He didnt. Bent the F-4 around after re-start and headed to his radial fix off Hue Tacan. But I promise if youll just give me another one, Ill take much better care of it. He squeezed my hand so hard I thought he was going to break all the bones in it as he said with great gusto, I want you in one!, The next evening at the receiving line at the White House he recognized me and said, Youre the man who wanted an F-4. I said I was and he said, Youve got it!. Both Fire and Overheat lights were illuminated and all the amber and red indicators on the telelight panel by Scottys right knee were lit. We did not know if anyone survived! How did the Vietnam shot down the B-52? Joe, you are one incredible patriot and hero. Rest in Peace, dear Scotty. Well b fearn, you have a right to make your comment and your opinion, but I do not believe this is the time or place. 1F-4C-1, Change 1, page 2-20) before reaching 30 knots below calculated nose wheel liftoff speed. Joe I want to start by thanking you profusely for attending and speaking at my brother Johns funeral 3 years ago. Cheers! Re-reading the bulk of the comments to my article was a pleasurable and uplifting experience. By that point the airflow over the isoclinic horizontal stabilizer was sufficient to start the nose up. I think of Scotty Wilson and many others every, single day. When naval aviator Porter Halyburton deployed for Vietnam, he left behind his young wife and five-day-old daughter, Dabney. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he values above his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself. GBU my friend! I was over Hanoi in a D model BUFF on 5 of the 11 nights of Linebacker II, and a couple more missions after that just to remind the North Vietnamese that we could come back, if our POWs were not released. First Loss: CA-27 Sabre Mk 32 A94-984; 24 September 1964, crashed 28nautical miles west of. Our flight should never have been going into the target. Dak Harney Peak who did far less than Dulles. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. Enjoyed your recollections Joe C. I was an Army Helicopter Crew Chief/Mechanic at Camp Eagle near Hue, Phu Bai then Danang MM Airfield, RVN 71-72. A well? 1LT ALDRICH ROBERT HENRY BNR 12/27/1971154013 HMM-165 WO1 ALEXANDER BARRY KENNETH KIA 09/22/196968-513/68-23 71 AHC CPT ALEXANDER DAVID LEE KIA 02/06/197170-20 67-18493178 ASHC I wish you and yours peace and happiness all the days of your life. If I could ever slow down I might have time to write that book. Final combat loss (also last USN combat loss of war): F-4J 155768 (VF-143, First VAL-4 loss: 155490 was shot down the night of 12 July 1969. And we were just below that weight when we left Danang AB, RVN from runway 17L on the 22ndof November 1966. Graham MIA, Final loss: 670111 (474th TFW) mid-air collision over Cambodia, 16 June 1973, both crewmen rescued, First loss: 515287 to unknown cause 19 June 1965, 51-0071 (33d ARRS) shot down by AAA 14 March 1966, two crewmen killed, Only loss: KB-50J 48-0065 (421st Air Refueling Squadron Detachment) at, Two crashes in 1968, one 1969, all operational (non-combat), First loss: YQU-22A 68-10531 (554th RS, 553d RW) crashed due to engine failure on 11 June 1969, Final loss: QU-22B 70-1546 (554th RS) on 25 August 1972, pilot killed, First loss: 64-17969 (Det OL-8, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) suffered engine failure over Thailand on 10 May 1970, both crewmen ejected safely, Final loss: 64-17978 (Det OL-KA, 9th SRW) crashed on landing at, Only loss: 566690 (349th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron 100th SRW) which crashed on 8 October 1966 near Bien Hoa, SVN, Maj. Leo J Stewart ejected and was rescued. Now, the frenzied noise was deafening. One night I flew #2 to a newly crowned pentagon prince. Enroute, we learned USAF had discovered a major truck convoy up near the Plain of Jars, wanting help. Two years ago I walked through the front door of Hoa Lo. Soviet General Fesenko, the main Soviet adviser to the North Vietnamese Air Force in 1972, recorded 34 MiG-21s destroyed in 1972. He should be yours as well, regardless of what you think of the efficacy and need for that conflict of many years ago. Everybody has heard by now that John McCain was shot down over North Vietnam, captured, and held as a Prisoner of War; it apparently, to some, is his main qualification to be President. It was proving a good day for Navy Lt. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and his back-seat. He still had the baleful look of an owl about to gobble a mouse. me 500s. I was a flight engineer in the Air Force and National Guard. Ignore that kind, it is useless to argue as they are happy in their own world which they believe will lead to some utopian future paid for by others. So Scotty did the same check with a roll to the right with the same result. God Bless you, Joe. . Theyd blow up on the runway. