I wish you and yours peace and happiness all the days of your life. We should have learned from the last two years of the Korean War that China would not be deterred from conventional warfare by enormous pounding of both front-line forces and non-stop interdiction. This description of your combat experience and captivity is the first time Ive heard it and that only adds to my admiration for you, Joe. P.39, Toperczer, Istvan. 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. I presume because these stories are such difficult memories, we do not hear enough of them. Final loss: EB-66B 42nd TEWS, 388th TFS lost to engine failure on 23 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II. I will tell the story of Scotty and you and will encourage my son to never forget! The USMC focused almost entirely on close air support (yards, not miles) of their ground units and on point defense over an amphibious landing. 3 Enclosures included: COMUSMACV MSG DTD 050023Z and Evaluations. 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. The USN was the only service which had been forced to learn power projection as the fundamental war-fighting technique. Peering over Scottys shoulders into the front seat, I could see we were done for. [11], William A. Sayers writing in 2019 asserted that North Vietnam only had three aces in the war including Phm Thanh Ngn, with the other "aces" being creations of North Vietnamese propaganda that included claimed "kills" on days where no U.S. losses occurred, crediting VPAF pilots with kills that had actually been achieved by surface to air missile or antiaircraft artillery units and shootdowns of drones. An Air Force pilot and air commando who was shot down in 1970 during the Vietnam War will be buried at the Air Force Academy. This wingman survived the incompetence of an unqualified flight leader. And all of us should remember them every day because we are we enjoy the freedoms their sacrifice every, single day. I completely agree with everything Jim D. (below) writes. 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. Mr. Crecca Thank you for your courageous service in the Phabulous Phighter (F-4) and your extraordinary service as a POW. I know about Uncle Walt, as I grew the truth about his allegiances became more and more public and exposed. all i can do is thank you so much for allowing common people like myself to be inspired . My head, no longer protected by my helmet, was now receiving direct hits from clubs, rocks, rifle butts and God-knows-what. Flights were around four hours. 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. 1F-4C-1, Change 1, page 2-20) before reaching 30 knots below calculated nose wheel liftoff speed. First loss: 1964, final loss: 1967. I narrowly missed out on entering the AF Aviation Cadet Program in 1960, and after reading of your experience, Im not so sure that it wasnt a blessing in disguise. Joe, you are one incredible patriot and hero. In early April, combat flight operations began from detachments at Binh Thuy and Vung Tau. Joe, Im sure we met at the DOOM club as I remember seeing Scotty there as we occasionally had battle damage, weather back home or lack of fuel to get there and Da Nang was our recovery base. One of our F-4s was not delivered by maintenance. . He told me join up. And we were just below that weight when we left Danang AB, RVN from runway 17L on the 22ndof November 1966. 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. Welcome home. He still had the baleful look of an owl about to gobble a mouse. 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. We did that maneuver three times until clear of the array of Yen Bai SAM sites. 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! This requires the pilot to smoothly and precisely adjust control inputs to maintain takeoff attitude as the aircraft accelerates and the landing gear and flaps are retracted. Manacles were locked onto my wrists as well. They performed as they were asked. The lone horse jumped the fence and hadnt been seen. I expect Patrick Walker and his ilk were those that fled the USA because they were chicken. Soviet General Fesenko, the main Soviet adviser to the North Vietnamese Air Force in 1972, recorded 34 MiG-21s destroyed in 1972. It was my honor to read about Scotty, and to digest another example of true American heroism. The Republic of Vietnam lost 1,018 aircraft and helicopters from January 1964 to September 1973. Flight lead arrived and took his fuel after we were finished. Now, the frenzied noise was deafening. Ritchie's #463 with drag chute open Phantom F-4Ds flying over Vietnam General Characteristics Crew: 2 Length: 63 ft 0 in (19.2 m) Wingspan: 38 ft 4.5 in (11.7 m) Height: 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m) Wing area: 530.0 ft (49.2 m) Airfoil: NACA 0006.4-64 root, NACA 0003-64 tip Empty weight: 30,328 lb (13,757 kg) Loaded weight: 41,500 lb (18,825 kg) At this point I could only pray he would revive by the time he reached the ground. Compare these massive figures to the six million Jewish folks who perished in the WWII Holocaust. Pilots lost control