F-4C Phantom on ramp
26 min read

November 22, 1966, was selected as the day a massive air strike would be launched against the first of two high-priority targets in North Vietnam (NVN). At the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Danang AB, RVN, four two-man crews were hand-picked to deliver the lethal ordnance onto both targets selected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). A total of 17 four-ship flights were to hit a vast complex of oil and munitions storage and NVN troops.

At 0600, I awoke to the annoying buzzer of my Telechron alarm clock. When my feet hit the floor with my elbows on my knees at bedside, a feeling of total despair came over me. In the solitude of my tiny enclosure, staring unfocused at the floor, I said aloud, “Today’s the day,” thinking this was the last day of my life.

I had breakfast with 1st Lt. Galand Kramer at the Danang Officers Open Mess, the DOOM Club, so appropriately named for those of us flying into the teeth of North Vietnam’s AAA, missile and MiG air defenses. Galand himself would be shot down two months later.

We held a mass intelligence briefing at wing HQ. Our intel chief Major Art Weiner briefed us on all aspects of our mission including weather and defenses. I wondered what good it did to tell us there were guns, MiGs and SAMs everywhere. After that we had our individual flight briefings. We were to be a flight of four F-4C Phantoms.

By 0900, my front-seater, 1st Lt. Gordon “Scotty” Wilson and I were walking onto the north ramp to our weapons- and fuel-laden F-4C number 64-0755. Scotty preflighted the weapons: six-M117, 750 lb. bombs and eight Air-to-Air Missiles while I inspected the Phantom. The flight call sign was Dogwood and we were number 2.

Joe Crecca

The author, during training on the F-4 Phantom.

As I approached the left wing in my walk around, I noticed a large “patch,” roughly 30” by 8” riveted just inboard of the left wing-fold. Just then, the crew chief, SSgt. Don Ward, came up to me and said words that someone in operations never, ever hears from anybody in maintenance. “Sir, the airplane was in a SAM break two days ago. They fixed it. But I don’t think they fixed it right. If I were you, I wouldn’t take the airplane.”

I was in disbelief about what I had just been told, but a realist about the exigencies surrounding me and said to Sergeant Ward that he should tell Lt. Wilson what he had just told me which he did. Scotty took one look at the patch which I admit looked a bit Sam Schwartz to me and replied, “If we have to break for a SAM, we’ll bring it back without the wingtip.”

With both my palms up and a telling expression on my face, Don Ward knew that was the end of the conversation. But for many years I wondered about what premonitions he also might have had that were similar to those I’d had when I awakened.

Since 366th TFW maintenance was overtaxed having to do all of its around-the-clock 24/7 functions, the flight leader had to turn down two airplanes before he found one that was combat ready and airworthy. Dogwood 4 was an MND, Maintenance Non Delivery, i.e., no airplane! What?

Our own Phantom was suffering from a variety of ills. The intercom was intermittent. And after Scotty started the engines, the aerial refueling receptacle would only operate some of the time. I admit now that, with the forebodings I’d had earlier, I seriously thought about pulling the aerial refueling receptacle circuit breaker so it would not open, causing us to have to abort. But I did not. I still know where the CB is.

Despite these difficulties, we began to taxi. Owing to all the maintenance problems, we did not take off as a flight but departed single-ship and joined up on the KC-135 tanker aircraft over Thailand as a flight of three.

Takeoff in a heavily-loaded Phantom requires some explanation. Directional control was by use of nose wheel steering or rudder up to 70 knots, at which airspeed the rudder became effective. Nose wheel liftoff speed was calculated to be over 170 knots and liftoff at nearly 200 knots or 230 mph! The Dash-1 (USAF “How to Fly the F-4” book) technique to accomplish this feat was to have the control stick fully aft (T.O. 1F-4C-1, Change 1, page 2-20) before reaching 30 knots below calculated nose wheel liftoff speed. In this MGTOW case, you had to have the stick in your lap before attaining 140 knots. By that point the airflow over the isoclinic horizontal stabilizer was sufficient to start the nose up.

As the nose rises, pitch attitude must be controlled to achieve a nose-high attitude of 10 to 12 degrees. So that the pilot does not have to be utilizing his attitude indicator for this, the canopy rails happen to be canted downward at just the correct angle making it possible to perform the takeoff maneuver using purely visual references, e.g. when the canopy rails are parallel to the ground, the nose is 10-12 degrees up. At this moment the twin J-79 afterburners are briefly licking at the runway with two, huge, yellow-orange flames.

After liftoff, caution must be exercised to avoid over-rotation. This requires the pilot to smoothly and precisely adjust control inputs to maintain takeoff attitude as the aircraft accelerates and the landing gear and flaps are retracted. Even at max takeoff weight, Scotty had to be careful not to exceed the landing gear limit airspeed of 250 knots with both afterburners cooking. He did this all without missing a beat. Despite being a first lieutenant, Scotty Wilson was in my opinion, the best stick in the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

Maximum allowable gross takeoff weight in an F-4C was 58,000 lbs. And we were just below that weight when we left Danang AB, RVN from runway 17L on the 22nd of November 1966.

Scotty gave me the airplane and I climbed out at 350 knots until it came time to find the tanker on the radar. Then we switched roles and Scotty flew while I coordinated the rendezvous. Dogwood 3 had already arrived and was taking fuel through the KC-135’s boom. Scotty gave the Phantom back to me and then it was my turn. I slipped off the right wing of the tanker into a spot 50 feet aft of where I’d have to be for the boomer to plug into my receptacle. After I was “stabilized,” the boomer cleared me into the contact position.

F-4C Phantom on ramp

The last known photo of F-4C 64-0755, the Phantom flown in this article.

I flew the airplane to a point in space below the beautiful Stratotanker where I judged the “contact” position to be. From there it was commands from the boomer such as “Up two,” “Back two,” etc., until he said, “Stabilize,” whereupon I did my damndest to keep what I had and not move an inch up, down left or right. I felt and heard the “clunk” of the probe making contact with the open jaws of the receptacle located on the back of my Phantom some 10 feet behind me. “Contact,” followed by, “You’re taking fuel,” announced the boomer.

From the back seat, I accomplished the fuel on-load at an altitude of 25,000 ft. having to use minimum afterburner on the left engine to stay in position due to the heavy load. Flight lead arrived and took his fuel after we were finished. Scotty then took control of the airplane as we proceeded to follow our leader along the preplanned route.

From the refueling track exit over northern Thailand, our route took us over northern Laos and into North Vietnam. We accomplished the weapons checklist just as we entered enemy territory: Centerline station, Bombs ripple, Intervalometer set, Master Arm. The bomb release button was now hot!

Approaching what should have been Point Alfa on our planned route, I noticed the nav pointer was off to the left when it should have been dead center straight up. I quickly figured out that, because we were going to be late, our flight lead was cutting Alfa out and going directly to Bravo. I confirmed this by dialing in Bravo’s coordinates and the needle pointed straight ahead.

I yelled on the intercom, “Deep six check! He’s taking us direct to Bravo and right over Yen Bai!” Without hesitation Scotty rolled smoothly to the left into a near 90 degree bank and applied right (top) rudder and held it for a few seconds while I looked for the SAM that was certainly coming for us. But there was no SAM. So Scotty did the same check with a roll to the right with the same result. Phew! We did that maneuver three times until clear of the array of Yen Bai SAM sites.

Just as we were positioning ourselves for the right-hand turn at Bravo, the lead aircraft unexpectedly turned to the left. Scotty compensated nicely and kept us in formation while I was continually “checking six.” During the left, 270 degree turn, the flight leader must have been having problems with his navigation system because he asked if our own nav equipment was operating normally, saying, “Dogwood 2, how’s your inertial?”

I’m thinking, “How does anybody know how their INS is doing when they can’t see the ground?” We were at 25,000 feet above a solid, 10,000-foot undercast. While I was thinking how dumb a question that was, Scotty asked me an entirely different one over the intercom:

“Do you know where we are?”

To me, this is a refreshing change of phraseology, demonstrating a far greater sense of situational awareness. I replied that I still had a positive lock to a radio nav-aid and if he could get us through the clouds I could get us to the target. Scotty then said over the radio to the leader, “Dogwood 2 has a good inertial.” Pilots who have used the AN/ASN-46 nav system (Up to 7 NM per hour error) will know what’s going on here.

Flight lead replied, “Dogwood 2, you have the lead.” So that it is crystal clear to the reader, this means that two 1st Lieutenants were leading a flight of Phantoms to a JCS target on the outskirts of Hanoi referred to as “Bullseye” by those of us who flew over the north. The time was 1151. Our TOT (Time Over Target) was scheduled for 1153. We were going to make it.

SA-2 missile

The SA-2 brought down many American pilots over North Vietnam.

