1. Goldstein, Lessons in Disaster, 97–98.
2. Goldstein, Lessons in Disaster, 132.
3. McMaster, Dereliction of Duty, 82. McNamara told Johnson, “Divide and conquer is a pretty good rule in this situation. And to be quite frank, I’ve tried to do that in the last couple of weeks and it’s coming along pretty well” (82).
4. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.1, iii. Gradualism can be traced to a series of papers written in March 1964. Perhaps the most important was a policy statement produced by McGeorge Bundy. Known as National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) 288, this document established the Johnson administration’s policy in Southeast Asia (see The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.1, 40–56).
5. Following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy and his staff developed a distinct distrust for the JCS. They believed the military would have pushed the country into war with the Soviet Union had the president and his advisors not been so resolute. This experience colored their thinking and helped reinforce what they witnessed during Operation Yankee Team.
6. DESOTO is an acronym for DEHAVEN Special Operations off Tsingtao. USS DeHaven (DD-727) conducted the first patrol in 1962 in response to China following the tense standoff between Taiwan and mainland China.
7. Goldstein, Lessons in Disaster, 133.
8. Hanyok, “Skunks,” 39. See also Moise, Tonkin Gulf.
9. Goldstein, Lessons in Disaster, 156.
10. Hearings by the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, 90th Cong., 1st sess. (testimony of Hon. Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense, 25 August 1967), pt. 4, 303.
11. U.S. Navy Intelligence Lessons Learned in Vietnam, 15 January 1974, folder 2, box 2, pp. 5–6, Andrade Collection, https://vva.vietnam.ttu.edu/repositories/2/digital_objects/619866.
12. Sharp, Strategy for Defeat, 122.
13. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, provides background on the decisions leading up to the POL strikes.
14. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, 141–43.
15. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, 179.
16. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness, 236.
17. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, 178.
18. Carrier aircraft are severely restricted by weight requirements. Bringing back unused ordnance means less fuel in order to meet the weight limit required to safely land.
19. Westmoreland, A Soldier Reports, 144.
20. Berger, The USAF in Southeast Asia, 75; Smith, Rolling Thunder, 80.
21. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 181.
22. Oral history transcript, Robert S. McNamara, interview 1 (I), 1 August 1975, by Elspeth D. Rostow, pp. 53–54, LBJ Library Oral Histories, https://www.discoverlbj.org:443/item/oh-mcnamarar-19750108-1-90-4.
23. For discussion on this topic, see McNamara and Van De Mark, In Retrospect; McNamara et al., Argument without End; Hendrickson, Living and the Dead; and Sorley, Westmoreland.
24. See Barlow, Revolt of the Admirals. The cancelation of USS United States in 1949 brought the debate to a head, resulting in the “Revolt of the Admirals.” The incident started a debate, still ongoing, in the American military about the role of strategic bombing, nuclear weapons, and the unification of military command under civilian leadership.
25. Smith, Rolling Thunder, 225.
26. Smith, Rolling Thunder, 111.
27. Rasmussen, email to the author, 27 July 2005.
28. Foster, Captain Hook, 132.
29. McRae, “U.S. Navy,” app. A, p. 5. The actual number of aircraft lost during the campaign is difficult to determine, as definitions of combat and operational losses varied by service. For example, an aircraft shot down by AAA on a combat mission is considered a combat loss, while an aircraft lost while launching at the beginning of a combat mission is considered an operational loss. Almost one-third of all navy losses during the Vietnam War were a result of operational accidents, which took their toll in both men and machines. It is generally accepted that 850–900 aircraft were lost during the three years of Operation Rolling Thunder.
30. McRae, “U.S. Navy,” chap. 2, p. 13.
31. Smith, Rolling Thunder, 120.
1. Cima, A Country Study, 242–43.
2. Prados, “The ’65 Decision”; Pribbenow, Victory in Vietnam, 165–66. In August 1964 three of eleven VPAF regiments were radar units. Forty-four radars were confirmed and sixteen suspected by February 1965, figures that grew by another 50 percent in three months and 2.5 times over the next year.
3. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness, 235.
4. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness, 236.
5. Michel, Clashes, 2.
6. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness, 261; Whiting, Chinese Calculus, 170. The actual number of American aircraft lost to Chinese pilots may never be known, as China gave credit to North Vietnam to deny an American excuse for retaliation. Likewise, the United States often failed to note the loss of American aircraft that had been downed by China so that the Chinese could not confirm any potential wrongdoing, such as violations of Chinese airspace.
7. Zhang, “The Vietnam War,” 756.
8. Zhang, “The Vietnam War,” 756.
9. Prados, “The ’65 Decision.”
10. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 176.
11. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 177.
12. Shershnev, “No One Is Forgotten.”
13. Shershnev, “No One Is Forgotten.”
14. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 177.
15. Shershnev, “No One Is Forgotten.”
16. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 184.
17. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness, 261.
18. Davies, USN F-4 Phantom, 75.
19. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness, 262.
20. Michel, Clashes, 169.
21. Sharp, Strategy for Defeat, 66.
22. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 28.
23. Uhlig, Vietnam, 50.
24. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 20.
25. Michel, Clashes, 139.
1. Order of Battle for Carriers and Carrier-Based Squadrons in the Western Pacific (WestPac) and Vietnam 1964–1975, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/wars-conflicts-usnavy.html#anchor13254. Twenty-one aircraft carriers (fifteen CVA and six CVS) participated in Rolling Thunder. Although the antisubmarine carriers participated, their lack of a full air wing, including fighters, precluded many operations over North Vietnam. They complemented operations by hosting the helicopter squadrons so critical to CSAR.
