Tag Archives: The Son Tay Raid

Friday Night Fights

Air Force, Army,

Friday night was our time off. After the first month, almost all our training was at night and, because of the urgency, we trained on Saturdays and even some Sundays.

One day in October, the training schedule posted on the bulletin board at the entrance to the barracks read, “Friday Night Fights.”

Like any military base, our small compound had a bar where we gathered to have drinks and blow off steam. At the bar, there was a jukebox but every once in a while, they would bring in a band. They did that for us about four times, as I recall.

Sometimes, some young ladies would show up. Looking back, many of us now believe that the ladies who showed up were DOD employees there to see if we would divulge any information about what we were doing. I guess they thought that we single young bucks, after drinking a few beers, might have loose lips. Well we might have been young and filled with alcohol, but we kept our mouths shut.

At the bar, most of the fights were guys just popping off steam from the week of training. I do remember a few good fights. One late Friday night, Sergeant Bass got into a fight and it moved outside the bar. Sergeant Bass was one big boy (about 6’3” and 250 lbs) and the last guy I would want to fight. There, outside the bar, he had a knife in one hand just daring anyone to take it away from him.

Well it wasn’t long until a couple of young Air Force Security Police showed up in their little blue jeep. Now, the two of them couldn’t have weighed more than 130 lbs each. Their job was to disarm Sergeant Bass and take him to the Air Force brig. We thought, This should be fun to watch, and it was.

George Petrie, Don “Pete” Wingrove, Tom Kemmer, each from Blueboy Assault Group. Photo at Aux Field #3 around Oct 20th, 1970.

See the conclusion of this Friday Night Fights story in Who Will Go.

Click Here:  The book.

The Doolittle Raid and the Son Tay Raid.

Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy,

“No Fail” Fridays

[This is the third in a series. It will be a weekly challenge to historians: The Son Tay Raid was a SUCCESS. No qualifier is appropriate. Over these next few Fridays, I’ll show you why.]

There is a word that is too often used in conversations about the Son Tay Raid. That word should be banished from any analysis of the Raid. You could say it’s an ‘f-word.’ We will challenge your thinking. It may take some humility to accept the truth. For far too long, the humility requirement has only been one-way. The truth is only revealed when you can take on a more mature mindset.

28 years before the Son Tay Raiders, the Doolittle Raiders trained at Eglin AFB, at Aux Field #1.

Challenge 3:
To use that certain f-word for the Son Tay Raid, you’d have to use that same word for the Doolittle Raid.

The Doolittle Raid’s plan was for the 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to land in China in friendly territory. After refueling, they would then fly to military bases to return to service.

As it turned out,
EVERY aircraft was lost,
3 crewmembers died in the mission,
4 crewmembers were executed by the Japanese,
4 became POWs and
5 were held by the Soviets,
…and the Doolittle Raid caused “negligible material damage.”

Doolittle initially believed that these results would lead to his court-martial.

So, given all this, did the Doolittle Raid fail?
Of course not. Not when you consider the prioritized list of objectives.
The primary objective of the Doolittle Raid was to SEND THE MESSAGE that America can strike the enemy’s capital at will. It was to raise the morale of Americans and strike fear in the enemy.

The secondary objectives included…
• Destroy as much of the military industrial targets as possible.
• Recover all the bombers and crews to safe areas in China and return to the fight.

In both the Son Tay Raid and the Doolittle Raid, new intelligence received ONE DAY BEFORE THE LAUNCH forced the commanders to make life-or-death decisions in the Fog of War concerning whether to give the GO order.
IN BOTH CASES, the commanders relied upon their moral clarity, basing their decision on their highest priorities. In both cases, SENDING THE MESSAGE was the highest priority that made them choose to give the GO.
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird’s assessment at Ft Bragg, December 9th, 1970:

“If a similar chance to save Americans were to arise tomorrow, I would act just as I did in approving and supporting the effort at Son Tay.”

With clarity that comes with the passage of 5 decades, we can see that the unseemly public rebukes led by Senators Fulbright and Gore were—at least in great part—motivated by political gamesmanship. To use that certain f-word today is simply playing along with their game.

Raiders trained at a small secluded Eglin Field airstrip (“Aux Field #1”), pushing their bombers to take off within the 450ft of “runway” they would have onboard the carrier Hornet.

