VA-152, A SPAD SQUADRON INVIETNAM

PREPARED BY

LT J. M. WATSON

DECEMBER 1967

CONTENTS

Introduction ................................... 1

Det Zulu ....................................... 2

1965 Combat Cruise ............................. 3

1966 Combat Cruise ............................. 6

1967-68 Combat Cruise .......................... 11

Gazetteer ...................................... 18

Apendix A, Vietnam War ......................... 19

References ..................................... 23

VA-152. A SPAD SQUADRON IN VIETNAMPrepared by LT J. M. Watson

INTRODUCTION

As 1967 closes Attack Squadron ONE FIFTY-TWO is completing its third

and final combat cruise with Carrier Air Wing Sixteen aboard the USS

ORISKANY (CVA-34). It will also be the squadron's last cruise flying the

A-1 Skyraider, as the aircraft is being phased out of the Navy's

inventory after twenty-one years of service. This narrative will sum-

marize VA-152 operations in the Vietnam conflict.

At the onset of the war A-1's participated in strikes against major

targets. The aircraft proved too vulnerable to concentrated antiaircraft

fire and during VA-152's 1965 and 1966 cruises it was utilized for armed

reconnaissance over North Vietnam. By 1967, emphasis had shifted from

armed reconnaissance in the southern route packages (Nam Dinh and

southward) to major strikes in the Northeast Triangle (Hanoi, Haiphong and

the northeast rail line). Air defenses in the latter environment precluded

A-1 operations overland and only coastal armed reconnaissance was

conducted in 1967.

By far the most important role to emerge for the A-1 in Vietnam,

however, was in Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. The Spads mission

was called Rescue Combat Air Patrol (RESCAP) and consisted of locating

downed pilots, thwarting capture attempts, suppressing ground fire and

escorting pickup helicopters to and from the rescue scene. Assistance of

jet aircraft overland was necessary in the more heavily defended areas.

1

RESCAP stations were located near the SAR destroyers, on which

the helicopters were based, and A-l's were held on station

continuously during carrier flight operations. Normal two plane

RESCAP handled cyclic operations in the lower route packages. When

ORISKANY launched major strikes, VA-152 was in the habit of launching

a Special RESCAP to augment the SAR forces.

When relieved on station, after an uneventful RESCAP, a secondary

armed reconnaissance mission was carried out. If aircraft were

available in addition to those required for RESCAP or when another

carrier had the RESCAP commitment, flights were launched with a

primary mission of armed reconnaissance.

DET ZULU

In April 1964 a portion of the squadron, called Det Zulu, was

ordered to Vietnam to train South Vietnamese pilots. This mission was

completed in November 1964 and the detachment returned to NAS Alameda in

December.

Det Zulu pilots and student at Bien Hoa.

2

1965 COMBAT CRUISE

After a short training cycle VA-152 deployed aboard the

ORISKANY with Air Wing Sixteen in April 1965 for it's first

Vietnam combat cruise.

Arriving on 8 May, the squadron operated in south Vietnam for

seven weeks with only occasional missions into North Vietnam.

Moving north on the 18th of June, operations were conducted in

North Vietnam, Laos and Thailand until 2 July, the most notable

event being the rescue of a downed Air Force pilot by Lieutenants

Mullaney, Price, Smith, Wileen, Edson, and LTJG Davis. During

this time the four pilots operated out of Udorn, Thailand. On 23

June CDR Smith and ENS Dolny located and helped rescue a downed

pilot near Xom Duong Quan (for more detail see gazetteer at end

of text). From the 3rd to the 18th of July the squadron again

operated in South Vietnam. Targets, as before, consisted of VC

concentrations, buildings and sampans.

Back in combat again on 10 August, the squadron operated in

North Vietnam, flying armed reconnaissance and RESCAP missions.

Targets were dams, bridges, buildings, sampans, trucks, caves and

roads. On 10 August LTJG Mailhes was lost on a RESCAP mission over

water near Tiger Island off southern North Vietnam. The following

day CDR Smith and LTJG Zambori rescued a pilot from the Gulf. On

24 August LT Taylor and LTJG Zambori rescued another pilot near

Bong Ho. On 26 August LTJG Davis was shot down near Loc Xa. He

was later reported captured. On 29 August LT Taylor was shot down

and killed near Song La while on a Special RESCAP.

