Valor in the Gulf –  by Robert L. LaPointe

It was late in the afternoon of 14 March 1966. An HU-16B "Albatross", call sign "Crown Bravo", was on SAR orbit over the Gulf of Tonkin. This orbit point was two hundred miles north of the DMZ. HU-16’s  were positioned here anytime fighter-bombers were striking targets in North Vietnam. SAR orbits consisted of flying racetrack patterns ten miles or so offshore. These locations were safe from North Vietnamese attacks but close enough to the action that the rescue crew could get to a downed pilot in a hurry. This aircraft and its crew are assigned PCS to the 33 ARRS, Naha AB, Okinawa, but are presently TDY to DaNang Air Base. Its crew consists of Captain David Westenbarger, pilot/rescue crew commander; Lt Walter Hall, co-pilot; Captain Donald Price, navigator; SSgt Clyde Jackson, flight engineer; A1C Robert Hilton, radio operator; and A1C James Pleiman, pararescueman.

The HU-16 is an amphibian, designed to land on either runways or water. This made it an ideal platform to recover downed airmen from coastal waters off of North Vietnam. The "Albatross" was also equipped to function as a radio relay station during rescue operations. It provided airborne command and control for rescue missions involving multiple aircraft. The "Albatross" could stay airborne for up to 16 hours and cruise at 140 knots. These SAR orbits were known to the crews as duckbutt’s. The TDY HU-16 crews at DaNang had gotten into a flying schedule routine. On most day’s, there would be a "Duckbutt Alpha" early morning SAR orbit, followed by a "Duckbutt Bravo" afternoon SAR orbit. Everyone who has flown these orbits, has at one time or another, commented that they were primarily many hours of boredom. Most of these orbits were two box lunch missions. With little to do, the PJ would eat his box lunch, sometimes read and frequently take a nap to the lulling drone of the throttled back engines. The rest of the crew could keep busy flying, navigating, and monitoring radios.

On 14 March, the boredom of a normal duckbutt would be punctuated by moments of terror and heroism. “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Pluto Lead. I’ve been hit by ground fire and will have to eject. I’m trying to make it feet wet.” Pluto Lead was an F-4 and had been hit by AAA. Major James Peerson and his back-seater Captain Lynwood Bryant were desperately trying to make it feet wet. Their damaged fighter bomber was becoming increasingly difficult to control.  They radioed to their wingman that they would have to eject soon after they were feet wet. “Mayday! Mayday! This is Pluto 02. Pluto Lead has ejected at 6000 feet. We have two good chutes. They are going to land in the water very close to Hon Mei Island. Crown Bravo, we will CAP Pluto Lead until you arrive.”

Captain Westenbarger pushed the throttles on his HU-16 to full military power and raced to the area. “Pilot, this is the Nav. Intel has reported that Hon Mei is heavily armed. This might be tricky.” “Roger Nav, we’ll try to make this a quick pickup. I don’t want to hang around there any longer than we have to.” The next radio call, from Pluto 02, made it clear that speed was essential. The wind had blown the descending parachutists very close to the shoreline of the island. North Vietnamese sampans were near by. Major Peerson and Captain Bryant were floating in their survival rafts. The North Vietnamese could quickly capture these airmen and make them POW’s. This mission would be a deadly contest between the North Vietnamese and SAR forces, to see who would get to the downed pilots first.

Ten minutes later, the HU-16 arrived on scene. They could easily hear beepers and began a quick visual search for the rafts. Airman Pleiman spotted the survivors. Excitedly he yelled over the intercom “Pilot, PJ. I see both of them. They are real close to the shoreline of the island.” “Roger PJ, any sign of ground fire?” “Negative Sir. It looks real quiet down there, except I see a bunch of sampans that look like they are searching for the survivors. ” Pilot to crew – were going in for a pickup. Co-pilot, jettison external fuel tanks. Pleiman, as soon as we are near enough, swim out and get the survivor. The others will give you a hand. Price, keep an eye out for ground fire. Alright crew, lets do it.” Captain Westenbarger did a low approach over the men in the rafts. He rolled out into the wind and set up an approach to landing. A few feet off the surface, he cut the throttles, held the nose high and full stalled the amphibian into the water. Major Peerson was closest to the shore and in the greatest danger, so he would be the first recovered. Westenbarger swift taxied as close as possible to Major Peerson. Captain Donald Price, the navigator looked out the right side window. He saw Major Peerson bobbing in his bright yellow life raft, a few yards to the right of the tail section of the Albatross. “He’s right behind the tail and to our right.” Price called over the intercom. As the amphibian closed on the raft, the rescue crew could see that the survivor was injured. “PJ, pilot. Go get him.” “Roger” Jim Pleiman replied.  Pleiman was already in his water gear and had the tagline attached to him. As the PJ dove into the water, flight engineer SSgt Jackson fed out line. In the event the PJ became wounded, he could be pulled back in with the tagline. Most often the PJ attached the line to the survivor. Crew  members in the Albatross could pull the survivor in faster than the PJ could swim him in. Everyone knew that speed was essential. “Pilot. Nav. Those sampans have spotted us and are heading our way. Still negative ground fire from anywhere.” Perhaps the intel reports were wrong. Except for the sampans, the rescue was going unopposed. Pleiman reached the survivor at the same time as enemy shelling began. The first few rounds impacted near the Albatross. Gysers of water were erupting closer and closer to the defenseless amphibian. Simultaneous with the onset of the artillery barrage, the sampans opened fire with rifles. Airman Hilton grabbed an M-16 and attempted to fire at the sampans. It jammed.  “Nav. Pilot. Get back there and see if you can speed things up.” “Roger” replied Price. When he got to the rear he ordered Airman Hilton to give him the rifle and help pull in the survivor. Captain Price cleared the jam and began to return fire at the sampans.

