the Intrepid.

October 5th- Steve Smith received an NCM for this mission.

My Short Meeting with Captain McVey on the Bridge

I was called to the bridge to report to Captain McVey.

The call came to the ready room. So, I went up to the bridge to see what he wanted to talk to me about. Maybe, he was going to congratulate me on getting my damaged aircraft back on deck safely.

Nope! He wanted to tell me that he had received a message from an "Intelligence Agency" wanting to know if there was a pilot named Lt Bo Smith on the Intrepid. It seems that he (me) was spending some time with one of their female analysts in Tokyo. They just wanted to validate my identity. So much for Stephanie being a secretary with the Air Force at Yokota AFB. That was just a cover for her real job.

She was an analyst for "The Agency"!

An F4 landed aboard Intrepid late one afternoon sometime during our Third Line Period (I think)

I remember one late afternoon when an F4 Phantom landed aboard Intrepid. I don't know whether it came from the Coral Sea or Constellation. (If I had to guess I'd pick the Coral Sea). I think that the F4 pilot had to land on the first deck he could find; low fuel, emotional trauma from loosing a wingman; I don't know. I do know that our CAG LSO was on the platform when they allowed him to land. Fortunately, the arresting gear folks had an acceptable setting for the arresting gear. But it wasn't so easy getting it off the deck. It took a few days to devise a plan and then get permission to catapult him off Intrepid with just enough fuel to land aboard his carrier which was positioned about a mile in front of bow.

Of course during the few days it was aboard, numerous Intrepid "artists" demonstrated their skills painting the poor Phantom.

I hope that one or two of my squadron mates can provide some more details; date, Coral Sea or Connie, etc.

Oriskany's 3rd Line Period, October 4th

October 5th: Combat loss; One F8C from VF-111, Pilot POW- The pilot was lost on a strike against a pontoon bridge at No Quan, about 20 miles southwest of Nam Dinh. He was in aturn at 10,000 feet when his aircraft was hit by AAA (37mm or 57mm) or experienced an engine failure. He glided as far as he could toward the coast and ejected over a karst ridge several miles inland. He was captured before a SAR attempt could be launched.

October 6th- I flew a short cycle (0.9 hours) on a bombing mission to Nam Dinh, 4 MK82s, 2 MK 81s.
I was awarded a NCM with Combat V for this mission.

October 6th- I flew a short cycle (1.4 hours). I don''remember the bomb load or target. But it required 2 trips to the tanker. Interesting! (my 180th mission)

October 7th- I flew an Iron Hand mission to the Haiphong area, 4 Zuni rockets (LAU 10)

October 7th: Combat loss; One A4E from VA-164, Pilot KIA- The pilot was killed during an Iron Hand mission 15 miles south of Hanoi. While dueling with several SAM sites, his flight spotted the launch of two SA-2 missiles which began guiding toward them. The first missile missed his aircraft but the second struck his aircraft. His Skyhawk burst into flames, rolled right, and crashed into karst near Hoang Xa. No ejection was attempted. His remains were recovered in 1995 and 1996.

October 8th: Operational loss; One E1B from VAW-11, 6 crew members killed- After refuelling to support the afternoon strike, the crew took off from Chu Lai (South Vietnam) in poor weather and headed toward Da Nang. Radar contact was lost as te aircraft appoached Da Nang. Contact was briefly reestablished showing the aircraft dangerously close to mountainous terrain about 10 miles northwest of the base. The crew acknowledged emergency instructions to turn before radio and radar contact were lost again. A SAR mission was launched in the poor weather. The wreckage of the aircraft was eventually discovered at the base of a cliff.

October 8th: CAG 16 strike against the Kien An airfield

Image from DMF page 300

"We were unleashed against Kien An, North Vietnam's secondry fighter airfield. ... They got some bombs on the runways, hangars, revetments and come away with no losses.We know that it is only a matter of time before we will be sent against their main fighter base, Phuc Yen.."

Comment: It is interesting that this strike was conducted three days after our strike group on October 5th overflew Kien An without opposition enroute to our Mk 36 Destructor strike at the Hai Duong Railroad and Highway Bridge. Mule reports that there were no losses on their strike but did not mention if there was any opposition AAA. Also Mule did not mention whether there we any MIGS observed or attacked on the ground at Kien An. I suggest that the October 8th strike was a practice mission to help prepare CVW 16 for the Phuc Yen missions.

October 9th: Combat loss; A4E from VA-164, Pilot rescued- The pilot had just bombed a pontoon bridge at Nao Quan and was crossing the coastline when his engine failed. He tried to restart the engine several times but ejected after descending through 3,000 feet. He was rescued by a helicopter from USS Fox DLG-33. It is likely that his aircraft was struck by small arms fire.
Note- This was the second shoot down and rescue for this pilot during the deplyment.

October 12th- I flew an Iron Hand mision to Haiphong, 16 Zuni rockets (4 LAU 10) probably an Iron Hand mission with no SAM action so the rockets were probably expended against know SAM or AAA sites. This was my last mission of our Third Line Period.

October 12th- A Not So Routine Mission for Dave Thornhill (again)

This is Thorny's description of this mission:

Thorny's aircraft: A4C Buno 149529; Weapons Load, 4 Mk 82s (500 lb bombs) 2 MK 81 (250 lb bombs); Flight time 1.4
Target; Pt Boat Facility north of Haiphong

CAG Burrows was the flight leader. John Newman (Smeds) was his wing man, Thorny was the section leader; Keith Strictland was his wing man (#4)

Strike Composition: 3 A4C bomber divisions (one from each squadron), 2 A4C flak suppressors, 2 A4C section Iron Hand (4 aircraft from VA-15), 2 VF111 F8 TARCAP for a total of 20 strike aircraft.

Weather: marginal; The weather enroute and at the target was a 50/50 chance so secondary targets were assigned to indiividual divisions/sections in case the primary target was a "no go". Just as CAG was starting to tell everyone to proceed to their secondary targets, one of the F8s who was ahead of the strike force said "I can see the target". Imagine that, a fighter pilot seeing the ground target!

So CAG pressed on and we rolled in through a break in the clouds (Sucker hole)! On the pull out CAG maneuvered right and left to stay clear of the clouds. We were down to 800 feet staying clear of the clouds as we passed over Kien An airfield on the egress.

Wow, lotta metal in the air. A 37mm shell exploded outside my starboard side. Very loud. The shrapnel came through the right side of the cockpit and took out the top of my canopy. I thought my aircraft had exploded and turned around to see that my aircraft was still there but the (primary ejection handle) pulley assembly at the top of the ejection seat was destroyed. I instantly pulled up and was at 1,200 feet and in the clouds. I guess that shoot shook Keith off my wing. I turned to the right before descending to clear air so as not to come down on top of my wingman. Back in he clear air, noone was in sight. I transmitted that I had been hit, was streaming fuel and was heading for the North SAR destroyer. The noise was so loud that I could not hear radio transmissions.

Once feet wet, I started climbing to 10,000 feet. There were supposed to be several combat mission tankers at the North SAR DD. I was rapidly loosing fuel from both sides of my wing. I had a centerline drop tank that had about 1,000 lbs of fuel but no fuel quantity guage.When I got down to 1,600 lbs, I engaged the fuel bypass switch to transfer whatever fuel was in the centerline tank to the main fuel tank bypassing the wing. I saw a tanker heading toward the coastline (Dan Snavely VA-34) and started a left turn toward it but then decided that was the wrong direction since I could see the North SAR DD toward the southeast. I transmitted, "tanker heading toward the beach, I passed you, I'm heading to the North SAR DD".

