Thomas McKelvey Cleaver - The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club: Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War

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Tom Cleaver has captured the dramatic history action, triumphs, successes, and failures of Naval Aviations combat record in Vietnam in a manner worthy of the classic historical novel. From the first shot fired in the Tonkin Gulf in August 1964 heard, if not around the world, certainly within the contending political and military circles through the early engagements in April/June 1965, to the final salvo in April and May 1975, Tom weaves an accurate tale, sculpted as if by an artist, full of the color and fury of battle, courage, suspense, and thrill of victory as experienced and portrayed on both sides of the conflict.

Its almost as if Tom had been there at the beginning, observing and recording the formation of the VPAF defense: the use of North Korean experts, the establishment of the ground support defenses of AAA and SAM sites, the development of the VPAF inventory of MiG-17/19/21 aircraft and the manpower to ensure readiness, repair, and re-equipment of resources; i.e., bridges, POL, AAA and missile sites, etc. not to mention the anti-US propaganda that became so effective throughout the world during the fray. Too bad Tom couldnt have gotten into McNamaras mind and inserted reality and military logic in the determination and selection of a winning strategy.

But even with the forces arrayed against the US effort, including the highly effective unconventional methods employed by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam and the Johnson Administrations imposition of draconian rules of engagement that served to literally hamstring and frustrate the objectives and actions of our air combat forces, Tom weaves the air-to-air and air-to-ground successes and failures and aircrew losses into a mosaic that reflects the reality that commands and aircrews experienced while struggling to maintain overall morale and motivation sufficient to ensure effective mission accomplishment.

Take position on his right wing as Tom sets the stage and defines the struggles of initial air-to-air employment, engagements, action, and results mostly mixed, often tragic. Naval Aviation fighter escorts, Combat Air Patrols and strike/fighter sections and divisions endeavor to hold their own, contesting the decidedly inferior assets arrayed against them. Tom weaves and jinks his way through Operation Pierce Arrow (bet you never heard of that one) and breaks hard into Rolling Thunder as Crusaders lead the tally of victories with their gun and AIM-9; the F-4 finds little success with its Fleet Air Defense radar system/AIM-7 package and discovers almost too late that aircraft and system design and philosophy have high and, possibly, unacceptable risks and costs in mission accomplishment. Missed opportunities, missile failures, aircrew mistakes and miscues even result in friendly fire incidents and tragic loss of aircrews in the early air-to-air encounters.

From initial engagements in the mid-sixties through the end of the decade, Naval Aviations successes (kills) barely exceeded its losses. The attitudes and enthusiasm of Navy aircrews were waning if not shredded by the inability of the state-of-the-art technology to best what most observers considered the outmoded even primitive first-generation jet fighters like the MiG-17/MiG-19. The match between Naval Aviation and North Vietnam through the period 196771 ended in what can only be called a draw, with both sides panting for breath and frustrated with lack of purpose. Naval Aviation scored successes during 196668; however, there were no kills in 1969, one in 1970, and none in 1971.

Enter Captain Frank Ault and the Ault Report. The lull in action between the end of Rolling Thunder and Linebacker gave rise to the resurgence of US air superiority; the venue: Top Gun. The changes in aircrew training, tactics, and weapons system employment proved to be the remedy so badly needed in reasserting mastery over an intensely dedicated and determined enemy. The Top Gun lessons learned began to take effect in early 1972, and May 1972 became the icing on the cake that heralded a taste of victory for Naval Aviation and surely left a bitter taste in the minds and hearts of the North Vietnamese fighter community.

But the Thrill of Victory that marked the wars longest day, and most productive year in confirmed kills by Navy fighter aircrews would also be marked by the ever-increasing feeling and knowledge that ultimate victory was not to be. The military exigencies would be preempted by political posturing and restrictions having the effect of neutering the US forces action needed for ultimate success and victory over the dedicated and unrelenting forces being fed and fortified by the communist ideology in Hanoi and beyond.

Finally, Naval Aviation earned its wings in the final years of the Vietnam War and acquitted itself superbly with valuable lessons learned in attitude, tactics, and system design and employment. These elements and the formation of Top Gun are the legacy and constitute the DNA of each and every participant and student of the actions depicted. Read it, dream it, and relive the memories of The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club Naval Aviation in Vietnam!

Captain Roy Cash, Jr., USN (Ret)
Former CO, Top Gun

As for many of my generation, the war in Vietnam and my participation in it changed my life completely. Forever. Looking back, I divide my life in two parts: Before Tonkin Gulf, and After Tonkin Gulf. I will never, ever forget the moment in late September 1964, when I decided to stop in a bar on the main street of Olongapo, the service town outside the Subic Bay Naval Base, that I was passing to get out of the tropical sun. USS Pine Island , an ungainly seaplane tender that was flagship for the admirals command, of whose staff I was an enlisted member, had docked that morning for a break after our first deployment to Da Nang, following what we all knew was the first step to a war in Vietnam that involved us the Maddox Incident as we in the Navy called it.

Inside, sitting at the bar, was my best friend from Navy boot camp, who I hadnt seen since we had both gone through firefighting training at the San Diego Naval Station the year before while awaiting transport to our separate destinations in WestPac. His ships patch was on his shoulder: USS Maddox . Id forgotten that was his destination.

Taking the seat to his left, I took note of the outline of the missing petty officers crow on his sleeve. The outline of holes where the crow had been sewn told its own story hed been busted. Recently. I bought us each a San Miguel, and answered his questions about what Id been doing: I worked in the operations office on the staff of Commander Patrol Forces Seventh Fleet, which I noted had been Maddox s operational commander at that event. He frowned at that. Another round of San Miguel was ordered, and it was my turn to question him. As delicately as I could, I asked Howd that happen? pointing at his sleeve.

Got busted.

I expected him to tell me hed gotten a captains mast for coming back late from liberty, something that could happen to any of us and nothing to make a big deal of. No. Hed been court-martialed. Hmmm a summary court was a little more serious, so I asked what for?

Failure to obey a direct order. Now that was serious indeed.

What order?

Open fire. Said no three times. Yikes!

And then, while he told me there had been no enemy torpedo boats attacking Maddox or Turner Joy that night Id been awakened at 0200 hours as the duty yeoman in the operations office to take the FLASH message of the attack to the Chief of Staff, how he had been the senior fire control technician in the ships gunnery control tower and had three times refused to open fire with the six 5-inch guns he controlled, telling his captain each time that the only target out there in the darkness was the other American destroyer, my life changed forever.