|
Posted on 06/20/2004 12:01:28 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
|
|
 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
|
| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
|
 1st Air Commando Squadron, USAF In early March 1966, a 450-man Special Forces camp in the A Shau Valley came under attack by a North Vietnamese force of two to four thousand. Mortar shells rained down on the camp. The weather in the A Shau, a box canyon high in the mountains, was always bad, either raining or fogged in. An AC-47 managed to get in under the weather, though, to come to the camp's defense. The three hundred foot ceiling made the gunship an easy target. Ground fire disabled first one engine and then the other. Responding to the MAYDAY, aircraft scrambled from Pleiku, Qui Nhon, and Nha Trang. Major Bernie Fisher, of the 1st Air Commando Squadron, was piloting an A-1E Skyraider. He and his wingman went in with orders to destroy the wreckage of the AC-47 to keep it out of enemy hands. Successful at that, they flew cover for two C-123 Providers carrying medical supplies and ordnance for the A Shau defenders. The Providers were hit hard by ground fire as they made their drops, but they managed to drop their bundles and escape from the valley. Major Fisher, low on fuel, also was forced to abandon the camp and return to base for fuel.  The next morning, the weather was a little better when Fisher was ordered back to the A Shau. The camp had just been overrun when Fisher and two other A-1s arrived on the scene. The A-1s began strafing passes over the camp. The A-1s would make a run, break left, and make another run. The North Vietnamese quickly saw the pattern and took advantage of it. The number three plane, flown by Major "Jump" Myers of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron, was hit at the end of a strafing pass. His engine quit and the aircraft caught fire. At so low an altitude, Myers had no choice; he had to ride the plane in. If the plane went into the jungle, he had little chance of surviving the crash. His only chance was the pierced steel planking (PSP) runway that served the camp. But the camp was now controlled by the North Vietnamese. Myers pickled his bombload into the jungle and made for the PSP runway. He made a belly landing, skidding sideways nearly six hundred feet. The crippled plane hit a bank and became a large ball of flame.  Overhead, Fisher thought that Myers had died in the crash and reported it back to the command post. Just then, the smoke cleared momentarily and Myers ran out of the inferno. Fisher asked a nearby Marine helicopter for a rescue pickup and returned to the fight. When ten minutes had passed without a rescue chopper appearing, Fisher asked for an estimated time of arrival. The choppers were at least twenty minutes away. Myers was only twenty feet from capture, however. Fisher decided to make the pickup himself. Flying through smoke and fire, he broke into the clear over the runway. In spite of the expended rocket casings and damage from mortar fire on the PSP runway, Fisher dropped his plane in. The plane skidded as he braked. The plane came to a stop in the fuel dump at the far end of the runway, hitting some of the barrels and damaging the A-1's wings and tail. Fisher turned the aircraft around and headed back up the runway toward the burning wreckage of Myers' aircraft. Myers jumped up as Fisher passed the burning A-1 and Fisher stopped his plane.  Myers ran for the A-1E, but could not get aboard because of the prop wash. Fisher throttled back and Myers clambered up the wing, falling head first into the cockpit. Without taking time to strap in, Fisher turned the plane around again and opened the throttle. Holding the plane down until the last possible moment, Fisher's A-1 raced down the runway and then leapt for the sky. Major Bernard F. Fisher's bravery under fire as he risked his life to save a comrade from capture or death earned him an Air Force Medal of Honor. Fisher became the first recipient of the Air Force Medal of Honor in Vietnam. **** During the Battle of A Shau on March 10, 1966, a C-123 crew flying in the vicinity of the Special Forces Camp taped the actual rescue as it was in progress. The tape was later given to Major Fisher as a souvenir. The recording was not started until after the initial decisions to rescue Major Dafford ("Jump") Myers were made and the first recorded sentences were of Fisher telling fellow Skyraider Pilots (Captains Franciso "Paco" VASQUEZ, 29, of Puerto Rico; John LUCAS, 28, of Steubenville, Ohio; and Dennis HAGUE, 28, of Kellogg, Idaho) how he planned to land on the debris- littered strip where Myers was down. Another pair of Skyraider pilots, Jim GUNTER and Pete HOUK, arrived as the rescue was unfolding. They flew cover for the takeoff portion of the rescue and then continued to hit the Viet Cong positions after the rescue was completed.  PIC Major Bernard F. Fisher and Lt Col Gene Deatrick, 1st Air Commando Squadron      |
He'll always be Captain Peter Blood to me.
