Bossier City in Bossier Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
1st CEVG Combat Skyspot Memorial
Gary Todd via Flickr (Public Domain), July 14, 2017
1. 1st CEVG Combat Skyspot Memorial
Inscription.
1st CEVG Combat Skyspot Memorial. .
CMSGT Richard L. Etchberger Medal of Honor 21 SEP 10, Isaiah 6:8 “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I; send me. The introduction of the B-52 into the Vietnam War brought an incredibly devastating weapon system within the control of ground force commanders. However the delivery accuracy was often limited by a complete lack of cultural radar returns and suitable geographic points. To solve this problem, SAC began using ground based radar equipment operated by the First Combat Evaluation Group (CEG) to direct aerial bombing raids. This tactic was labeled Ground Directed Bombing (GDB) and given the code name Combat Skyspot. CEG personnel would guide the bombers along a designated route and at the proper moment signal the aircrew to release their weapons. Combat Skyspot not only provided flexibility in targeting but its accuracy soon surpassed that of the B-52. IN fact these CDB sites were so formidable the enemy conducted daring raids to eliminate them or force their relocation. During their 90-month period of service in Southeast Asia, Combat Skyspot crew directed over 300,000 USAF, Navy, Marine and RVN re supply, reconnaissance, rescue and tactical air missions as well as 75 percent of all B-52 strikes. Over 3,000 men of CEG manned ground radar sites in South Vietnam, Thailand and Laos 24 hours a day from March 1966 until August 1973. This memorial is dedicated in memory to the nineteen members of CEG who gave their lives in this effort., [Left wing]
5 June 1966 , OL–24 – Dong Ha, Vietnam. On the morning of 5 June 1966 a survey team from HQ 1 CEG, made up of Marks, Guerin, James and Vasquez, was on a reconnaissance mission to establish a visual reference point for determining the location of the radar equipment. This site, referred to as OL 24, was located just 6 miles south of the 17th Parallel, the provisional military demarcation line dividing North Vietnam from South Vietnam. Because of the northern location and a report that the 324th Bravo Division of the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) had moved into the area, Radar Operator Technicians Bruce Mansfield and Jerry Olds volunteered to accompany the survey team to boost their firepower. As the jeep progressed down a small dirt road, the survey party encountered an enemy ambush in which all six men were fatally shot. After administering a coup de grace, enemy forces siphoned fuel out of the jeep and set it on fire with the bodies of Olds and Mansfield still inside.
TSgt Bruce E. Mansfield . SSgt John P. Guerin . SSgt Ephraim Vasquez . TSgt Antone P. Marks . SSgt Jerry D. Olds . A1C Rufus L. James.
24 February 1968 , DET–15 Tan Son Nhut AB. Vietnam. Three weeks after withstanding the Tet Offensive of 31 January 1968, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, located five miles from the heart of Saigon, came under rocket and mortar attack for a second time. Several airmen assigned to DET 15 were wounded. Smith, an administrative specialist, was killed in the assault.
TSgt Lowell V. Smith. [Right wing]
Operation Heavy Green 11 March 1968 Lima Site , 85 Phou Pha Thi, Laos. In the early morning of March 11, 1968, Site 85 was overrun by PAVN commandos. Twelve of the nineteen brave men on Phou Pha Thi Site 85 were KIA, BNR or POW-MIA. Since that time only a bone identified as belonging to Patrick Shannon has even been found. This was the largest single ground combat loss of USAF personnel during the Vietnam War. Three technician were rescued from the mountain top by the heroic effects of Chief Etchberger, who was fatally wounded after boarding the rescue helicopter.
“Hold at All Cost” LTCOL. Clarence F. Blanton . CMSGT Richard L. Etchberger . TSGT James H. Calfee . TSGT Melvin A. Holland . TSGT Herbert A. Cook . TSGT Patrick L. Shannon . TSGT Donald K. Springsteadah . SSGT James W. Davis . SSGT Henry G. Gish . SSGT Willis R. Hall . SSGT David S. Price . SSGT Don F. Worley We Will Not Forget.
CMSGT Richard L. Etchberger
Medal of Honor
21 SEP 10
Isaiah 6:8 “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying
Whom shall I send and who will go for us?
