Thud...

I've recently been re-examining some of my thoughts concerning the Vietnam era, although my considerations have centered more on the hardware involved...As a young weapons mechanic, fresh out of tech school at Lowry AFB, I was assigned to the 49th TFW, 9th TFS at Spangdahlem AB in what was then West Germany in 1966...My job as a load crew member was to configure our F-105D's and F-105F's with whatever ordnance was called for that day, whether conventional or nuclear...

I didn't particularly like the work as it was monotonous and predictable, not to mention our uniforms and boots had to be in inspection order at all times...After a few long months of this, we started receiving the first of my beloved F-4 Phantoms, and I requested reassignment to the 349th MMS as a weapons release technician...Happily I was accepted and began doing work much more satisfying and meaningful to me...

As the F-4's arrived, the F-105's departed for depot refitting in the US, and then on to Vietnam, where, I was told, all 75 of them wound up on the floor of the jungle due to their inability to outmaneuver the MiG's and SAM's when laden with bombs...For years I've dismissed them as inferior designs sent to do a job they weren't built for...But after reading several books written by those who actually flew them or flew with them, I've changed my perspective...

At the height of the cold war, when our B-52 aircrews were in the air continually carrying nuclear payloads to the edge of Soviet airspace, then flying them back to turn around and do it all over the next day, a different kind of bomber was needed for fast response in Europe...A tactical bomber which could carry a smaller nuclear payload was necessary to fly low altitude, map-of-the-earth missions against the Soviet Union if we detected their launch of a nuclear strike against us or our allies...

Thus was born the Republic F-105, probably the largest single-engine fighter ever built...Two books I've recently read point up the aircraft's strengths and deficiencies..."The Hunter Killers" featured the 105 prominently as the author chronicled the Wild Weasel program, and its role in Vietnam...

"Bury Us Upside Down" told the story of Operation Commando Sabre as they advanced the forward air controller's mission from the propeller age into the jet era...At no extra charge to my loyal readers, I will attempt to review both books here as they both cover a lot of the same real estate...

What the two operations had in common was fighter pilots with their tendencies to being the shot-caller in their own realm...Commando Sabre aircrews (callsign Misty) are discussed at great length in "Bury Us Upside Down"," and were typically made up of two combat-qualified fighter pilots, one of which was relegated to backseat duty as an EWO, reading radar emissions, monitoring radio channels and taking photos...

The Misty's job was to fly low and fast over the jungle canopy along the Ho Chi Minh Trail searching out probable truck parks, fuel dumps, rest camps and weapons caches, then marking them with smoke rockets...At this point bomb-laden F-105's and F-4's would drop from the clouds overhead to "hit the smoke" and obliterate the threat...

Naturally a fighter pilot is never happy out of the front seat where he can control the aircraft's movements, so the Misty pilots typically took turns when flying missions in one seat or the other, which also kept everyone sharp on both jobs...The book is thoroughly enjoyable because of its readability; a common thread runs through every chapter pulling the reader through with an invitation, almost a command, to the next page...

Beginning and ending with the funeral of Misty pilot, LtC. Howard K. Williams, 24 years after his F-100 disappeared in flight in 1968, the story unfolds of the formation, staffing, execution and conclusion of Commando Sabre...The authors (one a Misty pilot of 58 missions) tell of the interconnected lives of the squadron's personnel, along with many fascinating sidebars...

As an example, Dick Rutan, whose time as a Misty was part of his many-faceted aviation career, surreptitiously planned a one-man operation to find the location of the crash site of his friend Howie Williams in the North Vietnam jungle, and bring back proof of either his death or his capture...After arranging leave time, covert transportation and gathering materials, he received a mysterious phone call warning him not to undertake the task, that it had been "taken care of"...

Rutan says that to this day he does not know who was on the other end of that phone line, but suspects someone in SIGINT was privy not only to Williams' fate, but his own plans for self-insertion into North Vietnam...After much thought, he cancelled his plans, and had no further information until his friend's nearly empty casket came home...

"The Hunter Killers" tells of another group of flyers asked to do what would seemingly be a suicide mission...Wild Weasels made permanent teams of fighter pilots from TAC, and EWO's from SAC, since SAC crewmembers were already accustomed to working together as a team in one aircraft...A Google search of the cryptic acronym on the official patch of some Wild Weasel squadrons, "YGBSM," will reveal the first reaction from newly picked Weasels as they were told what was to be expected of them...