11 September to 19 September was spent in port. Back on the

line the 22nd, reconnaissance and RESCAP missions predominated. On

5 October the Air Wing commenced major (Alpha) strikes against

3

Change of Command, March 1965. Front row, left to right, LT Hartford,LTJG Mailhes, LT Schade, LTJG Davis, LCDN. Merchant, LTJG Edson, ENSBoose, M Tank, LTJG Gottschalk. Sack row, LT Mullaney, LTJG Seen,LIJG Agnew, LTJG Howe, LT Smith, CWO-3 Grueser, CDR Gernert, CDRKnutson, LTJG Zambori, ENS Dolny, LTJG Garvey, LTJG Wileen, LTFuller.

more heavily defended targets. On 17 October CDR Smith, LT Clarke,

LCDR Merchant and LTJG Beene participated in a RESCAF attempt for two

downed Navy pilots at Na Ling near the Chinese border. Due to heavy

resistance, including the first SAM’s fired at A-1’s in North Vietnam,

the attempt was unsuccessful. The four pilots were awarded

Distinguished Flying Crosses for their efforts.

The ORISKANI departed the line on 19 October and returned for

new strikes on the 28th. During this line period the squadron

4

participated in the successful rescue of seven pilots. On 1

November LT Wileen and LTJG Boose helped pick up a downed Air Force

pilot just off the North Vietnamese coast near Haiphong. The

operation involved sinking a junk which was also trying to pick up

the downed pilot. On 6 and 7 November CDR Smith flew 17.2 hours,

completing the first night rescue in enemy territory on the 6th.

Trying to rescue a second downed pilot in the same area on the

following day CDR Smith, LT Wileen, LCDR Merchant and LT Howe

sustained heavy battle damage which cost one rescue helicopter and

forced LT Wileen to land wheels up at Danang. For these efforts CDR

Smith was awarded the Silver Star.

On the night of 10 November LCDR Merchant had an engine failure,

ditched at sea and was recovered. On 13 November LT Clarke was hit on

a RESCAP and forced to land gear up at Danang. CDR Knutson took over

the RESCAP. In trying to locate the pilot he sustained 26 hits to his

aircraft and, though unsuccessful, was awarded the Silver Star. On 17

November LCDR Taylor of the Air Wing Staff, flying with the squadron,

was shot down near Haiphong on a RESCAP. The other aircraft, flown by

LCDR Schade was so badly damaged upon return to the ship that it was

declared a strike. On 28 November ORISKANI left the line and returned

to the United States.

5

1966 COMBAT CRUISE

After another training cycle and a considerable personnel turnover, VA-152

again deployed aboard U6S ORISKANY with CVW-16. The ship left

San Diego on 29 May and, after stops in Yokosuka, Japan and Cubi Point

Philippines, arrived on Dixie Station on 30 June. In the eight day

period following the squadron flew 128 sorties against Viet Cong troop

concentrations, buildings and supply caches. During the night of the 7th

ORISKANY moved north and launched missions from Yankee Station late in

the next morning.

On 11 July a four plane Special RESCAP composed of CDR Smith, LCDR Smith,

LCDR Schade and LT Feldhaus picked up LTJG Adams of VF-162 near the

east-west ridge north of Haiphong. The rescue was deeper into the North-

east Triangle than any which had preceded it. On 27 July LCDR Harmon and LTJG

Selkey picked up an Air Force pilot west of Dong Hoi and LT Garvey and

LTJG Lewis picked up another Air Force pilot in the same area. After flight

operations the following day ORISKANY departed the line.

The second line period began on 7 August. On that day LT Fryer was shot

down and killed. His aircraft was hit while attacking a train near Qui

Vinh and he crashed in the water off Cape Bouton. On 11 August, CDR Smith,

LTJG Guenzel, LCDR Schade and LTJG Lull picked LTJG Balisteri of VF-111 out of

the islands near Hon Gay. On 13 August after a RESCAP CDR Smith and LTJG Watson

destroyed a PT boat in the islands near Hon Gay. On the same day LCDR Harmon

and LTJG Selkey participated in a successful SAR effort for LCDR Levy, of

VF-111, in the islands east of Cac Ba.