At this point, because of the unexpected turn, our formation was too bunched up; we were too close to each other to be able to provide mutual look-out support. I was too busy inside the cockpit to see it happen but the other two Phantoms banked away sharply to assume the proper lateral spacing. Without any electronic gear onboard to warn us of active SAM sites, there was no way for us to know that at that very moment a Soviet-built SA-2 missile was streaking its way towards our Phantom from directly behind us, “Dead 6 o’clock,” in fighter pilot lingo. Just as the original lead aircraft rolled back to a wings-level position a mile to our left and reacquired us visually, the SAM struck our F-4 too late to shout a warning.

We were only two minutes from the target, descending through 14,000 ft. at a speed of 540 knots or about 650 miles per hour.

The explosion was ear-splitting and seemed to go on and on. This is known as temporal distortion. Our airplane flew out of the fireball with orange flames and thick, black smoke trailing from the wings, fuselage and tail. We’d had it. The direct hit had felt like we’d had a collision with a fully-loaded cement truck. There was a terrifyingly loud and long explosion followed by staccato metal-to-metal sounds, probably of the J-79 turbine and compressor blades departing for parts unknown. Sayonara, engines!

I looked first into the rear-view mirrors and could see only orange flames and inky smoke. I then looked at myself to see if I was in one piece. How about that for a cool presence of mind? I was O.K. The cockpit pressure vessel was intact; incredibly, it had not been penetrated despite a direct hit by a Soviet SA-2 missile traveling at over Mach 2 with a 400 lb., high-explosive warhead! Peering over Scotty’s shoulders into the front seat, I could see we were done for. Both Fire and Overheat lights were illuminated and all the amber and red indicators on the telelight panel by Scotty’s right knee were lit. The aircraft banked sharply to the left, then to the right. Despite our brief conversation enroute to the tanker about pilots who had ejected from their burning airplanes prematurely (their aircraft flew on for long distances before going out of control) what happened next got my attention.

Scotty yelled, “GET OUT!” With the “OUT” still echoing in my ears there was a BOOM!, then the air noise of the jettisoned canopy. Scotty had ejected. For the briefest moment I contemplated that a right 60 degree turn would take me via the shortest route out of NVN. Not that northern Laos is a very hospitable place to be, but it would give you a better chance for a rescue by an Air Force chopper. I even remember glancing around the cockpit at the throttles and the control stick. It was another scene of temporal distortion. The control stick was lazily wandering left and right; the throttles were all the way forward in the full afterburner position but there was no thrust coming from the J-79s. There were no J-79s! All this took no more than one second.

But survival instincts and thorough ejection training were running the show. Subconsciously I probably realized I was sitting alone in the back seat of a burning airplane. The man who had less than an hour ago cautioned me against premature ejection had ejected. All these thoughts, survival instincts and USAF training synthesized into one, crystal clear and powerful inspiration. While my eyes and my thoughts were on flying out of enemy territory, my hands moved swiftly to the lower ejection handle while my body automatically assumed the correct ejection posture; back straight, legs extended, elbows tucked in close to the body, and BOOM. I’d pulled the lower ejection handle and was away from my burning Phantom. I was falling towards the Earth and still attached to my Martin-Baker (made in England) ejection seat below a four-foot drogue chute to stabilize my rapid descent.

At 10,000 ft, the automatic man-seat separation features operated exactly as advertised. The four-foot stabilizing chute was severed, my lap belt was opened and the “butt snapper” straps straightened, “booting” me out of the seat while simultaneously pulling the ripcord that would deploy my parachute. All I was aware of was a short, sharp ringing sound and my white, silk parachute billowing above me. Phew! The baro switch was supposed to open my chute at 10,000 ft. The clouds were reported to be at 10,000 ft. Both were exactly right because the top of my parachute was practically in the bottom of the clouds right above me.

The first thing I looked at was the horizon and I could almost hear the words of “The Vanquished” as if they were spoken to me.

Scott Wilson

1st Lieutenant Scotty Wilson, “the best stick in [the squadron].”

Looking down past my flying boots lay North Vietnam. For the first few seconds, I was disoriented and didn’t know which way I was facing. I looked to my left and there, on the ground already was the wreckage of my stricken Phantom. Immediately, I looked in the opposite direction and saw Scotty in his chute. Unfortunately, there was more to see in that picture.

Scotty’s arms seemed to be at his sides and head slumped forward. I was concentrating on Scotty and my eyes were focused only on him. Then came the shock. Just to the right of Scotty’s lifeless figure was the light-brown and white cloud characteristic of an SA-2 detonation! A second missile had been fired and aimed precisely where our aircraft would have been had we dived straight ahead to avoid the first missile.

Although I was only a few thousand feet away, I hadn’t been able to hear the explosion. It must have occurred just before my own chute opened. Scotty was probably hit by shrapnel from the missile. At the very least, he had just been knocked out. At least that’s what I hoped. But, I knew the SA-2 was a powerful weapon; 400 lbs. of high-explosive surrounded by a thousand 1-inch diameter stainless steel balls inside the 6-foot long nose cone. At this point I could only pray he would revive by the time he reached the ground.

I looked for an escape route. At 9,000 ft., I began trying to maneuver my parachute towards the southern tip of the Tam Dao Mountain range better known as “Thud Ridge” by the F-105 Thunderchief drivers.  At first it seemed to be right below me. But the effort proved futile. As I descended lower and lower, I realized that by the time I reached the surface I’d still be a long way from even the base of the higher ground.

At 2,500 ft. I could see small “hooches” (straw huts) on the ground. All my attention had been focused on escape and I had inadvertently bypassed the opportunity to use my emergency radio to make a distress, Mayday call. By this time I was at 1,500 ft. It was then that I could see a shapeless, black mass on the ground. It was moving and changing shape ever so slowly. It was people! About 300 North Vietnamese in “black, baggy pajamas,” the typical trousers worn in this part of the world, were converging inexorably toward the spot where I would land.

In order to avoid my radio falling into enemy hands where it could be used to lure American rescue teams into an ambush, I broke the antenna and tossed it. I then drew my .38 caliber service revolver, opened the cylinder, emptied all the ammunition and threw it away. It was less than a minute before I would be on the ground.

I looked back to my right. Scotty hadn’t regained consciousness. Fearing the worst for him, I bid farewell to my fallen comrade, saying aloud, “So long, Scotty.” With only 300 feet to go, I prepared for my parachute landing. It was noon. I took one last look at the horizon. The spot where I landed was probably a potato patch. The soil was mercifully soft, loose and moist. My ungraceful arrival didn’t raise much dust.

The black, shapeless mass of Vietnamese peasants was all over me. Despite the excellent sound-sealing qualities of my helmet, their jabbering was extremely loud and intense. Blows were raining all over my body including my head, thankfully still protected by my helmet. I was flat on my back. Looking down toward my feet, I could see dozens of hands. Some were grabbing and pulling at my anti-g suit, flight suit and boots. Others had knives and were, to my complete surprise, cutting the clothing and equipment from my body. They were in absolute frenzy.

At this moment, I felt a great calm envelope me. The terror I felt just moments before vanished. I thought to myself, “I’m dead.” I just didn’t know what the moment of death would be like. I imagined the instrument of death: a bullet, a knife, a shovel, hammer, pick, axe…  At that moment, I felt a long, cool piece of steel slide between my throat and my helmet strap. In that instant, I realized how I would die; they were going to slice my head off. The blade began moving back and forth. But, instead of cutting through my throat, as I’d imagined, the blade moved away, cutting the helmet strap. Phew II!

Joe Crecca

Joe Crecca would spend more than six years in various prison camps.

With the helmet strap no longer in existence, my helmet flew off like a slingshot. Now, the frenzied noise was deafening. My head, no longer protected by my helmet, was now receiving direct hits from clubs, rocks, rifle butts and God-knows-what. The villagers made short work of removing everything except my T-Shirt and skivvies. And they did so with knives having little concept or knowledge of zippers, snaps or the technical difficulties associated with releasing parachute risers. It’s a real shame but they ruined a perfectly good pair of nearly new, highly-polished USAF flying boots with zippers; they cut right through the damn zippers!

All of a sudden, they stood me up. I am unable to understand why I didn’t feel dazed by all of the blows to the head I’d received. But then, the blood began to run down from the breaks in the skin on my head and into my eyes. I wanted to wipe the blood away but my hands were tied behind my back. I looked around me to see hundreds of people, mostly villagers, including old folks and children. A few of the men wore shoddy uniforms and were armed with old-looking, bolt-action rifles. These were probably the local militia. Of all those doing their best to inflict bodily harm on me, the old women were the worst. They would persistently be trying to attack me while the militia men unemotionally fended them off. It was late November, the temperature was 40F, and all I had on were my underwear.

I was escorted a few hundred feet to one of the village hooches I’d seen from above. Surprisingly, a young couple bandaged my head wounds. I remember their faces were not contorted with anger or hatred but rather with kind expressions of understanding almost bordering on a smile. After that, I was blindfolded and transported two miles by motorcycle sidecar to another village and locked in a small building made of large stones. There, I waited for about five hours, during which time it seemed that everyone in the village, save the oldest and youngest, came to visit the new arrival. I found out what it’s like to be a zoo animal except nobody threw me any peanuts.

