I finally got my Bachelor of Science degree in June 2006, 40 years after starting my college career with an Operation Bootstrap course at Moody AFB. The motto for the graduation party was:
"40 years spanning five decades, seven colleges and one lousy degree."
I am married to a marriage and family therapist, and we have two adult children, one son-in-law, and one happy Beagle. On the whole, our life has been pretty good. I married my wife about 16 months after she hired me as a social services case worker. In October 2017, we will celebrate 38 years of marriage.
I am a Chapter Service Officer for William V. Brpoks Chapter 47, Disabled American Veterans. Our small (330 members) chapter is the most active in Nebraska; seven of our members are in the top ten DAV members state-wide for volunteer hours worked. In addition to the DAV, I am a Life Member of the VVA and also a member of the Tan Son Nhut Association.
Other Comments:
I enlisted in the Air Force at age 17 and was on active duty from August 1965 to January 1969. Following basic aircraft mechanic training at Sheppard AFB, I worked in the T-37 Periodic Inspection Dock at Moody AFB. I pulled a six week TDY to McDill AFB to learn the F-4, then a 19 month tour at Tan Son Nhut, Vietnam, as a crew chief with the 12th Tac Recon Sqd . On my "dream sheet" I asked for reassignment to Lockbourne AFB (now Rickenbacker ANGB) in Ohio. Some idiot in the Pentagon thought Idaho and Ohio were close enough and I was assigned to the 10th TRS at Mt. Home. I was loaned out to the 22nd TRS for a�21 day TDY to Germany following the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. I was released from active duty on January 28, 1969, completed my six-year commitment in the Individual Ready Reserve and was honorably discharged in August 1971.
My brother and I are the fifth consecutive generation of our family to serve in the military. My brother joined the Army at age 18 and retired as a Major. He lives a half mile from the Big Shanty battlefield where our great-great grandfather was wounded while serving in the 32nd Ohio Vounteer Infantry during the Civil War. His son, our great-grandfather served in the Ohio National Guard in the late 19th century; two of his sons served during World War I. Our dad served as a crew chief on B-24s during WW II and was in pilot training when the war ended; his male cousins all served in either the Army or Marines. His brother is retired from the USAF.
Description This period was from June 29, 1966-March 8, 1967.
On June 29. 1966. the USAF bombed petroleum storage and distribution facilities for the first time in the immediate vicinity of Hanoi and Haiphong, after political leaders authorized limited and specific strikes within the buffer zones for these cities. Gen. William W. Mornyer replaced General Moore as Seventh Air Force Commander on July 1. The United States expanded the Rotuvo Tttunoca campaign as of July 9 to include petroleum targets in the northeast and rail lines and highways between China and Hlanoi. although the buffer zone on the border limited targets. American aircraft also flew armed reconnaissance over North Vietnam.
On July 30, 1966. the USAF bombed targets in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to counter the build-up of North Vietnamese forces there. By September the U.S. air campaign against North Vietnam had destroyed or damaged two-thirds of the enemy's petroleum storage capacity.
Several thousand trucks and watercraft, hundreds of rail ears and bridges and numerous ammunition and supply storage areas. Beginning on February 14, 1967. USAF aircraft hit additional strategic targets in North Vietnam, knocking out major power plants. and railyard repair facilities. But these results had little effect on the enemy’s ability to carry on the war, because the country possessed only a small industrial base and imported most of its military materiel.
In the face of extensive air attacks. North Vietnam further strengthened its air defenses. By January 1967, the United States had lost 455
aircraft within 2 years. Antiaircraft guns and SAMs accounted for most of the losses, but MiGs continued to challenge U.S. air strikes. On January 2 the Seventh Air Force enticed a large MiG-21 force over North Vietnam into battle against F-4s. The USAF pilots destroyed 7 MiGs within 12 minutes without a loss. Four days later, on January 6. the Seventh destroyed 2 more MiGs. and the North Vietnamese temporarily abandoned aerial combat to regroup and retrain.
In South Vietnam Allied forces continued search and destroy operations. blunting new Viet Cong and North Vietnamese offensives. Between July I4 and August 4, 1966. U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops battled North Vietnam Army forces near Quang Tri. 20 miles south of the DMZ. Later. between October I5 and November 26. the Allies engaged in a major battle with Viet Cong and NVA forces northwest of Tay Ninh. near the Cambodian border. 60 miles northwest of Saigon. Enemy resistance was light at first. but on November 4th as ARVN and U.S. troops approached storage areas. the Viet Cong and NVA counterattacked. The Allies responded by airlifting more troops, including elements of the U.S. Army's 1st' 4th, and 25th Infantry Divisions. and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The USAF provided close air support. and between November 8 and 25. B-52s bombed targets in the area. The Allies drove the enemy from the region temporarily. seizing weapons. ammunition. food. and other supplies that the Communist forces left behind.
The next year. between February and May 1967, U.S. Army units joined ARVN forces to return to Tay Ninh Province. about 50 miles north of Saigon and 15 miles northeast of Tay Ninh. Seventh Air Force C-130s dropped American paratroopers near the Cambodian border to cut off the Viet Cong retreat. The airlifters also flew reinforcements and supplies to the ground troops during this operation. With the help of forward air controllers flying O-1s. Air Force F-100 and F-4 pilots provided close air support. and AC-47 gunship crews illuminated targets and conducted air strikes at night. Again, the enemy withdrew into Canbodia. Leaving behind weapons, supplies. and ammunition.
In the panhandle of Laos, the USAF pounded enemy forces on the l-lo Chi Minh Trail. while in northern Laos U.S. pilots supported Allied forces under attack. By August 1966 Laotian troops fighting Pathet Lao insurgents had advanced. with the aid of U.S. close air support. to Nam Bae. only 45 miles west of the North Vietnamese border and about 55 miles northeast of Luang Prabang, an ancient city on the Mekong River some 130 miles north of Vientiane. The Laotian gains were short lived, however, and by February 2. 1967, the insurgents had regained lost territory and were in a position to attack the airfield at Luang Prabang.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
June / 1966
To Month/Year
March / 1967
Last Updated: Feb 23, 2023
Personal Memories
People You Remember Steve Seaman Kent Gooch Roger Volk Charles "Denny" Damron Wayne Sufficool Ron Fuller "Doc" O'Barr Jim Mundis