As much as I enjoyed reading the book, and gaining new insight on the assignments of some of the F-105's after they left my care, I found it seemed disjointed as the jump was made from one chapter to the next...It was as if the author had written a first draft, then decided to scatter in a few more essays as filler...

I read, and then re-read many parts before I could get some complete thoughts of the author's intent...However, even though my time with the USAF did not include any SEA assignments, I feel I have a better knowledge of what went on there and why from reading both these books...I feel as though some of the aircraft in my charge went on to greater glory, and I'm proud for having shared my service life with them...

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Four Bean Soup...

Traveling together, wilderness hunters Daniel Boone and William Bean first laid eyes on the northeast area of what would become Tennessee while on a hunting trip prior to 1769...Bean was impressed enough by the beauty and resources of the area, that he became Tennessee's first permanent settler, building his first home in what would later be called Bean Station at the future crossroads of the Old Wilderness Road and the Old Stagecoach Road...

At this time, William became the first of four continuous generations of Bean gunsmiths...A naturally talented tinkerer, he took to gunmaking using locally found raw materials, even fashioning his own tools and machinery...

His rifles were so highly prized for their durability and accuracy, they were passed down from one generation to another by his customers...During the American Revolution, when soldiers were often expected to furnish their own weapons, many of the most feared marksmen brought Bean rifles with them into battle...

All seven of his sons followed him into the business, his oldest, Russell, being the most notable, not only for his skills at the workbench, but for his often uncontrolled temper...Following an alcohol-fueled rage he once cut off the ear of an infant, the reason for which being lost to history...

Refusing to answer a bench warrant issued by then Magistrate Andrew Jackson for his arrest regarding the offense, Bean barricaded himself inside his cabin with several of his own firearms...Not finding anyone brave or foolhardy enough to execute the warrant, Jackson confronted Bean himself, and by sheer force of will, brought him to justice...

Four of Russell's sons answered their country's call for fine firearms by entering the business with their father...Baxter was known not only for his rifles, but also his handguns...A contemporary of the times, Col. David Crockett, is known to have owned several Bean rifles, and is likely to have held one in his hands at the time of his death at the Battle of the Alamo...

Charles, Jr. was the last of the fourth generation to be actively engaged in the firearms trade...He converted many of the original flintlock actions made by his ancestors to percussion actions, and continued to make percussion firearms after other manufacturers had moved on to the modern breechlock mechanisms...

His rifles still commanded a higher price despite the advantages given by the breechlocks...Some were thought to be in use at the Battle of Bean Station during the War Between the States, where CSA General James Longstreet and his men routed the Union forces of General Shackelford and forced their withdrawal...

The Bean family thrived well in later years, sometimes altering the spelling of their surname, marrying into other families and expanding the frontiers of America...The gun business was apparently ingrained in the family DNA as evidenced by future events...

In 1908, a young beauty named Leslie Beene, then 14 years old and a direct descendant of William Bean, married a 17 year old cotton farmer named Claudie Johnson who built their home on his own land with his own hands in southern Arkansas...Even though Leslie's mother accompanied them to the courthouse for their marriage license, and gave her permission, in today's world Claudie would likely be prosecuted...

They were together more than 60 years, living on the same farm and dying within 11 days of each other after raising five children to adulthood...Their oldest daughter, Evelyn, married a young oilfield roughneck named Earl Young a month before the outbreak of World War II when he enlisted and left for overseas duty with the US Army...

Returning from his duty wearing staff sergeant's stripes following the Allied victory, he and Evelyn raised two sons in Texas, the youngest of which, after a successful sales career, built a construction business and started raising his own family, but tragically died from a heart attack before the age of 40...

The oldest son, following a varied career path, established a gun sales business, and built and co-owned the finest gun store and first indoor shooting range in Montgomery County, Shooter's Station...After successfully re-establishing the firearms trade in the family history, he retired and became a recluse where he offers his unbidden opinion on varied subjects by sporadically publishing entries in a rarely read blog and entertains his loyal fans with parody videos...

His mother, Evelyn, still lives in her own home nearby, where she looks forward to visits from her grandchildren and great-granddaughter while wondering whether her surviving son will ever grow up and make something of himself...Excluded from most intra-family discussions is a noted fashion designer said to be a distant relative...

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