During this relatively minor ordeal, I asked permission of my guard, using sign language, for permission to relieve my bladder. Permission was granted and I promptly made a big hit with the youngsters in attendance. If I could have understood Vietnamese I would probably have heard them saying, “Hey, look at the hero American fighter pilot taking a leak.”

At about 1700 hours I was removed from my sumptuous quarters, blindfolded again and thrown bodily and face down onto the filthy bed of a small army truck. For the next two hours I ate dust, dirt, rust flakes and rodent droppings as we pounded our way over the worst rutted roads into Hanoi.

Upon arrival at the Hoa Lo prison, I was placed in a dimly-lit room with light green, uneven walls. Those bumps on the walls, in retrospect, were a poor man’s acoustic treatment for trying to muffle the screams of Americans being tortured there. This room was known, unaffectionately, by all who suffered there as “the room with the green, bumpy walls.” Seated on a small, wooden stool, the interrogation began in the usual way with, “Name, rank, serial number and date of birth.” When I refused to reply to any further questions except by repeating my name, rank, serial number and date of birth, my interrogating officer, in a most sinister way, and in a very convincing manner said, “Crecca, you will die in Vietnam.” In a matter of minutes I was bound with ropes. My arms were tied behind my back with the elbows laced tightly together. I lost all feeling in my arms very rapidly. Manacles were locked onto my wrists as well. The pain was unbearable except that I had to bear it whether I wanted to or not.

Then, I was pushed face down to the floor and blindfolded. I could feel them loop a rope around my neck, then attach the rope to my wrists and again, in similar fashion, to my ankles. Suddenly, I was lifted from the floor. My brain raced to imagine all the possibilities: A snake pit? A well? Before I could muse over any more unhappy endings, I was dropped onto the floor. Better than snakes or drowning in contaminated water, I thought briefly, before I was elevated again and dropped again. I was starting to get the idea. The process of lifting the “American air pirate” and dropping him (me) face first onto the floor went on for over an hour.

Hoa Lo prison

The prison at Hoa Lo was a miserable place.

The next thing I knew, I was back on the wooden stool facing my interrogator. He still had the baleful look of an owl about to gobble a mouse. I was the mouse. But, knowing this might be my only chance to talk before the fun and games began anew, I concocted a mission scenario that I hoped would be accepted as truth.

Since we were shot down well before reaching our target and also because most of the strike flights had declined to enter the target area due to decidedly unfavorable weather, my story had to deny the Vietnamese any foreknowledge of the real target. If I failed to keep this from them, they would reposition their anti-aircraft batteries and SAMs to make the target a “flak trap,” making this JCS target even more formidable than before. More aircraft would be shot down and pilots killed or captured. I was asked the same questions over and over in an attempt to trip me up. But, I stuck to my story answering the same question in the same way each time.   The session finally came to an end after midnight. I fell into a restless, nightmarish and shivering cold sleep.

Thus ended my first day as a POW in North Vietnam. I would spend the next six years and three months in five different prison camps around the city and countryside in North Vietnam; the farthest very near to the Chinese border. Phew III!

It was the determination of President Richard M. Nixon to mount Operation Linebacker II, sending B-52s to attack the capital city of Hanoi and the port city of Haiphong, forcing the communists back to the peace conference in Paris that resulted in the end of the Vietnam War and the release of the prisoners-of-war. Had it not been for President Nixon and the sheer courage of the B-52 and tactical aircrews, the POWs would never have returned.

Following the release of all the POWs we met President Nixon at the State Department in May, 1973. By my count I was about the 335th POW to walk up onto the stage to shake hands with the President. I was at a loss for words. What could I possibly say to the President of the United States that he hadn’t already heard 334 times before? As my turn got closer and closer, I was still mentally tongue-tied. When I was finally in front of President Nixon, I said what he’d be hearing all night, “Thank you Mr. President for bringing us home with honor.” Then without missing a beat I said, “And I’m really sorry about that F-4. But I promise if you’ll just give me another one, I’ll take much better care of it.” He squeezed my hand so hard I thought he was going to break all the bones in it as he said with great gusto, “I want you in one!”

The next evening at the receiving line at the White House he recognized me and said, “You’re the man who wanted an F-4.” I said I was and he said, “You’ve got it!”

I flew Phantoms until leaving to fly transports for Flying Tigers and then Federal Express. Thank you President Nixon for my life and my freedom.

Epilogue

POWs in Vietnam

In 1973, American POWs finally came home.

Our flight should never have been going into the target. First of all, we only had three airplanes. One of our F-4s was not delivered by maintenance. You need four for effective mutual support; i.e., lookout coverage for all four in all quadrants. Secondly, everybody else — all the other strike flights, 15 of them, one after the other — were calling, “Outbound for weather” meaning the target area was socked in and it would be just plain stupid to drop into the clouds where it would be hard to locate the target and easy to get nailed by a SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile).

So why were we going in anyway? Because the Director of Operations (DO) was leading a flight-of-four on MiG Cap hoping to shoot down a MiG. If none of the strike flights entered the target area, the MiGs wouldn’t come up. If the MiGs didn’t come up, he couldn’t have a chance to shoot one down. And the Officer Effectiveness Report (OER) of the guy leading our flight would be written by the DO. Get it? Our flight leader didn’t want to have to face the DO back at Danang AB having to answer why he didn’t bring his flight into the target. A sub-standard OER means you don’t get promoted on time.

The result of the egotistical attitude by the DO and the lack of courage and sound judgement by our flight leader cost Scotty Wilson his life, put me in communist prisons for over six years, resulted in my father’s untimely death at the age of 58 and a host of other horrors back home while I was away. The USAF also lost F-4C Phantom 64-0755.

Scotty Wilson had a beautiful wife and daughter whose lives were torn asunder as well. His remains were returned to the USA in April, 1986, and he is interred at the Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Rest in Peace, dear Scotty. 

Post Script

I taught math, physics, automotive theory and practice, and classical music in the Hanoi Hilton. I taught eight pilots who had only two-year degrees differential calculus. I learned Russian and some higher math.

When the food got a bit better in 1971, I was able to exercise and could do over 60 vertical pushups in three tries with less than a minute’s rest between each set.

When I was shot down I weighed 157 lbs. I went down to about 125 in the winter of 1968. By 1973, when we were released, they’d given us enough to eat so that I was back up to 155.

I hope you enjoyed reading this.

Joe Crecca
Latest posts by Joe Crecca (see all)
86 replies
  1. Arlan R Allen
    Arlan R Allen says:

    Welcome home!

    Lonely feeling for a pilot over enemy territory. I remember the day we lost a crew in Cambodia. All of us pilots felt lost. We did not know if anyone survived! Then with release of the first group of POWs WO1 James Hestand was released! Sadly the other pilot and crew chief and door gunner did not make it.

    Jim witnessed the other pilot CW2 Richard Bauman and crew chief Craig Dix being captured. The NVA never admitted to capturing them! The door gunner Bobby Harris was KIA during the shoot down. His remains were returned September 5th 2004 for burial. 33 years 6 months after his loss. Jim Hestand the AC of the fateful flight gave the eulogy at Bobby’s funeral!

    Welcome home,
    CW4 Arlan R Allen USA Ret.

  2. michael conroy
    michael conroy says:

    Amazing story Mr.Crecca, I for one, am glad you are still here among us mere mortals, thank you for sharing your daunting experience, you sure went through hell for 6 years and yet had the courage to ask Nixon for another F-4 …
    If it means anything, I wanted to tell you that I have travelled extensively though Vietnam for both work and pleasure, and found that Vietnamese people hold no grudge whatsoever to those dark years, younger generations are full of optimism and only look forward for a better life. Vietnam will eventually strive throughout S.E. Asia.
    Hopefully you have not seen this magnificent video I recently came across, and for a man in love with flight like you proved, I hope it will bring back nothing but happy memories https://vimeo.com/199142621 . I hope to be delighted with more of your anecdotes.

  3. Bill Thompson
    Bill Thompson says:

    Mr. Crecca,
    Thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your incredible experience in such a telling manner.

  4. John W. Nelson
    John W. Nelson says:

    Joe, you are one incredible patriot and hero. In addition to all of your other talents, you write very well. Thank you for the heads-up on the article. While I never got above the Cessna 180 stage of flying, I hold you and your fellow pilots in the highest esteem. You and your fellow POWs were and are the best of this nation. God bless you all.

  5. Hap Carpenter
    Hap Carpenter says:

    Joe. It was great to learn about your time before FTL/FDX. I knew you had endured being a prisoner but we never talked about it. It was great to see you as our paths crossed as we travel the world. Hope you sre enjoying the golden years. Hap

    • Joe Crecca
      Joe Crecca says:

      Hap,

      I just received some additional email comments on my article and browsed through the older ones and saw yours. Thank you for your sentiments. And I’ll always remember how you and Tom Nordberg stood up for me in Anchorage.

