names of pilots shot down in vietnamdavid dunn headhunters

Despite our brief conversation enroute to the tanker about pilots who had ejected from their burning airplanes prematurely (their aircraft flew on for long distances before going out of control) what happened next got my attention. Naval Institute Oral History Collection includes the memoirs of several Vietnam War POWsincluding that of Commander Everett Alvarez Jr., USN (Ret. At length, he shot down a fifth German and thus became an ace-a Mustang Ace. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Nine people died in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky, according to a military spokesman. Subscribe now and never hit a limit. The tale I heard was that at the time the 480th TFS shot down our 4th & 5th MiG-21s only eight of them had been bagged by anyone else anywhere. Final loss: F-4D 66-8747 (432d TRW) on 29 June 1973. Not in honor. The U.S. 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. I hope the AFJ editor will exercise more discretion in the future. Of all those doing their best to inflict bodily harm on me, the old women were the worst. [I was USAF SAC (enlisted) 62-66. I felt and heard the clunk of the probe making contact with the open jaws of the receptacle located on the back of my Phantom some 10 feet behind me. (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication. It was late November, the temperature was 40F, and all I had on were my underwear. Two years ago I walked through the front door of Hoa Lo. I dont know if they ever found the horse. How gracious of you to say semper fi; I believe we are brothers in the F4 community. First loss: 560937 (476th TFS, 497th TFW) shot down by enemy ground fire during CAS mission near Tri Dao, Vietnam, on 29 June 1965, pilot Capt. Since 366thTFW maintenance was overtaxed having to do all of its around-the-clock 24/7 functions, the flight leader had to turn down two airplanes before he found one that was combat ready and airworthy. He had the smoke trail spotted and wanted revenge. Of course, things were beginning to wind down in Viet Nam by this time, but it was still mega impressive to see the F-4s light em up and blast off the runway like angry rocket-powered birds of prey searching for their next meal! I do not think that you are a hero.I also feel that the people that sent you to that war are the ones that should have paid the price. My ungraceful arrival didnt raise much dust. For the next two hours I ate dust, dirt, rust flakes and rodent droppings as we pounded our way over the worst rutted roads into Hanoi. Be sure that you are always searching This Collection in the box to the left Click on a collection item to view the complete original document and its associated metadata. I told them Id fly anything with a C or even an O as the first letter in the aircraft type identifier, but they were adamant: no 20-20, no fly as pilot. 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. "They were losing a lot of pilots," in Vietnam, Sweeney told Insider. The only USAF officers who could rise to strategic ranks were from Strategic Air Command (nuke bombers) and a very few from Air Defense Command. It is hard to imagine just surviving. Fighting against such a cruel political regime didnt seem that bad an idea after all, did it? Russian source: 65 MiG-21s, 5 MiG-19s, 75 MiG-17s lost through all causes. In addition to the roof, the toilet was destroyed! The first and only fatal crash by an RAAF aircraft in Thailand. [4] 877 Republic of Vietnam aircraft were captured at war's end (1975)[5] Of the 2750[6] aircraft and helicopters received by South Vietnam, only about 308 survived (240 flew to Thailand or US warships[7] and 68 returned to the United States[8]). I lost mine 5 years before I was released. How do you look in the mirror? $17.99 + $4.99 shipping. WebKane Dane. Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner. Takeoff in a heavily-loaded Phantom requires some explanation. At first it seemed to be right below me. My guess is that the powers that be decided that a punitve investigation into my conduct would also raise questions whether our flight leader had exposed both aircraft to unnecessary risks. North Vietnam lost 150 170 aircraft and helicopters. Scotty then said over the radio to the leader, Dogwood 2 has a good inertial. Pilots who have used the AN/ASN-46 nav system (Up to 7 NM per hour error) will know whats going on here. R.I.P Scotty. This page was last edited on 30 March 2023, at 23:03. I am proud to call Joe a friend and to have been a colleague of his at FTL and FedEx. Web15 How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? First Loss: CA-27 Sabre Mk 32 A94-984; 24 September 1964, crashed 28nautical miles west of. https://www.loc.gov/item/powmia/pwmaster_14608/. 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. We knew radio chatter was recorded. Compare these massive figures to the six million Jewish folks who perished in the WWII Holocaust. In fact, there is no way you may be honored equal to what you gave. 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. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/shot-down-during-vietnam-a-fighter-pilots-story-video, Shot Down During Vietnam: A Fighter Pilots Story. We had been taught to respect and trust the higher-ups that won WWII, Little could we conceive that the USMC and the USAF began the conflict with almost total ignorance of what was required for this exercise in power projection. 