When I got to the North SAR DD, I started joining up on A4s but they were no tankers. It turned out t hat the tankers were looking for me also. I saw an F8 and joined up on him (Tony Nargi). Tony transmitted that he had me on his wing. I could hear better now that my airspeed was slower. Bob Hamel, flying a VA-15 mission tanker found me and provided the much needed fuel to return to Intrepid. I was down to about 700 lbs of fuel when I got fuel from Hambone- with no ejection seat.

Whew! So once again Bob Hamel helped save my life!

Thorny was able to land his damaged aircraft abaoard Intrepid without this ejection seat firing. When Thorny got back aboard, it was discovered that he had tiny pieces of metal stuck in his nomex flight suit. He had little scratches on his neck and two superficial cuts on his right arm. Fortunatly, Thorny had his O2 mask on and his helmet visor pulled down when the 37mm shell exploded, so his face and eyes were protected from more serious injuries.

CAG Burrows apologized to Thorny In CVIC after the flight for putting him in danger!

Combat Tanker Missions

The purpose of Combat Tanker Missions was to put a tanker just off the coast (out of SAM range) but close enough to get fuel for aircraft low on fuel when passing feet wet and needed fuel to get safely back to the ship. Sometimes, these aircraft had been hit and were leaking fuel and had to be escorted all they back to the ship to get back aboard. These missions often proved to be vital to saving an aircraft and possibly the pilot. It could be a boring mission when the fuel wasn't needed. Or. it could be exceptionally exciting when it wasn't boring. Bob Hamel's quick thinking enabled him to join up with Thorny' aircraft and get his much needed fuel on the mission described above.

With Our Third Line Period Over, it was time for a Big End of the Line Party

Front row: Jerry Tuttle (in Maintenance Officer's ready room chair)
Second row left to right: Dave Thornhill, me (still no mutache), and "Possum" Terrell

Some Congressman had arranged for fancy juice coolers in the back of each ready room; probably for all the Yankee Station carriers. During line operations, they had orange or lemon juice.

But for the End of the Line Party, we added rum to orange and pineapple juice and vodka; sort of like a 'Cubi Special'

As this was a pretty stressful line period, it required an appropriate level of stress relieving!

I estimate that we left Yankee Station on the 13th of Octopber. I think we probably had an extended End of the Line Party during our transit to Sasebo that included one of our most spectacular Blue Shoes events of all time.

LCDR "Black Mac"
McCarthy

The Blue Shoes
Award

As soon as the Third Line Period was over,
Black Mac began a campaign to garner enough votes to give the Blue Shoes Award to Ltjg "Smedly Gluck" John Newman (AKA "Smeds"). I forget what grievous event Black Mac was using to try to pin the award on Smeds but he was making headway in getting the votes.

The night of the nomination (there was just one), it was conceivable that it might happen. Black Mac presented his case with a long winded speech laden with "fake" but believable data. All through the nomination, Smeds sat silently in his ready room chair with a writing pad apparently making notes.

When Black Mac was finished, Smeds got out of his chair and ambled up to the front of the ready room note pad in hand. But, instead of notes, the note pad contained a complete one act play with the evil wolf, Black Mac, being an "evil doer" at the expense of innocent "Smedly Gluck". It was absolute genius which was met with a standing ovation followed by an almost unanimous vote for the "evil" Black Mac.

Ltjg John Newman "Smeds"
Dartmouth '64

I'm not sure Black Mac ever got over his failed attempt to give Smeds the Blue Shoes Award. Even after, he got command of his A7 squadron or command of his air wing or command of his aircraft carrier. I'm sure he got tired of being reminded of his defeat by "Smeds" at VALion circa '67 reunions even after making Flag Officer and being a Carrier Group Commander and eventually Commander of the Seventh Fleet and his retirement as a Vice Admiral.

October 17th to October 25th- Intrepid's Third Port Visit (Sasebo, Japan)

Intrepid spent over a week in Sasebo. The U.S. Navy had excellent port facilities in Sasebo including a dry dock.
Intrepid took advantage of the dry dock in order to get repairs done one of her four massive screws during the inport period.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to observe the Intrepid in dry dock because I wasn't there.

On October 16th I flew A4C 148529 from Intrepid to NAS Atsugi, Japan (1.3 flight hours) before she arrived in Sasebo. I was accompanied by one other aircraft.

Again, I don't remember who came with me. But, we checked in to the BOQ I'm sure we went to the O'Club for a few beers and a steak.
We most likely got a haircut and a "hotsi bath" at the BOQ. I think that my wingman remained in Atsugi on this trip while I went up to Tokyo again.

The situation with Stephanie in Tokyo had changed since "The Intelligence Agency" was aware of our relationship. It turned out that now that "The Agency" had confirmed my identity, Stephanie was able to tell me a little bit about her job an an intelligence analyst. Also, I was able to meet with some of her friends at "The Agency" in a social atmosphere.

Visit to a western style resort

"The Agency" gave permission for Stephanie to get a few days off before I returned for my last line period.


The resort was a combination of western and Japanese decor.	Playing golf at the resort with a Japaneses caddy.

Another milestone in our relationship occurred during this visit. I admitted to her that I was married. It was a very emotional event; not a pleasant experience. Although she was dating other people while I was flying from the Intrepid on Yankee Station, we had established a close relationship.

I returned to Atsugi and on October 26th, I flew A4C 149493 from Atsugi to Intrepid (1.3 flight hours). Intrepid was probably located south of Sasebo after getting underway.

While Intrepid was enjoying liberty in Sasebo, Oriskany was hard at work on Yankee Station

October 18th: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-164, Pilot KIA- The pilot was part of an Iron Hand flight protecting a strike on the HaiPhong shipyards. As they engaged a well defended SAM site near the port, his aircraft was hit by AAA and exploed. No parachute was seen.

October 21st: Operational loss; One KA-3B from VAH-4, all four crew members recovered- The KA-3B was launching from NAS Cubi Point for a logistics misssion to Oriskany. During the take off roll, the pilot fired the jet assisted takeoff (JATO) bottles. One of the starboard bottles came off the aircraft after igntion. The burning rocket bounced off the starboard main mount and hit the starboard engine causing it to flame out. The pilot attempted to keep the aircraft flying but had to ditch in the water off Grandy Island. All for crew members escaped with limited injuries.

October 22nd: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-163, Pilot KIA- The pilot was shot down during an Alpha Strike on the Haiphong railway yards. Although he successfully dropped his bombs,his aircraft was hit and streaming fuel. After climbing to 6,000 feet, his aircraft began a descending turn before crashing into the Cua Cam River. No attempt at ejection was seen, nor have any remmains been located or recovered.

Note- Cdr Bryan Compton, CO of VA-163 (Call Sign Magnolia) circled the area no fewer than eight times despite that it was located in a heavily defended area looking for the pilot.

October 24th: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-163, Pilot rescued- The pilot was shot down while bombng the Haiphong railway yards. He had just bombed the target and was heading for the coast at 6,500 feet when he was hit by AAA. Though he lost his engine, he was able to glide 3 miles out to sea before ejecting. He was rescued by a Navy helicopter after spending sveral minutes in the water.

October 24th and October 25th: Phuc Yen Strikes
(Text summarized from portions of "Bloody Sixteen" and "Dead Men Flying")

Oriskany flew one Alpha Strike against the Phuc Yen airfield on October 24th. VA-164 conribution was four sections of Iron Hand A4E aircraft each escorted by an F8E Crusader from VF- 152. The Iron Hands were kept busy as about two dozen SAMs were fired at the strke group. The overall leader of A4E of VA-164's Iron Hand group was hit by AAA but continued to keep at it until he was hit a second time. He brought his heavily damaged aircraft back and landed aboard Oriskany. He was awarded a Silver Star for his courageous actions.
There were no aircraft losses on this strike!