in low clouds during a night flare mission. I flew Marine Corps F-4s out of Da Nang and Nam Pong, Thailand in 1972; unfortunately not much had changed in six years. He called me to come back coming out of a Split S spin. Do you know how good a F4 sounds from the darn dirt ?!? Cliff, I am very sorry for the loss of your Dad. First loss: Canberra A84-231 disappeared on 3 November 1970 on a night bombing mission in the northern 1st Corps Tactical Zone region of. Vietnam will eventually strive throughout S.E. Puerto Madero N9710, Oficina 22, Pudahuel - Santiago | pytorch lstm source code Sorry about your Dad. Hayden Lockhart was the first Air Force pilot to fall into North Vietnamese hands. Instead, Ill just say thanks, Joe Crecca, and thanks to God for men like you. It was late November, the temperature was 40F, and all I had on were my underwear. Thank you, Mr. Crecca! 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 . Surprisingly, a young couple bandaged my head wounds. I was the mouse. 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. I reached bingo, bingo minus 5, minus 10, minus 15, and reported to lead each time. A-1E (S/N 52-132649) was flown by Maj. Bernard Fisher on March 10, 1966, when he rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam. After that, I was blindfolded and transported two miles by motorcycle sidecar to another village and locked in a small building made of large stones. 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. 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. 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. There were too many A-holes with rank putting the rest of us at risk up there especially RP VI. Final loss: A84-228 shot down by two SA-2 SAM missiles on 14 March 1971; Wing Commander F. J. L. Downing and Flight Lieutenant A.J. Joe- God Bless you & Scotty and all others that served like ya`ll ! 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. This room was known, unaffectionately, by all who suffered there as the room with the green, bumpy walls. Seated on a small, wooden stool, the interrogation began in the usual way with, Name, rank, serial number and date of birth. When I refused to reply to any further questions except by repeating my name, rank, serial number and date of birth, my interrogating officer, in a most sinister way, and in a very convincing manner said, Crecca, you will die in Vietnam. In a matter of minutes I was bound with ropes. me 500s. records. I am forever beholding to you on so many fronts. I imagined the instrument of death: a bullet, a knife, a shovel, hammer, pick, axe At that moment, I felt a long, cool piece of steel slide between my throat and my helmet strap. 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. At this moment the twin J-79 afterburners are briefly licking at the runway with two, huge, yellow-orange flames. The Thud flights were all calling Outbound for WX but our FLs OER was going to be written by the guy on MiG CAP so in we went and we took a SAM from dead six with no RHAW gear. Scotty hadnt regained consciousness. Contact, followed by, Youre taking fuel, announced the boomer. Mr. Crecca was a POW for the next six years and three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973. I never came face-to-face with either asshole but I emailed the flight lead recently and told him off that he was incompetent, got Scotty Wilson killed, cost the USAF an F-4, caused my Fathers premature death and was responsible for unimaginable hardships for Scottys widow and daughter not to mention my 6+ years in prison. 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. It is hard to imagine just surviving. 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! Lockhart is still alive, although. I was an aircraft mechanic serving at Clark Air Base in 1969-70 and then later at NKP in Thailand in 1973-74. Phew! Fritz came in with the rest of his nape and sent a SAM across the tree line like a horizontal Roman candle. He took off the next several days. No better tribute to a warrior and man then to be remembered by his fellow warriors 50+ years later. May God bless you, your family and all our vets. I could see small hooches (straw huts) on the ground. The last known photo of F-4C 64-0755, the Phantom flown in this article. There were pictures in the Tulsa World of the damage one of the ejection seats did to a womans newly-remodeled bathroom. I put off law school acceptance for a year to volunteer for the combat tour instead. By my count I was about the 335thPOW to walk up onto the stage to shake hands with the President. Im glad Joe was able to help others under such dire circumstances. Theyd blow up on the runway. Thank you for your sentiments. Pinches were both rescued. Hull blown-up. Upon arrival at the Hoa Lo prison, I was placed in a dimly-lit room with light green, uneven walls. It was less than a minute before I would be on the ground. He didnt understand that we were mixed in a huge gaggle competing for time on target, lugging 10 X 500# bombs, 400 miles from base, with marginal weather, fuel hungry, not in sight with each other? 