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. 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

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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,

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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. Memorial is in Bossier City, Louisiana, in Bossier Parish. It 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. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 88 Shreveport Rd, Bossier City LA 71112, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in North Louisiana.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Boeing B-52D “Stratofortress” (within shouting distance of this marker); Boeing B-52G “Stratofortress” (within shouting distance of this marker); North American AGM-28 “Hound Dog” (within shouting distance of this marker); Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 “Fishbed” (within shouting distance of this marker); Convair B-58 “Rocket Sled” (within shouting distance of this marker); Major General William E. Eubank, Jr. (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Avro B-2 “Vulcan” (about 300 feet away); Boeing KC-135A "Stratotanker" (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bossier City.

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 1,023 times since then and 116 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on June 3, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.