Publication: Air Power History
Publication Date: 22-SEP-02
Format: Online - approximately 2593 words
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Clodfelter, Mark
Article Excerpt
To Hanoi and Back: The United States Air Force and North Vietnam, 1966--1973. By Wayne Thompson. Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program, 2000.
In To Hanoi and Back, Wayne Thompson mentions Gen. George Brown, shortly after Brown was named Seventh Air Force commander in Saigon in the Summer of 1968. The author notes that the transition from the former commander of Seventh Air Force, Gen. William "Spike" Momyer, was "dramatic." Momyer was an authority on tactical air warfare who constantly involved himself in the details of operations and rarely used his staff. Brown, on the other hand, was a bomber pilot who had led a bomb group on the famous raid against the Ploesti oil refineries in World War II, and he had no special expertise in fighter operations. He delegated authority frequently, and told his subordinates not to bother him with their problems unless they wanted him to make a decision they could not make. One evening a wing commander called Brown in the middle of the night to report an enemy rocket attack. Brown said if there were something that he could do about it, to call back. Brown then hung up the phone.
Such episodes abound in Thompson's book, which is a marvelous account of all aspects of the Air Force's war against North Vietnam from the Autumn of 1966 to the end of America's involvement in the war in January 1973. Thompson does an excellent job of evaluating how Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon tried to use air power to achieve their political goals in Vietnam. He also shows the impact that their directions, and those of their subordinates, had on the air war Moreover, the book includes wonderful portrayals of Air Force leaders, such as, Generals Brown, Momyer, McConnell, Ryan, Lavelle, Meyer, and Vogt, and their efforts to translate political goals into military objectives. It also provides great insights into the command relationships that developed during the war. It is further a fine account of the combat commanders, like Colonels Robin Olds, "Boots" Blesse, Jack Broughton, and Charles Gabriel, and of the men who did the real dirty work--the pilots and navigators who flew the missions, ris king death or capture. To Hanoi and Back is also a story of technology and tactics and their impact on the war--of the types of aircraft, missiles,...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.
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