Flying In The Wolfpack During The Vietnam War: A “Yankee Air Pirate” Flies, Fights, And Sings About It

Dick Jonas was born into a large family in Hildreth, Florida, in 1939. His father was a poor man with a big family who spent much of his life working for other people as a sharecropper. Later in life, he started a wood cutting business. He had eight children, one of whom died of whooping cough. Dick’s mother “raised young ‘uns.” As a boy, Dick and his siblings helped with the flue-cured tobacco crop, picking worms, harvesting the leaves, and hanging them in the barn to cure. When he was not working on the farm, he enjoyed the outdoor life, camping, swimming, or fishing in one of the three local rivers, the Suwannee, Santa Fe, and Ichetucknee. Dick’s uncle taught him to play guitar when he was 14. Dick played in an FFA (Future Farmers of America) string band, and at 15 he bought a Martin 00-18 guitar. In high school, he was “smarter than the average bear” and took several college preparation classes. He played in the high school band (clarinet, trumpet, and bass drum), and was center on the “midget football team.” After high school, he spent a year at Florida Christian College in Temple Terrace and he was earning $75 a week preaching at a country church, which he credits for helping him develop a sense of values. After a year at FCC, he transferred to Valdosta State, where he majored in physics and math with the goal of becoming a high school math teacher. His inspiration was Susie Hill, the wife of barber Rufus Hill, who was his high school math teacher. In 1961, when he started at Valdosta State College, he enlisted in the Georgia National Guard in the infantry. He was assigned as an assistant gunner on a .30 cal machine gun and spent time in the commo squad. He loved training and shooting, and he felt that the camping was an extension of the activities he loved as a boy. In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he thought “we were going to war.” In college he worked as a DJ at WNER playing country and “whatever the teenagers liked.” When he graduated from college in 1965, he was aware of the growing war in Vietnam and was worried it would be over “before I got there.” He wanted to be a pilot and he earned a commission through Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The Cadre at OTS had respect for the older trainees, and Dick became the OT Squadron Commander, graduating first in his class. For flight training, he picked Moody Air Force Base outside of Valdosta because it was close to home. Later, Dick and his buddy John Cruise went to southeast Asia together, and John was killed in a two-ship flight. Dick “pinked” (flunked) his mid-phase flight, but he recovered and Rex Cloud taught him how to fly formation. He completed survival school at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington and, “being a country boy, it didn’t bother me.” Radar school at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona was “easy, based on my math and physics training.” At George Air Force Base in California, he qualified as an F-4 PWSO (Pilot, Weapons Systems Operator). Most of his instructors were combat veterans who taught the students tactics. Having two pilots in the F-4 Phantom II was essential because it provided “two sets of eyeballs and brains in the plane.” (Listen to the Ballad of Robin Olds for a pre-song discussion of two pilots in the Phantom.) Enroute to Vietnam, he competed “Snake School” at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, where he spent two weeks trekking through the jungle. A memorable experience was sleeping in hammocks and bathing in a stream. Dick recounted the story of a pilot who managed to evade capture for two weeks in Route Pack 5 before being extracted by PJs (Air Force Para-jumpers). Deploying to the Vietnam War, the goal was either complete 100 missions or survive 365 days, whichever came first. The trick was that for the 100 missions to “count” they had to be in the “counters,” the Route Packages (Route Pack) in North Vietnam. The most dangerous Route Packs were 6A (Hanoi) and 6B (Haiphong). Arriving in Thailand, he was assigned to the 433rd Squadron, the “Sons of Satan’s Angels,” at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. Life was easy at Ubon, and Dick had plenty of time to drive around the countryside and see the cultural sites, like the “Big Buddha.” New pilots and PWSOs flew 15 missions with experienced pilots to learn the ropes. Throughout his nine-month tour, Dick flew 125 combat missions, including 100 “counters” in North Vietnam, 24 in Laos, and 1 in South Vietnam in support of operations around Khe Sanh. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Medal with twelve oak leaf clusters. When his front seat pilot rotated home, Dick became an “Orphaned GIB” (Guy in Back), and ended up flying with most of the pilots in the squadron. The 433rd was part of Robin Olds’ Wolfpack, the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. Robin Olds, USMA JAN ’43, became an ace in WWII, and was a triple ace with 17 kills before his service in Vietnam ended. Before Dick Jonas arrived in southeast Asia, Olds led Operation Bolo, in which his F-4s were modified to give the electronic signature of F-105s, confusing the enemy into thinking they had an easy target, when in reality, they encountered the MiG-hungry Wolfpack fighter pilots. At the end of the day, Operation Bolo cost the North Vietnamese Air Force 7 MiG-21s. The Wolfpack pilots frequently flew the Alpha Day Strike Force (there were typically two strikes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon), which consisted of 16 F-105 “Thuds” carrying a bomb load of some sort and up to two flights (4 planes per flight) of F-4s “Phantoms” as protection. The strike force was organized with an “Iron Hand,” four F-105 “Wild Weasels” in the lead to keep the SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles) from “eating up the strike force.” The Wild Weasel used anti-radiation missiles to suppress enemy air defense by targeting radars and SAM sites. Along with the strike force was an EB-66 electronic warfare aircraft helping the strike force planes maintain situational awareness. Dick also describes several other missions they typically flew, such as Combat Air