AIR POWER IN ACTION

Lyndon B Johnson president of the United States in South Vietnam the United States and some 34 other nations of the Free World are committed to thwart the Viet Kong attackers who are aided and abetted by the communist controlled government of North Vietnam any lesser involvement would mean the loss of Southeast Asia and ultimately the entire Western Pacific this war is being fought under the most adverse conditions impenetrable jungles Monsoon rains swamps and rugged mountains under these conditions it is difficult to carry the attack to the enemy arm and Supply our troops bring out our wounded or even find the aggressors how do you fight history's most unconventional war with airp power it takes a wide variety of aircraft and Equipment because without air support the movements of the ground forces would soon grind to a halt in the enemy infested forests and soggy rice patties without Absolute Air superiority we could not guarantee the defeat of any air offensive the enemy might M air delivers troops Recon the enemy's hiding places hits him accurately within a grenade toss of the friendlies provides light for beleaguered Villages under night attack feeds and arms isolated outposts blasts the enemy out of his otherwise impregnable tunnels and mle holes destroys his supply lines rescues downed Pilots evacuates the wounded and within our total effort US Air power provides vital support for the Vietnamese and operates in coordination and cooperation with the Republic of Vietnam Air Force to feed this vast air War Machine and fulfill the growing us commitment Around the Clock shuttle service operates across the Pacific it transports everything from spare parts to a flight of f4c twinjet phantoms with aerial refueling stations in rout the stopover point is hickham Air Force Base Hawaii headquarters of the Pacific Air Forces and nerve center for Air Force operations in the entire Western Pacific which includes the southeast Asia theater war is nothing new to these buildings still proudly bearing the Battle Scars of Pearl Harbor nor is it any stranger to The Men Who bear the responsibility for directing Air Force operations in that area a comprehensive network of communications makes it possible for them to study new developments in the field within a matter of minutes and detailed daily briefings apprise the PF Commander General Hunter Harris on the current status of his forces the statistics illustrate the magnitude of the buildup in Vietnam where we now have a wide variety of aircraft each with its own particular Mission and capability the investment is large but the Dividends are highly rewarding [Applause] pacaf policy is one of centralized command and decentralized operation of Tactical Air Forces in a combat theater at second air division headquarters tonen Airfield similar briefings keep the commander Lieutenant General Joseph H Moore and his staff thoroughly informed for they are charged with the Demolition of strategic enemy targets such as lines of communications to stem the flow of men and supplies to the South missile sites power plants fuel storage depos and Troop staging areas in the north while in the South close air support to us and Vietnamese Ground Forces made the difference between Victory and defeat at such battles as play me an Dong Song B and yardang in 1965 Air Force pilots flew almost 50,000 strike [Music] sorties dropped 56,000 tons of bombs on vietcom Targets in the South not including the ordinance dropped by The B-52s which began flying missions against selected enemy positions in June additional tonnage was dropped by Air Force and Navy fighter bombers over the Communist North but the role of air power has been greatly broadened in this conflict its many functions meshed together aimed not only at defeating the enemy but also at winning a better life for the people of Vietnam thus vitally needed rice as well as bombs Reigns from the southeast Asia Sky using the hair raising but effective controlled Crash Landing technique on short dirt strips Air Force pilots deliver cows and chickens to isolated villages in their c123 providers last year they logged over 28,000 sorties carrying more than half a million passengers and delivering 265,000 mountains the interim Airfield facilities at Cameron Bay were built on Delta Sands in less than 60 days construction of such facilities is a monument to military engineers in the shooting War quick reaction is the key to close air support strike aircraft in the South are allocated from the Tactical Air Control Center at tonsen Airfield flight controllers can send aircraft into battle at a moment's notice in response to a field Commander's request streamlined Communications reach out from the center to the fringes of the battle line to the Forward Air controllers who live and work with the Vietnamese in the field flying light ples these men learn the conditions and the terrain and direct air strikes on the spot from firsthand knowledge of the Tactical situation that exists under the screening umbrella of jungle foliage they make it possible to hit and hit hard in the right place at the right time Ground Force commanders have learned to rely heavily on this fast and accurate close air support [Music] system General John P McConnell Air Force Chief of Staff has said quote what really counts is that today's Wars are being fought in three dimensions and whoever proves his superiority in the air will prevail in all other dimensions unquote air Warfare itself has many dimensions and to prove our Superior superiority we must Prevail in all in Vietnam we are doing just that striking at the heart of the enemy destroying military targets and lines of Supply in the north as well as providing interdiction and close air support to our forces on the battlefields in the south United States and Vietnamese commanders alike have endorsed the effectiveness of the B-52 raids in such terms as the timing was precise the bombing accurate and the overall effect awesome to [Applause] behold rf11 and rf4c reconnaissance aircraft provide photographic evidence of targets and the results of air attacks elapse time between filming and viewing has been reduced to a bare minimum modern electronic equipment in these aircraft gives them the capability of radar mapping inflight photo processing and flight data recording other vital components of the Airborne War are such specialized tasks as defoliation a maneuver designed to peel back the cover from which the Vietcong spring ambushes on Allied Supply convoys and troop movements the weather forecasting service which encompasses a full range of data acquisition and Communications and is essential to air operations in this area psychological warfare missions using leaflets and voice broadcasts and air Rescue of down Pilots air rescue service Crews flew 13,000 missions in 1965 picking up 162 down Airmen in Vietnam air power is helping to subdue the flames ignited by International communism working positively and productively to bring lasting freedom to that war torn country without the present combined Army Navy Air Force civilian team effort and its umbrella of air power the people of South Vietnam would by now be under the Iron Fist of Communism an effective air arm able to seek out and dest destroy an aggressive well-armed enemy to initiate and support Civic and humanitarian actions to interdict groundforce operations to deliver equipment and material without which the war could not be fought such an air arm is contributing greatly to the struggle for a lasting peace oh [Music]