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The Us Air Force In Air Force Vietnam Fiftieth Commemoration THE U.S. AIR FORCE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE VIETNAM WAR A NARRATIVE CHRONOLOGY VOLUME II: 1960–1961 KENNETH H. WILLIAMS COVER Col. Benjamin H. King, the first commander of 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron, better known as Jungle Jim, in Vietnam in December 1961 with the detachment that carried out the Farm Gate operation. King is wearing the hat that became the trademark of the air commandos, the organization that evolved from the 4400th CCTS. King is considered one of the founders of the air commandos, and the auditorium of 9th Special Operations Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is named in his honor. Photo from Gleason, Air Commando Chronicles. Vietnam Fiftieth Commemoration THE U.S. AIR FORCE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE VIETNAM WAR A NARRATIVE CHRONOLOGY VOLUME 2: 1960–1961 KENNETH H. WILLIAMS WASHINGTON, D.C. 2020 Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. All documents and publications quoted or cited have been declassified or originated as unclassified. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 ONE 11 Insurgency Shakes South Vietnam January–July 1960 TWO 47 Civil War in Laos, Instability in Vietnam August–December 1960 THREE 85 Kennedy Inherits Southeast Asia January–March 1961 FOUR 143 From the Brink in Laos to a Stand in Vietnam April–June 1961 FIVE 185 A Turn for the Worse in Vietnam July–October 1961 SIX 223 Countering Insurgency November–December 1961 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 267 MAPS Provinces of South Vietnam 10 Mekong Delta and areas around Saigon 17 ARVN Tactical Zones, April 1961 24 Provinces of Laos 46 Indochina 1961 84 Operations in Laos, December 1960–January 1961 106 U.S.-used Airfields in Southeast Asia, 1961 118 Northern Laos 121 Laos Cease-Fire Line, May 3, 1961 168 Suspected Infiltration Routes through Laos 190 Areas of Intensified PLAF (Viet Cong) Activity, Fall 1961 198 MAAG Estimates of PLAF Strength by Tactical Zone 244 ILLUSTRATIONS Col. Benjamin H. King, USAF cover President John F. Kennedy at Pope Air Force Base ix Farm Gate T–28s at Bien Hoa 3 President-elect Kennedy and President Dwight D. Eisenhower 4 Col. Edward G. Lansdale, USAF 7 Eugene M. Zuckert swearing in Gen. Curtis E. LeMay 8 Agroville at Vi Thanh, South Vietnam 13 Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Williams, USA 14 Adm. Harry D. Felt, USN 19 Gen. Nathan F. Twining, USAF, and Colonel Lansdale 20 President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam 22 U–10 Helio Courier 28 VNAF Grumman F–8F Bearcat 30 Secretary of State Christian A. Herter 33 President Kennedy and Nguyen Dinh Thuan 35 Sen. Michael J. “Mike” Mansfield 41 President Kennedy and Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia 42 Gen. Curtis E. LeMay and Gen. Thomas D. White 49 Lt. Gen. Lionel C. McGarr, USA 53 Le Duan and Ho Chi Minh 57 Sikorsky H–19 Chickasaw at Tan Son Nhut 58 Tran Le Xuan (Madame Nhu) 60 VNAF pilots training in the United States with USN 65 Diem and Ambassador Elbridge Durbrow 67 Tanks during coup attempt against Diem, November 1960 69 ARVN troops arriving in Saigon, November 1960 70 ARVN Cessna L–19 Bird Dog liaison squadron 74 Phoumi Nosavan’s troops in Vientiane, December 1960 76 Damage to U.S. embassy in Vientiane, December 1960 76 USAF reconnaissance photo of Soviet Il–14 over Laos 79 Pathet Lao troops 80 President Kennedy and Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 1961 86 First page of General Lansdale’s report on Vietnam 90 General Lansdale in Vietnam with the Sea Swallow militia 92 Eisenhower, Kennedy, and cabinet members during transition 95 Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell L. Gilpatric 99 Deputy National Security Advisor Walt W. Rostow 99 President Kennedy with Secretaries Rusk and McNamara 100 North American Aviation T–6 Texans in Laos 107 President Kennedy with Ambassador Winthrop G. Brown 110 Hmong village landing strip in Laos 113 Ban Pa Dong, Laos, celebration of munitions drop 114 Airfield at Udorn, Thailand 117 Prince Souvanna Phouma of Laos 124 Sikorsky H–34s at Udorn airfield 127 Douglas B–26 Invader at Takhli, Thailand 128 Douglas C–124 Globemaster II at Udorn, Thailand 131 1Lt. Ralph W. Magee, USAF 133 President Kennedy briefing the press on Laos 135 Kennedy with Soviet foreign minister Andrei A. Gromyko 136 Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer, USA 140 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and travel party in Saigon 142 Col. Benjamin H. King, USAF 149 North American T–28C at Bien Hoa 150 Lt. Col. Harry C. “Heinie” Aderholt, USAF 153 Reconnaissance photo of airfield at Vang Vieng, Laos 154 President Kennedy and former President Eisenhower 157 Douglas B–26B Invader at Takhli, Thailand 158 VNAF Douglas AD–6 Skyraider at Bien Hoa 162 President Kennedy with Ambassador W. Averell Harriman 164 