Near top of my July 4 recalls..

Citation To Accompany the Award of

The Air Medal ( 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster of 14)
To

Don I Phillips

First Lt Don I Phillips distinguished himself by meritorious achievement in aerial flight as lead navigator- bombardier of 2 B-57 tactical jet bombers near Son Tinh Special Forces Camp.. 4 July 1966. …Despite adverse weather in form of a direct cross wind and intense ground fire….on repeated passes on the hostile forces with a variety of weapons causing complete destruction of twenty-five buildings, one bunker, and death of at least 10 Viet Cong soldiers … reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

Lesson was? National holidays just like Sundays in life and death wartime kill or be killed. Except Sundays were Red letter “S” on your automatic self winding BX Seiko. Seemed then like what we fought for on 90CC Hondas we flew in to sell when tour was up. 8

Truly funny? The Instructor Pilot washed me from pilot training in May ’61, Leslie Langus is name above mine on same 7th AF order for a 3rd AM. Now a Major Flt Leader in F-100s saw me enter Phan Rang O Club bar in Oct ’66 and said “Phillips! What are YOU doing here?

My answer said it all. “Les, we’re the competition!” My B-57 sqdn had just moved from DaNang way south to PhanRang for better close air support near Saigon Army huge build up begun in 1966 to 1972. We greeted our 2 sqdns of “Huns” as “HEAVY HAULER”.. it carried 2 bombs. Cong name for B-57 was Nasty Caterpillar as we round and around and around dive bombing with huge load inside and out. Pick what was best for that tgt. Move on if needed more elsewhere. .THEN expend either 1200 of 20MM in 4 wing cannon or model with 8X .50 2400 rounds, We liked being a small, fast firing USAF equal Army Brigade. As did our Phan Rang HQ Brigade 101st Air Bourne mission complete partiers . . We burned brought box rib eyes, they tapped endless kegs PBR. Soldier once? and damn stupid young. Luck? Live through enough stupid years to good age with a great lady.