An accident that almost broke up NATO

Today, April 16th, commemorates an event that led to a major crisis within NATO and led to the exit of one of the major Allied powers from the transatlantic alliance.  Changing the location of a training sortie at the last minute due to weather, an RF-101 inadvertently photographed a secret French nuclear facility.  In order not to arouse the suspicions of other NATO intelligence services, they did not mark associated locations as restricted airspace, which would invite uncomfortable questions.  Although France had detonated its first nuclear weapon in early 1960, it was continuing to expand its atomic research and manufacturing base.  The Marcoule center, used to produce plutonium, had been known and was marked as restricted airspace, but a newer uranium enrichment facility at nearby Pierrelatte, on the Rhone River 25 kilometers to the north, was not so designated.  Smith's film was confiscated and turned over to French authorities, who established that no photographs of the restricted Marcoule facility had been taken, but a couple of dozen of the unmarked Pierrelatte facility had.  However, training flights over France were supposed to be at least 3000 feet AGL, and Smith's Voodoo had been tracked at 2,500 feet--a minor violation which the US State Department did apologize for.  By then, their first weapon, the AN-11 nuclear bomb, had just become operational.  I have excerpted this story from my new book on the F-101 Voodoo, with some added notes: http://www.amazon.com/The-F-101-Voodoo-Illustrated-Heavyweight/dp/0764347993

An event precipitated by the Voodoo led to a major crisis within NATO in the spring of 1965.  On 16 April 1965 a RF-101C performing strip photography as part of the Operational Readiness Inspection with the new Project 1181 aircraft inadvertently photographed a secret French nuclear facility.  Not wanting to compromise its location to foreign nationals, the French did not note the location as restricted airspace on the USAFE sectional charts, only marking it on some of their own charts.  With no restrictions noted on his available sectional charts, Captain Joe Smith picked a sparsely-populated training area along the Rhone River due to bad weather over northern France and Germany.  Having completed his mission and preparing to head back to Laon AB [Note: This is in error.  Smith departed from Ramstein AB, Germany], Smith noticed that he had a French Vautour interceptor on his wing, not an uncommon occurrence.  Smith selected afterburner and waved to the French crew as he accelerated away to return to base.  He landed to be met by his squadron commander who stated that Capt. Smith had overflown a restricted area 250 miles from where he actually conducted his mission.  The French misdirection soon became apparent and the ensuing tempest went all the way up to the White House and back down through the chain of command.  When it became clear that the fault did not lie with the American Voodoo pilots, the French government became even more outraged and in an attempt to save face President Charles de Gaulle ordered American forces out of France.

[Note: This passage above is based on the personal recollections of the pilot, Joe Smith and the operations officer who designated the route, Don Karges, as told to author Doug Gordon and recorded in his excellent book Tactical Reconnaissance in the Cold War, pp.133-138.  I am very happy to give a plug for Doug's book which may be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Reconnaissance-Cold-War-Vietnam/dp/1844153320  As related by Douglas Boyd in his book, De Gaulle: The Man Who Defied Six US Presidents, the French complaint had been that he strayed over restricted area P-59 over Marcoule, 25 km south of Pierrelatte.  Smith did not mention the specific area that the French government claimed he overflew, but it was in SouthWEST France over 200 nautical miles from the Rhone River.  Boyd has the date as 16 July 1965, while Smith gives it as 16 April 1965.  Smith made it a point to document everything thoroughly given the seriousness of the charge against him, and given that it is from a first-hand source and that Boyd has some factual errors in his account ("RB-5" radioactive sampling aircraft), Smith's account is more credible to me.]

The relocation of USAF forces from France coincided with the reshuffling of reconnaissance units in USAFE and the beginning of the retirement of the Voodoo from Europe.  On 1 October 1965, the 32^nd TRS at Phalsbourg AB was transferred from the 66^th TRW to the 26^th TRW at Toul-Rosieres AB prior to conversion of the squadron to the RF-4C.  Three months later on 1 January 1966, the 38^th TRS was transferred to the 26^th TRW, also to begin conversion to RF-4C.  In compliance with the demanded relocation from French territory, the 26^th TRW moved to Ramstein AB, Germany in October 1966.

