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Bernard R. Marsh, Lt. Colonel, USAF, Retired, of Austin, Texas, passed away on Wednesday, August 3, 2010. He was 88. Bernard R. Marsh was born in Pecan Gap, Texas. He attended Cooper High School in Cooper, Texas and earned his Bachelor's degree in 1951 from East Texas State Teachers College and Master's from Our Lady of the Lake College in 1965. He enlisted in US Army Air Force on July 15, 1942 as a glider pilot trainee. He completed Pilot Training and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1944. He retired from USAF on October 1969. During his military career he attended Squadron Officer School and Command and Staff College at Air University. Awards and decorations included Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Air Force Commendation Medal and other distinguished service awards and decorations. He was a member of distinguished military organizations such as the Military Officers of America; Air Force Association and Order of Daedalians. During World War II he served as an instructor pilot and B-29 Flight Engineer. Later assignments included faculty of Air University; 49th Fighter-Bomber Group in Japan; Staff assignments at Flying Training Wing; Technical Training Center; Headquarters, Air Training Command; Headquarters, United States Air Force Europe; Headquarters, 7th Air Force, Vietnam. Aeronautical ratings included glider pilot, aircraft observer and senior pilot. In July of 1945 he married his beloved wife of 65 years Evelyn Caldwell from Springer, New Mexico. ...
Bernard R. Marsh, Lt. Colonel, USAF, Retired, of Austin, Texas, passed away on Wednesday, August 3, 2010. He was 88.
Bernard R. Marsh was born in Pecan Gap, Texas. He attended Cooper High School in Cooper, Texas and earned his Bachelor's degree in 1951 from East Texas State Teachers College and Master's from Our Lady of the Lake College in 1965. He enlisted in US Army Air Force on July 15, 1942 as a glider pilot trainee. He completed Pilot Training and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1944. He retired from USAF on October 1969. During his military career he attended Squadron Officer School and Command and Staff College at Air University. Awards and decorations included Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Air Force Commendation Medal and other distinguished service awards and decorations. He was a member of distinguished military organizations such as the Military Officers of America; Air Force Association and Order of Daedalians.
During World War II he served as an instructor pilot and B-29 Flight Engineer. Later assignments included faculty of Air University; 49th Fighter-Bomber Group in Japan; Staff assignments at Flying Training Wing; Technical Training Center; Headquarters, Air Training Command; Headquarters, United States Air Force Europe; Headquarters, 7th Air Force, Vietnam. Aeronautical ratings included glider pilot, aircraft observer and senior pilot.
In July of 1945 he married his beloved wife of 65 years Evelyn Caldwell from Springer, New Mexico. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn, and their daughter Jacqueline and husband James Holland; and two grandsons Eric B. Trigg and Dean Trigg and wife Nancy; one step-grandson, Clifford Holland and two great granddaughters all of Round Rock.
Funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 5, 2010 at the Cook-Walden/Chapel of the Hills Funeral Home at 9700 Anderson Mill Road in Austin, Texas. Committal services with military honors will be held on Friday, August 6, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. in Pecan Gap, TX.
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.
