FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS

[Music] hmm [Music] [Music] [Music] hi i'm bob crane known to some people who watch television as a captured world war ii pilot on hogan's heroes i don't get a chance to do much flying in real life so occasionally i like to come out to an air base shoot febreze with the professionals this trip was a complete bust a real flame out the whole place is deserted [Music] nobody nothing this used to be the home of the air national guard a busy place too especially on weekends now look at it [Music] what happened is this outfit went to war like a lot of other air national guard outfits all over the country these guys look familiar they order you've seen them before in your local bank [Music] the grocery store at the hospital classroom the courtroom maybe in your own home the moment these men are out fulfilling military obligations at bases all over the globe but they're only temporary warriors permanent citizens they're your friends friends and neighbors the people you know [Music] january 25th 1968 the president mobilizes 11 air national guard squadrons with more than 9 000 men international developments have suddenly increased the nation's total requirements for air power the air guard is being called upon for help there is nothing unusual in every war in our history citizens have been asked to abandon their peacetime activities and take up arms this is one of the responsibilities of citizenship but rarely have men responded with greater speed and made the transition more smoothly in fact these citizen airmen or ones like them have left their homes and jobs four times in the past twenty years to serve in times of international emergencies this is what most air guardsmen expect after their call and what is expected of them within 24 hours more than 99 and a half percent of the men in the mobilized units report for duty while they're fully trained and ready for combat the moment they're called up these men still take advantage of the interval between call up and deployment to sharpen those skills rehearse those procedures and practice those exercises which may be of the greatest value to them wherever they're sent to vietnam south korea japan as the deployment date approaches certain decisions have to be made a nice problem for a computer units alerted for overseas can take along only about one half of their personnel but many more than that have volunteered to go which ones will be chosen finally the date arrives the selected units are scheduled to depart at intervals of about two weeks the first to go is the 120th tactical fighter squadron at buckley field denver colorado the equipment goes first spare engines to replace any which might wear out or be destroyed ground vehicles for use on the flight line other equipment and tools to repair and if necessary rebuild engines or aircraft the ground personnel are a vital part of the outfit they'll have to be set up and waiting at the first stop to service the incoming fighter planes so they ride with the equipment the c-141 star lifters 15 tons of men and equipment in each of the huge aircraft the fighter pilots get their briefing from their commanding officer lieutenant colonel robert cherry the upcoming flight will be made in three hops hawaii guam and vietnam with frequent in-flight refuelings on the long hops technically the exact destination is still classified not until they arrive in south vietnam will their exact destination be made public but their families have a pretty good idea where these men are headed later these same goodbyes are repeated by other guard units at sioux city albuquerque niagara falls columbus ohio little rock reno wichita but don't get the impression that all the men are going in units to the far east actually more than half the guardsmen mobilized are filling individual assignments at some 86 flying bases at home and abroad for some men this is the third time they've said goodbye and gone off to war but it doesn't get any easier with repetition [Music] no one knows how much longer his luck will hold a day a week a month a year some of these citizens may find out the hard way [Music] it's the strategic air command's flying service stations that make it possible for the fighter pilots to ferry their own planes across the thousands of miles of ocean once they're airborne each of the kc-130 tankers quickly gathers up and takes under its wings some five or six of the fighter planes and mothers them the rest of the way across the pacific in-flight refueling is a delicate and precise operation yet because of the relatively short range of fighters it must be repeated several times by each pilot in order to span the pacific the first stop for all units is hickam air force base the ground crews which were sent ahead are ready and waiting to service the f-100s for the second leg of the journey it's a very short stop-over though the next morning the tankers and the c-141s lead the way into the air again the f-100s follow rendezvous with their tankers and the parade is on again the long hours in the cramped fighter cockpits are nerve grinding but it's not the kind of parade that anyone wants to drop out of finally the 120th arrives at its designated base in vietnam fan rang on hand to greet the incoming pilots are the base commander and general william mulmeyer then commander of all air force units in vietnam it's been a textbook movement the 120th has arrived on schedule three days after leaving denver with all 20 planes intact ready for action the same record is achieved by iowa's 174th tactical fighter squadron which flies into fruitcat two weeks later two other guard units one from albuquerque the other from niagara falls flew into tui altogether these four squadrons ferry 80 short-range fighter planes across 12 000 miles of open ocean with all but four planes making the trip on schedule not bad for citizens turned airmen but getting here is only the beginning their mission is to assist the active air force in supporting the american and south vietnamese ground forces in some places there's skepticism about their ability to perform but not for long within a few days of arrival after a short period of theater indoctrination each squadron is ready for action since the coloradians are the first to arrive they're the first to see action before long each squadron is averaging more than 20 combat missions a day the skills learned in other wars are coming in very handy in this one there are no more doubts about the abilities of these units but another thing that makes these air guardsmen unique is that all of the pilots with one or two exceptions have the skill and experience to qualify as flight leaders they in the 355th also at phuket which is composed largely of air guard personnel from other mobilized units are the equal of any tactical fighter squadron in vietnam their secret it's partly superb maintenance provided by skilled ground personnel under the expert supervision of such experienced ncos as crew chief charles moore of the colorado air national guard as far as i'm concerned with the bass i mean most of us got more than five or six years in the outfit i'd say we averaged most of the technician average about 10 to 15 years experience but it's also first class leadership provided by such experienced pilots as lieutenant colonel gordon young the ceo of the sioux city iowa air national guard these angles on uh rocket passes now one of the uh pilots here in 416 he's got a ricochet off on his own one of his own rockets so watch your angles on those and ranges your angles wait there's no minimum angle on rockets actually but i'd advise you keep it up there you do get down to a low angle keep your range out there where you can clear that impact area real good so you