See more stories in Who Will Go.

Click Here:  The book.

Did you use Amber Goggles or Clear?

Air Force, Army, POW,

Another “Full Profile” was run last night…
Thursday October 22nd, 1970

…exactly 50 years ago today.

As the choppers landed, they would kick up dirt, sand, and debris.  For this, we wore ski goggles similar to some used in World War II.  The lenses were amber/red or clear.  The amber/red was preferred by some guys because it helped to preserve their night vision, given all the explosion flashes, flares, and lights.

Blueboy Assault Group’s priority was to gain control of the POWs as quickly as possible. They had to eliminate the guards and search all the cells for POWs.

Once they had control of the POWs, they would take them through a hole in the compound’s west wall blown by Master Sgt Billy K. Moore of Blueboy.

The wall around the camp was estimated to be 10 to 12 feet high and made of brick.  The plan called for us to blow a hole in the wall near the southwest corner of the camp to bring the POWs out to the choppers.  He had several strands of “det cord” (detonating cord) about 12 feet long.  They braded them together and then secured them to the wall.  And what do you think was used to secure them?  Yes, you guessed it: duct tape!  They had tested other options but the det cord with duct tape worked best and was easy to carry. 

Master Sgt “Billy K.” Moore has the ArmaLite Singlepoint Sight. Notice some used amber/red goggles and others used clear goggles (the soldier in the background). Comment to let us know what other equipment you can explain in the photo. What are the thin white ropes? What is white materials on his right hip? What is the black equipment hanging on the right side of his chest?

See more stories in Who Will Go.

Click Here:  The book.

The Green Berets receive their magical ArmaLite Singlepoint Sights…

Army,

Wednesday October 21st, 1970

…exactly 50 years ago today.

…and you’ll be surprised by how you operate this technology.

Most of the Son Tay Raiders carried the CAR-15 with the 30-round magazine, which were rare in the DOD inventory.

Although 30-round magazines are now common, they were new technology in 1970. The “first generation” of 30-round magazines, called constant curve magazines, had feeding problems. The magazines we used were “second generation” and had to be specifically ordered for the mission from Colt Arms Company because these magazines were not available through normal supply channels. The 30-round magazines reduced the number of times I would need to reload in a firefight.

We had to fabricate our own pouches (from Claymore mine bags) to carry these magazines because they were so new to the Army.

Some of the Son Tay Raiders used electrical tape to secure their slings, reinforce the mount on their Singlepoint sight, and to keep dirt out of the muzzles of their rifles.

The Singlepoint Sight was a technology developed in Britain. Here are some questions for you to ponder (the surprising answers are given in the book Who Will Go):

  1. How do you think it got its power?
  2. What do you think you’d see when you look through the Singlepoint Sight.
  3. Do you think it is better to leave both of your eyes open or to close your other eye?

We are thankful for these details provided through the research of Dr. Earl Burress, Jr., Owen Lincoln, and Augee Kim.

The Son Tay Raid version of the CAR-15. Photo by Colin Blount.
An advertisement that Dick Meadows was aware of–ArmaLite was marketing this British technology to police.
The story is that Dick Meadows suggested the idea of employing this new technology. Here, the TOC Log shows he explored this innovation early and his idea was implemented.

See all the pages of this ArmaLite advertisement in Who Will Go.

Click Here:  The book.

Escorting Barbara.

Air Force, Army,

Story by USAF Sgt Ken Ruud from Pope AFB, NC.

I was in Detachment 2 of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Pope AFB when I was assigned to deliver “Barbara” to Eglin AFB from Pope. I was an E-4, so when I bumped a Colonel from his flight, I knew I was a courier for something very special…but I had no idea what was in that box!

(Sgt Ruud arrived at Aux Field #3 with “Barbara” at 11am on Tuesday September 8th, 1970. It was used in the Tactical Operations Center at Aux Field #3 for the handful of planners. It was finally revealed to the Green Berets on Monday October 19th.)

The Defense Intelligence Agency (at “Arlington Hall” in Arlington, VA) coordinated intelligence production during the planning stages of the operation and provided finished intelligence analysis to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They constructed this model for the Raiders based upon photos from Buffalo Hunter drones andSR-71 reconnaissance flights.

You can see a full color “pin up” of Barbara in Who Will Go.

Click Here:  The book.