Previously Held AFSC/MOS 29110-Apprentice Communications Center Helper
29130-Apprentice Communications Center Specialist
29150-Communications Center Specialist
29170-Communications Center Supervisor
Service Years
1961 - 1989
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
What are you doing now:
I live in Newport NC about 12 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and spend my days doing yard work and watching FOX news and ESPN.�� My wife and I travel to Thailand each year in the winter and spend two or three months traveling around the country.� Have become a member of the Morehead City� Tea Party Patriots working with folks who are tired of the U.S. Congress ignoring taxpayer.� We had a great day on 9/12/2009 and had over a million patriots let the congress know how we feel.� We are planning our next endeavor on Nov Th get the people in the county ready Nov 2010.
Well Nov 2 2010 has come and gone and I feel the TEA Party had a great Victory. NOW we will see if we have any honest politicians left.
Other Comments:
AS OF 10 AUG 2012"
My wife and I are preparing to start out on something we have wanted to do for many,many years, but with five children to raise we thought it an impossible dream.
Well next month we leave for Thailand and will reside there for most of our time, coming back for things like Graduations and other important family events.
The house has been packed up items the kids did not want we sold some, And items we did NOT WANT TO PART WITH went into storange. Then a month of yard sales AND NOW what's left goes to charity.
So on 18 Sept we fly out of Dulles Intl Airport and our new life in Thailand, (which has always 'had a special place in my heart), Can't wait!!
The Wife and I returned from Thailand on 3 Mar 2010 and we had a GREAT 87 Days. Traveled up to Chang Mai and the surrounding area visited some places and ate some great food.
DID NOT MAKE IT TO UDORN, just didn't get it fit into our wandering.
Spent some time in Koi Samui and some of the other islands and did some snorkling and really had a good time.
Looks like we may head back around December, anyone on this site living in Thailand having an interest in a get-together and swap stories over a few beers let me know.
The wife and I returned to Thailand on 28 Nov 2010 and we have visited KORAT, UDON THANI, AND NKP, As well as going to Thakhek Laos. And we still have until 15 March2011. Its been a good trip met some folks and have really enjoyed ourselves.
One person I had not seen since 1982 was Ed Miller (a member of this site) we were in Bangkok together in the 70s. Met up with him and his wife in NKP where they have a home, took us around and showed us immigration as I had to get my VISA extended by next month so we got it out of the way early.
For the old Udorn hands, things have changed and its NOT at all like you remember it, some say its progress, but I'm a little disapointed.
Took some pics on the base, not the best, but was not able to get out of the car just a drive and shoot. Things have changed!
Vietnam War/Defense Campaign (1965)/Operation Rolling Thunder I
From Month/Year
March / 1965
To Month/Year
June / 1965
Description 2 March 1965-2 November 1968. Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained US 2nd Air Division (later Seventh Air Force), US Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) aerial bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) from 2 March 1965 until 2 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.
In an effort to convince the North Vietnamese government to abandon its support of the insurgency in South Vietnam, President Johnson began a new bombing campaign in March 1965, known as Operation Rolling Thunder.
Lasting from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968, Rolling Thunder was the longest bombing campaign in United States history. It involved tactical aviation assets from the 7th Air Force in Thailand and South Vietnam, as well as aircraft from 7th Fleet and Marine Corps assets.
The campaign was marred by disputes between senior military leaders and the civilian administration from the outset. Military leaders argued for decisive strikes in order to isolate North Vietnam and to destroy their production capabilities and transportation systems.
President Johnson and Secretary McNamara sought the graduated use of force, choosing a cycle of bombing halts followed by escalation in an effort to persuade the North Vietnamese to negotiate for peace with the United States and South Vietnam.
During the three years of Rolling Thunder, Johnson and McNamara instituted seven bombing halts.
The three basic objectives of Operation Rolling Thunder under the Johnson administration were:
Strategically deter North Vietnam from supporting the insurgency in South Vietnam;
Raise the morale of military and political elites in South Vietnam;
Interdict North Vietnam’s support of the communist insurgency in the South.
Johnson and his staff continually sought a middle ground that would demonstrate American resolve without raising the ire of the international community. Ironically, by seeking this middle ground, the administration guaranteed that Rolling Thunder would fail to meet any of its objectives.
Rolling Thunder went through five phases.
During Phase I, from March to June 1965, a variety of targets were struck in an attempt to persuade North Vietnam to negotiate for peace. The air strikes served little purpose, other than to harden the resolve of North Vietnam and to solidify the sanctity of their cause. Most importantly, it led to the creation of the world’s most complex and lethal air defense networks.
Phase II from July 1965 to January 1966 was primarily an interdiction campaign aimed at roads, bridges, boats, and railroads. These attacks destroyed an estimated 4,600 trucks, 4,700 boats, and 800 railroad cars. At the urging of Admiral U. S. Grant Sharp, CINCPAC, the focus of Rolling Thunder shifted from interdiction to petroleum products.
Admiral Sharp realized that the interdiction campaign was not achieving the desired results and believed that by focusing the campaign on energy resources, North Vietnam might be forced to negotiate for peace.
Phase III from January to October 1966, focused on North Vietnam’s petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) resources. Before this phase began, North Vietnam required only 32,000 tons of oil a year to supply their needs. By the time Rolling Thunder began to target POL resources, North Vietnam had 60,000 tons of POL stocks in reserve.
While the attacks destroyed an estimated 70 percent of the North Vietnamese supply, the North dispersed the remaining stock in fifty-five gallon barrels throughout the country. This proved more than adequate to supply the infantry and guerrilla forces fighting in South Vietnam and did little to affect the war in South Vietnam.
Phase IV from October 1966 to May 1967, concentrated the campaign’s efforts on the industry and power-generating capabilities of North Vietnam. For the first time, targets in Hanoi were struck, but as with Phase III the new tactics failed to have much impact on a non-industrialized country. Because North Vietnam’s ports still remained off limits, the strikes did not impede North Vietnamese ability to receive and distribute supplies destined for South Vietnam.
Phase V, the final phase, from May 1967 to October 1968, concentrated on isolating Hanoi from Haiphong, and both cities from the remainder of the country, as well as the destruction of remaining industrial infrastructure. United States aircraft averaged over 13,000 sorties a month and destroyed over 5,600 trucks, 2,500 rail cars, and 11,500 boats during this final phase of Rolling Thunder.
As during earlier phases, the North Vietnamese air defense network grew. By 1967, pilots confronted the most comprehensive air defense network in the world. North Vietnam fired over 25,000 tons of AAA ammunition from 10,000 anti-aircraft guns and hundreds of missiles from over twenty-five SAM battalions during any given month of 1967.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
March / 1965
To Month/Year
June / 1965
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember Dick Strong, SSgt Tony Panzerilla (Buffalo NY).
