Summary of Tom Yarborough's Da Nang Diary

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 I was going to Vietnam as duty and honor demanded, to fulfill a military rite of passage and my trial by fire. But buying space in one of those caskets just couldn’t be my destiny.
#2 As a young Air Force pilot, I was eager to get into combat before the war ended. I was certain that I would see my share of the fighting as a forward air controller.
#3 The final leg of my journey was a flight to Vietnam, which took place in a C-141 cargo plane. I was thinking about how the Air Force had trained me for the upcoming year-long immersion, and had they done a good job.
#4 The heat and humidity in Vietnam was a shock to me. I was also intimidated by the veteran Air Force officer who gave me the welcome briefing, as he had a striking resemblance to one of my childhood mythical heroes, Steve Canyon, the All-American comic-strip pilot.

Sujets

• Military
• Vietnam War

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 18 avril 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669386544
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Tom Yarborough's Da Nang Diary
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11 Insights from Chapter 12 Insights from Chapter 13
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was going to Vietnam as duty and honor demanded, to fulfill a military rite of passage and my trial by fire. But buying space in one of those caskets just couldn’t be my destiny.

#2

As a young Air Force pilot, I was eager to get into combat before the war ended. I was certain that I would see my share of the fighting as a forward air controller.

#3

The final leg of my journey was a flight to Vietnam, which took place in a C-141 cargo plane. I was thinking about how the Air Force had trained me for the upcoming year-long immersion, and had they done a good job.

#4

The heat and humidity in Vietnam was a shock to me. I was also intimidated by the veteran Air Force officer who gave me the welcome briefing, as he had a striking resemblance to one of my childhood mythical heroes, Steve Canyon, the All-American comic-strip pilot.

#5

The 504th Tactical Air Support Group was the temporary home of the pilots in Vietnam. The Group owned all the FACs in Southeast Asia, so after five days of indoctrination, we were assigned to one of the squadrons.

#6

The medics were the last to speak, and they made sure to make their point clear. They showed us pictures of rotting genitals, and said that if we were going to fool around, we should do it with a round-eye like this.

#7

The FAC mission came into its own during the war in Southeast Asia, when air strikes went in anywhere in South Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia. The pilot was in constant radio contact with both the ground troops and the fighter aircraft, and he literally ran the tactical air war.

#8

The FAC mission was extremely dangerous, and the casualty rate was higher than most other Air Force units. However, they took enormous risks to direct the fighters in support of ground troops.

#9

I was excited to be a FAC, as I had always wanted to fly in III Corps with the 25th Infantry Division. I was assigned to fly for the Americal, the 23rd Infantry Division at Chu Lai in I Corps.

#10

The 20th TASS squadron flew a special FAC mission called SCAR, which stood for strike control and reconnaissance. The mission was to interdict supplies being shipped south along a twisting network of paths and trails in Laos.

#11

The name Da Nang applied only to the old Vietnamese city of Tourane, but the term was commonly used for everything in the surrounding area. The Covey FACS base was located in Da Nang Bay, and the city was surrounded by mountains that were used as sites from which the Viet Cong fired deadly 122mm rockets into the base.

#12

I had to complete a series of forms for the Air Force, and the Escape and Evasion form required me to answer a series of personalized questions that would be used in case I was ever shot down. The second form was even more troubling: I had to present Air Force Form 137 to the flight surgeon, who inked the bottoms of my bare feet.

#13

The Covey operation was very unconventional, and they used some strange but effective hybrids to fight their air war in Vietnam. One of these was the introduction of the FAC into the sensitive command-and-control system in Laos.

#14

The Vietnam War depended on the contest between Hanoi’s efforts to sustain the vital logistics supply line down the Trail, and American attempts to cut it. The OV-10 Broncos were assigned to fly over the Trail every day, with the Cessna O-2s fighting the battle at night.

#15

The OV-10 was a light attack aircraft designed as a counterinsurgency aircraft. It was a dream come true for me, as it was similar to the P-38 Lightning of World War II fame. I was extremely nervous preflighting the aircraft.

#16

I checked in with Da Nang’s tactical radar control center, and began a climbing turn to the east. I crossed the coast and went feet wet, which meant I was flying over the warm waters of the South China Sea.

#17

I was able to pull off a few inverted maneuvers, and when I returned to Da Nang, I spotted a lone O-2 about a mile to my left on a parallel course but slightly lower. It was the perfect setup for an old fashioned bounce. I considered the wisdom of showing my fanny on my first ride, but on the other hand, the IP might think less of me for not being aggressive.

#18

John and I flew a training mission with the rest of the class. We flew straight in for Da Nang Approach Control, who vectored us for a straight-in TACAN approach to Runway 17 Left. I was supposed to fly strictly on instruments, but it was harder than it sounds. I couldn’t resist peeking at two helicopters crossing my final approach course.

#19

The same thing happened on a radar approach. The controller finally broke me off at two miles from touchdown. I screwed up the holding pattern entry royally, but eventually we managed to shoot the published approach all the way to a touch-and-go landing.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The Cambodian incursion was a bold decision by President Nixon, and a radical departure from the previous administration’s hands-off policy on sanctuaries. It gave a big boost to the morale of U. S. troops and gave fair warning to Hanoi that the American president meant to give his Vietnamization program every chance of working.

#2

The FACs used white phosphorous rockets, which produced a large snow-white cloud of smoke that could be seen from fighter aircraft circling the target area. The fighters knew where to put their bombs if a FAC sang out, Hit my smoke.

#3

I completed the Phase I refresher checkout with a night sortie the following evening. The flight consisted of flare drops and night rocket firings followed by some touch-and-go landings. The mission proved uneventful until we returned to the Da Nang traffic pattern, where I saw my first ground fire.

#4

On the morning of May 4, the entire base went on high alert. The VC had attacked the 101st Airborne Division’s Camp Eagle near Phu Bai, about forty miles north of us. Instead of the normal harassing fire, the bad guys lobbed dozens of 122mm rockets into Camp Eagle and managed to sneak several sappers with satchel charges into the perimeter.

#5

My first mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail was on May 5, when I flew with First Lieutenant Homer Pressley. We saw two camouflaged trucks deep in the shadows along the tree line, and I excitedly announced my discovery.

#6

The strike was on. I was totally enthralled by the bombs drops. Every tree in the target area had been completely blown away or splintered, yet miraculously, all four trucks were still sitting there looking no worse for the ordeal.

#7

I struggled with my ejection seat, which was extremely uncomfortable. I was also extremely uncomfortable, but I kept myself occupied by focusing on map reading and asking Homer about tactics and visual reconnaissance techniques.

#8

I was excited to be assigned to fly with Captain Albert D. Jensen, my first IP, as I was able to write down my impressions about my first combat mission. I was surprised by how much Elvis had forgotten about Covey missions over the Trail.

#9

On the morning of May 7, we discussed the mechanics of the flight, then walked across the compound to the intelligence shop for our formal briefing on targets, threats, and weather. The briefer presented all the latest data, including extensive warnings about every gun up and down the Trail.

#10

I was assigned to fly with Litter 13, led by Don Redfield. We were to attack a suspected truck park just off a main segment of the Trail. We were taking ground fire from our nine o’clock, so Don cleared the smoke in on the target.

#11

Don pointed out some of the landmarks that would help me navigate in VR-6, the Covey portion of the route structure. With more than a little disdain in his voice, Don asked me if I had checked my fuel gauge recently. I sheepishly remembered the fuel transfer switch from the centerline tank to the main wing tanks.