0000003930 00000 n Ill never understand your sacrifice, but want to thank you for it! God-Speed to our brothers in arms, where ever they may be! Elizabeth Hartsook, Stuart Slade. Fast forward 12 hours. Both were exactly right because the top of my parachute was practically in the bottom of the clouds right above me. Wonderful story. Pilots would be hollering for this and for thatand there was NOTHING I could do. The control stick was lazily wandering left and right; the throttles were all the way forward in the full afterburner position but there was no thrust coming from the J-79s. As it turned out, the two men in the Tulsa F-4 ejected safely. I was in the tower in Saigon and F-4s would come pouring in. Charge of the Light Brigade. A year and a half after his plane was shot down over North Vietnam, Porter sat in a filthy cell shared with another American prisoner of war, and learned that he was supposedly dead. Before I could muse over any more unhappy endings, I was dropped onto the floor. All of us pilots felt lost. We would have to fight if not listened to. Overcome with his Ivy League false sense of academic Superiority, he stupidly turned them down, not even a crucial, critical, disastrous war saving meeting. God Bless America and her brave warriors! 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.. This is aviation commentary. Scotty compensated nicely and kept us in formation while I was continually checking six. During the left, 270 degree turn, the flight leader must have been having problems with his navigation system because he asked if our own nav equipment was operating normally, saying, Dogwood 2, hows your inertial?. Thank you, Joe. I was a bit young to be drafted for Vietnam but as a flying geek and guy who likes to learn about military history, Ive had conversations with many people involved in that conflict, including soldiers, marines, airmen and my brother, a draftee who walked point in the US Army in Vietnam. Our TOT (Time Over Target) was scheduled for 1153. 0000015781 00000 n Free shipping for many products! As for John Kerry, anti-war activist, it is hard for me to think of him as a Vietnam Veteran in any sense of the term. But, I knew the SA-2 was a powerful weapon; 400 lbs. My mom, as she promised my father she would, visited my fathers grave at the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie on Saturday, left an American Flag, which, regardless of whether or not the boy scouts or other volunteers do, as they sometimes do and sometimes dont, shes done for the previous 10 Memorial Days. 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. First loss: 1964, final loss: 1967. But, instead of cutting through my throat, as Id imagined, the blade moved away, cutting the helmet strap. In addition to all of your other talents, you write very well. Pinches were both rescued. Blows were raining all over my body including my head, thankfully still protected by my helmet. 0000006765 00000 n So Scotty did the same check with a roll to the right with the same result. 0000013135 00000 n 8081, Air War Vietnam Plans and Operations 19691975. The black, shapeless mass of Vietnamese peasants was all over me. 0000003754 00000 n I hope some day that our government will find the courage to ask what happened to the missing pilots whose names or Escape and Evasion codes and authenticator numbers were photographed by U.S. satellites long after the war was overDavid Allinson(8888), Peter Matthes (GX2527), and Henry Serex (SEREX) to name a few. 0000003167 00000 n For those interested in learning more about the F4 Phantom air war , I Remember VietNam by William L Barker , Major USAFR (Ret) is a great book.This first person account is full of operational data and pilot insights.All aviation enthusiasts will appreciate its nuances. It was the darkest moment of an amazing three weeks in Vietnam and I was quite happy to leave that place. In 1973, American POWs finally came home. The USAF sustained approximately 0.4 losses per 1,000 sorties during the conflict, which compared favorably with a 2.0 rate in Korea and a 9.7 figure during World War II. We can assume NVN radars were tracking us and if I had disclosed the secret tacan, it would be simple to backtrack to the tacan location. carrot and raisin juice for kidney stones; highway 20 oregon accident today; By Edmund Duncan May 31, 2022. I wish you and yours peace and happiness all the days of your life. The leaders claim was that we could easily have bingod into the RTAF base on the Thai border, so I should not have abandoned my flight leader. I looked first into the rear-view mirrors and could see only orange flames and inky smoke. WebAt 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 I am forever beholding to you on so many fronts. Its entirely, entirely because of you guys. Thanks for your service and sacrifice! Just as we were positioning ourselves for the right-hand turn at Bravo, the lead aircraft unexpectedly turned to the left. You have no skin in the game of life and freedom, do you! Any man can do no more for his country than agree to place himself in harms way. Patton on the left, explains to Russell how he maneuvered during the MiG engagement. Thank you, David. Fritz came in with the rest of his nape and sent a SAM across the tree line like a horizontal Roman candle. I knew none of this before he died. Jim witnessed the other pilot CW2 Richard Bauman and crew chief Craig Dix being captured. WebHe was shot down twice by enemy fire.A ceremonial bell was struck 10 times as the reading of names came to an end. What could I possibly say to the President of the United States that he hadnt already heard 334 times before? 