2. Francillon, Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, 45.
3. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 26.
4. The time required from budget approval authorizing construction of a new carrier to her first deployment exceeded four years, so the only carriers commissioned during the war were laid down prior to its start. Today’s supercarriers were laid down during the war but were unavailable until after the fall of Saigon.
5. Michel, Clashes, 27. For an example of how this shortage affected the navy, see McBride, Shang Log, which chronicles the USS Shangri-La, a World War Two–era carrier during her last cruise of the war. The ship was beset by mechanical and morale issues throughout its nine-month cruise.
6. Holloway, “Tactical Command and Control of Carrier Operations,” in Naval Historical Center, Command and Control.
7. Foster, Captain Hook, 54.
8. VA-164, Command History, 1967, 28.
9. Only two Medals of Honor were awarded to naval aviators flying jets in. One went to Cdr. Jim Stockdale for his leadership of American POWs. The other was awarded posthumously to Lt. Cdr. Michael Estocin for his actions during two separate Iron Hand missions in the vicinity of Haiphong in April 1967.
10. The Fire Can and Fan Song radars are the NATO code names for Union equipment. The Fire Can radar controlled AAA, while the Fan Song radar controls the SA-2 missile.
11. VA-163, Command History, 1966, 32.
12. Thornborough and Mormillo, Iron Hand, 20.
13. VF-162, Command History, 1967, II-3.
14. Brown, email to the author, 11 October 2009; VF-162, Command History, 1967, II-2.
15. VF-162, Command History, 1967, II-3.
16. The F-8 community was the exception. The plane was the last fighter equipped with cannons, and its pilots continued to train and hone gunnery skills developed at the Fleet Air Gunnery Unit (FAGU) in the early 1960s.
17. See Michel, Clashes. Much has been written and debated about the reasoning behind USN and USAF loss rates during air-to-air combat in Vietnam. It is generally accepted that the “Loose Deuce” formations flown by navy fighters were superior to the air force’s “Fluid Four.” Michel provides perhaps the most unbiased and comprehensive in-depth look at the air war. He explains the differences in tactics, including the lessons learned from Rolling Thunder and how it led to the creation of Top Gun, the navy’s air-to-air tactics school, and the air force’s tactics school at Nellis Air Force Base.
18. Hershberg, Marigold, 88. The ICC used a fleet of tired Boeing 307 Stratoliners. The lumbering four-engine propeller planes were painted white with a blue stripe, identifying them as neutral. Unfortunately, they often found themselves caught between the United States and North Vietnamese. The flight between Tan Son Nhut, Phnom Penh, and Gia Lam in Hanoi was fraught with danger. It drove pilots and stewardesses to drink and shattered the nerves of those who remained, as most quit after experiencing the flight—it was that dangerous. Because of the ICC flights, Washington was compelled to impose more ROE to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats.
19. Naval Air Systems Command, “Report,” 20. See also Westrum, Sidewinder.
20. Morgan, “Dragon in the Sky.”
21. Morgan, “Dragon in the Sky”; Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 88.
22. Zaloga, Soviet Air Defence Missiles, 57.
23. Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake, California, is the home of operational and weapons testing for naval aviation. Its remote location, far from prying eyes, allowed testing against actual Soviet equipment during the Cold War.
24. Michel, Clashes, 38.
25. Price, Rolling Thunder, 50.
26. Price, Rolling Thunder, 3, 50.
27. Price, Rolling Thunder, 57.
28. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 183.
29. Morgan, “Orphans of the 7th Fleet.”
30. Morgan, “Orphans of the 7th Fleet.”
31. Morgan, “Orphans of the 7th Fleet.” See also Jones, “The Most Highly Decorated.”
32. Marcy, Sundowner Days, 34.
33. Sherwood, Afterburner, 292.
34. Sherwood, Afterburner, 293.
35. Stockdale, Thoughts, 64. Stockdale paraphrases Tom Wolfe’s article in this 1988 speech. Wolfe, The Truest Sport, 525–56.
36. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 34.
37. Arnold, “A Trip to the Suburbs.”
38. Michel, Clashes, 120.
39. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 176.
40. Michel, Clashes, 168.
41. Rasmussen, email to the author, 27 July 2005.
42. Michel, Clashes, 168.
43. For multiple accounts of this disastrous policy, see Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam.
44. Elkins, The Heart of a Man, 107–8.
45. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 42.
46. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 35.
47. Foster, email to the author, 19 September 2005.
48. Holloway, “Tactical Command.”
49. Rasimus, When Thunder Rolled, 104.
1. Cosmas, MACV, 219.
2. Hendrickson, The Living and the Dead, 69.
3. McMaster, Dereliction of Duty, 332–33.
4. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 241.
5. Lawson, Carrier Air Group Commanders, 35.
6. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 58.
7. Stockdale, In Love and War, 89.
8. Stockdale, In Love and War, 89.
9. Brown, email to the author, 8 July 2013.
10. Text of speech from Sharp, Strategy for Defeat, 97–99.
11. Stockdale, In Love and War, 91.
12. Grant, Over the Beach, 31–32.
13. Foster, Captain Hook, 107.
14. Stockdale, In Love and War, 91.
15. Foster, Captain Hook, 37.
16. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Wednesday, 5 May 1965; “U.S. Sailor Drowns in Sea,” Stars and Stripes, 12 May 1965; Foster, Captain Hook, 37.