Patrol, designed to isolate the enemy to make him vulnerable elsewhere, MiG hunting, bombing, and escort duty. He also highlights some of the differences between the F-105 and the F-4. He then describes a typical mission, including the planning, preparation, execution, return to base, and post operation actions. He shares a story about T. Mike Messit, who used the first laser guided bombs in combat, and the potential Rules of Engagement fallout from that mission. He provides first-hand recollections of some of his leaders, including Robin Olds, the wing commander, Chappie James, the vice wing commander, and Hoot Gibson, the squadron commander, who became an ace during the Korean War. He remembers Robin Olds saying, “There’s not a target up there worth your ass and that beautiful airplane.” During the war, Dick began writing some of his “warrior ballads,” and he reflects on playing guitar and singing on base. After returning from Vietnam in May 1968, once he had tallied up 100 “counters,” Dick reported to Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, where he completed F-4 Aircraft Commander Upgrade Training, learning to fly the front seat. He then transferred to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico with the 7th Squadron. In 1969, he went TDY (Temporary Duty) to Spangdahlem Air Force Base in Germany for Operation Crested Cap, designed to scare the Soviets away from Europe during the height of the Vietnam War. He describes several cross-ocean trips in fighter planes (from Spangdahlem, Germany, to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, from Rygge Air Station in Norway to McEntire Air National Guard Base in South Carolina, and from the F-16 plant at Carswell Air Force Base in Texas to Kunsan Air Base in Korea, with enroute stops at Hickam Air Force Base Hawaii and Anderson Air Force Base Guam), highlighting some of the physical challenges associated with long-haul flights in a fighter plane. From 1970 to 1971, he was assigned to Misawa Air Base in Japan as an F-4 Aircraft Commander in the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron. While in Japan, he flew TDY missions to the Republic of Korea, Okinawa, and other locations in the Far East. Next, he was assigned to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa as an F-4 Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot, and he provides examples of flying as an instructor pilot at Luke AFB and conducting gunnery at Gilla Bend. While stationed in Okinawa, he flew TDY missions to Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Next, he was assigned to Luke Air Force Base as an Instructor Pilot before transitioning to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, where he was assigned as a personnel staff officer in the Fighter Assignments Division in the Headquarters, Tactical Air Command. He remembers conversations as an assignments officer were rarely pleasant, but necessary to ensure the continued staffing of the Air Force. His next assignment was the Command and General Staff College with the Army at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. After that, he reported to Homestead Air Force Base to get current on the F-4 before being assigned to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where he served as an F-4 and F-16 Instructor Pilot. He enjoyed flying the F-16, noting that it is “faster and turns tighter than the F-4.” He describes incidents as an Instructor Pilot when he encountered an aircraft that could not turn to the left, and another that experienced a catastrophic engine failure, requiring him to eject (the only time in his career). At Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea, he served as the Air Base Chief of Security and an F-16 instructor pilot. Next, he traveled east to McEntire Air National Guard Base in South Carolina, where he served as a Regular Air Force Advisor and as an F-16 Instructor Pilot. His final assignment in the Air Force was at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, and he was retired by one of his Vietnam War aircraft commanders, LtGen Bill Kirk. After a short stint flying for the airlines (“It weren’t like flying an F-16!”), he became an Air Force Junior ROTC instructor, which he considers the “most worthwhile thing I did in uniform.” He is extremely proud of his former students, some of whom he remains in contact with. One enlisted in the Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller and eventually became an airline captain. Dick considers the importance of JROTC is that it teaches self-discipline to the students. He also reflects on his singing and songwriting, noting that he has played for many military and civilian dignitaries including Chiefs of Staff Ron Fogleman and Mike Ryan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dick Myers, and many other general officers. He also played for Henry Kissinger and Barry Goldwater. He enjoys playing military venues and in base clubs. Recently, he received an offer from the 357th, an A-10 squadron, to perform a show. He describes several of his songs, including “The Ballad of Jeb Stuart,” which he wrote on a transport plane flying from Nellis to San Antonio. “Jeb,” the nickname of CAPT Virgil Grant Stewart of Baton Rouge, LA, was shot down on May 17, 1969, in the area of the Mu Gia Pass. He suffered a broken arm and leg after ejecting from his battle-damaged F-4D and he was sighted on the ground by search and rescue planes. By the time an Air Force PJ reached him, he was dead, and hostile fire prevented the recovery of his body. Dick also discusses several of his other songs. He then reflects on the “In Country” group and Dr. Lydia Fish, an anthropology professor who studied the folk music of the Vietnam era and “welded these people (other musicians) together.” The group of musicians eventually performed on Kris Kristofferson’s Austin City Limits and recorded a CD called “In Country.” Dick remains active with the Military Officers’ Association, the Air Force Association, the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (the River Rats), the Daedalians, and the Headhunters (80th Fighter Squadron Juvats) because “it keeps you young.” At the end of the interview, he reflects on what his service and the Air Force mean to him, summing it up in one word: “Victory!”