Day One strike against Phuc Yen October 24th Image from DMF page 323	Day Two Walleye hit on huc Yen hangar on October 25th Image from DMF page 324

Oriskany flew three Alpha Strikes against the Phuc Yen airfield on October 25th- On these strikes, VA-163 used Walleye TV guided bombs against pint targets at Phu Yen.

October 25th: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-163, Pilot MIA- The pilot was shot down on the second day of the strikes on the Phuc Yen airfield. The pilot was last seen rolling in on his target, an aircraft revetment north of the airfield. A search for the aircraft was not possible due to the heavy defenses in the area. The pilot was declared KIA in 1977. The wreckage of the aircraft has been recovered but no remains have been identified.

October 26th: Alpha Strikes against the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant
(Text summarized from portions of "Bloody Sixteen" and "Dead Men Flying")

Oriskany flew two strikes against the Thermal Power PLant downtown Hanoi on October 26th.

October 26th: Combat Loss; One F8E from VF-162; pilot POW- The pilot was part of the flak suppression element and was hit by a SAM as his flight accelerated ahead of the strike package. He was hit while his aircraft was inverted at 15,000 feet as he was attempting to outmaneuver the first of two missiles. His port wing was blown off forcing him to eject. He landed in Hanoi and was immediately taken prisoner. He was a POW until March 1973 when he was repatriated.

October 26th: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-163, pilot, John McCain POW- McCain was in the lead division and was hit by either AAA or a SAM immediatly after he dropped his bombs. The explosion blew off McCain''s starboard wing while he was close to the ground and he was lucky to eject in time. Both his arms and right leg were broken in the ejection and he almost drowned when he landed in Truc Bach Lake next to the target. Once again the Saints skipper, CDr Byran Compton despite the intense defences circled back try to locate McCain and to raise him on his survival radio but was unable to do so. McCain was captured and eventually repatriated in March 1973.

Intrepid arrived back on Yankee Station about October 30th or so to be on station to begin our final line period.

November 2nd: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-164, pilot, KIA- The pilot was lost during a recce mission north of Vinh. After spotting trucks near Cho Giat, he he bagan a Zuni 5" rocket attack from 9,000 feet and flew into the ground. He never attempted to eject and it is believed he was killed (by AAA) during the dive. Villagers near the crash site recovered his remains and buried him nearby. In 1982, the Vietnamese returned his identification card but his remains have not been located.

Oriskany left Yankee Station after this loss for an inport visit to Yokosuka, Japan

Intrepid's 4th Line Period (November 1st - November 21st) (20 days)

From my log book:

November 1st- I flew a regular cycle (1.7 hours) mission and expended 8 Zuni rockets (2 LAU 10) (my 16th Strike Flight Air Medal)
November 2nd- I flew a regular cycle (1,7 hours) mission and expended 4 MK 82s

It looks like we must have experienced a three day period of bad weather which precluded flying missions over land. My missions during this period were probably weather trecce missions.

November 2nd- I flew a regular cycle (1.5 hours) which included one wet plug and 0.2 hours of night time and a"pinky" landing
November 3rd- I flew a regular cycle (1.6 hours) mission
November 4th- I flew a regular cycle extended mission (2.2) which included 0.2 actual instrument time, probably a weather recce misssion
November 7th- I flew a regular cycle (1.4 hours with 1.2 hours of actual instrument time, probably anther weather recce

November 8th- I flew a short cycle (1.2 hours) and expended 4 MK 82s

November 9th- I flew a 1.4 hour mission and expended 4 Mk 82s (This was my 180 combat mission)
November 9th- I flew a 1.4 hour mission and expended 2 LAU 3 pods (2 X 27 2.75 rockets)

November 10th- I flew a non combat flight; possibly an aircraft post maintenance test flight.

November 11th- I flew a 1.4 hour Iron Hand mission and expended 1 AGM-45 Shrike and 4 Zuni rockets (1 LAU 10)

We may have more bad weather for three or 4 days:

November 11th- I flew a 1.7 hour combat mission with no ordnance expended

November 13th- I flew a 1.8 hour mission with no ordnance expended and 5 plugs (inflight refueling (my 17th Strike Flight Air Medal)

November 15th- I flew a 1.6 hour mission and expended 4 Zuni rockets 1 LAU 10) and had 1.0 actual instrument and 0.5 night time

November 16th- I flew a 1.6 hour mission and dispensed chaff

November 17th- I flew a 1.5 hour mission to Haiphong

November 17th- LCDR Jerry Tuttle received an Individual Air Medal as either the strike leader against the Haiphong target or as a bomber division leader for the strike near Hanoi.

November 17th- I flew 1.6 hour Iron Hand mission to Hanoi, 1 expended one AGM-45 Shrike and 4 Zuni rockets (LAU 10)and observed a SAM missile explode over the SAM site. I was awarded my 2nd individual Air Medal with Combat V for this mission.

November 18th- I flew a 1.5 hour Iron Hand mission in support of a 27 plane strike gropup targeted against the Doan Lai storeage atrea ten miles northwest of Haiphong. *2 AGM-45 Shrike missiles* expended

November 18th- Lt Dave Parsons also flew as an Iron Hand section leader in support of the same major strike. he observed two SAM missliles launched toward the strike group as it crossed the coastline. He engaged the site firing his Shrike directly into the site causing the airborne SAMs to detonaty prematurely. As the strike group was leaving the target area, another site fired two missiles at the strike group. Despite heavy 37 and 57mm AAA defending the area, Lt Parsons attacked the SAM site with 5" rockets causing the airborne SAMs to also detonate prematurely. He was awarded a DFC for this mission.

November 19th- I flew a 1.3 hour Iron Hand mission to Haiphong, expended 4 Zuni rockets

This was my 200th mission (not November 21st as indicated on the certificate below)

We also qualified for acceptance as "River Rats"

November 19th- I flew a 1.3 bombing mission to Ninh Binh, 7 MK 82s

November 19th- Lt Steve Smith received a DFC for a mission he flew on November 19th. I am working on getting more details about the mission.

Oriskany departs Yokosuka entoute to Yankee Station on November 19th for their 4th Line Period

November 19th: Operational loss; One F8C from VF-111, Pilot killed- The pilot was killed while launching on a post maintenance test flight. The catapult fired with too much pressure and ripped the bridle attachment off his aircraft. He managed to stop the plane just as the nose dropped off the bow. Although the aircraft remained on the deck, he ejected. He struck the gun tub along the deck edge shortly after his parachute deployed and was killed on impact.

November 20th- Lt Steve Smith led a bomber section as part of an 8 plane strike against the Chau Tu railroad siding five m,ioles north of Than Hoa. Despite difficult weather conditions and heavy AAA in thetarget area, he directly along the line of rolling stock; five of the boxcars were destroyed and five more heavily damaged. Lt Smth received an NCM for this mission.

November 21st- I flew a 1.4 hour mission, no ordnance expended, 1 wet plug
November 21st- I flew a 1.7 hour weather recce mission to Haiphong, expended 4 Zuni rockets (LAU 10) my final combat mission of the second cruise.

November 21st- Ltjg Keith Strickland flew a mission as a wingman in the third bomber division in a 29 plane strike on the Phuong Dinh bridge complex at Thanh Hoa. Despite intense AAA in the target area, he delivered his bombs directly on target. Post strike photgraphy revealed the total destruction of the bridge. Ltljg Strickland received an NCM for this mission.

