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I was an intelligence NCO with Misty in 1969 until the move to Phan Rang. I kept up the AAA status map and did general duties including picking up soft drinks and beer for debriefing and (rarely) riding crews to the flight line when the admin guys were unavailable.
The back seater used a Pentax 35mm with a 200mm lens. I would use one from time to time to take photos on base. I am now a camera collector and would like to replicate one for my collection. Does anyone remember what was used? They were Ashi Pentax or Honeywall, may have been a Spotmatic. Don't remember paying attention to the lens brand at all.
Thanks to all.
Neal
Admin Reply by:
echenberg
Great to hear from you. I will forward your message to all Misty's.
My father (Keith Hanna) was rescued from the disappearing river on July 14 1968. His F-105 had been shot down by ground fire and he landed on the edge of a steep karst and broke his leg. First Jolly had to leave because of ground fire and he spent the night to be rescued the next day after a tremendous effort.
I know that P.K. Robinson was a Misty for the rescue. He talked about it in both the Misty book and the story of the Misty visit to visit NVN. I can tell from his recollections that he was proud of the mission and I would like to thank him. I also have a recording dad made from the hospital afterward where he described his adventure. I would love to share that with P.K. (or this group) as it is a great story that I think many would enjoy.
You can contact me at andrew.m.*****@gmail.com (replace the stars with my last name)
Thanks,
Andy Hanna
Admin Reply by:
echenberg
Thank you for your note. It has been shared with the PK and all Misty
I had the privilege of working for Chuck Turner (Misty 9) doing Weapons Testing at Texas Instruments (Defense Systems Electronics Group) / Raytheon until his retirement in ~2001 or so. He was a great supervisor and mentor. I didn't know of his Misty status until after he had retired. Also had the privilege to meet Col. "Bud" Day on one of his last days in his office in Fort Walton Beach - I sort of stalked him (in a good way) to meet the man, and get a picture. He was a gracious host. I enjoy the website - top notch.
Does anyone know who Misty 41 was on Scotch 03 rescue on 1-2 JUL 1968? Was it Dick Rutan by any chance? 41 was the first aircraft on scene who established voice contact with the survivor. I'm thinking the account I have might be wrong and it was Misty 40 not 41.
I was part of the enlisted ranks as a weapons mechanic in the USAF starting out at Bien Hoa, in 10/66 then traveling to Tuy Hoa 11/66. The end of 1/67, I with several support personnel flew up to on a C-47 to DaNang for about a week while two F-100F's, with crew, flew there also. It was an easy week for the three weapons mechanics as we only had to maintain the 20MM guns , with no bomb loading. To this day I believe that this week was spent for pre-Misty testing. I have the orders which has the names of all members, including the officers. I was in the 308th TFS from day one and never assigned to an MMS. Spent six months TDY on Guam , then a year at UbonRTAFB, then on to college.
Misty 118, Colonel Jerry Hallman, has gone West. I said goodbye to Jerry and Bonnie on 30 June, when Jerry shook my hand and pronounced that he was waiting for the last game of his grandson's tournament, which ended on 8 July 2018, the same day that Jerry closed his eyes for the last time. There will be a celebration of life at the Maximo Presbyterian Church, 3200 58th St. South, St. Petersburg, FL, at 1400. I will be there in uniform, but I believe that Jerry would love to be looking down and see a Misty or two there also. He will be interred in Arlington.
I was a jet engine mechanic at Tuy Hoa from 69'-70' with the 31st FMS. It was my honor to help keep the "sleds" flying.
Thank you and God Bless all the brave pilots who flew into harms way!
Just stumbled on this site looking for info on Col.Kilgus. I enjoyed the story of the Mig pilots because on 22 June 66 Van Bay and his squadron mates jumped a flight of F-8 Crusaders from VF-211 off the USS Hancock. The F-8's were flying RESCAP over a downed RF-8. One of the F-8's was flown by my uncle Lt jg Phil Vampatella. He had been damaged by AAA and headed out to refuel when the others were jumped by Van Bay.
