I resurrected the Lyndon Johnson thread to link these photos because of the comments of a couple of the pilots. Cade Martin is the photojournalist invited to attend the San Antonio reunion of the Thud pilots who flew Operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam.
I think now that interest in the Johnson thread is limited, and I would hate for someone who would enjoy these portraits to miss them because they were buried in that thread.
_______________________________________________________ despite them
July 30, 2018, 01:00 PM
GT-40DOC
Thanx for this. I was in Vietnam with two of these folks that moved from Thuds to F-4s. I flew often with one of them....in fact, he was our OPS Officer.
July 30, 2018, 02:10 PM
Bytes
Thanks for posting that TMats. My cousin's first tour of Vietnam was flying F-100 Super Sabers. His next two tours were flying the F-105. Those guys did some really dangerous stuff. It's very interesting to see the men that were doing the same thing as my cousin.
July 30, 2018, 02:35 PM
ArLEOret
WOW!,, The portraits are great and the info I learned was outstanding. Never knew Washington released the targets to the enemy. What the hell were they thinking. Totally impressed! Thank you for sharing.
Officers lives matter!
July 30, 2018, 02:48 PM
Rey HRH
"I went to Gun School. I was in a class of seven. Three years later only three of us were alive and this was before the war started."
Wow.
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
July 30, 2018, 02:58 PM
45 Cal
Thanks for posting this,some real eye opening statements. We who have been in already new some of the shit the politicians pulled.
July 30, 2018, 03:13 PM
104RFAST
I was a Crew Chief on the F-104 from 62 till 66 We also had F-105D models and in 63 we received the F model and was involved in the Wild Wiesel project. The THUD was a monster single engine jet. When fully loaded ( 16 750lb bombs) it was a sight to behold. Early on they had a bad habit of blowing up and were grounded. Down in the tree tops Migs were no match,it could haul ass
July 30, 2018, 03:19 PM
RHINOWSO
quote:
Originally posted by Rey HRH: "I went to Gun School. I was in a class of seven. Three years later only three of us were alive and this was before the war started."
Wow.
The 50-60s were wild when it came to aviation and safety rates - they were atrocious.
We'd go broke these days crashing as many planes as they did back then.
The Navy went from 776 planes destroyed in a single year (1954) to a nearly steady state of 10-15 per year today.
Pilots would show up and be tossed a aircraft handbook for a jet they had never flow "be ready for a flight tomorrow!" back then. Today it takes a careful training program to learn how to fly them, with associated increase in safety rates.
July 30, 2018, 03:19 PM
rburg
quote:
Originally posted by 45 Cal:
We who have been in already new some of the shit the politicians pulled.
Be fair. Those were Democrat politicians. Not honest Americans.
Unhappy ammo seeker
July 30, 2018, 03:22 PM
FN in MT
I worked on gun and release systems on the Thud's. But stateside, never went overseas.
Thanks for posting.....
July 30, 2018, 03:24 PM
Poacher
My Dad graduated from UGA and was commissioned with Tony Cushinberry (he flew B-57s in Viet Nam).
I showed him the pics and it brought a smile to his face. He always loved the "Go to Hell" hat.
NRA Life Member
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Teddy Roosevelt
July 30, 2018, 03:29 PM
Pipe Smoker
The F-105 was a triple-threat plane. It could: Strafe you Bomb you Fall on you
Kidding aside, the F-105 was a good plane, performing hazardous missions.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker,
Serious about crackers.
July 30, 2018, 03:44 PM
c1steve
“We have since learned that our target list was shared through Switzerland with the enemy to ensure no civilians were harmed. Well, that’s no way to win a war. The enemy would move out and set up somewhere else, ready to hit us on our way in and out. And, sometimes… Chiefs of Staff would send us in 5 days in a row.”