November 25th- I flew a 2.7 hour fly off flight to Cubi Point

Intrepid's Yankee Station Deployment Is Finished

Our second second Vietnam deployment complete, it was time for the Intrepid to head east toward Subic Bay to get ready for her transit back to the states. Notice the plane guard destroyer still in position.

The Navy, VA-15,CAG 10/USS Intrepid Awards Programs

The apparent Navy policy concerning personal awards for valor during combat operations was that the DFC was normally reserved for division and strike leaders. The Silver Star medal was occasionally awarded to strike leaders who demonstrated particularly exceptional performance when striking high value targets. The NCM was normally awarded to junior pilots (wingmen and section leaders). The NAM was intended for junior officers and enlisted men.

However, VA-15; particularly Jerry Tuttle and Possum Terrell made a concerted effort to nominate all of the junior officers who made both Vietnam deployments for DFCs. Possum was the Awards Officer for VA-15 and ensured that everyone in the "JO Mafia" was nominated for a DFC. Possum showed me a report that he submitted at the end of the 1967 deployment outlining what award each pilot was nominated for. The heavies all were nominated for DFCs and the Commanding Officer was nominated for a Silver Star. All the members of the "JO Mafia" were nominated for at least one DFC, a few individual Air Medals, and several NCMs and a few NAMs. However not all of the DFCs recommended by the Intrepid Commanding Officer, Captain McVey, were approved by higher authority. As a result, MiIler Detrick ad Gene Atkinson unfortunately did not receive DFCs.

Oriskany's 4th Line Period, December 5th to January 11th (37 days)

Oriskany lost 7 aircraft and 5 pilots and a crew member due to Combat flights and
two aircraft and one pilot killed due to Operational flights during their 4th Line Period.

December 5th: Combat Loss; One F8C from VF-111, Pilot recovered- The pilot was escorting a mission in Route Pack 3 when he was hit by small arms fire over Highway 1A. The hit went unnoticed until he lost one of his flight control systems. Hydraulic fluid was seen streaming from his aircraft which eventually caught fire. The pilot flew to the southern SAR destroyer before losing his remaining flight controls and his engine. He ejected near the destroyer and was recovered by a Navy helicopter.

January 1st: Combat Loss; RA-3B from VFP-61, 2 pilots an one crew member MIA- A photo reconnaissance RA-3B Skywarrior on detachment from NAS Agana on Guam to Oriskany was catapulted for a mission over North Vietnam. The crew was on a nighttime infrared recce mission looking for truck traffic. The plane was hit by ground fire and turned toward the sea and went down about 30 miles off the coast. Despite an extensive search, the aircraft and crew were never located.

January 1st: Operational Loss; A4E from VA-164, Pilot recovered- The pilot experienced a total electrical failure when on a mission over Laos. He ejected over the Tonkin Gulf and was recovered by USS Valley Forge (LPH-8).

January 2nd: Combat Loss; One F8C from VF-111; Pilot recovered- The pilot had just joined VF-111 a week prior and was on his first combat mission; escorting an RF-8 mission near Thanh Hoa. AAA hit his aircraft and destroyed his engine.. He was able to glide about 7 miles off the coast where he ejected. A section of A4 Skyhawks provided protection from North Vietnamese boats in the area until a Navy helicopter arrived to rescue him.

January 4th: Combat Loss; One F8E from VF-162; Pilot KIA- The pilot was on a TARCAP mission for an air against a bridge at Hai Duong. A SAM struck his aircraft while they orbited the target at 15,000 feet. His wing man observed that his plane caught fire and spun to the ground crashing about 10 miles north of Haiphong.

January 5th: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-163; Pilot KIA- The pilot was lost during an nighttime armed recce mission about 25 miles south of Nam Dinh. After spotting a convoy of trucks, hos section bean their bomb runs. His fligh lead lost sight of him. He was shot down or flew into the ground.

January 11th: Combat Loss; One A4E from VA-164; Pilot recovered- The pilot was shot down on a"Steel Tiger" mission in LAOS. He was on his third pass over a small bridge about 10 miles north of Ban Pang when his aircraft was hit by ground fire. With his engine vibrating, he flew across Laos and North Vietnam to the Tonkin Gulf. He eventaually lost control of his aircraft as a fire burned through his control cables. He ejected just short of Oriskany and was rescued by an HS-6 Sea King helicopter. He was back flying the next day.

USS Oriskany/CVW-16 Losses for the Deployment
Combat flights- 33 aircraft, 23 pilots and 2 crew members
Operational incidents- 7 aircraft, 3 pilots and 4 crew members

VA-164 was the designated Iron Hand Squadron on Oriskany
Their losses on the deploymet were 11 aircraft/5 pilots KIA due to combat and 1 aircraft due to an operational incident

VA-15 was the designated Iron Hand Squadron on Intrepid
Our Loses on the deployment were 5 aircraft/2 pilots KIA, 1 pilot POW; we had no operatioanal incidents

VA-15 lost two pilots (KIA) and one POW on our Second Deployment

First Line Period
Lee Cole (KIA)- June 20th, 1967
P.C. Craig (KIA)- July 4th, 1967
Third Line Period
Pete Schoeffel (POW)- October4th, 1967

Navy Unit Commendation

Air Wing Ten flew off to Cubi Point- November 25th, 1967
The Intrepid stopped inport Cubi before returning to the states

	Eleven VA-15 aircraft enroute to NAS Cubi Point.
	Closeup of the eleven VA-15 aircraft enroute to Cubi Point clearly showing the "gold tails" !
	The Intrepid could have left Yankee Station and transited back to the states without coming into port at Subic Bay/Cubi Point. The ship could have refueled and taken on supplies at sea and then headed back. But that wasn't policy at the time. The air wing flew off from the Tonkin Gulf to Cubi Point and the ship followed coming in port a couple of days later.
	The aircraft were then craned aboard for the transit back to the states. The ship probably refueled and loaded needed supplies on board before departing for the trip back. This picture was rom the 1966 deployment; note the 303 number!

The Intrepid arrived inport Cubi about November 27th , loaded the airwing aircraft onboard and after a two days of left for her transit back to the states on November 29th.

Our Second "Magic Carpet Flight"

The new post 1966 Oriskany Magic Carpet Flight rules were in affect. We had to hang around in the western Pacific until the Intrepid got out of the Seventh Fleet operating area before we could catch our "magic carpet flight" back to the states.

But that didn't mean that we had to stay in Cubi Point. Two weeks was a long time to stay at Cubi. The Seventh Fleet allowed pilots to go on leave in either Hong Kong or Tokyo. It was easy to catch a ride from Cubi or the Air Force Base at Clark in the Philippines to either Hong Kong or Yakota Air Base near Tokyo. In addition, they routed the "magic carpet flight" from Cubi through Hong Kong and Yokota Air Base so that those pilots who were on leave could catch a ride home. Many guys picked Hong Kong. I decided to go back to Tokyo.

Our "magic carpet flight" got us back to the states about mid December. We had about two weeks at home with our families before we had to meet the Intrpid in Norfolk and get our aircraft.

December 31st- I flew A4C 148528 from NAS Norfolk back to Cecil Field

200 Missions over North Vietnam Plaque

Thirteen VALion pilots who successfully completed both the 1966 and 1967 Vietnam deployments received this beautiful plaque. It is not quite accurate as this group flew more than 200 missions over North and South Vietnam during those two deployments.

They were LCDR Jerry Tuttle, LCDR "Possum" Terrell, LCDR "Moon" Moreau, Lt Bob Cole, Lt Dave Parsons, Lt Dave Thornhill, Lt Miller Detrick, Lt Bo Smith (me), Lt Dave "Dixie" Culler, Lt John "Smeds" Newman, Lt Dick Nolte, Lt Bob Hamel, and Lt Gene Atkinson.