17. Headquarters Military Assistance Command Vietnam, MACV 1965 Yearly Summary, 12; Schlight, The War, 45; Ryder, “Lead,” 214. Tom Meredith led the development and fielding of air force civil engineers, known as Prime Base Emergency Engineer Force (BEEF) and Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operational Repair Squadron, Engineer (RED HORSE) units. They have provided heavy construction and engineering support since this incident.
18. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Tuesday, 25 May 1965; Carrier Air Wing 16, Command History, 1965, 35.
19. Foster, Captain Hook, 37.
20. Marcy, Sundowner Days, 43.
21. Foster, Captain Hook, 59.
22. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 38.
23. Cable from Sullivan (Vientianne) to Admiral Sharp, CINCPAC, 4 June 1965, Air America and Civil Air Transport Collection, University of Texas at Dallas, http://www.utdallas.edu/library/uniquecoll/speccoll/aamnote/aam65.pdf.
24. In April 1965 F-4s from VF-96 engaged Chinese MiG-17s over Hainan Island. The incident was extremely controversial due to the fact that it occurred within Chinese airspace. The Johnson administration was terrified of PRC intervention, and the event was classified so that it would not publicly antagonize the Chinese. The PRC insisted that an F-4 had been downed by a “guided missile” fired by one of the other F-4s involved and that they had lost no aircraft. Most Americans believed the Chinese were lying, but in fact, they were closer to the truth than Washington. Events rapidly overtook the April engagement, and the historical record was left confused. This was due to the honest inability of the aviators to accurately recount what happened, as well as political revisionism, which dictated that no dogfights had occurred over Hainan. Seventh Fleet credited VF-96 with scoring the first MiG kill of the war, a misplaced honor.
25. Burgess and Rausa, US Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 29.
26. Air America, Command History, 1965, http://www.utdallas.edu/library/uniquecoll/speccoll/aamnote/aam65.pdf, 15.
27. Stockdale quoted in Lawson, Carrier Air Group Commanders, 101.
28. “Downed Flier Swapped for Ice Cream,” Stars and Stripes, 3 July 1965.
29. VMF(AW)-212, Command Chronology, 1965, II-10-2.
30. “Spotter Lauds Navy Pilots,” Stars and Stripes, 1 September 1965.
1. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 12-65, enclosure 1, table 1.
2. Wolfe, Mauve Gloves. Tom Wolfe was the first to mention the joke in publication, although the joke is referenced in many postwar publications concerning naval aviation; see Levinson, Alpha Strike; and Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station.
3. Mersky, F-8 Crusader Units, 27.
4. Lawson, Carrier Air Group Commanders, 101.
5. Foster, Captain Hook, 80.
6. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 40.
7. CINPACFLT, Command History, 1966, 31 January 1967, 135, folder 2, box 8, Sedgwick Tourison Collection, Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech University.
8. VMF(AW)-212, Command Chronology 1965, II-12-1.
9. Quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 43.
10. Foster, Captain Hook, 102.
11. Foster, Captain Hook, 108.
12. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 83.
13. Although marine squadrons have been a continuous part of carrier air wings since World War Two, marines do not typically lead them. In 2006 Col. Douglas Yurovich assumed command of CVW-9, the first marine since Ludden.
14. Holloway, Aircraft Carriers, 204; Wildenberg, Gray Steel, 241–46; Hooper, Mobility.
15. Holloway, Aircraft Carriers at War, 204.
16. Holloway, Aircraft Carriers at War, 204.
17. Holloway, Aircraft Carriers at War, 206.
18. “New Champ in Taking Ammo Aboard,” Stars and Stripes, 24 September 1965.
1. Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 190.
2. Mersky, “Belly,” 27.
3. Lt. Cdr. Dan Macintyre and Lt. (junior grade) Allen Johnson claimed a MiG-17. The MiG was flown by Nguyen Van Bay from the 923rd FR. Though his aircraft was severely damaged, he survived the war with many victories, among them a VF-111 Crusader in 1966. He retired from the VPAF in 1991.
4. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 12-65, 4.
5. Hirsch, Two Souls. The North Vietnamese threw Halyburton, a southerner, into a cell with Maj. Fred Cherry, an African American air force pilot. Cherry had been severely wounded, and by forcing Halyburton to care for Cherry, the North Vietnamese hoped to break both men. Instead, they became friends who depended on each other to survive the ordeal.
6. CINCPACFLT, The United States Navy in the Pacific Fleet 1965, 161.
7. Price, Rolling Thunder, 67-70.
8. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 12-65, 5.
9. Barnhill, “SAM Killer Mission,” 8.
10. National Security Agency, Southeast Asia / POW-MIA Affairs, https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/vietnam_powmia_docs/DocC.pdf.
11. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 12-65, 5.
12. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, B-I-3.
13. Barnhill, “SAM Killer Mission,” 8.
14. Pararescueman James Pleiman received the Silver Star for jumping into the water to rescue Huggins during a nine-minute gun battle. He was KIA during a similar rescue four months later.
15. VA-163, Command History, 1966, 25.
16. Smith quoted in Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 31.
17. Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 31.
18. Smith quoted in Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 32.
19. Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 33.
20. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 239.
