From: George Chaudoin
Date: 07/01/12 13:53:06
Subject:
Subject: The Seventh Man
Subject: The Seventh Man
Just in case you haven’t seen this before.
Major Mize recently passed away.
Valor: The Seventh Man *
By John L. Frisbee Contributing Editor
Capt. John Mize knew the B-52 could not make
it to U Tapao. Perhaps it could get to friendly territory, given a miracle.
Capt. John O. Mize bent his B-52D into a sharp
turn away from his objective, a surface-to-air missile (SAM) site, VN-243, near
Hanoi. It was his fourth Linebacker II mission and his 295th in Southeast Asia.
Dec. 27, 1972, was the ninth day of the "eleven-day war" that finally
brought North Vietnam to the truce table, led to return of the POWs, and
lowered the curtain on direct American participation in the Vietnam War.
Seconds after bombs away, Mize, copilot Capt.
Terrence Gruters, and gunner TSgt. Peter Whalen counted a barrage of 15 SAMs
headed their way. Already they had evaded several SAMs in the target area, but
not a mass firing of this size. Fourteen of the missiles missed, but the 15th
exploded with a tremendous concussion between the No. 4 engine and the
fuselage. Shrapnel hit Mize in the left thigh, lower leg, and hand. Whalen and
radar navigator Capt. Bill North were wounded in the legs. The cockpit was
filled with debris. Before Mize could react, 200 tons of aircraft plunged
toward the earth, with all four engines of the left wing knocked out, engine
No. 1 on fire, navigation and engine instruments inoperative, and most of the
power boost for flight controls gone. Only one alternator, the radio, and
cockpit lights were functioning.
With virtually no power boost, it took a
superhuman effort by Mize and Gruters to regain control of the shattered
bomber. After a rapid damage assessment, Mize knew they could not make it back
to U Tapao in Thailand, where the 28th Bombardment Group was based. "The
question was," says Mize, "how far we could get before we had to
abandon the aircraft." Whether anyone had flown a damaged B-52 with all
engines out on one side, using only needle, ball, and airspeed (the latter
erratic and undependable), he didn't know, but they would give it their best
shot. "Everyone knew what to do," Mize said. "They were
absolutely professional in every respect."
As soon as the bomber was under control,
navigator Lt. Bill Robinson gave Mize a dead-reckoning heading from their last
known position to friendly territory. Separated from the other bombers in Ash
cell and with no defensive systems operational, the B-52 limped westward toward
Nakhon Phanom (NKP) in northern Thailand. How long would the badly damaged left
wing hold? What other structural damage had the aircraft sustained? No one
knew.
In order to maintain bailout altitude, Mize
repeatedly descended 1,500 feet, then climbed back 1,000 feet. Over northern
Laos their desperate situation began to deteriorate still further. The bomb bay
doors fell open, one side of the landing gear began to cycle up and down, and
other electrical systems went haywire. Forty-five minutes after they were hit,
it was time to bail out, but navigator Robinson calculated they were over
jagged mountains. Another 30 miles would put them over flat land near NKP--if
the burned and battered left wing held.
As they approached NKP, Captain Mize felt
"a kind of death throe" run through the B-52. He called each crew
member, ordering him to bail out. Gruters, Whalen, radar navigator Capt. Bill
North, and EWO Capt. Dennis Anderson (the last two, from the 7th Bombardment
Group, were substitutes on the mission) went out on order, but Robinson's seat
would not eject.
Robinson told Mize that he would go out the
hole where the radar navigator had ejected. Since there would be no contact
with Robinson after he left his seat, Mize, knowing the left wing could go any
moment, told Robinson he would stay with the aircraft for three minutes, giving
the navigator time to bail out. Before that time was up, all electrical systems
failed, signaling the end of that B-52. Mize called Robinson once more. Getting
no response, he punched out as the aircraft went down. All crew members were
picked up by rescue choppers within a few minutes.
For his superb airmanship and for laying his
life on the line to assure Robinson's escape, Mize was awarded the Air Force
Cross, the first SAC man to receive that medal. The other crew members were
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism, and all six received the
Purple Heart for wounds and injuries suffered in their night bailout.
Retired and living in Oscoda, Mich., before
passing away, Mize believed "there was a Seventh Man aboard" on that
memorable night. Who could argue the point? For presentation on this web site,
some Valor articles have been amended for accuracy.
* Publilshed February 1990
On The Green Side
George
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The above post is not necessarily the opinion or shared view of the editor. Some posts may be excluded from the current issue because of too much content or deemed inappropriate. All PCN subscribers are welcome to post. PCN Home Page is located at: http://pcn.homestead.com/home01.html
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