Article on the American response to the Bien Hoa airfield attack

Item

derivative filename/jpeg

363-02350 to 363-02352.pdf

Digital Object Identifier

363-02350 to 363-02352

Title

Article on the American response to the Bien Hoa airfield attack

Description

Original title: "airforce." Article by Keever on the American response to the attack on the Bien Hoa airfield

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Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.

Transcript

deepe airforce--1 SAIGON--THE U. S. AIR FORCE COMMANDER FOR SOUTH EAST ASIA said this week he knew of no plans for bringing in American combat troops to provide perimeter security for American planes on Vietnamese airbases. Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Moore made the statement [insertion: in an exclusive interview] following the November 1st Communist mortar attack on the Bien Hoa airfield in which 4 American B-57 [deletion:jet-fighters] jet fighter-bombers were [XXXX indicating deletion] destroyed and 14 others damaged. The blazing 20-minute attack accounted for the highest number of American casualties during the war--4 killed and 72 wounded. Immediately after the attack, American officials in Washington announced [XXXX indicating deletion] President Lyndon B. Johnson had ordered replacement aircraft sent to Viet Nam. But [XXXX indicating deletion] when asked whether the replacement aircraft had yet arrived [deletion: in Viet Nam,] here, Moore said the information was "classified." When the B-57's arrived in Viet Nam during the August Tonkin Gulf crisis, the news was announced and correspondents were allowed to take photographs of the [insertion: F102 jet] fighters which arrived in Saigon. (More) deepe airforce--2 Moore, who is concurrently commander of the 2nd Air Division based in Viet Nam, said "I know of no plans to bring in American troops for perimeter security. This is the responsibility of the host country--Viet Nam." He said he thought the Vietnamese armed forces were "taking steps which would go a long way to prevent such an event happening again." The two-star general said that "realizing the Viet Cong (Communist guerillas) had the capability to launch a mortar attack and not being satisfied with the reduction [XXXX indicating deletion] of troops for base perimeter defense, we moved a goodly portion of the jets out of the country (before the attack) and spread others to the maximum in the parking area." He said this prevented losing more aircraft during the mortar attack than would have previously [insertion: been lost]. "U. S. Air Force officials," [XXXX indicating deletion] he said, "are now taking steps to disperse and protect the aircraft in the event of future attacks." He said that when the B-57s arrived during the August Tonkin Gulf crisis "we recognized the problem of a crowded base which could not effect dispersal [deletion: than] as would normally be done." Some of the B-57's were parked only 20 feet apart at the time of the attack, according to American officers at the Bien Hoa airbase, and there had been little attempt to provide sandbagged revetements around each aircraft as is normally done. deepe airforce--3 Moore said the base defense was "beefed up considerably" after the arrival of the aircraft and "extra precautions on interior guards were taken because in the past we had had only attempted sabotage." He also said that extra army troops were placed under the Vietnamese army control for guarding the perimeter outside the base, but these troops were moved out on operations after the dangers of retaliation by Hanoi diminished following the August 5th American bombing of North Viet Nam. He said that American airforce servicemen are "technicians" and "not combat troops" but they are formed into defense teams to provide on-base protection for American living quarters, facilities and aircraft, while Vietnamese airforce teams provide on-base security for their own living and operational areas. Asked whether Americans living on base were "sitting ducks" if adequate [XXXX indicating deletion] defenses were not established outside the [deletion: bases] airbases, he replied "careful preparations are [XXXX indicating deletion] made to prevent Americans from being exposed more than necessary." He said however, there was "no guarantee" [insertion: the] Vietnamese army would take strong measures for defense outside the base, but he believed "the Vietnamese are just as anxious [insertion: as we are] this does not recur again." -30-

Date

1964

Subject

Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnam); United States. Air Force; Defensive (Military science)

Location

Saigon, South Vietnam

Coordinates

10.8231; 106.6297

Size

20 x 26 cm

Container

B58, F4

Format

dispatches

Collection Number

MS 363

Collection Title

Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers

Creator

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Collector

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Copyright Information

These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.

Publisher

Archives & Special Collections

Language

English