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

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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