6

Change of Command, March 1966. Left to right, LGDR. Schade, LCDR Smith,CDR Nussbaumer, LTJG Lull, LTJG Dolny, LTJG Ramsey, LI Fryer, LTJGSelkey, CWU-3 Crueser, LT Edson, LT Price, GJR Knutson, LT Wileen,ENS Thomas,LTJG Lewis, CDR Smith, LTJG Garvey, LTJG Scene, LTFeldhaus, LCDR Headley, LCDR Mullaney, LTJG Boose, LTJG Tank, LTZambori, LT Gottschalk.

On 18 August one of the more colorful events of the cruise took place. LCDR

Schade and LT Garvey were reconnoitering a road between RT. 1-A and RT. 15

west of Sape Bang. LCDR Schade noticed tracks leading into a wooded

area and on a hunch fired several zuni rockets into the area. He was

rewarded with several secondary explosions. Every rocket and strafing run added

more secondaries. Schade and Garvey were relieved on station by LCDR Harmon

and LTJG Watson who met with similar success. When the latter pair left, smoke

from burning trucks and POL drums had risen to 6700'. Minutes later LCLR

Headley and L1JG moose arrived and added even more secondaries. Finally CDR

Smith and LTJG Selkey hit the still burning area producing more secondary

Afir rv- 11111111iile ii

7

Ericos Truck Park - the aftermath.

explosions. Total damage was estimated at 22 trucks and 300-800 barrels of fuel oil

destroyed and the areas thenceforth known as "Eric's Truck Park", remained a huge,

brown burned out swath of open ground in the jungle for the rest of the cruise.

On 20 August LT Feldhaus and LTJG Guenzel rescued an Air Force pilot

near Ha Cong. Five days later a catapult holdback separated on LTJG

Beene and his aircraft went in the water a hundred yards off the bow. On 28

August CDR Smith was shot down by a 37 MM site at Hon Nghi Son. The aircraft was

burning so fiercely on both sides that CDR Smith was forced to eject

himself over the vertical stabilizer. This he did by putting one foot on

the seat the other on the stick and kicking as hard as he

could. He still hit the stabilizer but managed to get his chute open before he

hit the water. LTJG Guenzei, his wingman, orbited the area. :TKG Boose and ENS

Thomas soon arrived and a helo from the southern SAR Destroyer picked up CDR

Smith.

8

On 31 August LT Feldhaus and LTJG Guenzel escorted a helicopter into the

middle of Haiphong harbor to pick up LCDR Tucker of VFP-63 while ORISKANY Jets

covered them. Four days later LCDR Harmon and LTJG Selkey hit another POL

storage area near Lang Ha with many secondary explosions resulting. On 8

September squadron pilots destroyed 17 trucks. LTJG Beene and LTJG Watson got

three at Mui Nua, west of Than Hoa. Lt Feldhaus and ENS Thomas got five at Lang

My in the same area. LCDR Harmon and LTJG Selkey got five on RT. 15 near Lang

Tra. LT Zambori and LTJG Lewis got four near Dong King. After flight

operations secured that day ORISKANY left the line.

24 September found ORISKANY again back on Yankee Station and CDR Smith

and LTJG Guenzel destroyed two bridges on RT. 15. Three days later LCDR Harmon

and LTJG Lull destroyed five trucks between Dong Tau and the Gulf on RTS.

701 and 702. On the night of 5 October LTJG Beene was lost at sea in a

thunderstorm south of Hon Matt. Rescue operations were commenced at dawn but

nothing was found except an oil slick. He was declared missing. Three

days later LT Feldhaus was shot down near Lang Quang. Bad weather, low

clouds and having been hit badly himself prevented his wingman, LTJG

Guenzel, from determining if he was able to bail out and LT Feldhaus was listed

as missing. On 12 October LT Garvey and LTJG Cassell found and destroyed an

ammunition dump and three trucks north of Miu Voi. On 14 October CDR Smith and

LTJG Guenzel located and attacked a POL near Ban Na Phuc. Later LT Zambori,

LTJG Lewis, LCDR Schade, ENS Jaehnig, LT Garvey and LTJG Cassell also hit the

POL. On the same night ENS Thomas was killed near Nai Chuot Bach. In nine days

the squadron had lost three pilots.

9

On 22 October CDR Smith and LTJG Selkey hit a POL near Phu Nhong. On the

morning of the 26th, while preparing to launch her first strike, the

ORISKANY suffered a disasterous fire when magnesium flares ignited in a

magazine adjacent to hangar bay one. The Executive Officer, CDR Nussbaumer

and ALAN Liste were among the forty-four officers and men who were killed

in the fire. Damage was so extensive that the ship was forced to

return to Hunters Point for extensive repairs. Thus ended ORISKANY's and

VA-152's 1966 combat cruise.

