On 07 Aug 2004 23:42:44 GMT, (BUFDRVR) wrote:

ArtKramr wrote:

Did Michel actually fly B-52's?

Ed maybe able to answer this, because I've heard conflicting stories. During
Linebacker II, Michel was flying F-4s, so he was an eyewitness (as much as you
can be from an F-4). I've got both of Michel's books "Clashes" and "The 11 Days
of Christmas" and both book jackets say the same thing about Michel, that he
flew RF-4Cs, F-4Es and eventually F-15s. *However* a guy I met at the Pentagon
claims he was told Michel's first assignment was to B-52s. According to the
book jacket; "He joined the Air Force in 1966 and in 1970 was assigned to the
432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at the Royal Thai Air Force Base in
Thailand". Surely some part of his initial 4 years was UPT and an FTU, but
could he have a short BUFF assignment? Ed?


BUFDRVR


I can't speak definitively regarding those four years from '66 to '70
in Marsh's background. I've known him for about six years now, first
through some extensive interviews I did with him for "Eleven Days",
then meeting face-to-face at River Rats in Atlanta in 2000. He was
accompanied by a video crew collecting footage for a Linebacker II
documentary. I did about two hours of taping with them and spent a lot
of time talking with Marsh.
(http://www.teleproductiongroup.com/12_72-main.html)

I can confirm that he flew RF early, then F-4Es during Linebacker and
finally Eagles. (If I had to guess at his first assignment, I'd say
FAIP.)

In his research for "Eleven Days" he did a lot of interviewing of
participating crews, particularly BUFF crews and SAC leadership. He
also spent considerable time in Hanoi talking with the air defense
forces and examining their records. The documentation supporting
Eleven Days is professional quality. The work is well researched,
referenced and cited.

Marshall and John Sherwood, USN Historian, are the two guys that got
me off my butt to write When Thunder Rolled and who opened the doors
at Smithsonian Books to get the work published. I owe them both a lot.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
"Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights"
Both from Smithsonian Books
***www.thunderchief.org