Kennedy, Johnson, McNamara, and service secretaries 166 President Kennedy watching Alan B. Shepard Jr. liftoff 170 Ambassador Frederick E. Nolting Jr. and Admiral Felt 173 Vice President Johnson and Diem in Saigon, May 1961 176 Lt. Col. Nguyen Cao Ky, VNAF 178 Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev 181 President Kennedy at Pope AFB, October 1961 184 A strategic hamlet in South Vietnam 186 President Kennedy with military advisor Maxwell D. Taylor 188 De Havilland Canada CV–2 Caribou in Laos 194 Hmong troops in training 196 President Kennedy addressing UN General Assembly 201 Secretary of State D. Dean Rusk briefing the press 204 Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, USAF 208 Maxwell Taylor with Ngo Dinh Diem in Saigon 214 Spray-equipped C–123s ready to deploy to Vietnam 222 Maxwell Taylor 226 Maj. Gen. Theodore R. Milton, USAF 229 Pilots from 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron 231 Kennedy with National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy 232 Douglas B–26B Invader in Vietnam for Farm Gate 234 Jungle Jim tents at Bien Hoa 236 Brig. Gen. Rollen H. “Buck” Anthis, USAF 239 Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith 242 Colonel King with Col. Claude G. McKinney Jr., USAF 249 Gen. Emmett E. “Rosie” O’Donnell Jr., USAF 250 Fairchild C–123 Providers over Vietnam 254 Secretary McNamara, General Lemnitzer, and Admiral Felt 258 Lt. Col. Robert L. Gleason, USAF 261 Aerial view of airfield at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam 262 President Kennedy with General LeMay, June 1961 266 Col. Arthur P. Hurr, USAF, acting commander of 464th Troop Carrier Wing (Assault), welcomed President John F. Kennedy to Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, on October 12, 1961. Kennedy was there to review the U.S. Special Forces troops and training at Fort Bragg as the United States considered its counterinsurgency options in Vietnam. U.S. Army. INTRODUCTION In December 1961, President John F. Kennedy’s military advisors faced a dilemma. They wanted the commander in chief to be aware that the U.S. Air Force (USAF) unconventional warfare unit recently deployed to Vietnam, a detachment of the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS), known as Jungle Jim, was going to begin offensive operations. The catch was that the advisors did not want the president to have to formally authorize missions. The plan, concocted by Kennedy’s military aides, was to have Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, U.S. Army (USA) (Ret.), who was serving as military representative of the president, mention in a memorandum that Jungle Jim “combat missions,” with combined USAF- Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) crews “as part of combat crew training requirements,” would begin “soon.” The aircraft would have VNAF markings. “If there is no reaction from the White House,” wrote Lt. Cmdr. Worth H. Bagley, U.S. Navy (USN), Taylor’s naval aide, “Saigon will be given an affirmative answer.” With a two-sentence explanation in the December 21 Taylor memo for Kennedy, the USAF began somewhat officially sanctioned combat operations in Vietnam.1 This book documents how the United States reached the point where its leaders believed it needed to more actively engage in Southeast Asia.2 1. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988), 1:754 (hereafter FRUS [date]; all volumes can be accessed online: https://history.state. gov/historicaldocuments). Bagley had written in a December 19 memorandum that McGeorge Bundy, the national security advisor, was “aware of this procedure” to solicit Kennedy’s tacit blessing, “which I gather is an agreed upon approach to avoid pinning down the President.” 2. As far as the author can determine, the December 21 memorandum provided the first quasi- authorization from the White House or Pentagon level for U.S. service members to participate in an active manner in combat in Vietnam. It should be noted, however, that rules of engagement for the Farm Gate mission remained nebulous and under debate for the full term of the deployment. Unit commanders more or less operated under a don’t ask/don’t tell policy, with authority directly from Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, USAF chief of staff (see Nov. 14, 27, Early Dec., Dec. 4, 6, 10, 15, 21, 26, 1961). Troops assigned to Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Vietnam, were under explicit orders not to participate in combat, although U.S. advisors had been allowed to accompany South Vietnamese forces on operations since May 1959—a policy with which the U.S. Department of State apparently disagreed. Rules of engagement for U.S. Special Forces, who began deploying to Vietnam in 1961, stipulated that they were there in an advisory capacity. In practice, they did end up participating in some combat, as did MAAG personnel, but not with the type of authorization this memo provided to the Jungle Jim air commandos.
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