152'nd Vietnam Skippers - CAPT Harold F. Gernert, CbR (now CAPT)Albert X. Knutson, CDR Cbrdon H. Smith and CDR Donald M.rvilison.

10

1967-68 GOM.3AT CRUDE

by the middle of July 1967, when the squadron arrived on Yankee Station,

the complexion of the war had changed. No longer was the emphasis on armed

reconnaissance of lines and communication in the lower route packages. Pressure

had been shifted to the Northeast Triangle, specifically Haiphong, Hanoi, the

routes connecting them and the northeast rail line. Heavy antiaircraft defenses

in this area precluded A-1 operations overland except as SAR forces and in

company of jet aircraft. The first few days of the initial line period were

intended to be a warm up and consequently Air wing strikes were assigned to the

more southern route packages.

The first day on the line was 14 July and squadron activity was directed

against Water Borne Logistic Craft (WBLC) traffic along the coast. A four

plane flight consisting of LCDR Harmon, CDR Willson, LCDR Wolfe and LCDR Baker

sank six WBCL’s. In the afternoon LTJG Selkey and LTJG Jaehnig sank six more.

On the 15th LTJG Cassell was shot down and killed by antiaircraft fire from

Hon Ne while attacking WBLC’s.

On 16 July LCDR Verich from VF-162 was shot down and ejected in the karst

southwest of Phu Ly. CDR Headley and LCDR Sharpe were called in to direct the

SAR effort. At this time darkness put an end to the search and it was

continued on the morning of the 17th. On scene SAR commander was LCDR

Harmon. CDR Willson, LCDR Wolfe and LTJG Guenzel made up the rest of the

RESCAP. In spite of heavy ground fire, MIG's and SAM’s in the area, the

RESCAP, under the cover of Air Wing jets, was able to find LCDR Verich,

escort a helicopter (big Mother 69) to the area and pick him up.

11

Change of Command, March 1967. Seated, CDR Fv;Iith, CDR Willson. Stundin8,left to right, LIVJG Miller, LTJG Ramsey, LTJG Selkey, LTJGCassell, LT Lewis, CW0-4 Grueser, LCDR Harmon, LTJG Guenzel, CDR Headley,LT Watson, LCDR Wolfe, LI Garvey, ENS Jaehnig, LTJG Lindsay, LTJGSpiegel, LTJG Lull.

Two days later, on a strike at Phu Ly, LCDR Hartman and LTJG Duthie of VA-164 were

shot down. The Special RESCAF composed of LCDR Harmono LTJG Langlinais, LCDR Baker

and LTJG Miller was joined by several A-1’s of VA-215 from the USS BONNE HOMME

RICHARD. Under conditions similar to the Verich rescue, LTJG Duthie was picked up by an

Air Force Jolly Green helicopter and evacuated to Udorn, Thailand. During this action,

Big Mother 67, a Navy H-3, was over LCDR Hartman, ready for pickup, when ground fire

critically wounded a crewman. The helicopter was forced to depart the area and the

crewman died in flight. Clementine 2, a UH-2 from the southern SAR destroyer, was

12

then ordered to the scene, escorted by two VA-215 A-1’s. Like Big Mother 67 he

took hits from ground fire and he had to be escorted back to the ship by the VA-215

A-l's and by CDR Headley and LCDR Sharpe, who had been backing up the other SAR

forces.

The rescue attempt for LCDR Hartman continued on 19 July. During the

night the North Vietnamese had rushed troops and guns into the area.

A six plane Special RESCAP composed of CDR Willson, LTJG Ward, LTJG Selkey, LTJG

Jaehnig, LCDR Sharpe and LTJG Sehlin escorted Big Mother 67 into the area in

the company of Air Wing Sixteen jets. CDR Willson, on scene SAR commander, and

LTJG Ward, his wingman, circled LCDR Hartman while LCDR Sharpe, LIJG Sehlin and

the Air Wing jets suppressed ground fire in the area. LTJG Se;kay and LTJG

Jaehnig escorted the helicopter. Once the helo was in the area the on scene

commander marked LCDR Hartman's position with a zuni rocket. At the same time a

cluster bomb dropped by one of the other A-4's failed to open and exploded

intact in the center of the heavily defended valley adjacent to the karst in

which LCDR Hartman was hiding. The helicopter mistook the cluster bomb for

the zuni and flew directly over the flak sights in the valley. They opened up

and the helo went down in a ball of flames with no chance of survival for the

crew.