The plaques were actually presented at the 1969 Tailhook Reunion in Las Vegas. I think most of us were there to receive our plaques as a group. I remember that I flew a F105 Thunderchief from McConnell AFB in Kansas where I was an F-105 Thunderchief instructor pilot with the Air Force.

Hero's Walk, NAS Cecil Field

In the 1970s, the POW Wives Club held a funding drive to create a Hero's Walk at NAS Cecil Field.

This is a photo of Hero's Walk before and after we added a pedestal for P.C. in 2019

There was a monument and a tree
dedicated to each pilot who was MIA/KIA or a POW.

I used to visit Hero's Walk quite often after I retired from the Navy and was teaching high school in Jacksonville. Even though NAS Cecil Field was closed and reverted to an Industrial Park, Hero's Walk was maintained by Navy veteran volunteers who happen to work at Cecil. However, I discovered that there was no memorial monument or tree dedicated to P.C. Craig. I learned that was because the POW wives were not as aware of the bachelor KIAs. When I discovered this, I made the VALions Circa "66 and '67 aware of the situation and asked for donations to have a monument with a bronze plaque exactly like the others constructed and placed at Hero's Walk near the monuments for Pete Schoeffel and Lee Cole. It was impractical to add a tree. The money rolled in and I had more that enough to complete the project. The overage was donated to the USO in Jacksonville.

Pete Schoeffel

Lee Cole

P.C. Craig's new plaque

Hero's Walk September 21st, 2024
National POW/MIA Recognition Day at Cecil Field

I attended the National POW/MIA Recognition Day at Cecil Field held on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at the new National POW/MIA Memorial at Cecil Field.

I wanted to make sure that the pedestals for Lee, Pete, and P.C. were still in good shape and are a significant part of the new National POW/MIA Memorial at Cecil. As you can see in the photo on the left, they are in great shape.

The National POW/MIA Memorial at Cecil Field

Stage One is now complete and includes offices, meeting area (Old Chapel sanctuary) a museum, and retail store. Stage One in the Brick Patio area is complete with two of the four planned static display aircraft.

Possum's VA-174 "Shit Hot" flight suit is on display in one of the museum rooms

We have some Bricks in Phase One

Proposed VALION Brick at The POW/MIA Museum and Memorial at Cecil Field

Due to the cooperation of Ed Turner, the Director of the POW/MIA Museum and Memorial and Pam Cain who is in charge of the memorial brick program, we have come up with the following memorial brick for VA-15 Circa 1966/1967.

	A separate 4'x8" red brick brick with enlarged Navy Pilot Wings clip-art which will be installed directly above the 8"x8" text only red brick shown below. Cost: $100-150 dollars
	The rules are that all the text are capitals. The cost of this 8" X 8" brick will be $200. You can find the details about the memorial bricks at http://powmiamemorial.org Click on Memorial Bricks

Happy New Year- Welcome Home VALIONS

January, 1968 Flight Schedule

I flew only six flights in January; three A4C flights and three TA4 instrument refresher flights for a total of 8.4 flight hours. VA-45 had transitioned from the TF9s to the TA4s while we were gone on deployment. I expect my flight record was similar to the rest of the squadron pilots. I suppose some of the officers and pilots began to move on to their next assignments in January. I'll discuss that in a bit.

VA-34 Change of Command (COC)

Sometime after we returned from deployment, CDR "The Frog" Wigent was relieved by the Executive Officer, CDR Mark Perrault. I feel confident that the VA-34 junior officers who were scheduled to make the next cruise were happy to trade "The Frog" for an ex-Blue Angel. The COC was held in either Hangar 13 or 14, I can't remember. They were essentially mirror images of one another. The stage with its podium and VIP seating was on the runway side of the hangar facing our side of the hangar. Traditionally after the two principals exchange salutes, the outgoing CO makes his speech followed by brief remarks of the incoming CO. When "The Frog" was making his remarks, a large green frog began to descend from the ceiling of the hangar attached to end of a wire. At the other end, Miller Detrick was stationed on the 2nd deck opposite the podium gradually releasing a little bit of wire. So, as Frog's speech went on, the descending large green frog got closer and closer until it ceased it's downward movement a foot or two above the outgoing CO. Of course, the audience began to snicker and then laugh increasingly as the green frog made its descent toward "The Frog". I think "The Frog" turned green when he realized what was happening.

February, 1968 Flight Schedule

My log book reveals that I did very little flying in February (12.9 hours). I flew four local flights for a total of 9.2 hours. The average flight duration for these flights was 2.3 hours indicating that they were some sort of navigation flights.

Stephanie contacts Mary and they discuss our affair in Tokyo !!!

No kidding! Sometime in January or February, 1968, Stephanie contacted Mary and told her about our relationship. She told Mary that she was in love with me and that she wanted us to be together. I had no clue that this communication took place until I came back from the squadron one day and Mary told me abut their conversation.

Mary told me that when we got married, she also had another boyfriend in New Haven (Yale) and she was conflicted about what to do after she got pregnant. She told me that she had decided that I would make the better long term husband so agreed to marry me. No wonder she was such a wreck the weekend we got married in Ridgewood. It also explained the "miscarriage" that followed. Mary told me that considering this information, I was free to go.

Learning this information did not make me angry. In fact, I felt respect for Mary that she had gone through that process to enable us to move on. Of course, in retrospect, we should have had a paternity test performed before we got married to dteremine if I were the father, or not. But that was not done. In those days, if you got someone regnant, you married them. Legend had it that the father of the girl would stand nearby with a shotgun; hence the term "shotgun wedding".

Mary and I had a great time my last semester at Cornell when we were married and living in College Town. We had a great time during flight training and Mary was very supportive despite moving five times before getting to Cecil Field in 1966. We had two wonderful daughters at the time (a third would arrive in 1971).

Mary was apparently willing to move on despite my affair with Stephanie. But, she agreed to a divorce if I wanted one!

Did she understand what was involved in the affair? Probably not; most people who have not been in combat don't understand. I think that I was very stressed after the exceptionally dangerous flying we were doing during Operation Rolling Thunder over North Vietnam. It was tough losing two pilots and numerous other instances of pilots getting shot down, and planes routinely returning with damage. I was very lucky meeting Stephanie in Tokyo. She was a lot of fun and after each time I was with her, I returned to the Intrepid ready to charge back in air combat over North Vietnam. I was in love with Stephanie but I couldn't leave my two daughters, Heather and Laura so I decided to stay married to Mary. I wish the situation had been different.

But, it wasn't the last time I saw Stephanie!

It was time the VALions who reported to the squadron in 1965 or early in 1966
to move on to their next tour of duty

The Heavies:

CDR Kelly Carr- I don't know where is next tour was but he retired as a Captain. He was a regular attendee to our VALion Circa 66/67 reunions until his death in the mid 2000s. He attended his last reunion in Naples Florida in a wheel chair from Seattle Washington accompanied by his son.

CDR Jim Snyder- Jim was CO for the next VA-15 deployment on Forrestal CV-59. I think he made CAG (I'm not sure). But, I know he was CO of an amphibious ship an LPD (Landing Platform Dock). He retired after that as a Captain. He attended reunions up to the Naples reunion in the mid 2000s. He lives in North Carolina with his wife Jean but suffers from Parkinson's Disease and can no longer travel.