21. Smith quoted in Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 35.
22. Morgan, “Orphans of Seventh Fleet,” 30.
23. Smith quoted in Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 35.
24. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Saturday, 6 November 1965. Oriskany steamed on a variable course of 300–330° for several hours to steam closer as the rescue unfolded. Captain Connolly turned into the wind to recover the aircraft and then sailed south. The log also shows entries for launching RESCAP A-1s during nonflying periods. Burgess and Rausa, U.S. Navy A-1 Skyraider Units, 36. The story was told during a 1990 reunion of air wing members and has appeared in several publications since. There are several versions, and each differs due to the haze and chaos of combat. The one common theme is of Captain Connolly sailing Oriskany into treacherous shoal-waters to help the pilots.
25. Foster, Captain Hook, 124.
26. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 178.
27. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 178.
28. Jenkins quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 36–42.
29. VA-152, Command History, 1967, 4.
30. Moore and Galloway, We Were Soldiers, 14.
31. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Wednesday, 17 November 1965; “Martha Raye Wows All Hands at Sangley,” Stars and Stripes, 25 November 1965.
32. Moore and Galloway, We Were Soldiers, 14. In November and December 1965, Western Union simply handed telegrams over to Yellow Cab drivers to deliver to families.
33. Foster quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 80.
34. Hershberg, Marigold, 13.
35. Foster quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 81.
36. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 133.
37. Moore and Galloway, We Were Soldiers, 323.
38. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, 21.
39. Hershberg, Marigold, 65.
1. VA-164, Command History, 1966, 7. Both the navy and air force held an advantage over the other services. Quality recruitment, coupled with the very real possibility of being drafted and sent into the meat grinder, led many young men to join these services. It was not enough to fill the ranks, however. See Sherwood, Black Sailor.
2. Foster, email to the author, 19 September 2005.
3. Foster, “The Saints of VA-163.”
4. VA-163, Command History, 1966, 12.
5. “US Gets Bad Deal in Bombs,” Denver Post, 17 April 1966, 6. A Pat Oliphant editorial cartoon published on 20 April 1966 spoofed McNamara’s response that the bomb shortages were baloney.
6. Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 264.
7. VA-163, Command History, 1966, 33.
8. Of five brothers, three became naval aviators during World War Two. That two brothers commanded the same ship was a first in naval history. See the obituary in the Boston Globe, 25 October 2006.
9. A quick read of any books in the bibliography quickly uncovers the pervasive “us vs. them” mentality. Fifty years later, the mentality is still insidious and colors many memories of the time.
10. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 July 2010.
11. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 July 2010.
12. Marcy, Sundowner Days, 41.
13. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Thursday, 7 July 1966; Bob Pearl, email to the author, 10 June 2010.
14. “Joint Chiefs Ask Raids on Haiphong Fuel, Oil,” Denver Post, 13 March 1966.
15. Uhlig, Vietnam, 37. McNamara also directed that the most experienced pilots be used, that good weather be maximized to promote accuracy, and that the axis of attack should be carefully considered.
16. David Kraslow, “Bomb Decision ‘Leak’ Probed,” Denver Post, 29 June 1966, 14.
17. Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 295.
18. Elkins, The Heart of a Man, 49.
19. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 11.
20. Waechter, letters to the editor, RNPA Contrails, August 2008, 7; Mersky, F-8 Crusader Units, 31.
21. “A Feeling for Freedom,” Time, 29 July 1966.
22. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-38, 272–74; O’Connor, MiG Killers, 50.
23. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-38, 274; Foster, Captain Hook, 177.
24. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-38, 274; Foster, Captain Hook, 177.
25. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-38, 274; O’Conner, MiG Killers, 50.
26. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-38, 276; O’Conner, MiG Killers, 50.
27. Foster, Captain Hook, 178.
28. Schaffert, email to the author, 30 June 2010.
29. Elkins, The Heart of a Man, 62.
30. Foster, “The Will to Survive,” Approach, December 1966, 4.
31. Foster, “The Will to Survive,” Approach, December 1966, 4.
32. Foster, “The Will to Survive,” Approach, December 1966, 4.
33. Foster, “The Will to Survive,” Approach, December 1966, 5.
34. Foster, “The Will to Survive,” Approach, December 1966, 5.
35. Foster, Captain Hook, 189.
36. Elkins, The Heart of a Man, 68–69. Frank Elkins’s wife changed names throughout when publishing the journal. Foster is called Falcon.
37. Foster, Captain Hook, 193.
38. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 15.
39. Elkins, The Heart of a Man, 77.
40. Engel, email to the author, 10 November 2009.
41. Gray, The Warriors, 28.
42. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 45.
43. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 46.
44. Giberson, “The Legend.”
45. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, 47.
1. Zaloga, Red SAM, 19. This figure is confirmed by CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, and CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 4-68.
2. Schaffert, email to the author, 30 June 2010.
3. VA-163, Command History, 1966, 33.
4. Schaffert, email to the author, 30 June 2010.
5. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 275.
6. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 19.
7. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, rescue synopsis, http://raunchyredskins.us/lnmb%20rescues/Levy.pdf.
8. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 19.
9. Mersky, F-8 Crusader Units, 53.
10. VA-152, Command History, 1967, 7.
11. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 20.
12. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 22.
13. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 22.
14. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 277–78.
15. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 277–78.
16. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 277–78.
17. CINCPAC, Command History, 1966, 502; McNamara and Van De Mark, In Retrospect, 245–46; Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 303–4.
18. VA-163, Command History, 1966, 31.
19. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-43, 301–3.
20. O’Connor, MiG Killers, 52. The Vietnamese eventually operated on his leg, and he spent four months in a cast. After that, it took two years, with help from his cellmate and fellow POWs, for him to achieve use of his leg.
