Vietnam
Gallery 8
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This OD-107 sateen shirt was worn by Lieutenant Colonel James L. Gorman while attached to the 9th Infantry Division as an Air Liaison Officer. Prior to his assignment with the 9th ID, (then) Major Gorman was stationed with the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron ("Lancers") at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Ban Takhli, Thailand in 1968 and 1969. The 333rd flew the F-105 Thunderchief ("Thud") on Wild Weasel SAM suppression missions over North Vietnam. The following was related by former Air Force Captain Robert King, who flew with Major Gorman in the 333rd: "Jim was one of the AGM-12 shooters when I knew him in the 333rd TFS at Takhli in 1968-1969. If you Google for "AGM-12", you will learn that it was a 'precision guided' weapon in the days before GPS, lasers, TV and so forth. It was a relatively large warhead (250 pounds sticks in my head) with a long burning rocket motor and a radio controlled guidance system. The pilot delivering the thing had to pickle the thing off while in a shallow dive towards the target. Then he had to fly his airplane with his right hand on the stick and fly the missile with his left hand on a miniature joystick that mounted in a bracket on the left console. Those control inputs were transmitted by radio to the missile. It was a bit like rubbing your head and patting your stomach. By the way, while the missile was flying towards its target, so was the airplane that pickled it off - in a nice shallow dive flying in more or less a straight line. That made the Thud an ideal target for all the AAA gunners in the vicinity." Colonel Gorman, who passed away in February 1999 of Agent Orange related cancer, was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, three (3) Distinguished Flying Crosses, and nine (9) Air Medals. |
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Among Colonel Gorman's artifacts was this MXU-161/P pilot's clipboard, which was worn strapped to the thigh. The top folds out to reveal a compartment for papers. At the top is a small flashlight for use at night; another Air Force flyer related that the end cap to the flashlight would continually fall off so they were usually discarded. (Donated by Paula Bear) |
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This Wild Weasel certificate was awarded to Major Gorman in February 1971. Affixed to the upper left corner is an emblem bearing the Wild Weasel mascot, "Wiley Weasel" and the motto "Cave Putorium" which really means "Non-Domesticated Weasel" - a wild weasel, but is usually said to mean "Beware the Weasel". |
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Major Gorman is shown here in his "party suit" while at Takhli; these were made by local tailors and outfitted to suit the pilot's personal tastes. The color varied from squadron to squadron - the 333rd chose red for their color.(Photo courtesy of Paula Bear) |
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This photo shows Major Gorman (center) and fellow Wild Weasels prior to taking off on another mission. The Wild Weasels at Takhli typically had to complete 100 missions to complete their tours; the likelyhood of reaching the 100 mission milestone was less than 65 per cent. (Photo courtesy of Robert King)
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Major Gorman is shown at the right of this photo with other 333rd flyers during a post-mission debriefing.(Photo courtesy of Robert King). |