  6. Sean Spence
    Sean Spence says:

    I did “enjoy reading this” and I am grateful for men like you. I hope that this article and your word of mouth/teachings help other people stand up against stupidity and question the orders of those place in authority.

    Thank you for sharing your story.

  7. Jim D
    Jim D says:

    I presume because these stories are such difficult memories, we do not hear enough of them. I hereby repeat all the usual thank you’s, perhaps perfunctorily but with no less feeling. I live on Easy Street. It’s entirely, entirely because of you guys.

    I always get chills reading these stories. It’s not from the How did you survive? it’s from the How did you manage to climb aboard your jet and competently do your job in the face of what you already knew?

    I, for one, will welcome additional tales of courage and flying on these pages. Thank you Sir.

  8. Sal M
    Sal M says:

    Joe, thanks for sharing and honoring Scotty. No better tribute to a warrior and man then to be remembered by his fellow warriors 50+ years later.

  9. Michael
    Michael says:

    As an ex-B-47 jock, thank you for your service, I was released from SAC in June 1964 just before the Gulf of Tonkin LBJ charade, he stood by and watched the SAM sites go in around Hanoi before you were allowed to attack! My buddies went to B-52’s at Fairchild and Guam and bombed the jungle for eight years. God Bless you F-4 drivers!

  10. Tony Huelin
    Tony Huelin says:

    Joe,

    It was great to hear your story again. I always enjoyed flying with you and sharing a beverage. It’s guys like you who I’ve tried to be like when it became my turn to sit in the left seat.

    All the best.

  11. b fearn
    b fearn says:

    Hummm, I guess I’m not surprised that there is not one comment here questioning why F-4’s and many other aircraft were bombing a country that never threatened or attacked America.
    Joe could have saved lives and saved 6 years of his own if had just stayed home.

    • Bob W.
      Bob W. says:

      (Shaking head sadly…) It seems there’s always someone willing to take a conversation on an inappropriate tangent. I completely agree with everything Jim D. (below) writes. Mr. Crecca’s response (farther below) displays considerably more class than that displayed by “b fearn” in this particular instance.

      Bob W.

    • David Sandell
      David Sandell says:

      They never attack until they do it. Japan, who woulda thunk it? Without guys like Joe you would go to prison for writing what you just wrote. God bless them!

    • Patrick Walker
      Patrick Walker says:

      Looser! How do you look in the mirror? You have no skin in the game of life and freedom, do you! You’d make a grand Socialist.

    • Bill Kabel
      Bill Kabel says:

      b fearn…its people like you ( and others who fled to Canada) who make those of us who answered the call sick to our stomachs! You softy, don’t deserve the freedom which we veterans fought and died for! You should be ashamed of yourself!

  12. Jim D
    Jim D says:

    Well “b fearn”, you have a right to make your comment and your opinion, but I do not believe this is the time or place. This is aviation commentary. Much aviation has occurred in the context of military service. Messrs. Crecca and Wilson were asked by their nation to serve. They performed as they were asked. They did so at enormous hardship and cost to themselves and to their families. Lt. Wilson and his family paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I ask that you honor these costs and sacrifice, as I do.

    You also draw a conclusion that isn’t at all clear-cut, which is why no one else has commented on it. By now it has been a long while since the conflict in Viet Nam. Yes, it is tainted with much uncertainty to which you allude. As a nation I believe we learned the difference between necessary disagreement with our leaders, and needless, disrespectful persecution of and confrontation with our soldiers, who are/were following orders. That may be the biggest benefit from Viet Nam, a conflict which many would say yielded very few benefits, as you suggest.

    In closing, I assert that Joe did not have the option you recommend. Not in honor. He did what he had to do, did what he was asked to do by his country. I am grateful to him for that, beyond measure. He’s my hero. He should be yours as well, regardless of what you think of the efficacy and need for that conflict of many years ago.

    Aim High … Fly-Fight-Win.

  13. Ed Chapman
    Ed Chapman says:

    Thanks for the story, Joe. I flew Marine Corps F-4s out of Da Nang and Nam Pong, Thailand in 1972; unfortunately not much had changed in six years. Day after day intel would ask us to listen up for Buick 4, or Chevy 4, or whoever Number 4 who had been shot down while lead worked on getting “his” Mig. No need to bring up the sorties flown with 1/2 ordnance loads so the (Squadron, Group, Wing) would look good on paper. Glad you made it back…….

  14. Ed McGaa
    Ed McGaa says:

    Ed McGaa, Marine F4s, Chu Lai – Mostly CAS. Encountered SAMs – Finger Lakes area. Summer-67- Lost an engine to one but miraculously survived blast suffocation and stupidly re-started the J-79 after safely- feet wet. Section leader had one Dud flash by just as we started to Split S from Control Warning. Pair of scanning Navy A-6s. He called me to come back coming out of a Split S spin. He had the smoke trail spotted and wanted revenge. A natural reaction. Pavlov’s Dog reaction to his “C’mon Back, Chief, I got em spotted.” (I’m a Sioux Indian, Born on a Dakota Rez.) Despite my state of lingering shock, my reaction to his command was to pop the Rat and restart. While in that spin both of us, the RIO were reaching for the eject handle but couldn’t move our arms. Top rudder pedal, however, broke us out at about 5 grand. In burner, diving out of 20, didn’t take long to head toward So China Sea. Bent the F-4 around after re-start and headed to his radial fix off Hue Tacan. Our standard load was 12-500s or 7 Nape. Fritz was Nape. me 500s. Yeh, the F-4’s wings don’t come off even from a SAM induced Spin. They all worked too. His first pass was- “G D- Chief, 200 long.” I was way back in trail, tree top, plenty of time to do 2 football fields short. Dog boned Six and direct hit, had to send some Russian Techs to the Beyond. Fritz came in with the rest of his nape and sent a SAM across the tree line like a horizontal Roman candle. Wasn’t much left for my remaining Six. Joined up and reported “a suspected Truck Park’ near Finger Lakes” since we had avoided calling in to ‘Ask Permission’ and wait the usual half hour to allow the Russian Radar trainers time to get out courtesy of our GD State Dept. back then. Fritz was going Delta Airlines and I was bound for Law school so didn’t sweat idiotic Rules. I put off law school acceptance for a year to volunteer for the combat tour instead. Never regretted. VMFA-115. Did a Korea tour also when enlisted.

  15. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    In Reply to B. Fearn by the author of “Shot Down Over North Vietnam”

    “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he values above his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself.”

    John Stuart Mill
    1850

    Just a wild guess but you just enjoy your freedoms while you let others do the fighting and take the risks.

    Posted by Joe Crecca

    • Ed Welch
      Ed Welch says:

      Joe,
      Just read this story about your mission over North Vietnam.
      God Bless You for your service.

      Having been a teenager in Vietnam years, I had a Vietnam map on my bedroom wall and marked bombing missions that Cronkite would report that night.

      My words cannot express my gratitude.

      • Joe Crecca
        Joe Crecca says:

        Thank you for your email. Btw, Uncle Walter was an anti-American, extreme lefty.

        I do appreciate your sentiments.

        Joe C.

        • Ed Welch
          Ed Welch says:

          Joe,

          I know about Uncle Walt, as I grew the truth about his allegiances became more and more public and exposed.
          As I learned about him, I remember more of him ‘ lecturing’ rather than delivering the news.

  16. Hugh O'Handley
    Hugh O'Handley says:

    Enjoyed your recollections Joe C. I was an Army Helicopter Crew Chief/Mechanic at Camp Eagle near Hue, Phu Bai then Danang MM Airfield, RVN 71-72. Glad to see you made it home, I remember that in 1972, 3, 4 & 5 most of America was oblivious to the fact that there was still a war going on & had moved on. Those of us that were there were paying attention; I remember that it was not assured, back then, if anybody would be repatriated. I remember the 141 unloading POW’s Welcome Home Sir.

  17. James Borona
    James Borona says:

    Thank you for your bravery and endurance. Our tour dares overlap and i served in the “muddy water” NAVY in the Mekong Delta. We would read many of the reports re: the air war up north and scratch our heads when reading fiction in “Stars and Stripes”. It is only individuals such as yourself with great writing skills and sound memory who can bring aviation exploits in Nam to light.

    We can only hope that the current and subsequent generations will take J.S. Mill’s words to heart whenever necessary. God bless you and may you enjoy a much well deserved retirement.

    Boats

  18. Steve M
    Steve M says:

    Joe many of the IPs in the 4435th remember you from your smooth ride getting back in the Phantom. Glad to hear you are on frequency.

  19. C Burnett
    C Burnett says:

    Sobering reading for every American !
    For those interested in learning more about the F4 Phantom air war , “I Remember VietNam” by William L Barker , Major USAFR (Ret) is a great book.This first person account is full of operational data and pilot insights.All aviation enthusiasts will appreciate its nuances.