21. Rime, email to the author, 26 January 2014; O’Connor, MiG Killers, 52.
22. Rime, email to the author, 26 January 2014; O’Connor, MiG Killers, 52.
23. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 11.
24. USS Oriskany, Cruise Book, 1966, 148; USS Oriskany, Deck Log, 16 September 1966.
25. USS Oriskany, Cruise Book, 1966, 147.
26. “Shipping Firm Thanks Oriskany for Rescue,” Stars and Stripes, 25 September 1966.
27. Davis, “Stopping by Carlin,” 15.
28. No longer a casino, the Riverside still stands next to the Truckee River in downtown Reno. It has been renovated with loft-style apartments, while the ground floor houses an upscale restaurant overlooking the river. The Jessie Beck Elementary School is not too far away, named after one of Nevada’s leading businesswomen.
29. Kling, The Rise, 9.
30. Davis, “Farewell Lady Jessie,” 14.
31. CINCPACFLT, Command History, 1966, 3.
32. Zaloga, Soviet Air Defence Missiles, 61.
33. Zaloga, Soviet Air Defence Missiles, 57.
34. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 15.
35. Davis, email to the author, 22 October 2010.
36. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 16.
37. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, 9 July 1966.
38. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, 23 August 1966; Maxwell, email to the author, 7 October 2010. Farris went through a Fleet Naval Aviator Evaluation Board (FNAEB) as a result of this incident. Farris had transitioned to A-3s after flying the A-1 and had been slow to learn the intricacies of flying the new airframe. Sadly, Farris was killed in the fire on 26 October.
39. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Sunday, 2 October 1966; rescue summary, http://raunchyredskins.us/Operations/Combat%20sar.htm.
40. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 16.
41. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-54, 355–59; O’Connor, MiG Killers, 53.
42. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 3-40, 68.
43. “Skyraider Downs MiG over North,” Stars and Stripes, 11 October 1966.
44. Maxwell, interview with the author, October 2005. Continued in email to the author, 21 August 2010.
45. Schaffert, email to the author, 2 July 2010. This version can be verified by watching a Public Affairs movie shot during Secretary McNamara’s visit. See http://research.archives.gov/description/85446.
46. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, 150.
47. Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 304.
48. Grant, Over the Beach, 91.
49. Schaffert, email to the author, 30 June 2010. I have searched all the Peanuts strips for 1966 and have been unable to find this comic strip. Further searches through the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes revealed no strip. It is likely that the cartoon had been published on Oriskany either in the ship’s newspaper or, more probably, in the ship’s air plan. The air plan is the schedule of the daily flights from the carrier. The front contains the schedule, while the back contains pertinent notes, including a schedule of the day’s nonflying events. Every day, each carrier in the navy publishes an air plan, which includes a cartoon, a tradition that is still upheld in naval aviation. The cartoons are frequently copies of original work, with new captions drawn in.
50. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.a, 166.
51. Isaacs, Vietnam Shadows, 39–40.
1. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 8–10.
2. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 47.
3. “A Carrier’s Agony,” Life, 25 November 1966.
4. “Agony of the Oriskany,” Time, 4 November 1966.
5. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 62.
6. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 58.
7. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 66–67.
8. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 68.
9. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 106–7.
10. “A Carrier’s Agony.”
11. Dick Schaffert has written a letter to Norm Levy every Memorial Day since the fire. Schaffert, interview with the author, February 2012.
12. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 34.
13. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 83.
14. “A Carrier’s Agony.”
15. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 34.
16. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 100.
17. “A Carrier’s Agony.”
18. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 104.
19. “Fire in Hangar Bay One,” All Hands, February 1967.
20. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 36.
21. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 81.
22. “A Carrier’s Agony.”
23. “A Carrier’s Agony.”
24. Foster’s Fire on the Hangar Deck places Meadows in his stateroom, while the CVW-16 Command History claims he was in the cockpit. Jay Meadows is deceased, so I was unable to confirm which story is correct. Other members of the air wing seem to remember him having climbed out of the cockpit prior to his heroics, but for most, their memories of the day are centered on what happened to them.
25. Schaffert, email to the author, 6 July 2012. After being blown into the hangar bay, Dick Schaffert dutifully made his way to VF-111’s ready room and then to the flight deck to man the alert. It was while manning the alert that he witnessed the beginning of Meadows’s heroics.
26. CVW-16, Command History, 1966, 37.
27. Schaffert, email to the author, 6 July 2012. The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the second highest noncombat medal for bravery awarded to members who distinguish themselves by heroism not involving conflict with an enemy. It is typically awarded for actions involving great risk of one’s own life. Other awardees include Cdr. Francis Brown, Lt. Howard Petty, Lt. (junior grade) Robert Williamson, Chief Warrant Officer Orville King, Aviation Electrician Chief Petty Officer John Johnson, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Henry Brooks, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class John Clark, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Walter Fletcher, Storekeeper 3rd Class Romey Rose, Airman Francis Soave, Airman Michael Pardi, and Airman Tillman Bennett.
28. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 77.
29. Foster, Fire on the Hangar Deck, 78.
30. Quoted in “Fire in Hangar Bay One.”
31. “Agony of the Oriskany.” A complete version of the text can be found in U.S. Seventh Fleet News Release 645-66, 28 October 1966, “Highlights of Rescue Operations during Oriskany Fire,” p. 5, folder 8, box 1, Ridgeway Collection.
