| Date: 1 June 1968 |
| Aircraft type: F-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 64-0779 |
| Military Unit: 391 TFS, 12 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Cam Ranh Bay |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Glenn Thomas Ciarfeo (KIA) |
| Capt M P Rhodes (Survived) |
| A flight of Phantoms was scrambled to attack a force of enemy troops near Van Ninh on the coast, 40 miles north of Cam Ranh Bay. Maj Ciarfeo was making his seventh pass over the troops when his luck finally ran out. The Phantom (call sign Hammer 7) was hit by ground fire and crashed two miles away from the enemy position. Only the WSO, Capt Rhodes, was able to eject, and he suffered severe injuries in doing so but was rescued by a HH-43B.
The following additional information was received from George Kraft, a gunner on a helicopter gunship fire team that participated in this event. He has done extensive research about this loss, using news reports, as well as communications with Capt Rhodes and Maj Ciarfeo's family, as well as their squadron mates. Here is a summary of the information he provided: "I was a gunner on a helicopter gunship fire team that was just backing out of the revetments to launch on a fire mission to the south. As we lined up, Ops called and told us we were reassigned to cover the extraction of an F-4 pilot who had been shot down about ten minutes north of us. When we arrived and set up our orbit, a FAC was already on the scene and a Husky rescue helicopter was just starting his final approach over the downed pilot. He had landed into a small tree which kept the parachute canopy visible but appeared to be sitting between two large boulders with one leg in the opening between them." "A later article in the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper described the extraction in detail. They wrote: 'The steady nerves of an Air Force rescue team saved a crew member forced to eject from his disabled F4 Phantom. Hearing the distress call, the HH43 Huskie helicopter crew from Det. 11, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Sq. at Tuy Hoa AB, was airborne in two minutes and heading toward the scene, 17 miles southwest of Tuy Hoa. Twenty minutes after takeoff, the rescue crew spotted the flier's parachute in the trees but could see no trace of the man. Hovering over the chute, Maj. Delmar G. Worsech, the pilot, backed the helicopter as Capt. James A. Darden, rescue crew commander, tried to locate the man. 'I saw the sun flash off the bars on his flight suit, then saw him move his head, and I knew we had found him,' Darden said. Sgt. Robert F. Thompson, flight engineer, lowered Airman 1.C. Harry M. Krause, the rescue specialist, 30 feet to the ground below. 'I could not see the pilot, but I followed his chute lines until I came to him,' Krause said. 'He just looked at me and sort of smiled.' The pilot was wedged between the bases of two huge boulders which hampered the paramedic in his attempts to treat the flier. 'I checked him over for injuries and found that he had a slight scratch on his face and a swollen area on his leg and arm,' Krause said. Applying first aid, he placed a temporary splint on the man's arm. Because a hovering rescue helicopter is an inviting target, two flights of F-100 Super Sabres, returning to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa from combat missions, were diverted to provide ground fire suppression if necessary. Army helicopter gunships were also scrambled into the area. Fortunately, no enemy fire disturbed the 50-minute rescue. Krause prepared the downed crewman for evacuation by placing him into the litter for the trip up to the helicopter. A thick canopy of trees overhead posed a problem which the rescue men solved by hacking out a hole three feet in diameter for the litter. Thus, the injured man had to be hoisted in a vertical position. As the pilot was raised toward the open door of the Huskie, Thompson realized getting the litter aboard the helicopter while hovering would be difficult. He directed Worsech to a nearby open area where they could land. After landing, Thompson had Worsech ease the pilot aboard and returned to pick up the paramedic. At the 31st U.S. Air Force Dispensary, a doctor examined the injured flier and decided to send him to the 91st Evacuation Hospital at nearby Phu Hiep for treatment. Final word on the patient revealed that he had a broken arm, broken leg landing in the boulders, and slight back injuries from the ejection. A second member of the Phantom crew was killed.'" "A final note on that. Six months later A1C Krause was awarded the Silver Star for his role in the recovery. He had selflessly remained behind, alone in enemy territory, so that Capt Rhodes could be recovered properly." "Meanwhile, after we had done a few orbits over the recovery scene, an Air Force helicopter gunship team from the 20th Special Operations Squadron arrived, so the FAC directed us to fly southwest along the flight path to look for the pilot and any aircraft wreckage. Capt. Rhodes had landed near the top of the coastal mountains so we headed downhill looking for smoke or, more importantly, a parachute. There was no distress beacon on the radio. As we approached the coast there were miles of fresh water rice paddies inland that were separated from the South China Sea by a berm running along the beach around 10-12 feet high. Maj. Ciarfeo was spotted on the beach between the berm and the shoreline. We made a very low pass over him and were both surprised and dismayed that he appeared to have been laid out there without his equipment. It was also very unusual at that time of day that there was no one in the fields tending to the paddies. We made several passes and were at bingo when another Huskie arrived to take over. As we went back to our base at Ninh Hoa the suspicious circumstances of what we saw were discussed at length." "Later it was learned that the Vietnamese army went to the nearby village and recovered Glenn’s personal effects from the farmers who had stripped his body and laid him on the beach to be found. It would have been no longer than 90 minutes from the shoot down to when we found him." "A letter from CWO-4 Will Stafford, a gunship pilot from my unit returning from a mission who witnessed the ejection stated, 'We saw the canopy go off and watched the two eject. Only one chute deployed, the other guy went down still in his ejection seat. It seemed as if that fall took forever, and there was nothing we could do but watch. I remember feeling a chill that felt like it went from my feet to the tips of my fingers. That's the best of my recollections.' After the body was recovered, it was discovered that his neck had been broken due to the high speed ejection, estimated to be as fast as 600 knots, so he died before he hit the ground." "In the course of my research, around 2007, Major Ciarfeo's daughter forwarded to me a letter she had recently received from Capt Rhodes telling her about the loss of her father. He said that they were sent to attack a Viet Cong camp. They were carrying six 750-lb bombs and a gun pod. They made six runs on the target, dropping one bomb per run. The FAC then asked them to strafe the area. On their first pass at about 2,500 ft and 450 knots, they were hit by what they believed was a .50-cal round. It started a fire on the floor of the cockpit between the two pilots' seats. They broke off the attack, turned southeast toward the coast about ten miles away, and accelerated. In a matter of seconds, Maj Ciarfeo reported the loss of pneudraulics which meant no flight controls. The cockpit filled with smoke. Capt Rhodes saw his boots on fire and initiated ejection using the lower handle. The high speed ejection took its toll, and, as he hung in the chute, he discovered that his helmet, gloves, gun, and right boot were missing, and his left arm was broken. He landed shortly afterward in a tree between two boulders and subsequently was rescued as we arrived on station." |
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