Yesterday's Weapons Forums

.....this had been bugging me for a long time... I've had in my 'stuff' an actual flown flight map for a bombing mission over North Vietnam by a Bombadier/Navigator from my old A-6 Intruder squadron..... I was an Intelligence Specialist in the latter days of the war and after till I got out in '76'.... it entailed-among other things-briefing the air crews on their mission targets.... this was on the Saratoga -from Yankee Station for Operation LineBacker II.... after all was over and done, we were to clear out all unnecessary junk and get rid of it.... for some reason, I had this in my hands and just couldn't bear to pitch it.... I kept it safe all these years... the last few framed and on the wall in my mini-manroom. Then one day I came across a book titled "Launch the Intruders" all about my Squadron VA-75 on that last cruise and LineBacker II-long story short, I contacted the author to thank her for the excellent job-very accurate of those days and the folks I served with... still have many photos of them and those days.... all she was able to tell me was that the B/N whose map I'd saved is now living in Kalifornia..... fast FWD, I finally tracked him down and got a hold of him and told him I have his map-he was thrilled and overjoyed. I sent it to him last week and he now has it. Says there is a reunion of the Intruder Association in San Diego in May, onboard the Midway-which has been made into a floating museum-just by chance they are going to open to the public an A-6 Ready Room, redone just as they were during those days-and he will see if they would be interested in displaying this actual flown map in there.............. SO, if you're ever in San Diego and see the Midway, swing by the A-6 ready room..... you may see the map I babysat all these years.... ....here's a shot of part of it...




.....he did say that if they didn't want it there, he doesn't have a "manroom"..... but he does have a "I LOVE ME " wall, and it will proudly hang there with HIS stuff from those days...

....forgot to add that this mission was flown in September of '72' just south of Hanoi.... red dots indicate verified SAM sites and the circles are their effective kill radius..... note the flight path as it tries to fly thru areas of least missile coverage..... and that didn't include ground AAA

Not a lot of room to zig & zag! It took a lot of intestinal fortitude to fly those missions! SW

he was flying that mission while i was piling my bonneville into the side of a car, wish you had given me a map of the hazards.

seriously, that is awesome first that you kept it and preserved it all those years, second that you tracked him down and offered it to him and, third that it may take such a special place in the telling of the story historically.

this is very neat - im hoping i get there to see it before im gone

....I sent the author a bunch of pics from back then-she said she'd wished she ran into me earlier,because it was hard to find actual photos from those days and that cruise.... ...the book is already into its 3rd printing,and I suggested a "revised addition" to add my photos..... ....she says she'd have to convince the publishers...