 At the rear hatch, SSgt Jackson and Airman Hilton reached out to help pull Major Peerson to the aircraft. Just as the F-4 pilot was being pulled into the aircraft, a 130mm howitzer round found its mark and set the "Albatross" ablaze. The HU-16 pilot and copilot, Captain Westenbarger and Lt. Hall, managed to escape the destroyed aircraft through a forward overhead hatch. Captain Price was thrown against a bulkhead. He was stunned and burned by the explosion. He was also bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds. Price saw Airman Hilton lying dead on the floor. Sergeant Jackson had been blown out the door into the water, was injured but still alive. Airman Pleiman, the PJ floated face down, dead in the water. Near his body, Major Peerson floated helplessly in his raft.

Groggy and injured, Captain Price egressed the aircraft. On the waters surface, aviation fuel was on fire. Price dove below the surface and tried to swim away from the flames. When came up for air, he heard a call for help. Major Peerson, injured and still in his raft, was only a few feet away. Unless they swam away, Price realized that they both would soon be engulfed in the flames. The nav swam to the raft and began pushing it away from the flames and the island. Pushing the raft was slow, arduous work. Mortar and artillery rounds were exploding all around him. Waves from the geysers of water almost tossed Major Peerson from his raft. The navigator was approaching exhaustion when he heard “Help me! Help Me!”  Price could see SSgt Jackson bobbing in the water 50-yards away. The FM was obviously wounded and in need of help. Price already had his hands full, trying to take care of the F-4 pilot. Fortunately Captain Price spotted the co-pilot, Lt Hall swimming near, but away from Sgt Jackson. Lt Hall had not heard the cry for help. Price hollered “Get that man behind you!!” Lt. Hall stopped, turned, saw the FM and swam to help him. Price returned to caring for Major Peerson. The Major weakly said “Your wounded.” Being wounded was not Price’s chief concern at the moment. He was exhausted. He wondered to himself “how much longer am I going to be able to help this guy?”

Suddenly a Navy helicopter was hovering overhead and lowering a horse collar from its rescue hoist. The rotor wash whipped the surface of the ocean into a fine mist, making breathing and seeing difficult. Despite these new problems and his own injuries Captain Price helped Major Peerson into the horse collar. As the F-4 pilot was hauled aboard, artillery shells began impacting in the area and sailors in the sampans fired with small arms. The Navy chopper, took battle damage and was forced to pull out.

The SARCAP of F-4’s began suppressing the artillery fire by attacking the artillery sites. Several A-1’s arrived in the area and began firing on the sampans that were attacking the SAR forces. A second Navy helicopter arrived to pick up the remaining survivors, unaware that Captain Price was still in the water. Captain Price suddenly found himself the lone living American floating in enemy waters. Nearby he observed the empty survival raft He swam to it and climbed in. About 400 yards out were several sampans, determined to capture at least one American. Fortunately for Price, one of the A-1’s made a low pass over the SAR site prior to heading home, and observed him in the life raft. He and the remaining A-1’s and F-4’s reentered a protective posture over the last American needing to be rescued.

Each time the sampans attempted to move in on Captain Price, the fighters came down with guns blazing. Price recalled one sampan that was closing on him being cut in half by cannon fire. Many of the sampans were now destroyed. Those remaining in the area were hesitant to move in on Captain Price, for fear of their lives. Fate was still conspiring against Captain Price, the tide was coming in and he was now drifting toward shore. He climbed out of the raft and back into the water. Towing the raft, he started swimming out to sea. When he could swim no longer, pulled himself painfully back into the raft. He was in serious shock from his injuries and the strenuous swimming activities. The A-1’s coordinated with the Navy to send out another helicopter. Finally a Navy UH-2B came in low and fast, hovered over the raft, and plucked him out of the Gulf.

 14 March 1966 was a bad day for Air Rescue. We had lost two brave men, radio operator Robert Hilton and pararescueman James Pleiman. Airmen Hilton and Pleiman were the first men assigned to the Air Rescue Service confirmed as killed in action in Vietnam. We had HH-43’s shot down prior to this SAR, but their crews were either rescued or captured and taken POW. All of the HU-16 crew members were decorated for heroism. Captain Price was awarded the nation's second highest decoration for valor, the Air Force Cross.

After the war ended, in December 1988, the Vietnamese "discovered" the remains of Airman James E. Pleiman and returned them to U.S. control. Obviously they had recovered his remains in 1966. They held on to them until the North Vietnamese government could ransom him back to the United States. Finally, the first pararescueman killed in the Vietnam War also became one of the last PJ’s to return home from Vietnam.

A1C James E. Pleiman. Awarded the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart and the Air Medal for rescue missions flown in Vietnam. He was the first Pararescueman KIA in Vietnam, “That Others May Live.”