Word: thunderchiefs
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Suddenly, ground fire thudded into Kasler's Thunderchief, crippling it. He bailed out, his parachute deployed, and he floated down near a village. Only a brief message came from his beeper radio: "My God, my leg is broken." Despite a major search by nearly 50 aircraft for eight hours, Kasler was not seen again; and Hanoi later gleefully announced that he had been captured...
...helicopter brought in to rescue them within the hour. If, however, a pilot crashed his aircraft in an urban area, he was told that he could "speak saroya," Air Force jargon for goodbye. Going in on the fourth wave over Hanoi, the pilot of the downed F-105 Thunderchief did in fact speak saroya: hit by crippling fire, he bailed out. Later, he was identified by Hanoi as Captain Murphy Neal Jones, 28, from Louisiana, and described as wounded in the hand and face. By way of celebrating his survival, his captors paraded Jones at night in a truck through...
...bearing North Vietnamese stamps, Air Force Lieut. Colonel James Robinson Risner, 41, (TIME cover, April 23, 1965), sent word to his wife Kathleen and their five children: "I am in perfect health and excellent spirits. All my needs are supplied." Listed as missing in action since his F-105 Thunderchief was blasted down by ground fire near the North Vietnamese town of Thanh Hoa, Robbie Risner didn't indicate where he was being held prisoner, but he did write that at least he can now receive and send one letter a month...
...crisis) to some 12,000 or more today. In deference to Thai touchiness (the kingdom has never known colonial rule), U.S. planes in Thailand do not operate out of "American" bases; technically, they are "stopovers" and no Americans other than couriers carry arms. But the three squadrons of U.S. Thunderchief and Phantom fighter-bombers that roar daily out of Korat for raids on North Viet Nam fly armed. Indeed, most U.S. strikes at the North are mounted in Thailand: another four U.S. attack squadrons are stationed at Thai airbases near Takhli and Ubon, while sleek RF-101 Voodoos fly from...
THUD is an Air Force onomatope for the F-105 Thunderchief, many of which have been shot down...