Then said I, here am I; send me
The introduction of the B-52 into the Vietnam War brought an incredibly devastating weapon system within the control of ground force commanders. However the delivery accuracy was often limited by a complete lack of cultural radar returns and suitable geographic points. To solve this problem, SAC began using ground based radar equipment operated by the First Combat Evaluation Group (CEG) to direct aerial bombing raids. This tactic was labeled Ground Directed Bombing (GDB) and given the code name Combat Skyspot. CEG personnel would guide the bombers along a designated route and at the proper moment signal the aircrew to release their weapons. Combat Skyspot not only provided flexibility in targeting but its accuracy soon surpassed that of the B-52. IN fact these CDB sites were so formidable the enemy conducted daring raids to eliminate them or force their relocation. During their 90-month period of service in Southeast Asia, Combat Skyspot crew directed over 300,000 USAF, Navy, Marine and RVN re supply, reconnaissance, rescue and tactical air missions as well as 75 percent of all B-52 strikes. Over 3,000 men
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of CEG manned ground radar sites in South Vietnam, Thailand and Laos 24 hours a day from March 1966 until August 1973. This memorial is dedicated in memory to the nineteen members of CEG who gave their lives in this effort.
[Left wing]
5 June 1966 — OL–24 –
Dong Ha, Vietnam
On the morning of 5 June 1966 a survey team from HQ 1 CEG, made up of Marks, Guerin, James and Vasquez, was on a reconnaissance mission to establish a visual reference point for determining the location of the radar equipment. This site, referred to as OL 24, was located just 6 miles south of the 17th Parallel, the provisional military demarcation line dividing North Vietnam from South Vietnam. Because of the northern location and a report that the 324th Bravo Division of the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) had moved into the area, Radar Operator Technicians Bruce Mansfield and Jerry Olds volunteered to accompany the survey team to boost their firepower. As the jeep progressed down a small dirt road, the survey party encountered an enemy ambush in which all six men were fatally shot. After administering a coup de grace, enemy forces siphoned fuel out of the jeep and set it on fire with the bodies of Olds and Mansfield still inside.
TSgt Bruce E. Mansfield • SSgt John P. Guerin • SSgt Ephraim Vasquez • TSgt Antone P. Marks • SSgt Jerry D. Olds • A1C
Rufus L. James
24 February 1968 — DET–15
Tan Son Nhut AB. Vietnam
Three weeks after withstanding the Tet Offensive of 31 January 1968, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, located five miles from the heart of Saigon, came under rocket and mortar attack for a second time. Several airmen assigned to DET 15 were wounded. Smith, an administrative specialist, was killed in the assault.
TSgt Lowell V. Smith
[Right wing]
Operation Heavy Green
11 March 1968
Lima Site — 85 Phou Pha Thi, Laos
In the early morning of March 11, 1968, Site 85 was overrun by PAVN commandos. Twelve of the nineteen brave men on Phou Pha Thi Site 85 were KIA, BNR or POW-MIA. Since that time only a bone identified as belonging to Patrick Shannon has even been found. This was the largest single ground combat loss of USAF personnel during the Vietnam War. Three technician were rescued from the mountain top by the heroic effects of Chief Etchberger, who was fatally wounded after boarding the rescue helicopter.
“Hold at All Cost”
LTCOL. Clarence F. Blanton • CMSGT Richard L. Etchberger • TSGT James H. Calfee • TSGT Melvin A. Holland • TSGT Herbert A. Cook • TSGT Patrick L. Shannon • TSGT Donald K. Springsteadah • SSGT James W. Davis • SSGT Henry G. Gish • SSGT Willis R. Hall • SSGT David S. Price • SSGT Don F. Worley We Will Not Forget
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, Vietnam.
Location. 32° 30.922′ N, 93° 41.072′ W. Marker is in Bossier City, Louisiana, in Bossier Parish. Memorial is on Range Road, 0.4 miles north of Shreveport Road, on the right when traveling north. Marker is on the grounds of the Barksdale Global Power Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 88 Shreveport Rd, Bossier City LA 71112, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 3, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 279 times since then and 45 times this year. Photo1. submitted on June 3, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
