| Date: 24 April 1967 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 153000 |
| Military Unit: VF-114 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Kitty Hawk |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Charles Everett Southwick (Survived) |
| Ensign James William Laing (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: A-6A Intruder |
| Serial Number: 152589 |
| Military Unit: VA-85 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Kitty Hawk |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Lewis Irving Williams (POW) |
| Lt(jg) Michael Durham Christian (POW) |
| After two years of political indecision, the first major strike on the MiG bases took place when Kep and Hoa Lac airfields were attacked on the 24th resulting in the loss of two naval aircraft at Kep. The strike force was protected by a TARCAP flight of six Phantoms led by Lt Cdr Southwick. As the Phantoms and the strike force approached Kep they came under heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire. Lt Cdr Southwick’s aircraft (call sign Linfield 210) was hit by AAA as he escorted the first wave of bombers out of the target area. The aircraft appeared to be little damaged but in any case the crew were faced with a more pressing problem when they were attacked by eight MiGs from the 923rd Fighter Regiment. The Phantoms reversed course and headed towards the MiG-17s, four low down and four at the same altitude as the Phantoms. One of the MiGs passed over the Phantoms and Southwick reversed his course again, caught up with the MiG and shot it down. However, there was little time for celebration as Southwick’s wingman warned him of another MiG-17 that was on his tail. A Phantom flown by Lt Denny Wisely and Lt(jg) G L Anderson destroyed the MiG before it could do any damage. As the Phantoms retired towards the coast Lt Cdr Southwick discovered that he could not transfer fuel from the wing tank. Unable to reach a tanker in time, Southwick and Laing ejected over the sea about 20 miles south of Hon Gay and were rescued by a Navy helicopter. Lt Cdr Southwick, who had attacked North Vietnamese patrol boats during the original Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, was shot down again on 14 May, but this time he was captured.
Among the bombers attacking Kep that day was an A-6 flown by Lt Williams and Lt Christian. The strike formation approached the target from the north and when they were about 10 miles from the airfield the Intruder’s port wing was hit by 85mm flak and burst into flames. Within minutes the aircraft (call sign Buckeye 512) had lost engines, electrics and hydraulics and it started to spin. The crew jettisoned their bombs and ejected through a ball of fire and landed within a few yards of each other. They radioed that they were OK but were quickly captured. While in prison Mike Christian made a small American flag out of bits of cloth he scrounged together but it was discovered by the guards and he was almost beaten to death. The incident did not stop him making another flag as soon as he could move again. Both men were released on 4 March 1973. Irving Williams retired as a Captain in 1992 having commanded the naval air station at Alameda but Mike Christian resigned from the Navy in 1978 as a protest against an amnesty for draft dodgers. Tragically, Christian died in a fire at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia in September 1983. |
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