S.E.A. Stories
Jumping or maybe
just hopping the FENce
By John
Christianson
EDITOR’S
NOTE:
While
contemplating direct American military intervention, President Johnson ordered Navy
and Air Force reconnaissance flights over the Plain de Jars in
This unsuccessful attempt to rescue Lt.
Charles E. Klusmann--who later escaped from his
captors--marked the beginning of what was perhaps the most demanding and
hazardous of Air
As Air
When the story reached Air
Thus was the start of panicky
deployments to get Air Rescue Units in place.
Neither the Units nor their equipment was ready for the mission of Combat Search and Rescue. But,
as in the past, G.I. guts and ingenuity would accomplish the mission and save
the day. This is the second installment of the DET2 CARC saga first written about in our Inaugural Edition by Joe
Leech.
While stationed at Minot AFB,
Jim Sovell, stationed at
Initial
S.E.A.
deployment briefing at Minot AFB, ND.
LtoR: 1Lt Jim Sovell, 1Lt
John Christianson, Capt Joe Leech (behind John), SSGt
Charles Husby and Capt Tom Kelly
We departed on a MATS C-130 the next day at 1130hrs (and
returned 158 days later). The aircraft was delayed about 12 hours at
Travis AFB, CA while the “powers that be” sorted out what was going on.
We departed the next morning on the same C-130, 8 Aug at 0330, first stopping
at Hickam AFB, HI for a briefing from the Pacific Air Rescue
Commander. It was then
on to Wake Island for fuel, Clark AB in the Philippines to pick up two SAR
coordinators and finally landing at DaNang
AB, RVN at 0930L, 10 Aug 64.
The Base Commander met us and asked "Who the hell are
you guys and what you are doing here?” We were the second H-43 unit in
Author’s Note: "When he found out
that we would be having two H-43's coming in later by C-124, he said that with
several
C-123's, a couple of HU-16's, and eight F-100's
on his ramp, he had no room for any helicopters. As it turned out, we
operated off the same ramp for about three months and when we left in November,
he now had 3 H-43's, about 35 F-100's and many other types on the ramp as
well."
Jim Sovell, a pilot classmate of
mine at Stead, and who was deployed with us from Grand Forks AFB, ND, and myself,
were sent to
NKP several
days before the rest of the unit moved over. We were to head to the AGE shop at Don Maung
RTAFB in
(Area
of operations
On 18 Nov, however, that changed
when, Ball 03, one of two F-100s escorting a “Yankee Team” reconnaissance mission,
was shot-down while exchanging fire with an enemy antiaircraft gun position. Ball 03’s Wingman called “dropkick”** to the AIR
AMERICA Air Operations
Center in Vientiane, reporting that Ball 03 had crashed just south of Ban Senphan
in central Laos near the North
Vietnamese border. The AIR AMERICA Operations Officer in the Operations Center diverted a C-123 to reconnoiter the area and act
as an Airborne Controller until relieved by a USAF HU-16 from Korat RTAFB. Once in position, Tacky 44, the HU-16 requested
that US Navy A-1 Skyraiders fly to Ban Senphan, to
search for wreckage and
the pilot, and suppress any enemy opposition if it were encountered***.
** a
distress signal used in place of mayday to confuse any
listening enemy troops
Within minutes of their arrival on the scene, the Navy Skyraiders received ground fire from Pathet Lao emplacements near the location that
Ball
03 was believed to
have been shot-down. The A-1’s attacked the gun positions taking minor flack
and small arms hits to their aircraft. During the action, one of the Skyraider pilots spotted what appeared to be a burning
crash site in the jungle approximately five miles away from the coordinates
originally furnished.***
Two HH-43B’s were put on alert and launched with DET3 crewmembers, then proceeded the 10
miles to the Mekong River near Nakon Phanom and Thakhek,
Laos. At that
time, the
Returning
to the NKP Ramp to refuel. An HU-16 and Air
At the same time, a C-124 landed at NKP with its
destination of
Sitting Cockpit Alert: LtoR: (CP) 1Lt John Christianson, (RCC) Capt Jim Crabb (33ARS), (FE) TSGt Reed
(33ARS), (PJ) SSGt Robert
Bennett
U.S.N. A-1’s or AD’s (Able Dogs) in Navy speak
Shortly after we crossed the
(PJ) SSGt
Bob Bennett rides “Tail Gunner” and scans the jungle for signs of the survivor
Before darkness temporarily ended the rescue efforts, the HU-16 coordinated
thirteen F-105s, eight F-100s, six Navy A-1s, two HH-43Bs, and a pair of AIR
AMERICA H-34s in a
concerted effort to find and rescue the downed pilot. The coordination and
control of these diverse elements provided a preview of SAR efforts that would
be conducted over the next decade.