won't catch your ricochet off your rock but even the constant pressure of combat in the 12 hour work day which is standard in vietnam still leave a little time for other things [Music] some serious and some not so serious just no doubt about it vietnam is a long way from home but there are ways to keep in touch [Music] and for those who want their communication to be even more personal than a letter there are means to provide that too facilities are available for use in both directions all i can say is honey that i sure do miss you you'll be interested to know that your brother pete is back in school now and doing very well take care of yourself and the baby and guess what judy has decided to take singing can you imagine that home of course is at the back of everybody's mind in every war this one is no exception okay i want you to help me sing this song if you will if you don't know what i'm faking okay [Music] last night i went to sleep in detroit [Music] is [Music] most of these air guardsmen volunteered to go to combat and though they play the game in the song fest not many want to go home before they finish the job they came here to do [Music] the war in vietnam is really two wars one being fought with bombs and bullets and one with hands and hearts the air guard units are actively engaged in both wars these men of the 174th and the 355th that phuket devote their free time in helping the villagers of nearby fong dhan rebuild the homes destroyed by the rockets and mortars of the vietcong other air guardsmen such as flight surgeons major thurman dabs major carl sushi spend as much time as possible trying to repair the damage war always brings to the weak and helpless uh dr shusi this is uh a little boy that i was telling you about the other day about two weeks ago we picked him up in the uh medcamp clinic at some cow we've been able to get rid of three of the parasites but i'm still having considerable difficulty with his heart and lungs that you've got program will do the job all right sir we'll uh we'll keep on with that then and i'll let you know how we get along explain to him now that he'll be going home uh in about four days and we'll check him [Music] whatever the air guardsmen do in their spare time however the reason for being in vietnam is to support the allied ground forces in their battles with the vietcong in the north vietnamese averaging more than 20 missions a day it isn't long before the 120th of ban rang the first of the air guard squadrons to begin fighting approaches an important milestone its 1 000th mission this mission is a two-plane strike against an enemy unit opposing an american military force in the south leading the mission is major john l france in civilian life a practicing attorney in denver first he gets a weather briefing as you go down along the coast there are a few isolated rain showers and thundershowers there's one fairly good sized one still up to 20 000 feet dissipating the wrong power area scattered spread running two to four eights that are up around a thousand fifteen hundred feet uh weather generally through the four carat four car area is expected to get a deck of strata queue around fifteen hundred feet then comes an intelligence briefing where he learns everything known about the combat situation in the target area in the uh danang area we have uh reported contacts to the north to the west to the south all around the area the villagers report uh considerable numbers of uh vc moving into that area and working farther south in two core dock peck again quiet for a change uh no rockets no mortars uh same way with docto contume and play coup uh moving farther down band me too still quiet tui some action to the west troops in contact out here we haven't any results of what's happened out there but apparently we're on the winning edge of it finally france briefs his wingman major william newens on his plan for their mission start getting getting your spacing as we're picking up the information from the forward air controller when i'm 180 degrees out i'll call you and start a roll in and you can make your 360 and or any way you can get around to get reciprocal from it so that i'll be going by hopefully with a left break and you can lay a bomb in 30 seconds from the other direction after i've passed and make a left break and then we'll be in the butterfly pattern and we'll keep it however not even the most careful planning and attention to detail can remove all chance of unforeseen developments the unexpected is almost routine on these missions so they're never boring flying over vietnam is much the same as flying over the united states clouds have the same soft unreality the land unrolls in the same pattern of rivers and fields of forest but there is a difference you're very much aware that down below a war is going on that men are fighting and dying those hills and forests are not as innocent as they seem nearing the target they pick up the voice of the forward air controller in his observation plane above the area [Music] [Music] okay [Music] [Laughter] 200 meters [Music] oh [Music] [Music] mission accomplished return to base 1 000 missions that's only a beginning of course before they complete their tours in vietnam each air guard squadron will have multiplied that figure by six or seven still it merits some sort of celebration on every one of those missions someone risked his life come on john help me out yeah congratulations here's to one thousand one thousand come on i just went off the wagon [Laughter] yeah a real good mission one more always good fourth yeah [Music] let me congratulate you here before you get so far along thank you caroline it's real great we're looking forward to the second thousand and then some and then the third and fourth yes sir on the occasion of your 1 000 combat story in vietnam toast of the 6 14. you know new people hosted us ever since we got here and i still well i was in today asking for some advice and i think it's completely outstanding the way your unit has taken care of us so how about 136 14. there's no doubt that some of these men are heroes and for some of their work there is only one word heroic they've been asked to do a job a hot sweaty uncomfortable job for the most part and they're doing it to the very best of their ability when the call came they responded willingly many a great personal sacrifice because they recognize their obligations as air guardsmen and american citizens their pride in their units and their devotion to duty are apparent in everything they do when these men packed up their gear and flew off to war they left some pretty big gaps in the economic and social life of their community when they returned to fill these gaps they'll bring with them the same good sense the same dedication to duty the same resourcefulness the same sense of responsibility which makes them such valuable members of our armed forces low angle keep your range out there where you can clear that impact area real good so you won't get your ricochet off your rocket so that i'll be going by hopefully with a left break and you can lay a bomb in 30 seconds from the other direction after i've passed and make a left break and then we'll be in the butterfly pattern and we'll keep it going just like that dr debs i don't find anything that you haven't already found and i think the treatment that you've got program will do the job or at your wheel we'll keep on with that then and i'll let you know how we get along as far as i'm concerned we're the best i mean most of us got more than five or six years in the outfit i'd say we average most of the technician average about 10 to 15 years experience why shouldn't they be the best what else would you expect of your friends and neighbors the people you know [Music] so you