Thank you sir for your service. Fogleman became the only Super Sabre pilot ever rescued by riding out on a Cobra helicopter. 4 of the combat losses were parked aircraft. Pilot Clyde Romero, 19, rests between flights at Khe Sanh in February 1971. The United States lost 578 UAVs (554 over Vietnam and 24 over China). 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. Scotty had ejected. He called me to come back coming out of a Split S spin. 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. Summer-67- Lost an engine to one but miraculously survived blast suffocation and stupidly re-started the J-79 after safely- feet wet. Burning American aircraft at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1965. Sobering reading for every American ! Get it? After each plane was completed, two pilots (Call signs Perky01 and Perky02) would take the plane up for a check flight. Vietnam War pilot tells his story of being shot down over enemy territory and his time as a POW. If I failed to keep this from them, they would reposition their anti-aircraft batteries and SAMs to make the target a flak trap, making this JCS target even more formidable than before. Misty FACs operated from 15 June 1967 to 19 May 1970. They were all well received. We lost him in 2012. MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War. In closing, I assert that Joe did not have the option you recommend. On Sept. 12, 1968, F-100D pilot Capt. It is awful that people make bad decisions for selfish reasons. Then, I was pushed face down to the floor and blindfolded. A MiG-21 of the VPAF which became the primary fighter-interceptor against USAF and USN aircraft. When my feet hit the floor with my elbows on my knees at bedside, a feeling of total despair came over me. A natural reaction. Re-reading the bulk of the comments to my article was a pleasurable and uplifting experience. This is known as temporal distortion. They fixed it. Final loss: EC-47Q 43-48636 (361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, 56th SOW) shot down in Laos on the night of 04/5 45 February 1973, killing all 8 crewmen. Presidio Press. He took off the next several days. Presently it dishonors over 50,000 dead and how many maimed and wounded? It was the darkest moment of an amazing three weeks in Vietnam and I was quite happy to leave that place. 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. Thank you for your sentiment. Hes a real dope. The claimed flying aces of the Vietnam War, pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft, include 19 North Vietnamese pilots (six MiG-17 and 13 MiG-21 pilots),[1]:228 and five Americans. I was a young 23 year old J-79 Engine Mechanic at Homestead AFB in 1972,sent toThailand in late Summer of that year to participate in LinebackerII Our F-4s along with McDills flew Mig CAP for the B-52s of which several were lost.Homestead lost one Phantom,I believe McDill lost one. U-21 losses need added More aircraft would be shot down and pilots killed or captured. Reading yours was dismal, doom and gloom. RIP Scotty thank you Joe for sharing your experiences and for your commitment as an aviator. 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. It was very kind of you to drive the 40 miles and spend the time to honor the memory of my brother, your fellow employee at Flying Tigers and FedEx. Top rudder pedal, however, broke us out at about 5 grand. The time was 1151. 3 crewmen were KIA. Got this forwarded in late 2017. If you do that, itll be your first time in harms way. Dak Harney Peak who did far less than Dulles. Joe Crecca would spend more than six years in various prison camps. Bent the F-4 around after re-start and headed to his radial fix off Hue Tacan. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. Crecca/Wilson International would be my recommendation in honor of a deceased F4 pilot and a 6 year POW since the F4 was the most numerous of Vietnam War aircraft casualties. I always enjoyed flying with you and sharing a beverage. There are plenty of other places to rant and vent. Cheers! A photograph of Lockhart shows him being paraded through the streets of Hanoi. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. Well, at least you tried. Always amazed how well you remembered the tap code. * These two pilots shared the credit for the shoot down of the MiG-17 and each were credited for . The NVA never admitted to capturing them! 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. After licking their wounds, North Vietnamese pilots again began challenging American aviators in late April, but as the fighting intensified in May, it became apparent that they would not succeed. Dog boned Six and direct hit, had to send some Russian Techs to the Beyond. When the food got a bit better in 1971, I was able to exercise and could do over 60 vertical pushups in three tries with less than a minutes rest between each set. My father was lost in 64-0771 out of Cam Rahn 9/3/66. Now I know a little bit more about what he did. Ronald Fogleman was shot down in the I Corps area 200 miles (320 km) north of Bien Hoa while flying aircraft 56-3245. I last read he is in the state of Washington. Although thank you is not enough, I do thank you for your service. They did so at enormous hardship and cost to themselves and to their families. [23] 2 Mi-4, 5 An-2, 5 Il-14, 1 MiG-15UTI, 1 Il-28, 1 L-29, 1 Lisunov Li-2 lost through all causes[24] Total: 159 aircraft and 2 helicopter lost. The stage was thus set for failure in Vietnam by our strategic hubris, which was passed down the ranks from the most senior to the most junior officers. I will be forever grateful to all who flew and supported LBII and to President Richard M. Nixon for having the fortitude to send the mighty BUFFs north. 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. 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. 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 If you think I should not be called a hero, tell them, not me. It must have occurred just before my own chute opened. After all that I suffered dont you dare tell me I had no business being there! Vietnam will eventually strive throughout S.E. At least thats what I hoped. My arms were tied behind my back with the elbows laced tightly together. Pinches were both rescued. Source for F-4 losses is Phantom with U.S. Marine Corps (Joe Baugher), others are unsourced, Production of a total of 380 Mohawks ended in December 1970. I lost mine 5 years before I was released. How many MiGs were shot down in Bolo? These were probably the local militia. The White House approved a retaliatory air strike, but by the time it got there, the SAM batteries were long gone. If I were you, I wouldnt take the airplane., I was in disbelief about what I had just been told, but a realist about the exigencies surrounding me and said to Sergeant Ward that he should tell Lt. Wilson what he had just told me which he did. Richard Armstrong. In the solitude of my tiny enclosure, staring unfocused at the floor, I said aloud, Todays the day, thinking this was the last day of my life. You have no skin in the game of life and freedom, do you! Joe many of the IPs in the 4435th remember you from your smooth ride getting back in the Phantom. Hed slept in an air-conditioned hut. 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. Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. 64 to 69. There were a total a 269 American and enemy aircraft shot down in air-to-air combat over Vietnam during the entire war201 in fights between the U.S. Air Force and North Vietnamese air force and just 68 in the U.S. Navy's air battles with the North Vietnamese. It was then that I could see a shapeless, black mass on the ground. Several of our birds went to Nam. (USAF) Date of report (1971-07-23). I reported I wasnt sure which (if any) was his. April 26, 1968 : C-130B 60-0298, c/n 3602, of the 773d Tactical Airlift Squadron, shot down dropping load at A Loui, South Vietnam. Its guys like you who Ive tried to be like when it became my turn to sit in the left seat. I quickly figured out that, because we were going to be late, our flight lead was cutting Alfa out and going directly to Bravo. The Navy had it right (mostly) in equipping, training and tailoring tactical air assets. From the refueling track exit over northern Thailand, our route took us over northern Laos and into North Vietnam. As I learned about him, I remember more of him lecturing rather than delivering the news. Crash Location: Near Ap Bac, Chau Doc Province, South Vietnam. 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. 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. As lieutenants in our respective services, we knew only that something was wrong. 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