Airborne at first light, Tacky 45, another HU-16 from KORAT, and
four F-105s returned to the Ban Senphan area. At mid-morning the
On-scene Commander in Tacky 45 sighted the pilot’s parachute and the wreckage
on a rocky outcropping only fifty yards from the nearest antiaircraft position.
As the F-105s attacked the gun position, Tacky 45 ordered the HH-43s at Nakon Phanom and their propeller driven escorts
to be launched. However, poor weather conditions kept the helicopters grounded
for nearly two hours, before a pair of AIR AMERICA H-34s took off and joined four
American piloted T-28s out of Savannakhet. Tacky 44, a second HU-16,
relieved Tacky 45 as the On-scene Commander and began to control the rescue
effort. Upon arrival at the crash site the copilot from one of the AIR AMERICA choppers was lowered to the ground.
He found that the pilot had died of injuries sustained when he landed on the karst. The pilot was recovered and returned to USAF authorities.
When the Air America pilots dropped into NKP prior to their mission, they asked if we had any weapons
that they could borrow, as, at the time, they carried none. We
loaned them a couple of BARs and carbines. They
also informed us when we told them of our mission the previous day, that we were very
lucky guys as the route we took in and out was right through “Injun Country”
and loaded with bad guys. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes. Someone was looking out for
us.
On 21 November, an RF-101 Voodoo on a “Yankee Team” mission was lost 40 miles east of Thakhek. The pilot successfully ejected and came down in the
tropical rain forest. An AIR AMERICA H-34 happened to be in the area and recovered the survivor
within an hour. Within thirty-six hours the Air Force was
forced to rely on AIR
In the last months of 1964, American casualties, both on the
ground and in the air, increased as the fighting in
As in the past, when faced with adversity and what seemed
like impossible obstacles to overcome, Air
Force Air Rescuemen would ban together to develop tactics and
modify their aircraft and equipment to successfully complete the mission.
*** pages
54-55
The United States Air Force Search and Rescue in Southeast Asia by
Earl H. Tilford Jr,
1961-1975
Provisional
Detachment 2 PARC Personnel
Capt Alva G. Graham DetCO
Minot AFB, ND
Capt Tom Kelly RCC Minot AFB, ND
Capt Joe Leech RCC Minot AFB, ND
1Lt John Christianson RCC Minot AFB, ND
1Lt Jim Sovell RCC Grand Forks AFB, ND
1Lt Robert Osik RCC Selfridge AFB, MI
A1c
George Fink ADM Minot AFB, ND
MSGt
Robert Bradfield Maint Supv Minot AFB, ND
MSGT Eldrid
Lusk Maint NCOIC Minot AFB, ND
SSGT Charles Husby FE Minot AFB, ND
SSGt
Robert Julian FE Kincheloe AFB, MI
SSGt
James Tabor FE Glasgow AFB, MT
A1c Roman Jennissen HM Minot
AFB, ND
A2c Larry Smith HM Minot AFB, ND
A2c John Zielinsky HM K.I. Sawyer AFB, MI
SSGt
Robert Bennett PJ
A2c Andre Raymond PJ
A2c Albert Dobson PJ
A2c Richard L.
Graham PJ
SSGt
Arthur Saintheart
ABR Minot AFB, ND
SSGt William
Dickerson ABR Minot AFB, ND
A1c Jerry Wolford ABR
Minot AFB, ND
A1c Edward Bevens ABR Minot AFB, ND