Servicemembers run for a helicopter during the May 1975 attempted rescue
of the Mayaguez (below). Lt. Gen. Henry Arnold (left), commanding general
of the Army Air Forces, recognized the importance of search-and-rescue skills.
and rescue. The aircraft seemed
tailor-made for a country whose
dense jungles and sodden rice pad-
dies thwarted travel in conventional
wheeled vehicles. The helo’s ability to
hover and land in tight landing zones
was a unique advantage in the forbid-
ding terrain of southeast Asia, but it
also made it vulnerable to enemy fi re.
The rescue of Bat 21 Bravo — the most
extensive rescue operation of the war tunately for Hambleton, the pilot of an traction of the two men. Navy SEAL
— drove that lesson home. O-2 Super Skymaster saw him para- Lt. Tommy Norris and ARVN Petty
In spring 1972, troop drawdown in chute safely to the ground. The bad Offi cer Nguyen Van Kiet would pen-
Vietnam — part of President Nixon’s news: He landed in a virtual hornet’s etrate enemy lines by navigating up
“Vietnamization” initiative — con- nest of enemy troops near the Cam the Cam Lo River and snatch the air-
vinced the North Vietnamese they Lo River and a major highway. As a men away from the enemy.
fi nally could own South Vietnam by skilled electronic warfare specialist, A radio code was developed that
launching a massive, precipitous of- or Raven, Hambleton knew he would relied on American popular references
fensive. On Easter weekend, more be highly sought after by the enemy. to guide the airmen to the rendez-
than 100,000 troops began march- He also knew his fellow servicemem- vous point. Clark was told to “become
ing south with the aim of crippling bers wouldn’t give up on him. Esther Williams” (swim the river)
the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Over several days, multiple res- and “go from Boise to Twin Falls”
(ARVN) and its American allies. cue attempts were made. On April (go east). Hambleton, an avid golfer,
The afternoon of April 2, aircraft 3, a task force of two A-1 Skyraid- was guided by references to holes on
approaching a demilitarized zone in ers and two HH-53 Super Jolly various golf courses that gave him the
support of a B-52 strike on enemy Green Giant helos set out to rescue distance and directions he needed
positions came under attack by SA-2 Hambleton and another pilot, 1st Lt. — information eavesdropping North
antiaircraft missiles. The fi rst volley Mark Clark, USAF, who went down Vietnamese wouldn’t comprehend.
missed, but the second tore into an in the interim. Ground fi re erupted After Clark was rescued, planning
EB-66 Destroyer electronic warfare as the aircraft approached Hamble- began for Hambleton’s return. But the
aircraft with six men aboard. The ton’s position, bringing down Jolly aviator was too exhausted to move;
sole survivor, navigator Lt. Col. Iceal Green 67 in an explosion that killed the rescue team would have to go to
“Gene” Hambleton, USAF, call sign all six crewmembers. him. The next night Norris and Kiet,
Bat 21 Bravo, ejected just before an- With morale plummeting among disguised as fi shermen, paddled a
other missile blew the plane apart. the search-and-rescue ranks, it was sampan upriver under a cover of fog
obvious another tack was necessary. toward Hambleton’s position. They
A hot landing zone Marine Lt. Col. Andy Anderson came found Hambleton on the riverbank,
During a rescue attempt, a survivor’s up with a bold plan that would rely put him in the sampan, and were
location fi rst must be pinpointed. For- on a ground team to accomplish ex- headed back when they were spotted
PHOTOS: LEFT, BETTMANN/CORBIS; RIGHT, COURTESY USAF; FACING PAGE: LEFT, JULY 2009 MILITARY OFFICER 47
RON EDMONDS/AP; FAR LEFT, BRETT SIEGEL/USN/GETTY IMAGES
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