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May 19 1967-Black Friday
Today marks the 39th anniversary of the first attack on "Downtown" Hanoi. Two F-4Bs, one A-6A and, one RA-5C were lost in that strike. If you have ever watched the shows produced about the Vietnam air war that discuss John McCain and feature footage of aircraft debris being retieved from Hanoi lake, you may not be aware that the flotsam is actually not from his aircraft. If you look closely (or better yet slow it down with DVR) you will see a "602" on a piece of wreckage in the lead boat, and then in the tethered 3 boats behind you will see more wreckage with "NH" in a faux asian style popular in the 1960s and the Bureau Number (BuNo) 150826. Also some shows feature a prominent shot of a piece of the vertical stab emblazoned with "Kitty Hawk". NH were the tail letters for CVW-11 deployed on the Kitty Hawk, and 6XX series were the side numbers for the RA-5's http://geta-o.maxs.jp/USMIL/A/A-5/150837(nh601)ra-5c-0296.jpg http://www.bobjellison.com/Vigilante.../vigi_cat3.jpg In this case the aircraft belonged to RVAH-13 "Bats" being flown by Jim Griffin and Jack Walters. Because it was Ho Chi Minh's birthday, the NVN were eager for a propaganda coup and made sure the cameras were rolling to capture a shootdown. They were not disappointed. Griffin and Walters were on the post strike BDA and left their F-4 escort behind to meet them on the other side of a dogleg into and back out of the target area (F-4s could not keep up with a Vigi' going the speed of heat, so this was a routine tactic.) 602 reported ingressing at 700 KIAS and flew into a wall of 57 mm fire. Other parts of the NVN footage shows the guns firing both from the grounds of what is now the war museum and from rafts on the lake, and then it cuts to the aircraft pitching up and ripping apart into a fireball. Griffin and Walters both survived the ejection (one thing the Vigi had were some truly excellent ejection seats made by NAA)but were badly injured and were captured immmediatley. Both were taken to the Hilton, and of course right to the Heartbreak Hotel. The spring and summer of '67 was the period of the worst brutality of the war meted out to the POWs and these two were not spared in spite of their injuries. They were forced to make a statement to a French journalist (donchyah just luv the French) which was subsequently played in the press. By the next day they were both dead but they were listed as MIA until the end of the war. While it is known they were tortured, no one is sure if they died directly from it. However, it is fairly certain that if their injuries had been treated they would have lived. There is now a plaque commemorating the shootdown on the wall of the war museum in Hanoi and one of their helmets is on display as well. http://www.virtualwall.org/dg/GriffinJL01a.htm http://www.virtualwall.org/dw/WaltersJx01a.htm |
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May 19 1967-Black Friday
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May 19 1967-Black Friday
How is this certain? Do we know what their injuries were? Also, the NV were not known for their sophisticated medical care. I dont know the details, but they were well enough to be interviewed and give a statement. These folks would know more since they were the http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/b/b082.htm http://www.captaincoffee.com/ |
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