  20. Dick Hallion
    Dick Hallion says:

    God Bless you, Joe, and all those who flew and fought in Vietnam. Many thanks for contributing this excellent memoir…hope to read more of your writings in future, and wishing you many more years of life aloft: you’ve sure earned them!

  21. Roger Lee
    Roger Lee says:

    I was an aircraft mechanic serving at Clark Air Base in 1969-70 and then later at NKP in Thailand in 1973-74. During the tour at NKP Thailand, I had opportunity to go TDY to Ubon Air base. Our detachment was working on WWll vintage C-47s, but we got to observe AC-130 gunships and the F-4 unit known as “Wolf-Pack” in action. Of course, things were beginning to wind down in Viet Nam by this time, but it was still mega impressive to see the F-4s light ’em up and blast off the runway like angry rocket-powered birds of prey searching for their next meal! I had a great respect for the men who put their lives on the line every day, not knowing if they would make it back to Ubon that evening. God-Speed to our brothers in arms, where ever they may be!

  22. Gus Conner
    Gus Conner says:

    Joe’s epilogue sums it all up. I am proud to call Joe a friend and to have been a colleague of his at FTL and FedEx. He is someone that I have always respected and admired. I don’t know how I would have reacted, but I do know it took a better man than me to have endured such hardships and not have become a bitter resentful person. As for Mr. Fearn, Politics aside, we probably did back the wrong side. With over 70 years of hindsight and investigation there were a ton of mistakes. French-Indo China had been an imperialist hot bed for years, not to mention part of the communist domino effect after WW 2 that everyone was paranoid about. However, when your country calls, you have two choices, in 1965 you went, in 1969 you didn’t. So, with that, you have to question the command and leadership, not the foot soldier. …” Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do & die”.. Charge of the Light Brigade.

    • Neil
      Neil says:

      Joe ( and Gus), I’m honored to have met and flown with both of you with FEDEX.

      This description of your combat experience and captivity is the first time I’ve heard it and that only adds to my admiration for you, Joe. I’m an alumnus of the 480th TFS myself ( USAFE, 78-80) and wish you all the best . You’ve earned it.

  23. Gary Lape
    Gary Lape says:

    Thanks for the details of this mission. Scotty Wilson and I were classmates in Pilot Training at “Willie Air Patch”, Class 64-C, ‘Raindance’ and Schatzi’. I had never before heard the details of his loss.

  24. David A. Skartvedt
    David A. Skartvedt says:

    Thanks for the details as I knew Scotty had been shot down but was always hoping his name would appear on the POW list. I was a classmate with him in 64-C but the other flight. We were together at MacDill in the F-4 but rotated at different times into SEA. Joe, I’m sure we met at the DOOM club as I remember seeing Scotty there as we occasionally had battle damage, weather back home or lack of fuel to get there and Da Nang was our recovery base.

    David Skartvedt
    Feb. 24, 2017

  25. DanO
    DanO says:

    Thanks for your story, Joe. I saw an F-4 fly low into Firebase Bastogne in January 1969 and pickle a few rounds on the guys that were over-running our base. It was about 0200 hours and the flares lit up the place like day. Spooky came in after that and made a few passes. Col. Jack Broughton had stated in THUD RIDGE that a few days of bombing Hanoi set them back 6 months in ammo and people coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail which we were shelling every night with 8 inch artillery. 83rd Arty 101ABN DIVARTY
    A Shau Valley. Our Motto ” YOU YELL, WE SHELL LIKE HELL, OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY.
    Glad you made it home safe after 6 years in the north. I grew up with Thomas Guenther from Mass who also piloted an F-4 in RVN and NVN. I last read he is in the state of Washington. Have not seen him since 1962.

  26. Barney Barnhart
    Barney Barnhart says:

    Joe, Many thanks for writing & publishing your story. I knew from some of the other Tigers that you had been a POW, but never heard the details of your harrowing tale. So glad that you made it back in one piece, and were able to continue flying. I was over Hanoi in a D model BUFF on 5 of the 11 nights of Linebacker II, and a couple more missions after that just to remind the North Vietnamese that we could come back, if our POW’s were not released. Very sadly, according to the DOD, 1,616 of our brothers are still missing in S.E. Asia [http://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569613/progress-in-vietnam/]. Thanks, again, for your story – many more years of good health & happiness to you.
    Barney

  27. Richard Daly
    Richard Daly says:

    Wonderful story. It is hard to imagine just surviving. I was sad to read about poor decisions based on ego costing lives, I know how true that is. I hope some day that our government will find the courage to ask what happened to the missing pilots whose names or Escape and Evasion codes and authenticator numbers were photographed by U.S. satellites long after the war was over–David Allinson(8888), Peter Matthes (GX2527), and Henry Serex (SEREX) to name a few. God Bless them all.

  28. Charlie Plumb
    Charlie Plumb says:

    Thanks for telling our story Joe. Great job! Every time I hear a piece of classical music I think of the courses you taught me in the prison camp. You were a great morale boost when we needed it the most. GBU my friend!

    • Mike Zimmermann
      Mike Zimmermann says:

      Thanks for your service and sacrifice! I’m glad Joe was able to help others under such dire circumstances. I’m horrified to know how divided our country was in the late 60’s/early 70’s, and people like you did your duty, for all of us. I’ll never understand your sacrifice, but want to thank you for it! I rest easy at night because of people like you.

  29. Ed McGaa
    Ed McGaa says:

    So what was The D.O.’s name? How far did he go on in the Air Force? As a 110 F4 combat mission Vet, I’d like to know. A SAM damn near got me and another my section leader.
    Dulles International Needs a name change. Presently it dishonors over 50,000 dead and how many maimed and wounded? Black Hills just changed So. Dak Harney Peak who did far less than Dulles. Even Yale plans to re-name from a Slavery advocate. Crecca/Wilson International would be my recommendation in honor of a deceased F4 pilot and a 6 year POW since the F4 was the most numerous of Vietnam War aircraft casualties. All commenters here need to start this needed movement for due change. Every living Veteran will no doubt support such. Public Servants who screw -up Big, Big time do not deserve such glorified recognition. Dulles had his chance to prevent the un-needed War. Ho and Giap both wanted to meet with him. “All we wanted to do was tell him we wanted the French out! We would have to fight if not listened to.” Overcome with his Ivy League false sense of academic Superiority, he stupidly turned them down, not even a crucial, critical, disastrous war saving meeting.

  30. Lloyd Clohessy
    Lloyd Clohessy says:

    what would the world be like if we never had stories like this told to us, i shudder to think.
    all i can do is thank you so much for allowing common people like myself to be inspired .

  31. Lou Gregoire
    Lou Gregoire says:

    Thanks for your service, Sir. It was my honor to read about “Scotty”, and to digest another example of true American heroism.
    May God bless you.

  32. Norm Walker
    Norm Walker says:

    God Bless you, Joe. I’m still honored to have flown a 10 day trip with you around Asia with FedEx. Our “trip” to Corregidor and visit to the USS Houston are two of my greatest memories. You’re the best and always will be with me when I go flying. Cheers!

  33. Steve Sanford
    Steve Sanford says:

    Joe-

    Got this forwarded in late 2017. Lost contact with you shortly after you were so kind to make comments at my FedEx retirement party. I would like to hear from you at some point; [email protected].

    Always amazed how well you remembered the tap code.

    We are living in AZ now.

    Semper Fi,

    Steve Sanford

  34. Dorinne Richardson
    Dorinne Richardson says:

    Thank you, Joe. You and Scotty are my heroes. Just recently back from the Academy F-4 Phantom ceremony. It was a bittersweet event and I’m so grateful I was able to attend. Sorry you couldn’t be there. I think of you often and was looking forward to seeing you again. Spent the day with Tom and Scotty’s brother Mark.

    • Bobby Sacina
      Bobby Sacina says:

      God bless you Joe, hearing the story was very touching. I am also an Airforce veteran. I served from 1964-1968. I was a F4 mechanic here at DMAFB in Tucson. Several of our birds went to Nam. Good or bad we all contributed and finally got the job done.May all our brothers and sisters that made the ultimate sacrifice, rest in peace. Thanks for your service Joe, you are one of the country’s heros. May God bless you, your family and all our vets. SSGT Bobby Sacina

  35. Leigh Lewis
    Leigh Lewis says:

    Joe…Thank you fot sharing your experience..We have had a few talks over beers in the past but you never told this story…You are an American hero!!!Cheers my friend…

  36. David Sandell
    David Sandell says:

    Thank you Sir for your service. I was too young for Nam, but spent 20 years in the Navy under the water. I remember the days when my dad flew Young Tiger over there. We lost him in 2012. Now I know a little bit more about what he did.
    Thank you again Sir and God bless.

