Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1/swsii.zip/swsii/009/D018.ZIP/D018

Text File | 1990-04-18 | 8KB | 136 lines

DEICHELMANN, SAMUEL MACKALL

Name: Samuel Mackall Deichelmann
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 56th Special Operations Wing, Udorn AF TH (RAVENS)
Date of Birth: 24 September 1938
Home City of Record: Montgomery AL
Date of Loss: 06 September 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 0105007N 1074246E (YS960990)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: O1F
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March1990 with the assistance of
one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The Steve Canyon program was a highly classified FAC (forward air
control) operation covering the military regions of Laos. U.S. military
operations in Laos were severely restricted during the Vietnam War era because
Laos had been declared neutral by the Geneva Accords.

The non-communist forces in Laos, however, had a critical need for military
support in order to defend territory used by Lao and North Vietnamese communist
forces. The U.S., in conjunction with non-communist forces in Laos, devised a
system whereby U.S. military personnel could be "in the black" or "sheep-dipped"
(clandestine; mustered out of the military to perform military duties as a
civilian) to operate in Laos under supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Laos.

RAVEN was the radio call sign which identified the flyers of the Steve Canyon
Program. Men recruited for the program were rated Air Force officers with at
least six months experience in Vietnam. They tended to be the very best of
pilots, but by definition, this meant that they were also mavericks, and
considered a bit wild by the mainstream military establishment.

The Ravens came under the formal command of CINCPAC and the 7/13th Air Force
56th Special Operations Wing at Nakhon Phanom, but their pay records were
maintained at Udorn with Detachment 1. Officially, they were on loan to the U.S.
Air Attache at Vientiane. Unofficially, they were sent to outposts like Long
Tieng, where their field commanders were the CIA, the Meo Generals, and the U.S.
Ambassador. Once on duty, they flew FAC missions which controlled all U.S. air
strikes over Laos.

All tactical strike aircraft had to be under the control of a FAC, who was
intimately familiar with the locale, the populous, and the tactical situation.
The FAC would find the target, order up U.S. fighter/bombers from an airborne
command and control center, mark the target accurately with white phosphorus
(Willy Pete) rockets, and control the operation throughout the time the planes
remained on station. After the fighters had departed, the FAC stayed over the
target to make a bomb damage assessment (BDA).

The FAC also had to ensure that there were no attacks on civilians, a complex
problem in a war where there were no front lines and any hamlet could suddenly
become part of the combat zone. A FAC needed a fighter pilot's mentality, but
but was obliged to fly slow and low in such unarmed and vulnerable aircraft as
the Cessna O1 Bird Dog, and the Cessna O2. Consequently, aircraft used by the
Ravens were continually peppered with ground fire. A strong fabric tape was
simply slapped over the bullet holes until the aircraft could no longer fly.

Ravens were hopelessly overworked by the war. The need for secrecy kept their
numbers low (never more than 22 at one time), and the critical need of the Meo
sometimes demanded each pilot fly 10 and 12 hour days. Some Ravens completed
their tour of approximately 6 months with a total of over 500 combat missions.

The Ravens in at Long Tieng in Military Region II, had, for several years, the
most difficult area in Laos. The base, just on the southern edge of the Plain of
Jars, was also the headquarters for the CIA-funded Meo army commanded by General
Vang Pao. An interesting account of this group can be read in Christopher
Robbins' book, "The Ravens". On pages 60-63, this book includes the account of
Capt. Samuel M. Deichelmann, who became Missing in Action on September 6, 1968:

"One of two things happened to Ravens, as they logged an increasing number of
combat missions and took their share of groundfire; they became either
overcautious or reckless. The first merely made them ineffective, but the second
risked their lives. The inclination to duel with a gun in a fixed position, or
settle a score after their aircraft had been peppered with ground fire, led them
to take risk after risk. Sam Deichelmann became one of the worst offenders. [His
commander] thought he was becoming too blase and had reached the point where he
believed himself immortal.

"...It was just one of those things. His plane took the Golden BB. [The Golden
BB was part of pilot's folklore -- the 'miracle' shot that would kill them after
countless times under heavy and close fire.]

"...Deichelmann had flown his C-130 out of Vietnam over the Trail at night as a
Blindbat pilot at ridiculously low altitudes and never taken a hit. Then, flying
over Route 4, southeast of the Plain of Jars...[he] took a single round. The
shell ripped through the plane, hit [his friend and backseater] Vong Chou...and
missing Deichelmann's head by a hairbreadth.

"...Deichelmann was shattered by the experience. ...He now entered a highly
dangerous phase. He had cheated death and dodged the Golden BB, but it had
wounded his friend, and he felt honor-bound to embark upon a course of reckless
revenge.

"...In the circumstances, the air attache's office thought it wise to remove him
temporarily from the picture. ...In September he left for Bien Hoa, where his
younger brother was stationed. He planned to spend a few days leave with him and
then [return, bringing with him a new O1 for the unit].

"...Deichelmann reached Vietnam without incident, and the brothers enjoyed a
pleasant reunion. He mentioned a desire to see the great Cambodian lake of Tonle
Sap, an illegal but easy detour on the journey back. He boarded the new Bird Dog
and took off from Bien Hoa and headed back toward Laos. He was never seen
again."

Sam Deichelmann's disappearance was deeply mourned at Long Tieng. His comrades
admired him as a first-rate pilot and FAC, but especially admired his humanity.
They had seen him play with village children, and knew how he suffered when his
friend Vong Chou had been wounded. He had been honest, good-hearted, open and
warm. His friends would miss him greatly. Some refused to accept that he had
died, and were convinced that he had been forced to make an emergency landing in
Cambodia, and would reappear with yet another account of escaping death. But Sam
Deichelmann never returned.

(NOTE: "The Ravens" continues, saying Sam's younger brother was later killed in
a midair collision in Vietnam. There is, however, only one Deichelmann listed on
the Vietnam Memorial, so the accuracy of this portion of the account cannot be
established.)

Sam Deichelmann is one of nearly 600 Americans lost in Laos. Even though the
Pathet Lao stated publicly that they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners,
not one American held in Laos was ever released -- or negotiated for.

Since U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ended, nearly 10,000 reports have been
received by the U.S. Government relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia.
Many authorities have reluctantly concluded that hundreds are still alive in
captivity today.

Deichelmann could be one of those thought to be still alive in Southeast Asia.
What must he be thinking of his country? It's time we brought our men home.