After the loss the SAR forces retreated to regroup. In the afternoon, LCDR

Harmon, LTJG Langlinais, LCDR Baker and LTJG Miller took a helicopter into the

area but the risk was considered by then to be too great and the SAR effort was

discontinued.

On 20 July LGIJR Wolfe and LTJG Benson directed Clementine 1, a Navy UH-2,

from the northern SAR destroyer, in the pickup of CDR Wittemore of

VA-212 off the BONNNE HOMME RICHARD. The Commander had been shot

down in the islands near the Chinese border.

13

Electronic search in the Phu Ly area indicated that LCDR Hartman was still evading

capture in the karst. LCDR Harmon and LTJG Selkey droped him supplies on the night

of the 20th and were rewarded for their effort with a SAM lobbed into the area.

On the 21st LCDR Harmon flew to Udorn to coordinate the rescue attempt with the

Air Force. Buildup of forces now precluded rescue attempts from the seaward

side. Rescue attempts from Thailand proved equally unsuccessful.

VA-152 Spad on rocket run near Cape Bang.

14

During the relative calm that followed, squadron efforts were directed

largely toward destruction of waterborne logistic craft. The remainder of July

netted 16 destroyed and 17 damaged. In August and September squadron pilots claimed

30 destroyed and 65 damaged. Principal WBLC hunting areas were around Cape Mui Ron

and from Brandon Bay north to Cape Bang. On 28 July LCDR Harmon and LTJG Lindsay

destroyed a North Vietnamese PT boat in the islands east of Haiphong.

On 1 August a RESCAP composed of LCDR Wolfe, LTJG Jaehnig, LTJG Selkey and

LTJG Lindsay directed rescue attempts for a Navy pilot from the INTREPID, down in

the islands east of Haiphong. LCDR Wolfe and LTJG Jaehnig located the pilot and

provided cover for him while LTJG Selkey and LTJG Lindsay escorted Clementine 1, a

UH-2 from the northern SAR destroyer, for the pickup. In the process one North

Vietnamese boat attempting to pick up the pilot was sunk. Also on 1 August, LCDR

Harmon and LTJG Langlinais sank a North Vietnamese PT boat in the islands east of

Haiphong. Three days later the pair duplicated their feat.

Throughout the cruise spotting missions had been flown in support of Seventh

Fleet ships engaged in bombardment of targets along the North Vietnamese coast.

Targets had been WBLC’s, suspected supply dumps and areas called Choke Points,

in which transport arteries were made vulnerable by terrain and exposure from the

sea. While damage was mostly in the form of harassment, some targets were

destroyed. During these missions ordnance was held until completion of shore

bombardment, in case the ships were engaged by coastal defense guns. If such an

engagement did not occur aircraft were released to perform coastal armed

reconnaissance, just as squadron aircraft had always been in the habit of doing

when released from an uneventful RESCAP.

15

152 Spad launching with typical gunfire spotting mission load.

Firing upon gunfire ships was sporadic until early September when,

while supporting offensive operations in the demilitarized Zone, ships

for which the squadron was spotting were taken under fire each day during

the four day period beginning on the lst. After this brief period, such

firings again became sporadic as operations again moved farther north.

RESCAP never again entered thee picture as importantly as during

mid-July. As the Air wing became more experienced and the air war further es-

calated, targets became increasingly closer to the focal points of the

North-east Triangle. Potent air defenses and scarcity of terrain suitable for

evasion in this area precluded SAR operations in most instances. On 26 August

CDR Willson and LCDR Ward rescued an air Force F-4 pilot just north of the

demilitarized zone. On 5 October LCDR Baker and LTJG Miller located ENS Matthene

of VF-111 in the karst southeast of Quang Suoi but heavy ground fire made it

impossible to get a helicopter to the scene. The following day CDR Headley led a

division of aircraft inland north of Hon Gay to conduct electronic search for

the downed Air force pilot. Contact through a survival radio was obtained but it

.as judged to be a hoah. On 26 October CRD Headley and LTJG Spiegel searched for

several pilots down in karst areas southwest of the Red River.