He returned to the battle to see Van Bay shoot his CO Cole Black down (he became a POW) Phil rolled in on Van Bay (of course at the time he didn't know who he was going after), when another Mig passed below him. Phil decided to go after that one, but when he checked "six" there was another rolling in on him. He went to burner and headed for the trees to "scrape him off". The Mig followed, shooting, until it gave up. Phil turned and nailed him with an Aim-9 and, after refueling from an A-4 tanker ( and having only enough fuel for one pass) landed back aboard the Hancock.
Sometime around 15 Jul 68, my squadron mate, Tony Germann, and I had the terrific opportunity to go to Phu Cat and fly a couple of back seat Misty missions. I remember flying with Misty 44, Lanny Lancaster, but don't recall the other Misty. What I do vividly recall is the large amount of AAA goof balls Lanny managed to bring up to us on one of the missions; a real show off. Damned near got us shot down :)). Regardless, it was a fun time flying with great pilots, meeting all the guys and learning how Misty FACs operated after having many of my missions in RP 1 marked by them. Later on in 1976-77 while serving a remote tour at AF Korea Hqtrs in Seoul, I had the real pleasure of working with Misty 100, Gib Ahl. Had a lot of fun briefing all of the generals, American and Korean. Hope Lanny and Gib are doing well. Meanwhile, I, too, want to congratulate your organization for
maintaining this web site, if for no other reason than for the children and grandchildren. My squadron is equally fortunate to have one of our guys maintain our web site which helps immensely to encourage family members to attend our reunions and to provide them much sought after history of their loved ones. Well Done, Misty. Joe Sechler, Thud Pilot, 34th TFS, Korat. http://34tfsthuds.us/
I flew with Glen a bunch. I think we were the ones who put in the first Misty air strike. He was a terrific pilot and a great guy.
Thanks to all who work to keep this site updated, and to preserve and celebrate the "Misty Story". My father was Glenn Jones,
Misty 3. I have had the privilege of meeting many Misty pilots during my childhood, and even up through my young adult life. Looking back, as I am now the same age as my father was when he passed, it makes me smile to realize that to us, his family, he was just "Dad"...Throughout my young life, my parents attended many Misty Reunions, but I never understood what that meant; I only remember how "sacred" that get-together seemed to be to them. Dad carried himself like any average working stiff (such as myself), so it wasn't until after his death that I came to understand that he was a War Hero, and a "Stud". One particular memory I have that enlightened me regarding the importance of the Misty Brotherhood in my Dad's life was when my family and I went to visit my folks in Arrowhead Springs, California in the early nineties. Well, P.K.Robinson, and his lovely wife Rita showed up for a visit while we were there, and I got to sit in on my first (and last) "Misty War Stories" debriefing. I have not, before or since, seen my father so animated during a discussion, and P.K. seemed pretty wound up as well....That was the first time I truly understood who my father really was, and I'm grateful for that experience. WBJ
My dad is Richard "Dick" Robbins, Misty 142. Recently, I found out about the Honor Flight program, and applied for my dad; we are going next week, with me as his "Guardian." In emailing my friends and parishioners (I'm an Episcopal priest) about it, this is what I wrote:
"I'll be out of the office on October 24th on a day trip to Washington DC with my dad and 79 other Veterans and their Guardians to visit a number of memorials. This is not my usual Tuesday! Why am going?
Background: My dad served in the Navy, went to the Naval Academy, and then went into the Air Force to become a pilot. I grew up as an Air Force brat. The thing is, that was "normal" for me, and I just saw my dad as . . . my dad. He went off to work every day (albeit sometimes for weeks at a stretch) and came home and did dad things, some of which I appreciated more than others. I loved it when he'd get on the floor and play with us; I wasn't so glad when he yelled at me to clean my room. Normal dad stuff.
