Yeah, that one, too, occasionally.
Wilton
----- Original Message -----
From: Meade Dillon
To: WILTON ; Mercedes Discussion List
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 10:19 AM
Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - non-political B-52 tale - THE PATTON TAPE
I am sure you included the excerpt that goes something like "Your job is not
to die for your country, but to make the other poor bastard die for his
country!" Great movie. "Twelve O'clock High" goes well with it.
On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 10:06 AM, WILTON via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
wrote:
Well, I think it's non-political, anyway. (YMMV)
THE PATTON TAPE
By Wilton Strickland
During the entire time that I was flying B-52 bombing missions from Guam
and Thailand to Vietnam in '72, the movie "Patton" was still fresh in people's
minds. I was on a mission over Vietnam one day in late summer when suddenly,
George C. Scott's voice as General Patton came on the inter-plane radio with a
short excerpt from Patton's speech to the troops just before the invasion of
Normandy. I don't remember the exact excerpt, but I thought it was appropriate
for the moment. Several days later, I mentioned the "Patton" comment during a
pre-mission briefing; another crewman in the briefing claimed to be the
"culprit" and offered me a copy of the tape. I borrowed a friend's recorder
and, using his recorder and mine, I was able index the tape so that I could
readily select and play short excerpts as desired.
The crew electronic warfare officer (EW) carried an official recorder on
each flight. This recorder was issued to EW before each mission and returned
by him at the end of each mission; it was rigged so that nobody could access or
alter the tape, and recorded everything said on the aircraft intercom and
received by the aircraft radios. Wanting to keep a record for myself in case
anything more interesting happened, I had a technician in the aircraft
electronics shop make a short cord for me that allowed me to plug my personal
recorder into the aircraft radio system. I carried this recorder on every
mission except the last two to Hanoi in December. (A friend on another crew
borrowed my special cord the night of Dec. 26th and was shot down over Hanoi.)
On the last two missions, I was able to transmit from my recorder, though, by
playing it and holding a radio headset microphone against the speaker shielded
by my hand and a handkerchief.
Occasionally during a mission, I would select a "Patton" excerpt
appropriate for the moment. Sometimes, just before takeoff, for example, "I'd
be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle anytime, anywhere."
En route to the target, I sometimes transmitted, "You know, I actually
pity those poor bastards we're going up against, by God, I do."
For three months or so, I played several "Patton" excerpts on each
mission. B-52 crewmen began to expect to hear something from Patton each time
out. The talk around base was, "Who's playing "Patton" - who's doing that?" I
never said a word, but several knew who was doing it.
I continued transmitting the "Patton" excerpts at appropriate times,
even during the Linebacker II missions to Hanoi. En route on those missions, I
would play, for example, "Some of you boys I know are wondering whether or not
you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that
you will all do your duty." (Several crewmen who heard these transmissions
have told me during the last few years that their fear and anxiety were greatly
relieved by them.)
Returning to U-Tapao, Thailand, after a surprisingly quiet mission to a
target, Thai Nguyen Steel Mills and Rail Yards 35 nautical miles north of Hanoi
on the night of December 29th, I was confident that it was the last night of
the campaign. I had seen photos of the complete destruction in the areas
struck by B-52's since the 18th and did not think there was another target left
in North Vietnam worthy of a B-52 strike. They were out of missiles and ammo,
and we were out of targets. Mine was the next-to-last B-52 of the nearly 100
to visit Hanoi that night. I was confident that we had won the war and that it
would soon end as we departed the Hanoi area for the last time.
Forty five minutes or so before landing back in Thailand, I transmitted
a "Patton" excerpt that I thought was appropriate for a such a finale: "For
over a thousand years, the Roman conquerors, returning from the wars, enjoyed
the honor of the triumph - a tumultuous parade. In the procession came
trumpeters, musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories,
together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror
rode in a triumphant chariot, the day's prisoners walking in chains before him.
Sometimes, his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot or rode
the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown
and whispering in his ear a warning that all glory is fleeting."
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--
-------------
Max
Charleston SC
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