Of those servicepeople, 2,382 were killed while serving aboard UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the ubiquitous Huey.. Heroes who set the highest bar for selflessness, honor and sacrifice. Van Bay was the spittin image of Ho Chi Minh himself, incidentally. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/powmia/pwmaster_14608/. So he just flew right back to directly overhead the field and ejected. These numbers have come about due to the extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources by the American War Library which concluded that about one-third of those who served in the Vietnam War are still alive today. Here is the text of Lances Medal of Honor citation: While on a flight over North Vietnam, Capt. To be a helicopter pilot or crew member was among the most dangerous jobs in the war. Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft. Before the afternoon session began I introduced myself to him and I was startled to hear him say Oh yes, I know you, we have met before. 4 of the combat losses were parked aircraft. What was the deadliest war in Vietnam? For example, the light might be AAA for a gun radar or AI for a MiG radar. The Legend of the Vietnam War's Mystery Fighter Ace 13. 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. 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. He was without food, with very little water, and no survival kit; nevertheless, he evaded enemy forces for 46 days. I distinctly remember 8 mm movies Kennys brother showed us taken during some of his FAC missions. F-14 Tomcat operational history - Wikipedia There were about 2530 American former aviators in all. How many Vietnamese were killed during the Vietnam War? - 2023 The event opened with a meeting in the conference room of the Holiday Inn Bayside at 0830 on Thursday the 21st. J. W. Newhouse rescued, First loss: EF-105F 63-8286 (13th TFS, 388th TFW) shot down by AAA RP-6 July 1966, Maj. Roosevelt Hestle, Final loss: F-105G 63-8359 (Det.1 561st TFS, 388th TFW) shot down by SAM 16 November 1972, RP-3, crew rescued, First loss: mission-related TFR failure, 66-0022 (428th TFS 474th TFW, Project Combat Lancer), 28 March 1968, Maj. H.E. 4. One segment that really struck home with me was former Chief of Staff of the USAF General Merrill McPeaks statements about his experience dropping bombs from his F-100 and being a Misty FAC in 1968 and 1969. There were coffee and ice-water urns in the rear of the room. Three were struck prior to bomb release and three afterward; four went down near Hanoi while two made it out of North Vietnam. He flew over 300 combat missions, and crewed an F-4 that shot down a MIG. The one intercepting van Cuong was sketchy but factual and the one which told how Hoang Quoc Dung (pronounced Zoong) intercepted me was virtually the same as which Zoong had told mebut it was a lie. The Viets left and the Blues mingled and I drank two-three-seven too many more Jack n Cokes and kept schmoozing, then around 9:30 I left tooand I sure was glad I had a designated driver. From helicopters to jets, these men reveal how they felt risking their lives in a war that was confusing and unpopular, to say the least. 6. It was an orientation ride for Kenny as he was newly assigned to my unit. This device displayed three items of information: (1) the type of radar beam that hit the airplane such as a solid line, a dashed line, dots or a line and dot, (2) the relative strength of the radar by the length of the display, and most importantly the clock position of the radar. According to interviewed F-15 pilots, several kills by F-15s were made in a similar manner, with Iraqi aircraft being downed after retreating from Tomcats. The worthy subject of statues in town squares or the name of a new high school. Excerpts from an Oct. 20, 2019 interview with Col. Ken Cordier, a former United States Air Force pilot who was an American prisoner of war in North Vietnam for 6 years, 3 months and 2 days during the Vietnam War. R. Cole rescued, Final loss: 57-0922 (435th TFS, 8th TFW) operational loss due to engine failure on 14 May 1967 in Thailand, pilot name unknown, survived, First loss: 624371 (36th TFS, 6441st TFW) written off from battle damage over Laos 14 August 1964, at Korat, Thailand, Final loss: 610153 (44th TFS, 355th TFW) shot down Laos 23 September 1970, pilot Capt. It was blindingly obvious to me, and to a lot of other people in my squadron, that we were trying to prop up a government that had almost no chance of surviving on its own, McPeak says. He said he was finally able to imagine saying to the American, OK, big deal, congratulations, that was a big accomplishment. He was a hero. The TDU was a small rectangular box with two rows of lights. down helicopters, men that were not pilots, just members of the He said all the 19s came from Russia except one which they got from China. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. A Downed Fighter Pilot's Rescue from North Vietnam The U.S records showing 5,607 helicopter losses[2]. Lt.Col. Lance ejected from his stricken F-4 on November 9, 1967 over Laos near the border of North Vietnam. 