32. Elkins, Heart of a Man, 72.
33. USS Forrestal never returned to combat, and the fire aboard USS Enterprise occurred after Rolling Thunder, during the lull in the air war before Operation Linebacker.
1. Headquarters Pacific Air Force, Air Tactics, 7.
2. For further information on this failed Italian-Polish peace initiative, see Hershberg, Marigold.
3. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 1-68, 415–55; Rasimuss and Olds, Fighter Pilot, 271–82.
4. Headquarters Pacific Air Force, Air Tactics, 7.
5. Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 143; Jacobsen, “Washington’s Management of the Rolling Thunder Campaign,” in Naval Historical Center, Command and Control; O’Connor, MiG Killers, 63.
6. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, 5.
7. VA-164, Command History, 1967, 2.
8. Sheeley, interview with the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia, October 2009. Buck Sheeley was eventually given command of VA-152, which he led through their transition to A-4 Skyhawks and eventual deployment aboard USS Shangri-La.
9. Schaffert and Brown, email to the author, 17 August 2011.
10. Schaffert and Brown, email to the author, 17 August 2011.
11. Schaffert and Brown, email to the author, 17 August 2011.
12. Brown, email to the author, 11 October 2009.
13. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.6.b, 147–56.
14. McNamara, interview, 23.
15. See McLaughlin, The Long, Hot Summer.
16. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 80.
17. Dittman, “Downed Pilot Eludes N. Viet’s Dogs,” Stars and Stripes, 20 July 1967.
18. Dittman, “Downed Pilot.”
19. Davis, email to the author, 27 April 2013.
20. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 306.
21. Dittman, “Downed Pilot.”
22. U.S. Air Force, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Air-to-Air Encounters in Southeast Asia, Volume I, Event 3-341, 386; O’Connor, MiG Killers, 90.
23. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 306.
24. Duthie, “Flightbag”; Span, interview with the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia, October 2009. Larry Duthie eventually returned to Vietnam and visited the Hourglass. Locals informed him that the area was used to relocate high-ranking Communist officials during the war. The defenses usually avoided firing upon airplanes to avoid drawing attention, but once the rescues began, aviators discovered how heavily defended the area was.
25. Duthie, email to the author, 19 January 2017; Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 307.
26. Duthie, email to the author, 19 January 2017; Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 307.
27. The radio antenna was located on top of the fuselage and thus masked any reception directly underneath the Sea King. Duthie, email to the author, 18 January 2017.
28. Duthie, “Flightbag”; Duthie, email to the author, 19 January 2017.
29. Duthie, “Flightbag”; Duthie, email to the author, 19 January 2017.
30. Frisbee, “Valor.”
31. Anxious to repeat the success of Verich’s rescue, Admiral Richards denied the attempt. Duthie, email to the author, 19 January 2017.
32. Galdorisi and Phillips, Leave No Man Behind, 308.
33. VA-164, Command History, 1967, 12; CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 4-68, A-VI-1; Span, interview with the author, October 2009; Duthie, email to the author, 22 January 2017.
34. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
35. Duthie, email to the author, 22 January 2017.
36. Rasmussen, email to the author, 28 July 2006.
37. Rasmussen, email to the author, 28 July 2006.
38. Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 204.
39. Mersky, US Navy and Marine Corps, 50.
40. Arnold, “A Trip.”
41. The rocket hit future Senator John McCain’s Skyhawk, puncturing his drop tank before going over the side and impacting the water.
42. USS Oriskany, Deck Log, 29 July 1967.
43. Addeeb, Oral History, 17.
44. Freeman, Sailors to the End, 210; Addeeb, Oral History, 18.
45. Freeman, Sailors to the End, 273.
46. U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General, “USS Forrestal (CVA-59) Fire Investigation,” 3.
47. Gray, Rampant Raider, 273.
48. Arnold, “A Trip.”
49. Days after this, another Sundowner pilot, John Laughter, earned a Distinguished Flying Cross during an alpha strike on the Hanoi battery plant. With little more than one hundred hours in the F-8, he took the lead after his wingman, Lt. Cdr. Dick Schaffert, suffered radio failure. Laughter kept the pair on station between Phuc Yen and the strike package while they dodged SAMs.
50. Arnold, “A Trip.”
51. Arnold, “A Trip.”
1. Van Staaveren, Gradual Failure, 300–307.
2. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 90.
3. Draft Memo: Vietnam Data and Progress Indicators from Bundy to McNamara, 13 October 1967, 2, folder 4, box 8, Berman Collection.
4. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 95.
5. Hearings by the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee, pt. 4, 303.
6. Hearings by the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee, pt. 4, 352.
7. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 92.
8. Ted Sell, “McNamara Says Raids Alone Can’t End War,” Washington Post, 26 August 1967.
9. Broughton, Going Downtown, 105.
10. Quoted in Mersky, US Navy and Marine Corps, 50.
11. Mersky, US Navy and Marine Corps, 50.
12. Mersky, US Navy and Marine Corps, 50.
13. Quoted in Kilduff, Osprey Air Combat, 121.
14. Quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 208.
15. Quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 209.
16. VA-163, Command History, 1967, B-4.
17. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, B-I-24. Navy raids reported 93–105 missiles fired during their strikes. Air force raids reported 31–46 firings.
