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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2016)
14 Wednesday, May 11, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon VIETNAM: BBR resident was combat pilot in Vietnam Continued from page 1 together the trip after meet- ing a MiG-21 pilot (Retired Lt. General Nguyen Duc Soat) in the airline industry in Vietnam.” Hartnack points out that, “Meetings like this have hap- pened at some point after every war. In fact, for decades (after World War II) a German ace attended air shows in the United States in full German uniform, and enjoyed very warm receptions wherever he went.” The formal reception dinner among pilots was held on April 13, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Hanoi. The Vietnamese were represented by 16 former MiG-21 and MiG-17 pilots. The Americans were repre- sented by 12 aviators from various branches, and by former pilot, POW, and first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson. It was the larg- est meeting ever between fighter pilots from both sides of the war. The dinner was not guar- anteed to be a success. “When Rear Admiral John Kerr came to my room to help me carry our carefully assem- bled gift exchange bags to the event, neither of us really had any idea how the evening, a very long evening, would proceed. It would turn out to be one of the most extraordi- nary events I have witnessed in a long and busy life,” Hartnack said. The first 30 minutes of the event proved awkward, prin- cipally due to language diffi- culties, and despite the pres- ence of interpreters. “It was very difficult to establish the instant connec- tions,” Richard said, “but it was pretty obvious that everyone involved wanted to find common ground, friend- ship, mutual respect, and the ability to tell our stories to each other.” After short opening speeches by Retired USMC Colonel Charlie Tutt, and Lt. General Soat (Soat retired after serving in a position equivalent to Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Hartnack said, “The meet- ing got real interesting real fast.” A representative of the Vietnamese Air Defense and Air Force Command briefed the attendees on the Vietnamese Order of Battle during the war, and explained that the Vietnamese Air Force was founded in 1964 with only 32 MiG-17s. He further explained that the typical Vietnamese fighter pilot was trained in Russia, and had accumulated about 200 hours of flight time before his first combat mission. Said Hartnack, “That was about half the flying experi- ence of a ‘nugget’ American pilot and a fraction of the experience of many World War II and Korean War veter- ans flying for the U.S.” It would turn out to be one of the most extraordinary events I have witnessed in a long and busy life. — Richard Hartnack Overall, the Vietnamese Air Force flew 10,000 com- bat sorties. “My own squadron,” Richard said, “one of many, many U.S. fighter squadrons, flew over 25,000 sorties dur- ing the war.” Hartnack told The Nugget that the flying ratios of Vietnamese pilots meant that they “flew an aerial-engage- ment dogfight about every fifth time they went flying. For the U.S. side, most of us never had an aerial engage- ment, and those that did, maybe only 10 percent had more than one.” The Vietnam Air Force representative then briefed the audience on four aerial engagements, including detailed, large-scale maps. After the technical expla- nation and debrief of each battle, the microphone was turned over to the American pilot who was in the fight, and one of the Vietnamese pilots who was also in the battle. Each side had the oppor- tunity to tell their part of the engagement — “what they saw, what they experienced.” Hartnack said, “In the end, we learned that it is hard after 45 years or more to remem- ber everything and clearly the experience was somewhat different when viewed from different perspectives.” One of the battles dis- cussed took place in 1965, when Clint Johnson shot down a MiG-17 with a pro- peller driven A-1D “Spad” for one of the first aerial vic- tories of the war — a very rare instance of a propeller vs. jet aircraft battle result- ing in a victory for the old technology. “It was a head-on attack,” Hartnack said. “He simply had more guns to shoot, and with good aim and good luck, he was the victor.” Another battle discussed at the meeting involved Curt Dose — call-sign “Dozo” — who, in 1972, at Kep Airfield, was flying a mission to protect U.S. bombers from Vietnamese fighter jets, when he observed MiG-21s about to take off. On his attack run he saw that two other planes were already accelerating for take off. “Changing targets, he dove down to a very low level in order to position his plane behind the MiGs, with the intention of launching a heat-seeking missile as soon as they left the ground.” In the event, Dose launched two missiles, hit- ting one of the aircraft “which exploded and crashed almost immediately.” Many of the pilots in attendance at the dinner had personally witnessed this event, and in keeping with the spirit of reconciliation, Curt Dose also had the opportu- nity to meet with the sister of the Vietnamese pilot who was killed in the engagement. American pilots Pete Pettigrew, who retired from photo courtesy richard hartnack Charlie Tutt and Rick Hartnack, both from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 in 1969-1970 pictured with Lt. General Nguyen Duc Soat at the reconciliation dinner. the Navy as a Rear Admiral, and Jack Ensch, who scored two aerial victories during the war, then recounted their experiences. Later in the war, Ensch would be shot down by a surface-to-air missile and held as a POW. Following the presenta- tions, the Americans and Vietnamese, once bitter enemies, exchanged gift packages. The Americans presented the Vietnamese pilots original artwork of a F-4 Phantom and MiG, challenge coins; artwork of F-4 and MiG 17 engage- ments; and other memora- bilia. The Vietnamese pre- sented the Americans with a B L ACKS BLACKSMITHING SM IT THIN Fireplace screens, andirons, and grates, Handforged hardware, hinges, lighting, gift items, more! CCB# 87640 WELDING Structural l Steel S l • W Welding l di d i R Repair i CNC Cutting • Machining • Fabrication PonderosaForge.com P nd d F • Sisters Industrial Park 541-549-9280 FALL SPORTS REGISTRATION DEADLINE APPROACHING! 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