LCDR Pete Schoeffel- Pete was released as a POW by the North Vietnamese in March, 1973. Later that year he visited me and Mary in England as I was attending the Royal Air Force Staff College in Bracknell. He was later assigned to the Light Attack Wing Staff at Cecil and after completing RAG training in the A7Corsair was CO of VA-82 in 1974-1975. He had various assignments in Washington, DC until his retirement from the Navy as a Captain in September, 1982. After that, he worked for a logistics firm, Information Spectrum Analysis until his final retirement in 1990. He lives with his wife Jane in Jacksonville, Florida. Pete sand I attend two Navy related lunches; The local Association of Naval Aviation (ANA) squadron lunches and a group called the RETCAPTS (retired officers who achieved the rank of Captain; aviators, surface warfare officers, and submariners. Pete and I normally ride together. We have become great friends.

LCDR Jerry Tuttle- Jerry Tutltle went on to be CO of VA-81, an A7 squadron and CAG 3 on the USS Saratoga CV-60. After a tour on a deep draft, he was CO of the US John F. Kennedy CV-67. After being selected for Flag, he was Commander Carrier Group Eight and Commander of Task Force 60 in the Mediterranean where he was in charge of air strikes into Lebanon. He served in a variety of Flag jobs in Washington culminating being the Commander of Naval Communications (COMNAVTELCOM) where he developed the Joint Operations Tactical System (JOTS- Jerry Tuttle Operations System). After retiring from the Navy as a Vice Admiral he founded and was President and CEO of a consulting firm in Washington. He died on October 30th, 2018. He was the first VALion to be selected as a member of the Golden Eagles.

LCDR Jerry "Possum" Terrell- Possum was XO/CO of VA-105 (an A7 Corsair squadron) onboard Saratoga CV-60. But while online at Yankee station he was cross decked to the USS Midway CV-41 as CO of VA 93 where he flew his third combat deployment the summer of 1972. He flew Iron Hand support missions for B-52s in their famous missions over Hanoi in December 1972 during Operation Linebacker Two which convinced the North Vietnamese to end the war. He turned down an opportunity to be a CAG due to a family medical issue and was CO of VA-174 instead from 1974-1976. He was CO of NAS Cecil Field from 1980 through 1982. He retired as a Navy Captain. After his Navy retirement, he taught Aviation courses at Jacksonville University. He and his wife Sarah attend all VALion reunions. Possum also attended our monthly RETCAPTS and ANA lunches on a regular basis. Sarah passed away in 2022 and Possum left us in 2023. Possum wass the second member of the squadron to be selected as a member of the Golden Eagles.

LCDR Paul McCarthy- Black Mac went on to be CO of an A7 squadron, CAG, CO of an aircraft carrier, made Flag, was a Commander of a Carrier Air Group, made two stars, had various Washington Flag level jobs, made three stars, and was Commander Seventh Fleet in the Pacific before retiring from the Navy as a Vice Admiral. Black Mac is no loner with us. Black Mac was the third member of the squadron to be selected as a member of the Golden Eagles.

LCDR "Moon" Moreau- Moon went on to be a CO of VA-105 an A7E squadron onboard USS Saratoga and CAG Eight. After two subsequent Washington tours, Moon retired from the Navy as a Captain. He and his wife Marcie regularly attended VALion reunions. Moon died in 2021.
Moon was the selected as the fourth member of the squadron to be selected as a member of the Golden Eagles.

LCDR Ron Gibson- I do not know what jobs Ron completed before leaving the Navy. Hopefully, someone will fill me in. Unfortunately, Ron has passed away.

That's it for the Heavies; Now the Junior Officers:

Lee Cole- Shot down June 30th, 1967, remains returned by the North Vietnamese 1988 and identified 1989, buried in Arlington National Cemetery 1989

P.C. Craig- Shot down July, 4th, 1967, remains returned in 1985, buried in his home town of Oneida, NY. Jerry Tuttle did the eulogy

Bob Cole- Cozy went to VF-126, the instrument squadron at NAS Miramar in San Diego. After he got out of the Navy after his required commitment, he sold Hallmark cards or something surprising like that! He soon realized the error of his ways and somehow convinced the Navy to let him return to the Navy flying carrier jet aircraft again. But, this time he went the fighter route instead of flying attack aircraft. He did so very successfully eventually being a CO of an F4 Phantom squadron. I think he must have been a CAG. But, Im sure he was CO of USS Forrestal CV-59, before making Flag officer. He retired from the Navy as a Rear Admiral USN. Cozy is a regular participant in VALion reunions with his wife Paula.
Unfortunately, Cozy died due to cancer.

Dave "Dixie" Culler- I don't know where Dixie went for his shore tour after leaving VA-15, but he returned to Cecil Field to fly A7 Corsairs in VA-81 when Jerry Tuttle was CO. (I bet Tuttle pulled some strings to get Dixie in his squadron). Tragically, Dixie was killed on a Sunday night when returning from a cross country on final approach at Cecil's Runway 09. Jerry Tuttle watched after Sandy, Dixie's wife, and their son David Jr. When David Jr earned his Wings of Gold, Captain Jerry Tuttle pined them on. When David Jr became CO of an F/A 18 squadron, Rear Admiral Jerry Tuttle spoke at his Change of Command. After Jerry Tuttle's funeral at Arlington, all the surviving VALions, their wives, and some of the ex-drove down to Oceana and had aVALion reunion at hosted by David Culler JR. and his wife Ghada hosted us at their bar and restaurant.

Bo Smith (me)- I know, this is my memoir and if you read it, you will know all this. But, you may choose not to so I'll bore you with my post VA-15 adventures for continuity purposes if you will. Most pilots want to get a flying tour for their first shore tour. Most, if they are lucky go to a Fleet Replacement Squadron (RAG) as an instructor pilot. I landed a dream job for my first shore duty tour as an Air Force Exchange instructor pilot flying F-105 Thunderchief. My next sea tour was flying A7 Corsairs as the Maintenance Department Head in VA-82. While there, I made a Mediterranean deployment, a short deployment to Rio de Janeiro, and a WETSPAC deployment to Yankee Station back in the Tonkin Gulf in the summer of 1972; all on USS America CV-66. I was in Vietnam for my third combat deployment at the same time as Possum was CO of VA-93 on the Midway. After VA-82, my next shore tour was to the Royal Air Force Staff College in Bracknell England followed by a two year shore tour in Norfolk, VA at Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic (COMNAVARLANT) where I was the A7 Class Desk Officer for a year and the Aide and Flag Lieutenant for VADM Howard Greer fro the second year. After that, I was XO and then CO of the Va Lions of VA-15 back on the USS America CV-66. After that, my next shore tour was at COMTHIRDFLT (Commander Third Fleet) on Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I returned to Cecil Field after that as the CO of VA-174 while Possum was CO of Cecil Field. After that I was Executive Officer of the USS Saratoga CV-60 and then Commanding Officer of USS Austin LPD-4, an amphibious ship. Following Austin, I was Chief of Staff Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group Twelve in Mayport Florida except when we were deployed to the Mediterranean onboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69. My final tour was back in Japan at COMFAIRWESTPAC at Atsugi. I retired from the Navy as a Captain on July 31st, 1990. My second career was an educator as high school science teacher and University of North Florida lab instructor. I live in Jacksonville, Florida with my wife Diana.
I was the 5th VALion to be selected as a member of the Golden Eagles!

Dave Parsons- After VA-15, Pars went to the Naval Weapons Facility at China Lake California with his wife Becky. Oh, that reminds me of a story I haven't told you yet!