To say I was devastated would be an understatement! To think that the story of a true american warriors struggles in Viet-Nam now relegated to the remainder rack! We DON'T deserve to have a HEro like John Kerry leading us if this is how we're going to treat the story of his gallant nay HEROIC service in that war.
I don't want to talk about it right now, the pain is still to fresh.
LOL! Snippy and I were at Fred Meyer's and turned Kerry's and Hillary's books around so you didn't have to look at their pictures.
It takes Kerry more time to write down the title of his book than he spent in Vietnam.
LOL. Sam and I were at the local store today and as we passed by the books Sam turned Hitlery's book around, said no one should have to look at that. Then I saw Brinkley's book and turned it around too. The small things we can do to better someone else's life. :-)
Darn, you beat me to the post by 3 seconds. LOL.
Neener! Neener! Neener!
One does what one can.
Even small victories count. :-)
:-)
Hey SAM, if getting soap amd soup mixed up was the worse thing that happened to me today it would have been one heck of a day.
Nice Pic, I wonder if I can get the Q-367 replicator working.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Great job on the addition, just remember it take a better man to put the all the plumbing on the inside than it does on the outside.
Best of luck to you and the Mrs on the great adventure of raising children.
Blessed Regards
alfa6 ;>}
RE: #82 as Bloto Blutarsky said, "My advice to you is to start drinking, heavily"
Any bets on how long it takes billy boys book to hit the bargain table, hmmmm?
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
PS thanks for the day in history stuff.
Good advice at anytime. :-)
ROFLMAO!
I've had those kind of days too. I just keep telling myself tomorrow will be better. :-)
Snippy made a bowl of soap
Not long is my bet, I haven't really read any good reviews yet, a few have been pretty brutal. :-)
Douglas Aircraft delivered to the Navy Test Center an aircraft for testing in April 1945. This aircraft would prove to be the last of the great single engine propeller driven warbirds. Its simplicity of maintenance, excellent flight characteristics, and overall performance were all rated very good to excellent. In May, with WW II still underway the Navy entered a production order for 600 aircraft. In 1946 the aircraft was renamed the Skyraider. Powered by a 2,500 HP R-3350-24W engine turning a 4-bladed 13.5 foot prop the AD-1 Skyraider was capable of carrying 4,000 pounds of bombs and/or wing loaded rockets. Improvements continued with future variants, and when equipped with a 3,020 HP power plant, the Skyraider's payload capacity increased to a whopping 6,500 pounds, with a top speed of 328 knots. As one of the largest single engine propeller aircraft ever built, the Skyraider saw plenty of action during the Korean conflict. The AD-6 variant was produced in quantity (713), and saw plenty of service in Vietnam with the Navy, Marine Corps., USAF, and Vietnam Air Force. Despite the availability of high performance jet aircraft, the Skyraider proved its value on numerous occasions in Vietnam by providing close in support of ground troops. Colonel Bernard Fisher is depicted in Stan Stokes' painting during a mission in the A Shau Valley on March 10, 1966.
From Extraordinary Stories: A Greater Love by Terry Bohle Montague
Major Fisher’s Douglas Skyraider A-1E, cleaned-up and repaired
The MV Maj. Bernard F. Fisher.
A1-E large-scale three-view (use size button at lower right of image)
From LARRY BURROWS Born: May 29, 1926 in London Died: February 10, 1971 in Laos
In event of another beheading Napalm any fifty terrorists to continue
Captain Napalm over Fallujah:
Visit Colorful AC-47 Also Known As Spooky or Puff (The Magic Dragon)
View of B-57 from ground.
View of ground from B-57.
1920 DeForest Kelley Atlanta Ga, actor (Dr Leonard McCoy-Star Trek)
Clinton's book is dead, Jim.
OMG!! That last picture is hilarious!!
Thanks miss Feather.
She was pretty toaty. We changed her out of the satin dress ASAP.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