My dad had two tours in Vietnam as a fighter pilot. I really didn't give it much thought at the time because everyone I knew had a dad going off to war. The second tour was different, though. He'd be gone a long time, about a year. Also, the mood in the country about that war got pretty ugly, and after he got home after the second tour, it was kind of a rule in our family that we didn't talk about the war. And so, we haven't, for, what, 50 years? We picked up and built new civilian lives.
"But I knew Dad was proud of his nearly 30 years of service in the Navy and Air Force. When I got to Dunedin [Florida, where I live], I found out about the Honor Flight. This all-volunteer program takes men like my dad who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam to Washington DC for a whole day, escorting them to the various memorials and profusely thanking them for their service. I asked Dad if I could apply for him to go on an Honor Flight, and he agreed. Since then, I've found out a lot more about my dad's service, and this old hippie has come to realize that my dad is actually a hero. In that second tour, he served in a highly dangerous recon program that had a very high rate of risk. Obviously, he was one of the lucky ones.
"Things happened quickly after I applied for the Honor Flight - he is going on October 24th, and I'm going with him as his "Guardian.
I still pray daily for the world to find ways to resolve conflict without violence. Until that Day of the Lord, I am more and more thankful for people like my father who answered the call to serve."
As an update for this site, my parents are both living near Fort Myers, FL. Their health is so-so, but not too bad for folks in their late 80s.
Thank you to those who keep this web site going.
I just want to commend the group of exceptional people who take their time and effort to keep this site up. My father Col. Robert "Bullet" Bryan, Misty 77 never spoke much of his time at Phu Cat. The stories and first person articles of these men and what they accomplished is beyond comprehension for most people and I applaud each and everyone one of them. While every article adds to my understanding about just what type of person my dad was and the dangers he faced, moreover it strengthens my life's view that he was my greatest hero and inspiration. Besides, what kid wouldn't want a fighter pilot for a dad.
To all of those Misty pilots still with us and those that aren't you are the definition of patriotism in this great land.
I came across this sight while just browsing the web and it made my day so much better to see my grandfathers name on here. I know it was just a small entry on the sight about c. "Bill" williams. But it makes me happy to see him being remembered somewhere.
Looking for contact information for Mistys who participated in the rescue of Scotch 03, F-105 pilot on 1-2 Jul 1968 for mission study for possible award upgrades for Jolly Green rescue crew. I know Dick Rutan was one. Also looking for a tape recording made by a Misty, possibly Rutan. Thanks
I was a F-100 Crew Chief at Tuy Hoa Airbase from July,1969-1970 My plane was 55-2945 and my Pilot was Lt Carroll Johnson. Many times I strapped Vince Catolica and Paul Tackabury into F-100F models heading out to very long Misty missions. All of the Pilots at Tuy Hoa were fantastic. Nothing but great memories of them and their dedicated service to our country.
I just finished reading "Bury Us Upside Down" and have also read "American Patriot" about Col. Bud Day. What a thoroughly engaging set of stories around the Misty group! I was too young for Vietnam (born in 1958), but certainly followed it as a teenager. I just want to say how thankful I am for men such as the Mistys, on the ground and in the air, for your service to our country.
A remarkable record for any unit. If my R&R had been 8 or 9 days earlier, I would have been #9 instead of Chuck Turner. No better man could have taken the job. We were in the same squadron in Germany before VN with Jack Harris, #10. Bob Blocher, #12 and I were in the same gunnery class at Luke. Michael McElhanon and I were A/C classmates and instructed together in the T-33 IP school after it was transferred to Randolph where I was instructing in the USAF Jet Qualification Course {JQC} and moved to the IP school. I never knew what the assignment was, just that it was a top secret assignment. I accidentally stumbled on Misty FAC a few years ago when searching for old classmates and friends for 2 classmates writing and publishing biographies of our class. Michael's bio and mine are in Volume one of their books "Flying into History: Meet the Heroes of Air Force Flying Class 55N. The Misty FACs are indeed LEGEND. Wyman R. Sharpe, Major USAF retired