Database of Bombing Points
Does anyone know if there are any databases describing bomb sorties flown
and dropped by US forces and allies in Vietnam? Such a database exists in
Cambodia where the types of bombs dropped, amounts, time, and geographic
coordinates are included.
David Biggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David A Biggs
1212 HMNSS Building - History
University of California - Riverside
Riverside CA 92521
Phone (951) 827-1877
Fax (951) 827-5299
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I remember being told on more than one visit there that the UN
(UNESCO, if memory serves) tried to intervene to stop US bombing, but
the US turned a deaf ear. Certainly not hard information, but perhaps
a clue that might lead somewhere.
best,
Diane
There is a group down in VA that has put this data together taking the old
tapes of the bombing runs and putting them in an updated database program.
They are called Federal Resources Corporation. Contact Skip Jacobs
sjacobs@fedresources.com or Paul Jacobs pjacobs@fedresources.com. As I
recall they gave a copy of the database to the VN military and not sure
where other copies have gone.
Website is http://www.fedresources.com
Susan
As we move on away from the past and into history there is not much to
do about the following point but to note it:
there is profound skepticism voiced by many participants in the war
about how much and how well its extensive paper trail documents what
happened.
Dan
So true, as I've found in my attempts to document the destruction of the
major temples in the Cham complex at My Son, which lie in a remote valley
about 30 miles southwest of My Son. If there is a database that has all the
bombing points, that would help me a great deal in confirming or ruling out
an air strike as the culprit.
The damage at My Son is usually attributed to a B52 bombing raid in August
of 1969, but this seems somewhat unlikely to me. The My Son temples happen
to be a mere 3 miles from the Marine base at An Hoa, which I'm told is a bit
too close to comfort for a B-52 strike. (Based on a chat with the colonel
of the 5th Marines, which garrisoned An Hoa in 1969--the colonel was not
aware of the existence of the temples, despite assurances given to Philippe
Stern that US military units had been apprised of the location and the
significance of the temples.)
The base at An Hoa was very active in bombing and shelling infiltration
routes through the adjoining mountain valleys. I've been plowing through the
Marine records, but given that an average of 10,000 Marine fixed-wing combat
and combat support sorties were flown each month from June to November 1969,
depositing a monthly average of 30,000 tons of rockets, bombs, and napalm
bombs, it seems unlikely that all of the strikes/bombing points were
documented. I suspect my only hope is to find an informant who was actually
at An Hoa in August of 1969.
From the precision of the hits, I wouldn't be surprised if artillery was
involved, though I'm not sure why the temples would have been targeted.
Cham temples are not very good defensive structures, having only one door
and no other openings that could be used for lookout or as gunports. Tran
Ky Phuong says they were being used as "communication posts," but I'm not
sure what advantage these low-lying temples would have had in that regard.
Sadly, it may have just been one of the many thoughtless acts of war, akin
to taking potshots at water buffalo as target practice.
If anyone has any leads, I'd be very interested to follow up on them. I've
been corresponding with the Guimet on the subject, but so far we haven't
found much except the correspondence between Philippe Stern and the U.S.
Government.
:: Mike High
David-
All bombing missions were well documented as were almost every
military action in Vietnam. I know that much of the after action report
docs are at Texas Tech. Usually the government finds a college willing to
store the bombing reports in exchange for storage fees. Example: Humboldt
State Univ has the WW2 after action bombing data. I know that when I
returned from a mission in Vietnam I had to file extensive reports of
bomb/rockets fired and exact locations, time/date and description of
damage. There must be someone in the Pentagon who can direct you or just
google it. Brian Glaspell
I'm forwarding this to my friend and colleague Alex Rietfeld at Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) in Hanoi, which has been working on a national UXO assessment survey project with BOMICEN, part of the Ministry of Defense. I have seen extensive maps of bombing runs which Alex's staff have adapted from DOD data, quite detailed and which might include My Son Cham ruins, although technically I believe the data are under the control of BOMICEN and any request might have to go to them. However, Alex can clarify the situation if he has time -- I know he's covered up with work and understaffed at the moment.
Chuck
CHUCK SEARCY
Country Representative
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF)
Vietnam Enterprise Group (VEG)
25 Truong Han Sieu #302, Hanoi, Vietnam
(011) 844 943 8061 tel / 844 943 8062 fax
(011) 849 03 420 769 mobile (0903 420 769 in Vietnam)
chucksearcy@yahoo.com
www.vietnam-landmines.org