16

On 9 October a detachment of three aircraft and four pilots was sent to

the Marine Corps Air Station at Chu Lai. Under command of LCDR Sharpe the

detachment operated with the southern element of Seventh Fleet ships engaged in

shore bombardment of North Vietnam. The detachment returned to ORISKANY on 1

November just before the ship left the line.

The month of October was lucrative, netting 64 WBLC's destroyed and 75

damaged. From the end of October on the weather over North Vietnam worsened.

Low overcast, clouds, showers and poor visibility predominated, with only a few

brief periods of fair weather. No further SAR operations were conducted and

spotting for coastal bombardment was minimal also, as these missions became

secondary and coastal armed reconnaissance primary. In November and December 21

WBLC’s were destroyed and 34 damaged. Marginal weather also greatly diminished

logistic effort by the North Vietnamese and the cruise which had been begun

with such fury was ended quietly.

17

GAZETTEER

Place names from 1:250,000 Joint Operations Graphic (Air) Charts

Ban Na PhucBong HoBrandon BayCac BaCape BangCape HoutonCape Hui RonDong HoiDong KinhDong TauHa CongHon GayHon MattHon MeLang HaLang MyLang TraLang QuangLang VaLoc XaNa LengNui Chot BachNui NuaNui VoiPhu lyPhu NhongQuang SuoiQui VinhSong LaXom Duong Quan

town, near 19-10N, 104-35Etown, near 19-49N, 105-22Ebody of water, near 19-00Nisland east of Haiphongon coast at 19-26Non coast at 19-13Non coast at 18-05Ncoastal town near 17-30Ntown, near 19-32N, 105-394town, near 19-40N, 105-28Etown, near 17-48N, 106-18Eseaport, 20-56N, 107-07Eisland 18-48N, 105-58Eisland 19-22N, 105-564town, near 19-45N, 105-254town, near 19-48N, 105-34Etown, near 19-26N, 105-27Ehill 1J06, near 19-30N, 105-304town, near 17-27N, 106-34Etown, near 17-13N, 106-42Etown, near 21-44N, 105-45Ehill, near 19-31N, 105-21Ehill, near 19-45N, 105-36Ehill, near 19-33N, 105-40Etown, near 20-32N, 105-55Etown, near 19-05N, 104-434town, near 20-07N, 105-52Etown, near 19-16N, 105-42Etown, near 21-18N, 103-58Etown, near 17-52N, 105-52E

18

APPENDIX A. VIETNAM WAR DATA, 1965-1968

I. Squadron Rosters.

1965 Cruise

Squadron RosterCombat

Missions RemarksCDR A.E. Knutson 116

CDR G.H. Smith 115

LCDR P.J. Merchant 86

LCDR E.H. Schade 100

LT J.S. Smith 105

LT C.F. Mullaney 110

LT D.E. Fuller 44 Detached Aug 65

LT D.L. Clarke 36

LT F.F. Howe 95

LT R.A. Price 103

LT G.C. Wileen 101

LT D.W. Edson 98

LT E.D. Taylor 42 MIA 29 Aug 65

LTJG D.P. Zambori 99

LTJG G.L. Gottschalk 103

LTJG E.A. Davis 57 MIA 26 Aug 65 (Cap)

LTJG C.In. Fryer 28 Reported Sep 65

LTJG A.J.Garvey 103

LTJG J.R.Agnew Air Intelligence Off.

LTJG J.A.Beene 97

LTJG L.S. Mailes 48 KIA 10 Aug 65

LTJG E.R.Boose 91

ENS J.R. Tank Ground Maint. Off.

ENS W. J. Dolny 98

ENS P.A. Selkey 30 Reported Sep 65

CW03 S.L. Grueser Ground Maint. Off.