  37. ken hardy
    ken hardy says:

    Mr. Crecca,

    My father was at Danang in 67/68. Not sure which squadron he started with but he ended up assigned to the 366-tfw. I knew none of this before he died.
    He wasn’t much of a story teller and I didn’t think to ask him about his service until after he died. Your story sheds much light on what his experiences must have been like. Thank you for sharing

    • Joe Crecca
      Joe Crecca says:

      Ken,

      The 366th TFW “Gunfighters” consisted of three squadrons; 389th, 390th and the 480th. The tale I heard was that at the time the 480th TFS shot down our 4th & 5th MiG-21s only eight of them had been bagged by anyone else anywhere. But that didn’t keep the Triple Nickel (555th TFS) from calling themselves the “Largest distributors of MiG parts in Southeast Asia.” Not as of 05NOV66 they weren’t.

      Sad to hear that your Dad didn’t tell you much about his missions.

      Joe C.

  38. Ken Howell
    Ken Howell says:

    Joe,

    Thank you for sharing this. It was a moving story. I have the greatest respect and admiration for you and other Vietnam POW’s for your courage and what you had to endure. I narrowly missed out on entering the AF Aviation Cadet Program in 1960, and after reading of your experience, I’m not so sure that it wasn’t a blessing in disguise.

    Your writing is superb and I wonder if you have considered writing a book about your experience in the USAF.

    Ken Howell

  39. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    Ken,

    I received my draft notice right after I joined the USAF. I would not change a thing; glad I was able to serve. Thanks for the compliment on my writing. If I could ever slow down I might have time to write that book.

    Joe

  40. D.R. Meadows
    D.R. Meadows says:

    I was a young 23 year old J-79 Engine Mechanic at Homestead AFB in 1972,sent toThailand in late Summer of that year to participate in LinebackerII Our F-4s’ along with McDill’s flew Mig CAP for the B-52s’ of which several were lost.Homestead lost one Phantom,I believe McDill lost one.

    I was always in awe of you guys flying the Phantom in the opressive heat and conditions of S.E. Asia time after time. Many times not all returned from their missions. Our birds were the E series and had the internal 20 MM and made good Mig.CAP birds

    Thank You Sir for your service and sacrifice you gave to our Country! Only those who were there truly know!

    SMS D.R. Meadows
    USAF/ Air National Guard (Retired)

    • Joe Crecca
      Joe Crecca says:

      Thank you Mr. Meadows, And we who flew the mighty Phantoms were in your debt,too. Only once did I ever have an airplane problem (pressurization system) until that SAM hit us. You guys were working around the clock to keep the pressure on HCM. It was you who were suffering in the oppressive heat & humidity. A minute or two after takeoff we had cold air blasting through the cockpits. And when the pressurization system failed we were freezing our butts off! It was -55F at 32,000 feet for over two hours and pressure breathing 100% Oxygen in a summer flight suit. It was great to get back to the sweltering heat, I gotta tell ya.

      God Bless all like you who served.

      And God Bless America!

      Joe Crecca

  41. Macon
    Macon says:

    Thank you, Mr. Crecca! Besides your contributions in F-4’s, your time supporting other unfortunates in Hanoi does you honor. Thank you for your service!

    [I was USAF SAC (enlisted) ’62-’66. Tried to cross-service in ’64 or ’65 to Army for WO pilot program, but because I was already in the military (being in a critical COMSEC AFSC probably didn’t help), I was offered no guarantee of flight training, so I withdrew the request… otherwise, I may have been one of your grateful students, or still buried in some shallow grave. May God comfort those families who still wait and wonder.]

    To those who try to insert politics, I agree that it is in extremely poor taste to try to make this such a venue. C’mon man, show some class! There are plenty of other places to rant and vent. I served, served proudly, and shelter no regrets.

    Thank you, again, Mr. Crecca.

  42. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    Macon,

    Well, at least you tried. But with no guarantee to get the slot you wanted you made the right choice to bail out. I would have done the same thing.

    Thank you for your sentiments. There will always be those who don’t get it. Like the “Flat-Earthers” who still don’t believe we landed on the Moon.

    Joe Crecca

  43. Mike Mason
    Mike Mason says:

    As a former volunteer at the NMUSAF and the son of a now deceased USAAF WWII combat vet, I have always known that our country and our armed forces have been blessed with seemingly ordinary, matter-of-fact guys who do extraordinary things.

    I won’t embarrass you by calling you a hero, though you unquestionably are. Instead, I’ll just say thanks, Joe Crecca, and thanks to God for men like you.

    Mike Mason

  44. Richard Pluim
    Richard Pluim says:

    I do not think that you are a hero.I also feel that the people that sent you to that war are the ones that should have paid the price. Im sorry that you had to suffer so much but you had no business what so for ever being there. Good lives were wasted for what?

    • Joe Crecca
      Joe Crecca says:

      Your reaction to my article bears the stamps of liberalist tradition unhampered by progress, reveals a lack of understanding of politics on the world stage and shows complete disrespect for the sacrifices made by all Vietnam combat veterans.

      I am most grateful for the hero status conferred upon me by the predominance of commenters. Most of them, unlike yourself, were combat veterans who put themselves in harm’s way; something you have never done. If you think I should not be called a hero, tell them, not me. After all that I suffered don’t you dare tell me I had no business being there!

      If your anti-Vietnam War feelings are still that strong, I dare you to walk up to a highly-decorated Vietnam combat veteran, preferably a Marine or Soldier and vent your anti-war feelings to him, face-to-face! If you do that, it’ll be your first time in harm’s way.

      Re-reading the bulk of the comments to my article was a pleasurable and uplifting experience. Reading yours was dismal, doom and gloom. I hope the AFJ editor will exercise more discretion in the future.

      • JW
        JW says:

        Ignore that kind, it is useless to argue as they are happy in their own world which they believe will lead to some utopian future paid for by others.

        You are an AMERICAN, a fine people.

        Thanks, and greetings from Australia.

  45. Huey
    Huey says:

    Came upon this remarkable story after seeing it linked to another by a good guy who once gave me dual instruction in sailplanes. As to the hollow, mean-spirited comment immediately preceding, the Bible admonishes that one not ‘answer a fool according to his folly.’ So I won’t. Instead I’ll thank & bless Mr. Crecca for being among those whom A. Solzhenitsyn-himself a survivor of Communist Russia’s gulags-called our ‘first heros’ for successfully resisting an overwhelming enemy, alone, then returning with honor. And I’ll salute only with that nickname fondly given him by my children, our ‘Elder Eagle’, who flew Linebacker BUFFS, along with numerous other often difficult taskings, during his 28 years in USAF. We attended the Colonel’s memorial service one week ago today.

  46. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    Huey,

    Your comments and wisdom are much appreciated. I wish I could have expressed my thanks to your “Elder Eagle” for successfully completing his mission to spring me out of jail. Every year on the 18th of December I start an eleven day ritual of emails to the Vietnam air warriors on the anniversary of the first night of Operation Linebacker II lest we forget the courage and sacrifices of all those who risked all from that first night until the 29th both tactical air and especially the B-52 crews. It is a raising of toasts every night in remembrance for what they did.

    The result was the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 27JAN1973 and the release of 591 POWs. I will be forever grateful to all who flew and supported LBII and to President Richard M. Nixon for having the fortitude to send the mighty BUFFs north.

    God Bless America and her brave warriors!

    Joe Crecca

  47. Fred Busch
    Fred Busch says:

    I met and liked John Dremesi whose experience was the same as yours’. I cannot express my admiration for you and others who went thru what you did. In fact, there is no way you may be honored equal to what you gave.
    I was a flight engineer in the Air Force and National Guard. Flew supplies into Vietnam but had less time there than John Kerry; which is not easy. 64 to 69.
    Served in SAC during early fifties and proud of our commander. Never flew with a pilot in the USAF that was not a top notch professional.
    My gratitude to those of you who gave so much.

  48. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    Fred.

    You who kept the supplies coming to us were a vital part of the war effort. In fact all those who kept us in the air were.

    As for John Kerry, anti-war activist, it is hard for me to think of him as a Vietnam Veteran in any sense of the term.

    Thank you for your expressions of gratitude, sir.