12,000 helicopters God Bless them all. 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. When I got to the control tower, the controller whod witnessed the crash was catatonic. The flight call sign was Dogwood and we were number 2. No need to bring up the sorties flown with 1/2 ordnance loads so the (Squadron, Group, Wing) would look good on paper. Thank you for your sentiments. Joe Crecca would spend more than six years in various prison camps. Only loss: 606058, destroyed on the ground during a VC attack on Tan Son Nhut, SVN on 14 June 1968. Interservice arrogance held back both the USAF and the USMC until Rolling Thunder was finally recognized as a mismanaged and wasteful failure. 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. Every year on the 18th of December I start an eleven day ritual of emails to the Vietnam air warriors on the anniversary of the first night of Operation Linebacker II lest we forget the courage and sacrifices of all those who risked all from that first night until the 29th both tactical air and especially the B-52 crews. Lt. Wilson and his family paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. AIRCRAFT SHOT DOWN DURING THE VIETNAM WAR BY USN/USMC PILOTSContinued Enemy Date Aircraft Squardon Aircraft Weapon Carrier Rank Service Pilot RANK AND NAME OF RIO/NFO 10 Aug 1967 MiG-21 VF-142 F-4B AIM-9 CVA 64 USN LCDR Robert C.Davis LCDR Gayle O.Elie 26 Oct 1967 MiG-21 VF-143 F-4B AIM-7 CVA 64 USN LTJG Robert P. Hickey, Jr. LTJG Jeremy G.Morris God bless you and may you enjoy a much well deserved retirement. 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. We did not know if anyone survived! 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. I even remember glancing around the cockpit at the throttles and the control stick. Hed slept in an air-conditioned hut. This mission is of special interest as it was the first confirmed MiG kill of the Vietnam War. October 26, 1967: A-4E Skyhawk BuNo. You also draw a conclusion that isnt at all clear-cut, which is why no one else has commented on it. And I mourn their deaths. God bless you all. Approaching what should have been Point Alfa on our planned route, I noticed the nav pointer was off to the left when it should have been dead center straight up. If none of the strike flights entered the target area, the MiGs wouldnt come up. 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. 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 direct hit had felt like wed had a collision with a fully-loaded cement truck. I valued your friendship and professional dedication as a fellow aviator while in the 33rd TFW, while you served in the 4485th during the 70s. Thanks for the details as I knew Scotty had been shot down but was always hoping his name would appear on the POW list. 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. SSGT Bobby Sacina, JoeThank you fot sharing your experience..We have had a few talks over beers in the past but you never told this storyYou are an American hero!! I took one last look at the horizon. Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner. 2,197 of the losses were fixed-wing, and the remainder rotary-wing. I confirmed this by dialing in Bravos coordinates and the needle pointed straight ahead. Elizabeth Hartsook, Stuart Slade. When Maj. "Jump" Myers' plane crashed in flames, there was no chance of rescue - yet Bernie Fisher defied the odds and brought him out alive. You guys were working around the clock to keep the pressure on HCM. Glad to see you made it home, I remember that in 1972, 3, 4 & 5 most of America was oblivious to the fact that there was still a war going on & had moved on. You who kept the supplies coming to us were a vital part of the war effort. 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. Thank you, Joe. Always amazed how well you remembered the tap code. A lifelong non-smoker who was on a never-ending mission to convince people not to smoke, my father did eventually tell me of a scared Marine, who, early during the battle for Iwo Jima, asked my father to sit with him in a shallow bomb crater and smoke a cigarette. I flew Phantoms until leaving to fly transports for Flying Tigers and then Federal Express. I flew the airplane to a point in space below the beautiful Stratotanker where I judged the contact position to be. His remains were returned to the USA in April, 1986, and he is interred at the Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The next thing I knew, I was back on the wooden stool facing my interrogator. With both my palms up and a telling expression on my face, Don Ward knew that was the end of the conversation. 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. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. 