The Rest of the Story is ...
... While Steve Ritchie tells a good story, he probably had very little to do with the recovery. Google for his Wikipedia bio, and see what Gen Robin Olds had to say about him. Quite a comment coming from one who had one of the biggest egos in the triple nickel squadron.
Ritchie mentions him and points to his right, so I assume that Dale Stovall was sitting there. Capt Dale Stovall, USAFA '67, was the real hero of this mission. You can read about Stovall here: Capt Dale Stovall, Air Force Cross.
Not to take anything away from Lloyd's post, because it is a good story ... embellished a little probably, but the back stories of those actually involved in the rescue may be even better.
I enjoy a well told "war story" as much as anybody, but the embellishing overshadows some grim stories that never get told. It is quite a story of how "the entire war machine was shut down" (actually just the North Vietnam strikes) just to recover one man. Don't ever forget that some have NOT returned. One of them is Capt Paul Vernon "Skip" Jackson III, my good friend, who has not been returned even though they know exactly where he went down. So they might have made a mighty effort to rescue a live pilot, but many other casualties have yet to be returned.
Those are the ones we must demand the leadership of this nation "NEVER FORGET".
Ogre |