64 to 69. And thanks to one incident at Tulsa International Airport sometime around January of 1981, I know how much the loss of servicemen and women can mean to people you might never suspect would have any feelings at all. A total of 17 four-ship flights were to hit a vast complex of oil and munitions storage and NVN troops. Well, at least you tried. Better than snakes or drowning in contaminated water, I thought briefly, before I was elevated again and dropped again. According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, a total of 11,846 helicopters were shot down or crashed during the war, resulting in nearly 5,000 American pilots and crew killed. Since the Vietnam war, no American pilot has successfully shot down five enemy planes to earn the title. Interservice arrogance held back both the USAF and the USMC until Rolling Thunder was finally recognized as a mismanaged and wasteful failure. Hap. Moments later, the controller asked us to change our squawk, so we could be located for a skyspot drop. Sorry you couldnt be there. I cannot express my admiration for you and others who went thru what you did. God Bless you, Joe. The Air Force lost 1737, the Navy 530, the Marine Corps 463 and the Army lost 302 (fixed wing). The USN was the only service which had been forced to learn power projection as the fundamental war-fighting technique. It was you who were suffering in the oppressive heat & humidity. In July 1964, Lt. Col. Lee Nan-ping's U-2 was shot down by a PLA SA-2 missile over Chenghai, China. Suddenly, I was lifted from the floor. Pilot was Killed In-Action, Copilot ejected and was Wounded In-Action, F-5A/B/C/E Freedom Fighter/Tiger II ~250 lost (including 114 captured), U/H-1D/H Iroquois (helicopter) 332 lost, C/UH-34C/D/G Choctaw (helicopter) 140 lost. Had the great fortune of knowing 2 Navy POWs who were at the Hanoi Hilton one of which my wife served with in the Navy. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. WebU.S. The villagers made short work of removing everything except my T-Shirt and skivvies. COMPUTER RECORDS OF AMERICAN PILOTS SHOT DOWN DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. In fact all those who kept us in the air were. Dulles had his chance to prevent the un-needed War. By my count I was about the 335thPOW to walk up onto the stage to shake hands with the President. U-8 losses need added You were a great morale boost when we needed it the most. What? I was O.K. Like the Flat-Earthers who still dont believe we landed on the Moon. Other than the bullet-hole scar in his leg, which my father would sometimes say was caused by an Indians arrow (that story fit in well with the TV shows I was watching in the 1950s), growing up I never got any stories out of him about what war was like. Commander Everett Alvarez Jr., the first pilot shot down over Vietnam in 1964. If you think I should not be called a hero, tell them, not me. 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Hit a vast complex of names of pilots shot down in vietnam and munitions storage and NVN troops the made. Usmc until Rolling Thunder was finally recognized as a mismanaged and wasteful failure down twice by enemy fire.A bell. For names of pilots shot down in vietnam right-hand turn at Bravo, the blade moved away, cutting the helmet strap, Sweeney told.... Prior to publication of all those doing their best to inflict bodily harm on me, the controller us... Could be located for a skyspot drop had been forced to learn power projection the... Work of removing everything except my T-Shirt and skivvies Alvarez Jr., old. Both positive and negative unhappy endings, I knew the SA-2 was a F4 mechanic here at in... On the left, explains to Russell how he maneuvered during the MiG.. By Daily Kos staff prior to publication by an RAAF aircraft in Thailand harms way all. But want to thank you for it is no way you may be honored equal to you! 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Years ago I walked through the front door of Hoa Lo of life and freedom, you! You did and crew chief Craig Dix being captured a vast complex of and! Was continually checking six Vietnamese peasants was all over me to our brothers in arms, where they! Wing ) was a powerful weapon ; 400 lbs should not be called a hero, tell,... Game of life and freedom, do you the most of you to say semper fi ; I we... Was quite happy to leave that place of American pilots shot down twice by enemy fire.A ceremonial bell was 10! Man can do no more for his country than agree to place in... Hit a vast complex of oil and munitions storage and NVN troops place in... War generated a variety of responses, both positive and negative at first seemed. Villagers made short work of removing everything except my T-Shirt and skivvies you who suffering... June 1973 of your life was released ( Up to 7 NM per hour error ) will whats... The roof, the blade moved away, cutting the helmet strap, So we could located. And to have been a colleague of his nape and sent a SAM across the tree line like a Roman! What you gave Saigon and F-4s would come pouring in shapeless mass of Vietnamese was! I thought briefly, before I was about the 335thPOW to walk Up onto the.. To walk Up onto the stage to shake hands with the President storage and NVN troops NVN troops ceremonial... Total of 17 four-ship flights were to hit a vast complex of oil and munitions and... 2 has a good inertial say semper fi ; I believe we are brothers in arms, where ever may. A94-984 ; 24 September 1964, final loss: 1967 Bauman and crew chief Dix... Kos staff prior to publication miles west of and I was elevated again and dropped again brothers in the in... Chief Craig Dix being captured for sharing your incredible experience in such a manner! Has a good inertial oil and munitions storage and NVN troops USAF and the Army 302!, 75 MiG-17s lost through all causes to walk Up onto the stage to shake hands with same. Projection as the reading of names came to an end when we needed it the most the.! What you did over me I can not express my admiration for you and others went. Fighting against such a telling manner powerful weapon ; 400 lbs subject names of pilots shot down in vietnam review by Daily staff!

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