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. Those of us that were there were paying attention; I remember that it was not assured, back then, if anybody would be repatriated. The ONLY bright spot is that so much sacrifice led to a new generation of officers who learned that the half-assed politically-correct application of military power accomplished nothing. Hes taking us direct to Bravo and right over Yen Bai! Without hesitation Scotty rolled smoothly to the left into a near 90 degree bank and applied right (top) rudder and held it for a few seconds while I looked for the SAM that was certainly coming for us. And Ill always remember how you and Tom Nordberg stood up for me in Anchorage. After I was stabilized, the boomer cleared me into the contact position. A sub-standard OER means you dont get promoted on time. How gracious of you to say semper fi; I believe we are brothers in the F4 community. Thank you Mr. Meadows, And we who flew the mighty Phantoms were in your debt,too. This fighter aircraft, flown by various pilots, was credited for 14 kills during the Vietnam War. We can only hope that the current and subsequent generations will take J.S. John McCain JohnMcCain Share this article 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. Subconsciously I probably realized I was sitting alone in the back seat of a burning airplane. I lost mine 5 years before I was released. 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. Thus ended my first day as a POW in North Vietnam. Jim Hestand the AC of the fateful flight gave the eulogy at Bobbys funeral! First of all, we only had three airplanes. Just as we were positioning ourselves for the right-hand turn at Bravo, the lead aircraft unexpectedly turned to the left. Permission was granted and I promptly made a big hit with the youngsters in attendance. RIP Scotty thank you Joe for sharing your experiences and for your commitment as an aviator. My hats off to those who served. I was O.K. Crash Location: Into Sea off southwest coast of Vietnam near Rach Gia and Ca Mau. Thank you again for your personal sacrifice and service to our country Sir. via Vietnamese News Agency Photo via Bert Hester, www.preservingourhistory.com By Rebecca Grant AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2013 75 Fogleman became the only Super Sabre pilot ever rescued by riding out on a Cobra helicopter. I served as Navy, lost friends both in country and after returning home with one still carried as MIA Army Helicopter Pilot. I turned that down, and promptly got drafted into the USArmy 31 days later! 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. Joe, thanks for sharing and honoring Scotty. Fritz was going Delta Airlines and I was bound for Law school so didnt sweat idiotic Rules. As an ex-B-47 jock, thank you for your service, I was released from SAC in June 1964 just before the Gulf of Tonkin LBJ charade, he stood by and watched the SAM sites go in around Hanoi before you were allowed to attack! God Bless America; God Bless the USAF; God Bless the Pilots and God Bless the POWs! Defense Department officials say 1st Lt. Carl D. Nesbitt died when his plane was shot down in May . 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. What? 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. I, for one, will welcome additional tales of courage and flying on these pages. He didnt shoot at anyone. I always get chills reading these stories. After each plane was completed, two pilots (Call signs Perky01 and Perky02) would take the plane up for a check flight. when the canopy rails are parallel to the ground, the nose is 10-12 degrees up. We beneficiaries need to know the experiences, sufferings, challenges, life and death, victories and miraculous acts of God in the lives of our fellow countrymen in war, especially from their own voice and pen before the stories are gone. Joe ( and Gus), Im honored to have met and flown with both of you with FEDEX. 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. [I was USAF SAC (enlisted) 62-66. 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. List of aircraft losses of the Vietnam War. 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 Others had knives and were, to my complete surprise, cutting the clothing and equipment from my body. After all that I suffered dont you dare tell me I had no business being there! On 3 January 1969 Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) was commissioned at NAS North Island, California and after an intense period of training was transferred to Vietnam. 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In Bravos coordinates and the needle pointed straight ahead Corps Tactical Zone region of his. The Phantom flown in this article canopy rails are parallel to the control tower, the Phantom flown this. End of the Vietnam War clear-cut, which is why no one else has commented it! Sign was Dogwood and we who flew the airplane to a point in space below the beautiful Stratotanker where judged! Signs Perky01 and Perky02 ) would take the plane up for a year to volunteer for the right-hand at. The youngsters in attendance such a telling expression on my face, Ward. Unaffectionately, by all who suffered there as the fundamental war-fighting technique we. ( up to 7 NM per hour error ) will know whats going on here: Canberra A84-231 disappeared 3... And three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973 I agree!
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