18. Tannenbaum, “Papa Wasn’t.” Two A-6s were shot down by two Chinese 52nd FR pilots, Han Ruijie and Chen Fengxia. The only survivor, Lt. Robert Flynn, was captured by the Chinese and held in solitary confinement in Beijing until 1973. Flynn remained adamant until his death in 2014 that the aircraft never entered Chinese airspace. The Chinese returned the ashes of his pilot, Jimmy Buckley, in 1975. Of the eight men shot down that day, two remain MIA.
19. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 179.
20. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, 27.
21. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, 38. See also CINCPACFLT, Attrition of U.S. Aircraft, 9.
22. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 179.
23. Capt. Dave Carey, 10 November 2011, D145.1I, Vietnam Center and Archive 2011 Guest Lecture Series, Vietnam Center Collection, Vietnam Center and Archive.
24. Davis, email to the author, February 2013.
25. In the course of researching this book, I was continually struck by the amount of grief stemming from this episode. During the many interviews I conducted, this topic often resulted in hushed silence followed by quiet tears. Forty-five years following his death, it is still too painful for many veterans to discuss.
26. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
27. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 100.
28. “Jets Bomb N. Viet Port for 1st Time,” Stars and Stripes, 13 September 1967.
29. “Jets Bomb 8 New Haiphong Targets,” Stars and Stripes, 14 September 1967.
30. Schaffert, email to the author, 13 June 2010. Dick Schaffert described putting on an air show with Lt. Cdr. Foster Teague. Because the North Vietnamese had no ammunition to shoot with, they stayed around and flew “some fancy passes.”
31. Colvin, “Hanoi in My Time,” 152–53. Colvin argues that the supplies used for the Tet Offensive had already been off-loaded and moved down the Ho Chi Minh Trail before September 1967.
32. W. W. Rostow to President Lyndon B. Johnson, memo, Bombing of North Vietnam, 18 October 1967, folder 9, box 2, Veteran Members of the 109th Quartermaster Company (Air Delivery) Collection.
1. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 103.
2. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 113.
3. Grant, Over the Beach, 214.
4. Addeeb, Oral History, 21.
5. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
6. Kilduff, Osprey Air Combat, 121. Similar stories can be found in McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers.
7. John Davis, email to the author, 8 February 2013.
8. Cdr. Paul Engel had been stationed at NAWC China Lake prior to assuming command, and because of this, VA-164 had a close working relationship with engineers there. This allowed the squadron to develop tactics in conjunction with experts there. These tactics then spread to squadrons deploying to Vietnam.
9. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
10. Laughter, Schaffert, Brown, email to the author, 8 February 2013.
11. Davis, email to the author, 12 February 2013.
12. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
13. Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 193.
14. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 114; William Chapman, “179 Arrested as Violence Takes Over,” Washington Post, 22 October 1967. Fewer than eighty people were injured, a surprisingly small number, considering the raw emotions of all involved.
15. As the largest MiG base and its proximity to Hanoi, Phuc Yen was essentially at what became “Bullseye.” As the PIRAZ developed, threat warnings were given via radio, referencing a direction and distance from Hanoi and Phuc Yen. It proved an easy-to-use system allowing pilots to quickly determine if an airborne MiG posed a threat. A simple call, “Bandits launching, Bullseye!” would set aviators on edge.
16. Eighth Tactical Fighter Wing, History, 207.
17. This marked the first use of a QRC-248 IFF interrogator on the EC-121 College Eye. The QRC-248 secretly interrogated a MiG’s IFF gear, allowing the EC-121 to covertly track it and thus provide fighters with precise threat locations. The system’s use had been contested by members of the intelligence community who believed the risk of discovery far outweighed the gain. The system provided the Phantom with perfect warning calls.
18. Schulte, “The Raids,” 2.
19. Searfus was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission. The next day he led CVW-15’s strike and earned a Silver Star. The awards were presented posthumously, as he was killed one month later in a tragic accident.
20. Schulte, “The Raids,” 3.
21. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, 17; Pribbenow, “The -Ology War,” 193.
22. Weichman, as quoted in Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 131.
23. Schaffert, email to the author, 19 April 2013; Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
24. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
25. VA-163, Command History, 1967, 13.
26. CINCPACFLT, Staff Analysis Study 8-68, 17; Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
27. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
28. Schaffert, email to the author; Span, interview with the author, October 2009. After this incident, Cunningham’s squadron mates kept a close watch on him in port. Inevitably after a few drinks, he always wanted to punch Swanson.
29. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
30. McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, 186.
31. McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, 188.
32. McCain claims in his book that he was shot down by an SA-2, while the VA-163 1967 Command History claims he was brought down by 85 mm AAA. The National Archives data are inconclusive, saying “cause of loss unknown.” North Vietnam credited their leading missile officer, Sixty-First Battalion’s Nguyen Xuan Dai, with the shoot-down, later awarding him the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces. Whatever brought McCain’s airplane down, he likely never saw it, as he was too busy flying and egressing from the target area.
33. Grant, Over the Beach, 208.
1. Headquarters Pacific Air Force, Air to Air Encounters, 23.
2. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
3. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 April 2013.
4. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 April 2013.
5. Laughter and Schaffert, email to the author, 19 April 2013; USS Oriskany, Deck Log, Sunday, 19 November 1967.
6. Addeeb Oral History, 15.
7. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 March 2013.
8. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 April 2013. Schaffert’s engagement has been extensively retold. According to Schaffert, he first debriefed it to John Quisenberry for the initial Top Gun syllabus. It was included in a 1968 article for Ling-Temco-Vought and another briefing for OP-05 in the Pentagon in 1974. He was interviewed for Tillman’s MiG Master and Gilchrest’s Crusader! The most accurate version was given to the History Channel for its Dogfights show in 2006.