    Joe Crecca

  49. F4 Jarhead
    F4 Jarhead says:

    Mr. Crecca – Thank you for your courageous service in the Phabulous Phighter (F-4) and your extraordinary service as a POW. May God continue to bless you. I know exactly how you feel about combat decisions driven by hubris.
    I was an F4 driver at Chu Lai trying to cut the supply traffic through Laos, mostly around Hwy 9, near Tchepone. One night I flew #2 to a newly crowned “pentagon prince.” Enroute, we learned USAF had discovered a major truck convoy up near the Plain of Jars, wanting help. Our brand-new LtCol had dreams of a DFC or Silver Star, so we drove 250 miles or so North, with marginal weather at Chu Lai, to volunteer our (his) effort.
    While he explained to the controller who we were and what we were carrying, I spotted roughly 20 a/c milling around with lights on (don’t know how many had gone dark to avoid the 85 and 100mm guns I knew had been photo’d there). I reached bingo, bingo minus 5, minus 10, minus 15, and reported to lead each time.
    I saw 3 aircraft in front of me, so I asked lead to flash his lights. He didn’t. I reported I wasn’t sure which (if any) was his. He told me to find him. I told him to head SE so I could spot him out of the circular traffic jam. He told me “join up.”
    What? He didn’t understand that we were mixed in a huge gaggle competing for time on target, lugging 10 X 500# bombs, 400 miles from base, with marginal weather, fuel hungry, not in sight with each other?
    It suddenly dawned on me that he would not surrender his place on the controller’s list and lose the chance for his Silver Star! We knew radio chatter was recorded. Was he making a record that his stupid wingman was messing up the mission?
    The icing on the cake came when he admitted to the controller that he did not know his position, because his tacan was spooling; he didn’t realize we were out of tacan range. Of course, I had changed tacan channels nearly an hour before; I knew where we were, but I could not disclose the secret tacan base over the radio.
    Moments later, the controller asked us to change our squawk, so we could be located for a skyspot drop. We can assume NVN radars were tracking us and if I had disclosed the secret tacan, it would be simple to backtrack to the tacan location.
    Fast forward 12 hours. My squadron commander, the pentagon prince and I had an interesting discussion about flight discipline and the military justice system. The leader’s claim was that we could easily have bingo’d into the RTAF base on the Thai border, so I should not have “abandoned” my flight leader.
    Fortunately, my background as a briefer and operations duty officer enabled me to tell my accusers that the base they spoke of was still 250 miles from Chu Lai, and the runway was not suitable for F4s. Further, our “leader” was apparently unaware that the controller asked us to change squawk ONLY after we were some distance from the 100mm guns photographed around the Plain of Jars. Further, the controller COULD have joined us up and vectored us back to the truck-convoy gaggle, but the controller had obviously lost confidence in a flight leader who didn’t know where he was.
    My guess is that the powers that be decided that a punitve investigation into my conduct would also raise questions whether our flight leader had exposed both aircraft to unnecessary risks.
    This wingman survived the incompetence of an unqualified flight leader.

  50. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    Doug,

    I enjoyed your write up though I could see you squirming in your seat as it was unfolding.

    Yep. There were too many A-holes with rank putting the rest of us at risk up there especially RP VI. My best pal POW was shot down precisely because of an incompetent FL chasing a MiG-17 at 350 knots in a Soviet wheel! Number two is getting the shit shot out of him screaming on 272.7 and too late lead lights ABs as #2 blows up.

    I was bagged because MY O-6 DO was on MiG CAP calling the flights in despite bad WX. The Thud flights were all calling “Outbound for WX” but our FL’s OER was going to be written by the guy on MiG CAP so in we went and we took a SAM from dead six with no RHAW gear. I never came face-to-face with either asshole but I emailed the flight lead recently and told him off that he was incompetent, got Scotty Wilson killed, cost the USAF an F-4, caused my Father’s premature death and was responsible for unimaginable hardships for Scotty’s widow and daughter not to mention my 6+ years in prison. He’s a real dope. He said he’s sorry I feel that way. YGBSM!.

    Semper Fi, Doug.

    Joe

  51. Doug
    Doug says:

    Hi, Joe. How gracious of you to say “semper fi”; I believe we are brothers in the F4 community.
    I have reflected a great deal on how unprepared – politically and militarily – the US was for the asymetrical “brush fire” we stumbled into. At the most fundamental level, we failed to evaluate the reasons why Germany, Korea, Vietnam and others were divided at the end of WWII.
    Having won WWII by the application of enormous industrial power – including saving the largest socialist entity in the world from the ravages of the second-largest socialist entity in the world – we continued to view the world in wartime terms of “us versus them” and we prepared for the “next” war by preparing for the “past” war with near-total reliance on atomic weapons to win the “next” war.
    The USN was the only service which had been forced to learn “power projection” as the fundamental war-fighting technique. The Army and USAF spent enormous efforts preparing to fight WWII over again in Europe (this time with nukes). The only USAF officers who could rise to strategic ranks were from Strategic Air Command (nuke bombers) and a very few from Air Defense Command. The USMC focused almost entirely on “close” air support (yards, not miles) of their ground units and on point defense over an amphibious landing.
    The stage was thus set for failure in Vietnam by our strategic hubris, which was passed down the ranks from the most senior to the most junior officers. We actually believed that the letters “U.S.” would frighten away any adversary who realized that we were in the confrontation.
    The political strategy of “Rolling Thunder” was absurd from the git-go. We should have learned from the last two years of the Korean War that China would not be deterred from conventional warfare by enormous pounding of both front-line forces and non-stop interdiction. While the Vietnamese and Chinese have a long history of ethnic combat, the Chinese were happy to limit both Russian and American military influence in SE Asia, by replacing every bullet fired by North Vietnam. The concept that Vietnamese people who had conquered most of SE Asia and fought off numerous invasions by Chinese dynasties for centuries would be cowed and exhausted by the haphazard application of US air power was the result of historical ignorance and “superpower” arrogance.
    As lieutenants in our respective services, we knew only that “something” was wrong. We had been taught to respect and trust the higher-ups that won WWII, Little could we conceive that the USMC and the USAF began the conflict with almost total ignorance of what was required for this exercise in power projection. The Navy had it right (mostly) in equipping, training and tailoring tactical air assets. Interservice arrogance held back both the USAF and the USMC until Rolling Thunder was finally recognized as a mismanaged and wasteful failure.
    It is sad that we lost so much blood and treasure in that endeavor. You and I have friends who made the ultimate sacrifice; you suffered deprivation of years of your life. The ONLY bright spot is that so much sacrifice led to a new generation of officers who learned that the half-assed politically-correct application of military power accomplished nothing. We can never let our politicians forget those lessons.
    May God continue to bless you, Joe.

    Doug

  52. Jim Drummond
    Jim Drummond says:

    A story that is the most gripping, truly horrifying and of sacrifices. I am a UK resident but love all things aviation even the painful experiences suffered by many presented here by Joe also on behalf of “Scotty”. Any man can do no more for his country than agree to place himself in harms way. When all the politics are done when hostilities have ceased those who represented their country should be honoured. I am proud of you Joe and Scotty for your service and to be part of a community which recognises and should be proud of your example. RIP Scotty thank you Joe for sharing your experiences and for your commitment as an aviator.

  53. Brett Papworth
    Brett Papworth says:

    Joe, I fly a POW/MIA flag below Old Glory everyday…in honor of you, Scotty, and all the other heroes that sacrificed so much in that war. I wish you and yours peace and happiness all the days of your life. Thank You for your service.

  54. wade russell
    wade russell says:

    Joe- God Bless you & Scotty and all others that served like ya`ll ! I wanted to join you in 1969 after college graduation, but my eyes only qualified me as good enough for USAF navigator. I turned that down, and promptly got drafted into the USArmy 31 days later! Ha! Do you know how good a F4 sounds from the darn dirt ?!? Again- Bless you & Scotty!

  55. Gordon
    Gordon says:

    Joe, Every Friday I’m privileged to have lunch with a WWII veteran who flew virtually every airplane in the arsenal of the time. He makes us tell a war story that we have heard. I will tell the story of Scotty and you and will encourage my son to never forget! You certainly are my Hero!

  56. Cliff Heathcote
    Cliff Heathcote says:

    God bless. I’m glad you made it home. My father was lost in 64-0771 out of Cam Rahn 9/3/66. Two years ago I walked through the front door of Hoa Lo. It was the darkest moment of an amazing three weeks in Vietnam and I was quite happy to leave that place. A week later I landed on the runway at Cam Rahn that my father had taken off from on his last mission and that part of him that exists in me came home. I cried like a baby.

  57. LtCol Dennis (Andy) Anderson
    LtCol Dennis (Andy) Anderson says:

    Joe I want to start by thanking you profusely for attending and speaking at my brother John’s funeral 3 years ago. It was very kind of you to drive the 40 miles and spend the time to honor the memory of my brother, your fellow employee at Flying Tigers and FedEx.
    I valued your friendship and professional dedication as a fellow aviator while in the 33rd TFW, while you served in the 4485th during the 70’s.
    Thank you again for your personal sacrifice and service to our country Sir. I am forever beholding to you on so many fronts.

  58. Jerry Deanda
    Jerry Deanda says:

    Joe,
    Can’t really say I enjoyed reading your piece, although I could not stop reading. It’s a tough story to take. I thank you for what you did for us all, and I know it cost you. You willingly took huge risks, knowing that that mission could be your last. Knowing you were handled so badly by your bosses has to be a tough thing to take. I was a bit young to be drafted for Vietnam but as a flying geek and guy who likes to learn about military history, I’ve had conversations with many people involved in that conflict, including soldiers, marines, airmen and my brother, a draftee who walked point in the US Army in Vietnam. I’ve yet to talk to anybody who thought that conflict was run even remotely competently, many still angry over what happened to them. My brother got spit on when he landed in Atlanta on his way home. He summed up his experience in Vietnam as “It was f****d.” You guys are the best we have.

