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USMC Phantom F4J RIO VMFA 334 WIA during Tet


Bob Hudson
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This Marine radar intercept officer was severely wounded during Tet as he and his F4J Phantom pilot were providing close air support to Marines just a few miles from the Danang runway. As he told me, they were 60 feet off the deck when VC anti-aircraft fire ripped through the aircraft and the pilot tried to overcome damaged crontrol system to get the airplane out over the ocean before it crashed. The RIO ejected just as the aircraft exploded over land (I see accounts of him ejecting over water, but he says it was land). The explosion blasted him into the tail section as he ejected. He said he landed in the area that had been the target of their napalm attacks and he could see the VC holding rifles above their heads shooting in his direction. One of the incoming rescue choppers was shot down, but two others effected the rescue.

 

The pilot did not eject and was missing in action, presumed dead.

 

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The RIO called me recently and said he had a few artifacts from his Marine service and was I interested.

 

As groupings for this is as simple as it gets: dress blues and - on the other side of the spic-and-span spectrum - a dirty duffle bag with a big paper tag that says WIA.

 

He said the tag was placed on it when they gathered things from his barracks room to send back home. He was sent to a hospital in Guam (where he met his futrue wife, a Navy nurse).

 

The seabag is very dusty - wonder if that's Danang dirt?

 

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I was thinking that simple things like a WIA tag on a seabag can really evoke a renewed respect for those who went out to do things like provide close air support in a hailstorm of enemy fire. This RIO and his pilot must, at times, have been seen by the grunts on the ground as guardian angels with guns. The RIO told me three of his roomates were killed in action in eight months in Vietnam.

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There is a PDF that has a detailed account of this Phantom crew's last mission,beginning at page 296

 

http://www.phantomsatwar.com/uploads/5/6/4/4/56442797/phantom_phury.pdf

 

Some excerpts:

 

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it continues of the PDF http://www.phantomsatwar.com/uploads/5/6/4/4/56442797/phantom_phury.pdf

 

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