An Alternate Postscript

It was my pleasure a couple of days ago to read an Amazon review of my book by none other than retired Lt. Col. Burton Waltz, which may be accessed here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3KZ5YVCMKYCV8/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0764347993&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books 

A longtime member of the Tac Recce community, then-Captain Waltz holds the dubious honor of being the first American pilot shot down in an RF-101C Voodoo on 21 November 1964 while photographing objectives near Ban Phan Nop in southern Laos, a key intersection for the supply network to the Ho Chi Minh Trail where, three days previously, an F-100 fighter had been downed.  Sustaining injuries after ejecting from his RF-101 and falling after becoming caught in the tall jungle canopy, he was rescued and avoided capture by Communist forces.

From the start, my primary objective was not only to do my best to get the story of the Voodoo right, but to do honor to those who flew, maintained, or were otherwise associated with the F-101.  Most especially, I wanted to honor those who flew into harm's way.  The RF-101C was the first jet aircraft to fly missions in Indochina, keeping a wary eye on the strategic keystone of Laos during the effort to contain Communist aggression by the Pathet Lao, the North Vietnamese Army which supported them, and the Chinese and Soviet Union who were providing arms, training, logistical support, and diplomatic cover for the various "popular" revolutionary movements in the region.  I am sure that time will tell that I missed a lot of things or got some of it wrong, but am very glad to receive his endorsement.  The least that I can do is to help carry that memory along, as well as the lessons learned from the experience.

In the meantime, I got to thinking yesterday about something that I had missed adding to my book, and that was a new postscript that I had written in honor of those who gave their lives or were captured and imprisoned while flying missions in the Voodoo.  Researching the on-line collections of the P.O.W. Network at pownetwork.org, I found that a number of the American pilots that had been captured had written personal essays about their experiences, and what had kept them going through many years of brutal torture at the hands of their Vietnamese captors and their "advisors" from various Communist nations.  The common bonds that I found were a faith in their country, a faith in the goodness and wisdom of the American people, and a faith in Almighty God that gave them the strength to endure an endless series of often unbearable moments.  These men represent the very best of what my great nation has to offer, and I wanted to honor that in the new postscript.  That postscript follows, perhaps subject to some revision but feel that the facts are correct and that I have captured the spirit of their sentiments.  God bless them all, and their families that have endured so much.  Welcome home, and for those who never lived to see home again and to those who remain unaccounted for, may God have granted the rest so richly deserved.  Although I have to fully research what happened to the Taiwanese pilots shot down over Red China and add their stories here, this is a draft of what I have envisioned to be the true postscript to the story of the Voodoo:

Postscript: Over far away and impossibly bright emerald jungles….

The story of the Voodoo in Southeast Asia did not end with its withdrawal from combat operations in November 1970.  During nearly ten years of sorties over objectives in Indochina, five RF-101C pilots who were listed as Killed in Action (KIA) had paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation: Robert Stubberfield; Martin Lindsey; Jack Weatherby; Fred Mellor and Charles Winston.  Remaining behind were nine members of the small fraternity of Recce Voodoo pilots, prisoners-of-war in the hands of the Communist government in North Vietnam, as well as four more whose whereabouts and fates remain unknown.

Capt. Herschel Scott “Scotty” Morgan of Candler, North Carolina, was shot down on 3 April 1965 while on a mission to gather bomb damage assessment on the infamous Thanh Hoa Railroad and Highway Bridge during his 122^nd combat mission.  He would be POW #5 of the Vietnam War.  His love of country, faith in the American people, and faith in his God brought him through almost eight years of brutal torture and deprivation at the hands of the government of North Vietnam at a number of locations in and around Hanoi where he was held.  Released to come home on 12 February 1973, Morgan returned to duty and retired as a Colonel.  He fully dedicated himself to instilling the proud heritage of his country and a sense of pride and faith in America among the young people to follow him, the future leaders of the country, after so many had betrayed it.   He remained proud to return home with his head held high, rather than on his knees. 

Capt. George Hall of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was shot down on his 196^th mission while assigned to the 15^th TRS on 27 September 1965.  Released with Scotty Morgan on 12 February 1973, Hall also continued his USAF career and retired as a Colonel.  Reflecting upon his experiences, he wrote his first book, Commitment to Honor, a memoir of over seven years of captivity in North Vietnam.  He and his comrades felt the prayers and concern of Americans everywhere and he has since expressed his deep appreciation to President Nixon for allowing them to return home with honor.  Those who remembered and “kept faith” while he and his brothers were in captivity reaffirmed his love and commitment to America.