USS Oriskany and CVW 16officers flying withVA-152

CDR F.T. Hamler 13

LCDR J.J. Taylor 8 KIA 17 Nov 65

LCDR G.H. Crater 18

1944 Total Missions

19

1966 Cruise

Squadron RosterCombat

Missions RemarksCDR G.H. Smith 61

LCDR J.J. Nussbaumer 68

LCDR A.B Headley 69

LCDR J.O. Harmon 67

LCDR E.H. Schade 60

LT J.S. Smith 17 Detached Jul 66

LT J.A. Feldhaus 59 MIA 8 Oct 66

LT D.P. Zambori 56 Killed in operationaccident Feb 67

LT C.W. Fryer 22 KIA 7 Aug 66

LT A.J. Garvey 51

LTJG J.A. Beene 41 MIA 5 Oct 66

LTJG J.M. Watson 56

LTJG L.D. Lewis 57

LTJG R.B. Cassell 11 Reported Oct 66

LTJG J.R. TankLTJG E.R. Boose 48

LTJG W.J. Dolny 52

LTJG F.M Guenzel 56

ENS P.A. Selkey 57

ENS T.E. Lull 54

ENS M.J. Ramsey Air Intelligence Off.

ENS D.J. Thomas 50 KIA 14 Oct 66

ENS F.M. Jaehnig 10 Reported Sep 66

CWO3 S.L. Grueser Ground Maint. Off.

USS Oriskany officerflying with VA-152

LCDR G.H. Crater 7

1029 Total Missions

20

DECORATIONS

1965 & 1966 CRUISES

SILVER STAR

CDR A.E. Knutson LT G.C. WileenCDR G.H. Smith

DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

CDR A.E. Knutson LT G.C. WileenCDR G.H. Smigh LT D.W. EisonLCDR P.G. Merchant LT A.J. GarveyLCDR J.O. Harmon LT G.L. GottschalkLCDR E.H. Shade LT J.A. FeldhausLT J.S. Smith LTJG J.A. BeeneLT C.F. Mulanay LTJG E.R. BooseLT D.L. Clarke ENS W.J. Dolny

NAVY AND MARINE CORPS MEDAL (ORISKANY FIRE)

CDR G.H. Smith SCDR J.O. Harmon

AIR MEDAL

All VA-152 Pilots

NAVY COMMENDATION MEDAL

CDR A.E.Knutson LT D.C. EisonCDR G.H. Smith LT E.D. TaylonLCDR P.J. Merchant LT D.P. ZamboriLCDR J.O. Harmon LT A.J. GarveyLCDR E.H. Shade LT C.W. FryerLCDR J.S. Smith LTJG G.L. GottschalkLT C.F. Mullaney LTJG J.A. BeeneLT J.A. Feldhaus LTJG J.M. WatsonLT D.E. Fuller LTJG E.R. BooseLT F.F. Howe LTJG W.J. DolnyLT R.A. Price LTJG F.M. GuenzelLT G.C. Wileen LTJG P.A. Selkey

PURPLE HEART

CDR G.H. Smith LT C.W. FryerLCDR P.J. Merchant LTJG L.S. MaihlesLCDR J.J. Taylor ENS D.J. Thomas

NAVY UNIT COMMENDATION

All squadron personnel from 1965 and 1966 cruise

21

1967-68 Cruise

Through 16 Dec 1967

Squadron RosterCombat

Missions RemarksCDR D.M Willson 84

CDR A.B. Headley 88

LCDR L.A. Sharpe 81

LCDR J.O. Harmon 91

LCDR J.N. Baker 83

LCDR R.L. Wolf 88

LT G.P. Voss 59 Ground Maint. Officer

LT J.M. Watson 51

LT L.D. Lewis 64

LTJG R.B. Cassell 3 KIA 15 July 67

LTJG R.L. Lindsay 68

LTJG R.L. Langlinais 36

LTJG F.M. Guensel 66

LTJG J.C. Spiegel 63

LTJG H.L. Miller 41

LTJG P.A. Selkey 66

LTJG T.E. Lull 51

LTJG F.M Guenzel 56

LTJG P.A. Selkey 57

LTJG T.E. Lull 54

LTJG D.B. Sehlin 68

LTJG R.W. Benson 55

LTJG M.J. Ramsey Air Intelligence Off.

LTJG J.D. Ward 65

LTJG F.M. Jaehnig 65

WO1 N.L. Faulkner Ground Maint. Officer

1278 Total Missions

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REFERENCES

Material for this narrative was taken from VA-152 air intelligence logs for

the 1965, 1966 and 1967-68 combat cruises. Wherever possible this information was

amplified by personal interviews with the pilots concerned. Photographs of Spads in

action were taken by the author and formal group photos were taken by the Photographic

Laboratory at NAS Alameda, California. The photograph of Det Zulu is a

snapshot of unknown origin.

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