Dave was a bachelor the first cruise. But, he had met a cute school teacher named Becky from North Carolina who was teaching elementary school in Jacksonville. After we returned from cruise, Dave figured he would continue where he left off. But, Becky had another idea. She decided to go to Las Vegas with another female teacher friend and teach at the Nellis AFB base elementary school in Las Vegas. After a month or so, Dave realized he missed Becky. He took a cross country to Nellis and asked Becky to come back to Jacksonville and get married. She agreed. When Dave asked her if he could help her move her stuff back to Jacksonville, she said it was not necessary because she had left all her stuff except a few suitcases in a storage locker back in Jax so that when Dave came to his senses, she could move back quickly.

I flew out to China Lake in an F-105 from Wichita to see Dave and Becky. We had a great time. I remember we had a salad with delicious fresh shrimp. It seems that occasionally in the spring after a rain, shrimp which had gone dormant in the salt flats would come alive in great numbers. Fresh shrimp in the desert; amazing.

Dave left the Navy after his tour in China lake and signed on with Eastern Airlines flying the Washington/New York shuttle. He and Becky bought a very nice house on an acre or so of land including a pond near the beltway in Oakton northwest of DC for about $150,000. Dave still lives in that house today. Its now worth way over $1,000,000. Tragically, Becky passed away from cancer several years ago. Fortunately, Dave has children and grandchildren in the DC area.
Dave is passed away from Parkinsons Disease in 2020.

Several other JOs left the Navy after they finished their obligation and signed on with the airlines. Some joined the active naval reserve and retired as Captains USNR.

Miller Detrick- I think Miller got orders to VA-125, the west coast A4 Fleet Replacement Squadron (RAG) in Lemoore, California. When he left the Navy, he joined the active reserves. When he left Lemoore, he flew with Northwest Airlines in Indianapolis/St. Paul Minnesota along with a group of VALions. Eventually, he ended up running a business in Tampa, Florida where he and his wife Connie remain today. Miller flew A4s and A7 Corsairs retiring as a Captain USNR. Miller is active as a reunion planner and he and Connie can be relied upon to not only attend reunions but coordinate them.

Dave Thornhill- I think Thorny also got orders to VA-125, the west coast A4 RAG in Lemoore, California. I think when he left the Navy, he joined the active reserves. When he left Lemoore, he flew with Northwest Airlines in Indianapolis/St. Paul Minnesota along with a group of VALions. Eventually, he ended up flying out of Miami. He and his wife Jane have two homes, one in Colorado, the other a beach condo in South Ponte Vedra, not far from Jacksonville. He also flew A4s and A7 Corsairs retiring as a Captain USNR. Thorny and Jane have attended every VALion reunion. Thorny attends ANA lunches in Jacksonville when he and Jane split their time between their Cypress Village assisted living apartment in Jacksonville and their condo in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Dick Nolte- Nolts got orders to VA-122, the west coast A7 RAG in Lemoore, California. When he got out of the Navy and left Lemoore, he flew with Northwest Airlines in Indianapolis/St. Paul Minnesota along with a the other VALions. When he was through with flying with Northwest, he left the airlines and went into business in Montana with his father buying land, improving it, and selling it as trailer lots with trailer pads . Next, I think he created a similar business in Texas. Tiring of that, he bought a large quantify of land in northeast New Mexico, built a ranch house and went in to the cattle business. Dick's children became cowboys and cow girls. Dick met and married his wife Diana in New Mexico. They decided to move to Idaho where they now have a horse ranch in Indian Springs, Idaho. Dick and Diana attend every VALion reunion even though they have to travel a great distance to get there.

John Newman- I don't know where Smeds went after the '67 cruise. When he got out of the Navy and Lemoore, he flew with Northwest Airlines in Indianapolis/St. Paul Minnesota along with the other VALions. Smeds remained in Indianapolis/St. Paul and became a representative for the pilots union not only negotiating with the airline and I think even testifying before Congress on airline related issues. Eventually, he and his wife Bella Jean moved to Naples , Florida where the hosted a VALion reunion in about 2013. Tragically, his wife passed away in 2018.

Bob Hamel- I think Bob might VA-122, the west coast A74 RAG in Lemoore, California. But unlike the others, I dont think he went to fly with the airlines. Instead, he went in to some kind of business in California. He and his wife Lynn remained in California until this day. They travelled to most of the VALion reunions.

Departing Ground Officers:

Morris E. Sheppard- Shep held maintenance related jobs until he retired from the Navy. He remained in Florida after his retirement and attended several VALion reunions. Shep passed away about ten years ago.

Bob Cheyney- Like Shep, Bob held maintenance related jobs until he retired from the Navy. He and his wife Pat retired to Orange Park, near Jacksonville, and both attended several VALion reunions. Bob passed away about eight years ago. But Pat continues to attend VALion reunions if they are held in Jacksonville.

Dave MacMillan- Doc MacMillan left the Navy and became a Neurosurgeon. He maintained his practice in Juniper. Florida for many years. He and his wife Janet now live in Selwood, Florida which is a bit north of Orlando. They raise miniature donkeys and have some cute French Buldogs. They attend most VALion reunions.

Pilots who remained in VA-15 and made the next deployment onboard the repaired USS Forrestal CV-59 to the Mediterranean Sea:

Tony Isger- Tony left the Navy sometime after the completion of the Forrestal cruise and joined the active reserves. He flew A7s in the reserve squadron located at Cecil Flield and evntually bacame its Commanding Officer. He and his wife Kathy lived in Orange Park, Florida for many years until recently when they moved to south Florida. Tony and Kathy have actively participated in VALion reunions.

Keith Strickland- Keith left the Navy sometime after the completion of the Forrestal cruise and went to work for ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia. He and his wife Marci lived in the ARAMCO's western enclave in Dehran for several years. Keith flew the ARAMCO VIPs around in their company Gulfsteam jets. Marci was a volunteer for the Civil Defense organization. During Operation Desert Shield in 1990, Marci was driving around the compound warning residents of incoming SCUD missiles. Marci and Keith moved to a nice house on a lake Tennessee after leaving Saudi Arabia. They were both active in VALion reunions until Keith passed away from cancer. Marci met a nuclear physicist, Robert Kyter. Marci and Bob have attended two VALion reunions since they got married.

Steve Smith- I really do not know what Steve did after the completion of the Forrestal cruise. He and Gretchen now live in Tampa and aslso have a place in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Steve was an avid runner. They have attended several VALion reunions.

Ron Gerard- Tragically, Ron was killed in an aircraft accident during the Forrestal cruise. RIP Ron

USS Intrepid's Final Home

The Intrepid made one more trip to the Tonkin Gulf. After three deployments to Vietnam from 1966 through 1969, Intrepid returned to the anti-submarine role. She was decommissioned on March 15th, 1974 at Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

But the Intrepid was destined to continue to play an important role in naval history!

The Intrepid was moved to New York City where she has a permanent
home at a pier on the Hudson River.

Representatives from the Intrepid Air and Space Museum traveled to Jacksonville on two occasions to interview VALions about our experiences onboard Intrepid during our two cruises. On the first trip, they conducted video taped interviews with Possum, Pete Schoeffel, and me. On their second trip, they attended our VALion 50th Reunion which was held at the Casa Marina Hotel in Jacksonville Beach in 2017. They conducted three additional interviews on this occasion; Gene Atkinson, Moon Moreau, and Dave MacMillan (Quack).

Medals and Ribbons
Note: This section is intended for my five daughters. You Navy River Rats can skip this part.

I want to stress that receiving awards wasn't a motivator when flying our missions. It was the subject of conversation only occasionally in the ready room. Campaign ribbons reveal what the wearer has been doing during his career, whether he has had any combat experience, and whether he has received any personal awards.