  59. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    To you gentlemen; Brett, Tim, Wade, Gordon, Cliff, Neil, Andy and Jerry who responded to the reprint of my 2017 article, “Shot Down Over North Vietnam”, I thank you for your kind remarks and expressions of patriotism. They were all well received. Cliff, I am very sorry for the loss of your Dad.

    By the time of the American involvement in Southeast Asia communism, by moderate estimates, around the globe had murdered 110 million people! The upper estimate puts it at nearly 260 million! Fighting against such a cruel political regime didn’t seem that bad an idea after all, did it? Compare these massive figures to the six million Jewish folks who perished in the WWII Holocaust.

    I expect Patrick Walker and his ilk were those that fled the USA because they were chicken. They did not want to lose their “Skin in this deadly game” while other Americans bravely went to war.

    Here is how I replied to another anti-war zealot two years ago, 2/17/2017 in the AFJ Comments section:

    “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he values above his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself.”
    John Stuart Mill
    1850
    Just a wild guess but you just enjoy your freedoms while you let others do the fighting and take the risks.

    There are 58,267 names on The Wall in our nation’s capital and that’s why you are free to voice your misguided opinion, Mr. Walker.

    Joe Crecca

  60. Gary Kerr
    Gary Kerr says:

    It’s Memorial Day, 2020. My mom, as she promised my father she would, visited my father’s grave at the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie on Saturday, left an American Flag, which, regardless of whether or not the boy scouts or other volunteers do, as they sometimes do and sometimes don’t, she’s done for the previous 10 Memorial Days. My father was a Marine. Iwo Jima. Lasted almost two weeks on the island before a Japanese sniper gave him his ticket off the island. Million-dollar wound some would call it –through the knee, with the bones barely nicked. Other than the bullet-hole scar in his leg, which my father would sometimes say was caused by an Indian’s arrow (that story fit in well with the TV shows I was watching in the 1950s), growing up I never got any stories out of him about what war was like.

    A lifelong non-smoker who was on a never-ending mission to convince people not to smoke, my father did eventually tell me of a scared Marine, who, early during the battle for Iwo Jima, asked my father to sit with him in a shallow bomb crater and smoke a cigarette. The other Marine brought a lit match to the cigarette he’d placed in his mouth, and as soon as he did, ZING, a bullet went through the Marine’s helmet and skull. I think there was supposed to be a moral to that story – probably along the lines of “smoking is always a bad idea” — but the way my father told the story, emphasizing how frightened the Marine was, and that he, my father, was only sitting with the other Marine to try to help him with his nerves, and to get him to calm down, well, it was obvious that this was another living, breathing, human being. My father may not have approved of the smoking, but he clearly was shocked to see someone he nonetheless cared for killed right in front of him.

    I didn’t know the Marine who was killed as he lit a cigarette on Iwo Jima any more than I knew Scotty Wilson, and yet, thanks to that brief story by my father, and thanks to a longer and more detailed story by Joe Crecca, I feel I do know these servicemen. And I mourn their deaths.

    My draft number was 27. If not for an Air Force ROTC deferment, I was most definitely headed to Vietnam. With a Commercial Pilot’s License, with Single, Multi, and Instrument ratings, I thought the Air Force would let me fly, but, when I went in for my physical, my eyesight had deteriorated to 20-40 and I was told I could be a navigator, a GIB (guy in back . . . of an F-4), or I could man a missile silo in North Dakota. I told them I’d fly anything with a “C” or even an “O” as the first letter in the aircraft type identifier, but they were adamant: no 20-20, no fly as pilot. (I would have loved to get into the left seat of a C-130, but if they’d assigned me to an O-2 Skymaster, that would have been fine too.)

    When Nixon ended the draft in early ’73, having not yet been required to sign on the dotted line, I marched into the ROTC office, turned in my uniform, and that was it: my military obligation was over.

    I don’t know that back in 1973 I was all that appreciative of the Scotty Wilsons, or even the cigarette-smoking Iwo Jima Marines, but as I’ve grown and aged during the past 47 years, I can’t help but feel enormous gratitude, and sorrow, for those men and women who, but for the grace of God and President Nixon, went where I didn’t.

    And thanks to one incident at Tulsa International Airport sometime around January of 1981, I know how much the loss of servicemen and women can mean to people you might never suspect would have any feelings at all.

    In 1980 and ’81, the McDonnell Douglas Plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma was remanufacturing F-4 fighters for the Air Force. After each plane was completed, two pilots (Call signs Perky01 and Perky02) would take the plane up for a check flight.

    I was an Air Traffic Controller at the Tulsa TRACON (tower and radar approach control) in January of 1981 when one of the check flights did not end well. Actually, it being a slow weekend day, I was on a break and eating breakfast with a few other controllers at a restaurant not far from the airport when Perky01 or 02 reported that they were going to have to bail out.

    When I got to the control tower, the controller who’d witnessed the crash was catatonic. He was crying. I finally got him to talk and he said, “Gary, it was just like Vietnam. I was in the tower in Saigon and F-4s would come pouring in. They’d be shot up to hell. Smoke would be pouring out of their engines. Pilots would be hollering for this and for that…and there was NOTHING I could do. They’d land opposite direction on the same runway. They’d blow up in midair, before they ever got to the runway. They’d blow up on the runway. Gary, this was like Vietnam all over again!”

    I later learned that this controller had served many months in Saigon. He’d slept in an air-conditioned hut. Had three square meals a day. No one shot at him. He didn’t shoot at anyone. At Tulsa TRACON, I would have lumped him in with any group you could think of that wouldn’t give a damn about anyone…how wrong that lumping would have been.

    As it turned out, the two men in the Tulsa F-4 ejected safely. They were taken to a hospital to be evaluated, but they lived. Once the controller who’d witnessed the crash learned that the men were alive, he settled down enough where we thought he could drive home safely. He took off the next several days.

    There were pictures in the Tulsa World of the damage one of the ejection seats did to a woman’s newly-remodeled bathroom. In addition to the roof, the toilet was destroyed! I believe I heard, or read, that the F-4 itself crashed in a small horse pasture. The lone horse jumped the fence and hadn’t been seen. I don’t know if they ever found the horse.

    And I still think of that crash — not itself something that caused a loss of life, but something that reminds me of how significant the memory of wounded F-4 pilots, limping back to base in badly-damaged airplanes, was, and is, to those who served during the Vietnam war.

    My hat’s off to those who served. Thanks so very much.

  61. Joe Crecca
    Joe Crecca says:

    Gary,

    Thank you for your sentiment. They were deeply felt.

    I think of Scotty Wilson and many others every, single day. And all of us should remember them every day because we are we enjoy the freedoms their sacrifice every, single day.

    Joe Crecca

  62. Luanne Kneeskern-Hunt
    Luanne Kneeskern-Hunt says:

    Mr. Crecca,

    Although “thank you” is not enough, I do thank you for your service. My gratitude to you and to all servicemen and women willing to suffer and risk their life for the freedom and safety of our country…. for my family and I, is absolutely heartfelt and sincere. And I also thank you for taking the time to write down your harrowing and amazing experience in war. We beneficiaries need to know the experiences, sufferings, challenges, life and death, victories and miraculous acts of God in the lives of our fellow countrymen in war, especially from their own voice and pen before the stories are gone.

    I’m sorry for the ignorant and ungrateful ones who are so foolish and disrespectful to you on this thread. The 1850 John Stuart Mill quote and your comment that you posted above is powerful and right on.

    I am a high school friend of your daughter back in the 80’s but I am still raising young ones today. I have four children- ages 34, 30, 11 and 8 and am Grandma to 3 – ages 8, 8 & 5. My father (deceased) served in the Army in Korea and my son served as an Army Combat Medic deployed to Afghanistan. I’ve raised all my children to, regardless of whether one agrees with our government or not, we as U.S. citizens always owe a debt of gratitude to those who signed that contract to protect our lives with risk to theirs. Outwardly grateful to Jesus Christ above all and to our United States military service members is the way of life I choose to live and pass on to my children.

    I will be reading your story to my young ones tonight.

    R.I.P Scotty. And Mr. Crecca, again, I thank you. God bless you, Sir.

    Gratefully,
    Luanne Kneeskern-Hunt

  63. Michael Means
    Michael Means says:

    Well written as you brought each of us along with you in the cockpit as your descriptives of that entire mission were intense. I served as Navy, lost friends both in country and after returning home with one still carried as MIA Army Helicopter Pilot. Had the great fortune of knowing 2 Navy POW’s who were at the Hanoi Hilton one of which my wife served with in the Navy.
    Sharing your story forward.

Comments are closed.