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. . In that instant, I realized how I would die; they were going to slice my head off. Final loss: F-4D 66-8747 (432d TRW) on 29 June 1973. At 0600, I awoke to the annoying buzzer of my Telechron alarm clock. Notes. By now it has been a long while since the conflict in Viet Nam. all i can do is thank you so much for allowing common people like myself to be inspired . Col. Jack Broughton had stated in THUD RIDGE that a few days of bombing Hanoi set them back 6 months in ammo and people coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail which we were shelling every night with 8 inch artillery. While the Vietnamese and Chinese have a long history of ethnic combat, the Chinese were happy to limit both Russian and American military influence in SE Asia, by replacing every bullet fired by North Vietnam. My buddies went to B-52s at Fairchild and Guam and bombed the jungle for eight years. Thank you sir for your service. I would spend the next six years and three months in five different prison camps around the city and countryside in North Vietnam; the farthest very near to the Chinese border. On Sept. 12, 1968, F-100D pilot Capt. Shot down. Joe Crecca was a USAF F-4C Phantom pilot who served during the Vietnam War and was shot down by a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) while on a deep strike to a target very near the capitol city of Hanoi on November 22, 1966. I presume because these stories are such difficult memories, we do not hear enough of them. 17 apr 1966: arab 511, an a-1h (buno 135398), lt (jg) william l. tromp, va-115, went down following a night attack on coastal targets, near approximately 1818'n, 10610'e. arab 506, his wingman,. 64 to 69. Hull blown-up. I remember their faces were not contorted with anger or hatred but rather with kind expressions of understanding almost bordering on a smile. Id pulled the lower ejection handle and was away from my burning Phantom. When I was shot down I weighed 157 lbs. I think of you often and was looking forward to seeing you again. I was in the tower in Saigon and F-4s would come pouring in. I would have done the same thing. Im an alumnus of the 480th TFS myself ( USAFE, 78-80) and wish you all the best . I dont know that back in 1973 I was all that appreciative of the Scotty Wilsons, or even the cigarette-smoking Iwo Jima Marines, but as Ive grown and aged during the past 47 years, I cant help but feel enormous gratitude, and sorrow, for those men and women who, but for the grace of God and President Nixon, went where I didnt. But, instead of cutting through my throat, as Id imagined, the blade moved away, cutting the helmet strap. First loss: C-123B 56-4370 attached to the 464th TAW which came down on an, First loss: C-130A 57-0475 (817th Troop Carrier Squadron, 6315th Operations Group) on 24 April 1965, a. I reached bingo, bingo minus 5, minus 10, minus 15, and reported to lead each time. I didnt know the Marine who was killed as he lit a cigarette on Iwo Jima any more than I knew Scotty Wilson, and yet, thanks to that brief story by my father, and thanks to a longer and more detailed story by Joe Crecca, I feel I do know these servicemen. Life saver: Severely damaged in combat, this Douglas A-1E was flown by Maj. Bernard Fisher on March 10, 1966, when he rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam. I put off law school acceptance for a year to volunteer for the combat tour instead. Thank you President Nixon for my life and my freedom. As a nation I believe we learned the difference between necessary disagreement with our leaders, and needless, disrespectful persecution of and confrontation with our soldiers, who are/were following orders. Not sure which squadron he started with but he ended up assigned to the 366-tfw. I am also an Airforce veteran. He is someone that I have always respected and admired. Thank you for your sentiments. Only loss: 606058, destroyed on the ground during a VC attack on Tan Son Nhut, SVN on 14 June 1968. It was the determination of President Richard M. Nixon to mount Operation Linebacker II, sending B-52s to attack the capital city of Hanoi and the port city of Haiphong, forcing the communists back to the peace conference in Paris that resulted in the end of the Vietnam War and the release of the prisoners-of-war. How many MiGs were shot down during Vietnam War? It was -55F at 32,000 feet for over two hours and pressure breathing 100% Oxygen in a summer flight suit. My draft number was 27. Gary was the very first USAFE F-105D pilot to land at Bitburg in May 1961 and the very last F-105D pilot to . The terror I felt just moments before vanished. Fighting against such a cruel political regime didnt seem that bad an idea after all, did it? Thank you for your email. Amazing story Mr.Crecca, I for one, am glad you are still here among us mere mortals, thank you for sharing your daunting experience, you sure went through hell for 6 years and yet had the courage to ask Nixon for another F-4 I was concentrating on Scotty and my eyes were focused only on him. At first it seemed to be right below me. Came upon this remarkable story after seeing it linked to another by a good guy who once gave me dual instruction in sailplanes. To those who try to insert politics, I agree that it is in extremely poor taste to try to make this such a venue. records. This mission is of special interest as it was the first confirmed MiG kill of the Vietnam War. Charge of the Light Brigade. Between January and July, U.S. Air Force fighters flying air-to-air missions shot down 29 MiGs while losing just two of their owna 14.5-1 kill ratio. Scotty had ejected. Permission was granted and I promptly made a big hit with the youngsters in attendance. I wondered what good it did to tell us there were guns, MiGs and SAMs everywhere. One of our F-4s was not delivered by maintenance. Thanks for your service, Sir. My father (deceased) served in the Army in Korea and my son served as an Army Combat Medic deployed to Afghanistan. I still know where the CB is. And after Scotty started the engines, the aerial refueling receptacle would only operate some of the time. At least thats what I hoped. bombs and eight Air-to-Air Missiles while I inspected the Phantom. How many F 105s shot down in Vietnam? Actually, it being a slow weekend day, I was on a break and eating breakfast with a few other controllers at a restaurant not far from the airport when Perky01 or 02 reported that they were going to have to bail out. If you are wondering how this is possible, I will reveal at the outset that it is not possible. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. [12], List of United States aerial victories of the Vietnam War, "US Air-to-Air Losses in the Vietnam War", "How North Vietnam claimed more aces than it really had", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Vietnam_War_flying_aces&oldid=1101889530, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 August 2022, at 09:45. Sharing your story forward. I just received some additional email comments on my article and browsed through the older ones and saw yours. P.39, Toperczer, Istvan. A SAM damn near got me and another my section leader. I slipped off the right wing of the tanker into a spot 50 feet aft of where Id have to be for the boomer to plug into my receptacle. Joe. 31 DEC 71. As a former volunteer at the NMUSAF and the son of a now deceased USAAF WWII combat vet, I have always known that our country and our armed forces have been blessed with seemingly ordinary, matter-of-fact guys who do extraordinary things. In closing, I assert that Joe did not have the option you recommend. Richard Armstrong. We were only two minutes from the target, descending through 14,000 ft. at a speed of 540 knots or about 650 miles per hour. 1st Lieutenant Scotty Wilson, the best stick in [the squadron].. I am unable to understand why I didnt feel dazed by all of the blows to the head Id received. Do you know how good a F4 sounds from the darn dirt ?!? My hats off to those who served. I was flat on my back. If your anti-Vietnam War feelings are still that strong, I dare you to walk up to a highly-decorated Vietnam combat veteran, preferably a Marine or Soldier and vent your anti-war feelings to him, face-to-face! How do you look in the mirror? I grew up with Thomas Guenther from Mass who also piloted an F-4 in RVN and NVN. (I would have loved to get into the left seat of a C-130, but if theyd assigned me to an O-2 Skymaster, that would have been fine too.). Since we were shot down well before reaching our target and also because most of the strike flights had declined to enter the target area due to decidedly unfavorable weather, my story had to deny the Vietnamese any foreknowledge of the real target. The pilot Lieutenant Commander John S. McCain III, successfully ejected and was made Prisoner of War. Call signs for each mission were based on time of day. I then looked at myself to see if I was in one piece. Moments later, the controller asked us to change our squawk, so we could be located for a skyspot drop. Soviet General Fesenko, the main Soviet adviser to the North Vietnamese Air Force in 1972, recorded 34 MiG-21s destroyed in 1972. Well written as you brought each of us along with you in the cockpit as your descriptives of that entire mission were intense. A sub-standard OER means you dont get promoted on time. A minute or two after takeoff we had cold air blasting through the cockpits. Scotty gave me the airplane and I climbed out at 350 knots until it came time to find the tanker on the radar. Our flight leader didnt want to have to face the DO back at Danang AB having to answer why he didnt bring his flight into the target. Barney. | site designed by. He didnt shoot at anyone. After 52 years, the remains of Air Force pilot Col. Roy Knight Jr., who was shot down in 1967 during the Vietnam War, have finally come home. The United States, along with their allies (The Republic of Vietnam, South Korean, Australian, Thailand, New Zealand), lost about 12,500 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs. His remains were returned to the USA in April, 1986, and he is interred at the Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. for my family and I, is absolutely heartfelt and sincere. The intercom was intermittent. During the Vietnam War, thousands of U.S. aircraft were lost to antiaircraft artillery (AAA), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and fighter interceptors (MiG)s. The great majority of U.S. combat losses in all areas of Southeast Asia were to AAA. At the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Danang AB, RVN, four two-man crews were hand-picked to deliver the lethal ordnance onto both targets selected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). And Mr. Crecca, again, I thank you. The 366th TFW Gunfighters consisted of three squadrons; 389th, 390th and the 480th. It was less than a minute before I would be on the ground. Remains of fighter pilot shot down in WWII identified. At the very least, he had just been knocked out. The aircraft banked sharply to the left, then to the right. There will always be those who dont get it. I hope that this article and your word of mouth/teachings help other people stand up against stupidity and question the orders of those place in authority. First loss: C-141A 65-9407 (62d Military Airlift Wing) destroyed in a night runway collision with a USMC A-6 at, Final loss: C-141A 66-0127 (4th Military Airlift Squadron, 62d MAW) crashed soon after take-off from, First loss: RB-66B 53-0452 (Det 1, 41st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 6250th Combat Support Group) which crashed 2223 October 1965 west of. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. He told me to find him. Thanks for your service and sacrifice! Our standard load was 12-500s or 7 Nape. Its Memorial Day, 2020. Your comments and wisdom are much appreciated. Elizabeth Hartsook, Stuart Slade. How many a4 Skyhawks were shot down in Vietnam? Well, at least you tried. Pair of scanning Navy A-6s. 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