9. Schaffert, email to the author, 7 June 2017.
10. Thompson, “Ten Minutes of Terror.”
11. Schaffert, email to the author, 23 April 2013.
12. O’Connor, MiG Killers, 103.
13. O’Connor, MiG Killers, 103.
14. O’Connor, MiG Killers, 103.
15. VA-164, Command History, 1967, 13; VF-162, Command History, 1967, II-2.
16. Quoted in Mersky, F-8 Crusader Units, 52.
17. Schaffert, email to the author, 22 April 2013.
18. Schaffert email to the author, 18 June 2010; Tillman and Van Der Lugt, Aviation Elite Units, 89.
19. The losses were equally hard on sailors tasked with maintaining the aircraft. During the last two line periods of the 1967–68 cruise, VA-163 sailors spent nearly three hundred man-hours repairing seven combat-damaged Skyhawks—this does not include total maintenance hours required nor all the losses incurred, as some damaged aircraft required repairs beyond the squadron’s ability. VA-163 Command History, 1967, D-2.
20. Rescue summary taken from HS-6 squadron webpage, http://raunchyredskins.us/Operations/Combat%20sar.htm.
21. Span, interview with the author, October 2009.
22. Denis Weichman biography taken from his change of command pamphlet, http://a4skyhawk.org/?q=3e/va153/weichman-va153-1973co.htm.
23. Grant, Over the Beach, 253.
24. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 1.
1. Sharp, Strategy for Defeat, 222.
2. The Pentagon Papers, IV.C.b, 186.
3. Pentagon Papers, IV.C.b, 202–3.
4. Grant, Strategy for Defeat, 226; The Pentagon Papers, IV.C.b, 194. Terrified of potential leaks, the administration advised the ambassadors to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, and South Korea only. Though Thieu and Ky were consulted, there was little they could do.
5. The Pentagon Papers, IV.C.b, 198.
6. Headquarters Pacific Air Force, Rolling Thunder January 1967–November 1968, 27.
7. Headquarters Pacific Air Force, Rolling Thunder January 1967–November 1968, 32.
1. The POW saga is well documented in Rochester and Kiley’s Honor Bound and Hubble’s POW. The Stockdales’ book, In Love and War, serves as the ultimate telling of the POW experience.
2. The IQ of these highly educated men was 135 or more. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 422; Howes, Voices, 7; and Gaither, With God, 119.
3. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 1.
4. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 12.
5. Biderman, “Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions from Air Force Prisoners of War,” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, September 1957.
6. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 539; Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 430–31.
7. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 596.
8. Yablonka, “Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale.”
9. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 130.
10. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 297.
11. Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 245–53; Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 298.
12. Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 266–77; Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 307.
13. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 308.
14. Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 278; Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 327.
15. Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 285.
16. Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 336.
17. Stockdale and Stockdale, In Love and War, 349–59.
18. USNI blog, 3 July 2013, “Review of Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton,” http://blog.usni.org/2013/07/03/review-of-lessons-from-the-hanoi-hilton.
19. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 367.
20. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 369.
21. Doug Hegdahl’s story is amazing and worthy of more space than available here. Dick Stratton realized that Hegdahl had memorized the entire Gettysburg Address, forward and backward. He began coaxing Hegdahl to memorize names so he could be released early and provide the names to the world. Doug Hegdahl memorized names and shoot-down dates, as well as family members, to the tune of “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.” Recently retired, Hegdahl taught for years at the Navy Survival School in San Diego, where he shocked students with his ability to still recite names.
22. McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, 197.
23. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 363.
24. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 363.
25. McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, 225–26.
26. McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, 342.
27. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 399.
28. Grant, Over the Beach, 272.
29. Rochester and Kiley, “A Chronology.”
30. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 99.
31. Levinson, Alpha Strike, 225.
32. “Return with Honor,” The American Experience, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/honor/sfeature/sf_stockdale.html.
33. Declassified Vietnamese Communist Party documents show that the Politburo issued a special resolution outlining special instructions to improve the treatment of prisoners. See 1969 Collected Party Documents, 303–5, translated for CWIHP by Merle L. Pribbenow, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/e-dossier-no-30-treatment-american-pows-north-vietnam/.
34. Grant, Over the Beach, 100.
35. Grant, Over the Beach, 172.
36. Grant, Over the Beach, 246–49.
37. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 592.
38. Powell, “Honor Bound.”
39. Rochester and Kiley, Honor Bound, 592.
The quote used for this chapter’s title is from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Common Form,” in Epitaphs of the War: “If any question why we died, tell them, / because our fathers lied.”
1. The Pentagon Papers, Part IV.C.7.b, 203–4.
2. Isserman and Kazin, America Divided, 294; Will, Reassessing the Sixties, 8.
3. Luscombe, “10 Questions for Robert Caro.”
4. Record, The Wrong War, x.
5. Record, The Wrong War, 121.
6. Sorley, Westmoreland, 234.
7. Sherwood, Afterburner, 293.
8. Record, The Wrong War, xix.
9. Record, The Wrong War, x.
10. Sorley, Westmoreland, 106.
11. Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, xiv.
12. Record, The Wrong War, xix.
13. Clodfelter, The Limits of Airpower, 101.
14. Isaacs, Vietnam Shadows, 177.
15. Smith, Rolling Thunder, 239.
16. Coonts in foreword to Nichols and Tillman, On Yankee Station, xii.