Capt. Wilber Newlin “Newk” Grubb of Aldan, Pennsylvania, was shot down on 26 January 1966 during the Christmas bombing halt ordered by the Lyndon Johnson administration.  Accounts and photos of Newk Grubb soon appeared in Communist publications around the world, including photographs showing him in apparently good health except for a wounded leg, dutifully attended to by an appropriately kind and compassionate North Vietnamese peasant woman.  Nothing more was heard for several years until the Communist government in Hanoi mentioned that Grubb had died nine days after his capture due to injuries sustained in the crash of his Voodoo.  The implication is that Newk Grubb succumbed to the tender mercies of his North Vietnamese captors.  Captain Grubb’s remains were turned over to US authorities on 13 March 1974.  During his absence, Newk Grubb was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  His wife, Evelyn Grubb, remained a tireless advocate for POW/MIA affairs until her death in December 2005. 

Capt. Arthur W. Burer of San Antonio, Texas, was shot down during his 40^th mission on 21 March 1966. While his younger brother served two tours in Vietnam as an infantry officer, Burer languished in a squalid cell in Hanoi.  Coming from a family with a rich and proud military tradition, Arthur Burer was borne through unspeakable horrors by his abiding faith in his God, his family, and his country.  Released on 12 February 1973, Burer returned to duty with the USAF, retiring as a Colonel.  He passed on to meet his loving Creator on 13 April 2010.  Through all of his days, Arthur Burer kept faith.

Capt. Daniel J. Doughty of Ladysmith, Wisconsin, was flying his 169^th combat mission when his aircraft was lost on 2 April 1966.  His fate unknown for years, his wife Terry kept both faith and hope for his return.  Daniel Doughty came home on 12 February 1973 to his wife and four children.  He remains proud to have had the privilege of serving his beloved country in a time of need.

Maj. Alan Leslie Brunstrom of Miami, Florida, was shot down on his 115^th combat mission on 22 April 1966 and immediately captured.  His faith in God, faith in his country, faith in his Commander-in-Chief, faith in the American people, and faith in his family brought him and his comrades through their collective ordeal.  Returning home on 12 February 1973, Brunstrom bode his time at the Air War College and then earned a business degree, eager to get back into the “fighter flying game.”  He retired as a Colonel and remains proud of his country, its people, and of his brothers who comported themselves with such honor over the many years spent in captivity in Hanoi.

Maj. James Faulds Young of Ferndale, Michigan, was on his 74^th mission with the Green Pythons when he was shot down over North Vietnam on 6 July 1966.  He spent six and a half years in captivity until his return on 12 February 1973.  Along with most of his brethren, James Young continued his service to his beloved country after the war, retiring with the rank of Colonel.  Sadly, in his later years, Young suffered from Binswanger’s Disease, a disorder related to Alzheimer’s, and succumbed to his illness in November 2006.  His remaining compatriots still retell his stories of living in England as a young child during the Fall of 1939, where he witnessed the Battle of Britain from the ground and saw a downed German bomber up close shortly after it crash landed in a nearby field.

Maj. William D. Burroughs of Indianhead, Maryland, was on his 98^th mission over North Vietnam with the 15^th TRS when he was shot down on 31 July 1966.  He was released by his North Vietnamese captors on 4 March 1973, and also returned to active duty, retiring from the USAF as a Colonel.  After his years of suffering the absolute worst of inhumanity at the hands of the Communist government of North Vietnam, William Burroughs committed every moment to reaffirming our common humanity, keenly aware of the effect of even our smallest and seemingly most inconsequential actions upon others.  He remained deeply concerned for those in need, particularly for the families of the fallen in a terrible, brutal war and wished for each of them emotional and spiritual rebirth .  Burroughs exhibited a profound sense of reflection, sensitivity, understanding, and resolve to show care to those around him who had suffered.  William Burroughs died in March 1999 while undergoing emergency surgery to repair an aneurysm.

Maj. Bobby Ray Bagley of Cumming, Georgia, was the last RF-101C pilot shot down, lost to a MiG-21 during a mission with the 20th TRS and captured by North Vietnamese forces on 16 November 1967.  Spending nearly his entire career in tactical reconnaissance, he remained contemptuous of those who described his captors as “lovely,” “friendly,” and “gentle” people.   

With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 27 January 1973, they and their surviving brothers-in-arms were released by their captors and returned home to American soil.  But for the families of four American airmen, their ordeal was far from over.  Charles Shelton, Gordon Page, Jerdy Wright, and Blair Wrye remained listed as Missing in Action, their whereabouts and fates unknown.