Your comment is appreciated Doug. I've got no problems with gold bears and think their presence is very helpful in providing a balance to the forum. It's just that displays of rudeness (and many of us have been guilty of it from time to time) should be discouraged. I have to agree w/ Bob Johnson's well said comments on the matter.
Always nice to recognize a fellow Vietnam Vet. I have the highest regards for Marines and members of the other branches who served our country and would not have wanted to have traded places. As an Air Force pilot, I too saw more action than I wanted. As you'll most likely agree it was a terrible war and it put many of us through some big changes since then. I realized from my experience that wars should never be fought unless absolutely all attempts for peace have been exhausted. And pride should never enter into the equation.
In '65 TAC was supposed to deploy me to Da Nang but at the last minute in 66 I was sent to Korat instead where I flew the F-105 until early 1968 phased out by the F-4 pilots. The F-105 Thunderchief was made by Republic and nicknamed various affectionate names such as "Thud," "Ultra-Hog," "Lead-Sled," etc. It reminded me of a huge "flying soda bottle" with short wings and a monster J-75 engine made by Pratt & Whitney. We had a sophisticated doppler navigational system, radar for precision bombing, Thunderstick system for weapons delivery, 6,000 rounds per minute M-61 20mm cannon and Sidewinder missiles. This well armed baby not only carried big 12,000 pound payloads but also hauled ass deep into North Vietnam where the Chinese and North Vietnamese with their soviet made SAMs and 120mm gun batteries and Soviet manned MiG-21s waited for us - some early mornings it reminded me of 4th of July fireworks. Thank God for the Wild Weasel pilots and their Shrike missiles that did a courageous job of clearing out SAM batteries for us. Hauling our big package we flew very low and fast down Thud Ridge on approach to Hanoi dodging anti-aircraft artillery, SAMs & MiGs where we unloaded on our targets and then kicked in our afterburner enroute to our rendezvous with a KC-135 tanker back to Thailand. Those days are thankfully long gone. I just wish that wars could be a thing of the past, but I realize that's not going to happen anytime soon. Sorry to ramble. |