When Mary, Heather, and I were completing advanced jet training in Kingsville, Texas in January 1965, Vietnam was in it's infant stage. While there were some west coast squadrons deploying in 1965, we were too busy in flight training to take notice. Many of our instructor pilots had flown F9 Cougars in the Navy or Marine Corps during the Korean War. They had lots of ribbons on their dress uniforms. Mary made the comment one day that it was too bad that I would not get the chance to earn any of those medals or campaign ribbons. That was about to change!

Most of us started our the first Vietnam cruise with with two or three ribbons on our chests!


The National Defense Service Medal	The Pistol Qualification Ribbon Expert	The Rifle Qualification Ribbon Expert

Everyone who was in active duty and was breathing wore the National Defense Service Medal.

All the pilots were required to qualify expert with a 45 cal handgun in order to be qualified as the nuclear weapons loading officer.
Some of the pilots had completed the rifle qualification either as an NROTC midshipman or at the Naval Academy.

This is what my ribbons looked like at the end of the second deployment. I

think it is typical of most of us who completed both the 1966 and 1967 cruises.

Medals and ribbons are worn according to an official precedence list. The highest award is on the top and left to right as you go down the rows of ribbons. I would have put an awards precedence chart in here but none of the ones I found were in the correct format.You can google "Awards Precedence" and get all the information you want

VA-15 US Navy Vietnam Ribbons

Left: the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon
Center: The Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
Right: the Vietnam Service Medal (one star for each deployment)

Navy Unit Commendation	VA-15 was awarded the very prestigious Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) (left) for the 1966 Vietnam cruise. The NUC is equivalent to the Silver Star Medal for combat operations and the Legion of Merit for non combat operations
Meritorious Unit Commendation	VA-15 was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for our performance on Yankee Station on the 1967 deployment. The MUC is equivalent to the Bronze Star Medal.

VA-15 Republic of Vietnam Ribbons

The Republic of Vietnam also awarded their version of a campaign ribbon and medals.
We were authorized to wear two of these.

Vietnam Cross of Gallantry	The Vietnam Cross of Gallantry was awarded to specific mostly army units. It can be worn with a palm, gold star, silver star or bracket. My DD 214 says that I am authorized to wear it with a silver star. Vietnam also awarded a Air Cross of Gallantry and a Navy Cross of Gallantry. For some reason, we were awarded a version intended for army units. Go figure!
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation	The Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation is supposed to be an army award. It does not appear on my DD 214. But, I know that we were authorized to wear it after our second deployment.
Republic of Vietnam Service Ribbon	The Republic of Vietnam Service Ribbon was awarded by the Republic of Vietnam to units which operated in the Vietnam operating area from 1960 through 1973. The new version of the ribbon has an end date of 73.

This is a copy of one of the two Vietnam Cross of Gallantry certificates I have in my records.

Individual Medals

We didn't think much about getting medals. The squadrons had awards boards. Usually the squadron Executive Officer and/or the Administrative Officer made up the board. When a mission presented an opportunity to write up a pilot for an award, the squadron awards board would write it up and submit it up the chain of command through the airwing. The pilot was not involved in the process.

Navy Cross

The Navy Cross was the highest award that was possible.

It is awarded for combat related missions. It is not worn with a combat "V"

I do not know any carrier pilots who received the Navy Cross with the exception of Cdr Byron Compton, CO of VA-163 on the Oriskany who received one for the Walleye raid on the Hanoi thermal power plant in 1967

Most Navy Crosses were awarded to helicopter pilots who flew into North Vietnam and rescued down pilots in a well defended area and to SEALS and the River Boat guys who fought face to face with the Vietcong in the Mekong Delta.

Silver Star

The Silver Star is awarded for only combat related missions. It is not worn with a "V".

It was the highest award given to anyone I know for a mission over North Vietnam. To the best of my knowledge, no one in VA-15 was awarded a Silver Star.

Silver Stars were sometimes awarded to strike leaders who lead successful air wing strike packages to very high threat areas such as Hanoi.

The VA-176 pilot who had the confirmed MIG kill in 1966 might have received one.

I know of at least one helo pilot who received one for flying his helicopter in to North Vietnam to rescue a down pilot. His helicopter was severely damaged but they made it back to a destroyer.

The Silver Star was commonly awarded to Air Force pilots who experienced "exciting Flights" while flying their F-05 strike aircraft, F-105 Iron Hand (Wild Weasels), or F4 Phantoms into the Hanoi target area.
The Air Force awarded Silver Stars to pilots who flew missions similar to Navy pilots who received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

The DFC can be awarded for peacetime or combat related situations. If it awarded for a combat mission, it is worn with a "V".

We had three DFCs awarded during the first cruise. Jerry Tuttle and Pete Schoeffel as bomber division leaders and Posssum Terrrell for leading the flak suppressors during the very successful strike on the Phu Ly Railroad yard on October 9th, 1966.

However the second cruise provided lots of "opportunities to excel". As a result, most but not all of our pilots received at least one DFC fo the Operation Rolling Thunder North Vietnam misions in 1967.

Most of the JOs received DFCs on the final cruise. There were opportunities that required the wingmen to "take the lead" on a major strike or as section leaders on very successful the Iron Hand mission.

There were a few JOs that didn't get a DFC, mostly due DFC nominations that were downgraded by someone up the chain of command.

The Air Medal

The individual Air Medal can be awarded for exceptional performance during a single flight or for meritorious achievement in aerial flight. If it awarded for a combat mission or missions, it is worn with a "V".

During the Vietnam era, in addition to single flight awards, "Strike Flight Air Medals" were awarded based on points accumulated during combat related missions. Aircrew received one point for a combat support mission and two points for a combat mission "over the beach". A Strike Flight Air Medal was awarded for each twenty points achieved.

During the first cruise, I flew 109 combat missions and was awarded 10 strike flight air medals.

After the second cruise I, I had accumulated enough points for 17 strike flight air medals and had 15 points to carry over to my third Vietnam deployment in 1972.

In addition. I received two individual air medals for missions during the second cruise. One was for a mission that was submitted as a DFC but was downgraded somewhere in the chain of command.
(I guess they knew what happened on the mission better than we did!)

The Navy Commendation Medal (NCM)

The Navy Commendation medal is a mid-level decoration which is presented for sustained acts of bravery or meritorious service. If it awarded for a combat mission, it is worn with a "V". Additional NCMs are indicated by adding gold or silver stars to the ribbon. Each gold star indicates one additional NCM. A silver star indicate five additional NCMs.

A mid-level medal medal means that it is intended for combat missions primarily for wingmen and possibly section leaders.

While the division leaders (LCDRs) are usually put in for DFCs or individual air medals for particularly exciting missions, the best the wingman could normally expect was an NCM.

I received one NCM at the end of our last line period on the first cruise. The mission lasted less than an hour and I expended a full bomb load in one pass probably as part of a major strike package, probably flying on Possum's wing.

This was probably about the norm for us JOs the first cruise.

Things were very different the second cruise. Most of the missions that deployment were flown over North Vietnam and wingmen the first cruise became section leaders the second cruise.

I received four more NCMs the second cruise and was written up for several DFCs and individual air medals.

The Navy Achievement Medal (NAM)

	The Navy Achievement Medal was intended to recognize the contributions of junior officers and enlisted personnel who were not eligible to receive higher awards. If it was awarded for a combat mission, it is worn with a "V". Additional NAMs are indicated by gold or silver stars to the ribbon. One gold star for each additional NAM. A silver star indicates five NAMs.
	I received no NAMs the first cruise and two NAMs the second cruise. I think that that was about normal for a Lt on our second cruise. The JOs junior to me flying wing instead of as a section leader probably received more NAMs.

Next Chapter: Air Force Exchange Tour