12,000 helicoptersOverall, the U.S. military used nearly 12,000 helicopters in Vietnam, of which more than 5,000 were destroyed. We all got a big laugh out of that. Final loss: F-4D 66-8747 (432d TRW) on 29 June 1973. Top image: Crews of the F-105D and F-105G Thunderchiefs in Thailand. Jim Fox USN RIO, F-4J Von Richthofen shot down 80 enemy planes in the course of the war, mostly by hunting down slow-moving two-seaters, shooting their gas tanks from behind, and burning the pilots and gunners to death inside their cockpits. During this entire period, Sijan was only able to move by sliding on his buttocks and back along the rocky limestone ridge and later along the jungle floor. The United States lost 578 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (554 over Vietnam and 24 over China). Finch flight was a flight of four Phantoms led by Lt. Col. Lyle Beckers, the squadron commander of the 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron. What follows is Ray Battles comments on the mission: Kenny Boone and I were flying a fast mover FAC mission along the Ho Chi Min trail in Laos. 2,197 of the losses were fixed-wing, and the remainder rotary-wing. Lt.Gen. This meant we killed two people and destroyed four thatched huts and two water buffaloes. Kenny decided he would be safer in the trees so he did not use his tree lowering device to let down to the ground. 3.Jaybee Souder USN RIO, POW (the only one there to win 1, lose 1) When the Vietnam War ended in 1973, Mohawk losses were: one shot down by a MiG, one destroyed by mortar fire, 27 lost to ground fire and 36 destroyed in operational accidents. A lot of the afternoon was taken up by an interview with Lt General Pham Phu Thai, a four-kill Mig-21 driver. Thus began one of the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Commands worst Broken Arrow nuclear incidents of the Cold War.. That made me wonder if the era the Mig pilot referred to was before TOP GUN came along [when the F-4 community finally learned to dogfight]. If you can add your memories or thoughts to a post, please do. ON December 5, 6, and 7, 1969 a massive 3-day rescue effort was conducted for the 2-Man crew of anF-4C Phantom (Callsign Boxer 22) shot down in Mu Gia Pass,The Deadliest Air Space in History of Air Warfare.. Sometimes, however, we did bad work. trainees primarily MiG17 (J5 versions) & MiG19 (J6 versions) From now on we will finally tell only the truth. Samuel E. Waters died 51 years ago on Tuesday December 13, 1966 over the dense jungle region of Ha Tay Province, North Vietnam. The leading AAF ace is Richard Bong, who shot down forty enemy airplanes. When our guys got to the SAM site they found out all of the missiles had been removed. During his intermittent periods of consciousness until his death, he never complained of his physical condition and, on several occasions, spoke of future escape attempts. Gary says 305 for 53. Dan corrects him and says he said 350 for 53. Gary says theyre behind us. At that moment the surface to air missile launch tone comes on loudly in each mans headset, but there was no strobe on the round threat screen that normally would show the direction from which a SAM was launched. OK this isnt an F-4 video, but its a great fighter video. How many B 52 bombers have been shot down? A few seconds later Col. Beckers radioed Lark 3 break left. Beckers was checking Lark 3s six oclock and saw the missiles come off the rails. Jim George and James Jink Bender talk about the A-1 Skyraider and its role in the Secret War in South East Asia, and the slow, vulnerable Korean War vintage, propeller-driven fighter-bombers they flew on Combat Search And Rescue missions. it was shot down after the second bombing but was not allowed to But also in fairness, the F-105 Thunderchief shouldered the majority of the USAFs burden of bombing heavily defended targets in North Vietnam. 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. I met the incoming BOSS of the Blues, Commander Eric Popeye Doyle, a long-time and close friend of Simples, and I took the opportunity to give him some learned advice on leading the Blues next year; I told him to not F it up! You will automatically receive an email when other people comment on your comment. Regardless of your assessment of the Thunderchief, the odds were always stacked against it. My flight-leader, the most exalted fighter-pilot the navy had ever known, led us right into a trap and handed us to the Zoong on a silver platter. Steve said the following about the rescue: We come to fully understand the effort to which we will go, the resources we will commit, the risks that we will take to rescue one crew member, one American, one ally. Final loss: C-130E 72-1297 (314th TAW) destroyed by rocket fire at Tan Son Nhut AB on 28 April 1975. We were probably 15,000 20,000 feet high, nine Phantoms in a line abreast. My dear friend Bob Jeffery was there. To my surprise he said hed flown only 215 missions. Capt. Only loss: 606058, destroyed on the ground during a VC attack on Tan Son Nhut, SVN on 14 June 1968. The goal of the U.S. was to kill North Vietnamese and Viet Cong until they stopped fighting. u-6 losses need added all are army fixed wing aircraft, 5,195+ (which include not in addition to the above statistics)[2], North Vietnam captured 877 South Vietnamese aircraft at war's end. On September 8, 1972 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, I was part of a six F-4 Phantom mission that briefed at 0-dark-30 for a 4 vs. 2 similar Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) flight in the restricted area Southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida. 2. Another was a Huey helicopter pilot. Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . We strive for accuracy and fairness.