Im sorry that you had to suffer so much but you had no business what so for ever being there. And the plane that carried them, a Then, I was pushed face down to the floor and blindfolded. 
It was great to learn about your time before FTL/FDX. Thanks so very much. 
My head, no longer protected by my helmet, was now receiving direct hits from clubs, rocks, rifle butts and God-knows-what. P.463, Migs over North Vietnam: The Vietnam People's Air Force in Combat, 196575, Stackpole Military History, Crashed while attempting emergency landing, Phantom with U.S. Marine Corps (Joe Baugher), List of United States aerial victories of the Vietnam War, South Viet Nam Airforce VNAF Equipment. I rest easy at night because of people like you. I even remember glancing around the cockpit at the throttles and the control stick. Glad you made it back. | site designed by, Beginners Luck: Winning my first aerobatics competition, Hand-Flying a Category IIIA approach and landing with almost no visibility, Cold weather clarity staying calm in an emergency, Returning to the air after a suspended medical, The $20/hour Cessna 172 experimentUpdate. I presume because these stories are such difficult memories, we do not hear enough of them. Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. This was the first time during the Vietnam War that an American pilot shot down two enemy airplanes during the same mission. Thank you for your sentiment. 0000002689 00000 n
No one shot at him. WebU.S. Not that northern Laos is a very hospitable place to be, but it would give you a better chance for a rescue by an Air Force chopper. 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. According to what looks like a reasonably well-sourced page on Wikipedia, a total of 3,032 aircraft were lost to hostile action during the Vietnam War (the actual total was considerably higher, as these numbers don't include Army rotary-wing aircraft), which means at least that many pilots were shot down (yes, some were shot down more than once, but they are way more than offset by the many aircraft that had two pilots). I wanted to join you in 1969 after college graduation, but my eyes only qualified me as good enough for USAF navigator. Select the first letter of the last name of the person you want to find: 0000008043 00000 n
The four-foot stabilizing chute was severed, my lap belt was opened and the butt snapper straps straightened, booting me out of the seat while simultaneously pulling the ripcord that would deploy my parachute. God Bless you, Joe, and all those who flew and fought in Vietnam. It suddenly dawned on me that he would not surrender his place on the controllers list and lose the chance for his Silver Star! The U.S. MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War. Summer-67- Lost an engine to one but miraculously survived blast suffocation and stupidly re-started the J-79 after safely- feet wet. North Vietnam lost 150 170 aircraft and helicopters. Flight lead arrived and took his fuel after we were finished. But, I knew the SA-2 was a powerful weapon; 400 lbs. In those fights, the U.S. Air Force lost 64 aircraft and the Navy lost 12. By this time I was at 1,500 ft. The result was the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 27JAN1973 and the release of 591 POWs. Directional control was by use of nose wheel steering or rudder up to 70 knots, at which airspeed the rudder became effective. At the very least, he had just been knocked out. WebShot Down During Vietnam: A Fighter Pilot's Story History.com Editors TV-14 2:42 In 1966, an American fighter pilot took off from the USS Enterprise near the coast of Vietnam, only I have four children- ages 34, 30, 11 and 8 and am Grandma to 3 ages 8, 8 & 5. My father was at Danang in 67/68. The NVA never admitted to capturing them! Thank you for sharing this. But for many years I wondered about what premonitions he also might have had that were similar to those Id had when I awakened. In fact all those who kept us in the air were. In Reply to B. Fearn by the author of Shot Down Over North Vietnam, War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A story that is the most gripping, truly horrifying and of sacrifices. Joe Crecca would spend more than six years in various prison camps. Just recently back from the Academy F-4 Phantom ceremony. Ill never understand your sacrifice, but want to thank you for it! The lone horse jumped the fence and hadnt been seen. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. 0000003754 00000 n
He did this all without missing a beat. U-21 losses need added When I got to the control tower, the controller whod witnessed the crash was catatonic. 3 crewmen were KIA. Just a wild guess but you just enjoy your freedoms while you let others do the fighting and take the risks. Scotty preflighted the weapons: six-M117, 750 lb. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. No need to bring up the sorties flown with 1/2 ordnance loads so the (Squadron, Group, Wing) would look good on paper. I reached bingo, bingo minus 5, minus 10, minus 15, and reported to lead each time. 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. I wish I could have expressed my thanks to your Elder Eagle for successfully completing his mission to spring me out of jail. It was -55F at 32,000 feet for over two hours and pressure breathing 100% Oxygen in a summer flight suit. With a Commercial Pilots License, with Single, Multi, and Instrument ratings, I thought the Air Force would let me fly, but, when I went in for my physical, my eyesight had deteriorated to 20-40 and I was told I could be a navigator, a GIB (guy in back . In exchange, USAF F To increase air support for the SEALORDS Operation in South Vietnam's Mekong Delta, the Navy "borrowed" twenty North American Aviation OV-10A Broncos from the United States Marine Corps. Its a tough story to take. The session finally came to an end after midnight. 17 What happened to the nurses on Bataan? Im sorry for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on this thread. You've read 1 out of 5 free articles of Naval History this month. A MiG-15 jet fighter is shot down by a U.S. Navy fighter over Korea. We knew radio chatter was recorded. Scotty yelled, GET OUT! With the OUT still echoing in my ears there was a BOOM!, then the air noise of the jettisoned canopy. 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. At the most fundamental level, we failed to evaluate the reasons why Germany, Korea, Vietnam and others were divided at the end of WWII. I am forever beholding to you on so many fronts. He called me to come back coming out of a Split S spin. Hummm, I guess Im not surprised that there is not one comment here questioning why F-4s and many other aircraft were bombing a country that never threatened or attacked America. So that the pilot does not have to be utilizing his attitude indicator for this, the canopy rails happen to be canted downward at just the correct angle making it possible to perform the takeoff maneuver using purely visual references, e.g. Web15 How many Cobras were shot down in Vietnam? The aircraft banked sharply to the left, then to the right. You softy, dont deserve the freedom which we veterans fought and died for! Jim Hestand the AC of the fateful flight gave the eulogy at Bobbys funeral! Charles Barbin DeBellevue successfully shot down a North 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. The names of the eight women who died in Vietnam are included on the list of over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Commander Everett Alvarez Jr., the first pilot shot down over Vietnam in 1964. 0000001467 00000 n
The cockpit pressure vessel was intact; incredibly, it had not been penetrated despite a direct hit by a Soviet SA-2 missile traveling at over Mach 2 with a 400 lb., high-explosive warhead! May God continue to bless you, Joe. It is hard to imagine just surviving. Get it? Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner. We actually believed that the letters U.S. would frighten away any adversary who realized that we were in the confrontation. Although thank you is not enough, I do thank you for your service. 17 What happened to the nurses on Bataan? But there was no SAM. Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. Joe- God Bless you & Scotty and all others that served like ya`ll ! Cant really say I enjoyed reading your piece, although I could not stop reading. 2,197 of the losses were fixed-wing, and the remainder rotary-wing. First loss: Canberra A84-231 disappeared on 3 November 1970 on a night bombing mission in the northern 1st Corps Tactical Zone region of. I learned Russian and some higher math. And I mourn their deaths. But survival instincts and thorough ejection training were running the show. Cliff, I am very sorry for the loss of your Dad. In Novosels two tours in Vietnam, he flew 2,543 extraction missions, rescuing over 5,500 seriously wounded soldiers. The other Marine brought a lit match to the cigarette hed placed in his mouth, and as soon as he did, ZING, a bullet went through the Marines helmet and skull. Thank you for your bravery and endurance. Phew! One of our F-4s was not delivered by maintenance. 0000003930 00000 n
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