Finally, US Air Force Records Discovered
Confirming UFO Activity During The Striking Of The
HMAS Hobart
Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the
accidental missile strike on the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) HMAS Hobart by a
United States Air Force (USAF) F–4 Phantom Fighter–Bomber in the early hours of
June 17th, 1968. Specifically, I aimed to highlight that there has never really
been official confirmation and consensus on what the jet was supposed to be
firing on, and, that there was a possibility that the aerial targets it had in
its sights were unusual and unidentifiable. The most sensible hypothesis has
generally been that North Vietnamese M–14 Hound helicopters were flying in the
vicinity of the Hobart, and that the F–4 Phantom made a dreadful targeting
error. However, in light of a series of recent discoveries, by both myself and
Boston based researcher Barry Greenwood, this may not be the case. I have
already gone to considerable length highlighting some never–before–seen
information in one particular USAF record, which is titled “Project CHECO South East Asia Report: Air War In The DMZ September
1967 – June 1968”. Again, Part 1 of this series is worth looking at for
those who haven’t.
Of course, no serious research project falls
back on a single document. Anyone who knows my work will be well aware that I
ceaselessly bring forth more, and more, and more, unseen government UFO records
to the table. In this Part 2, I aim to present new, or barely known, records which
relate to the HMAS Hobart incident. Moreover, there may be, unsurprisingly, a
great deal more still–classified records relating to the incident that we
simply do not have access to.
An important question which must be asked
is that of terminology. Is the use of the term “UFO”, when used in Vietnam–era military
records, merely a “catchall” for anything which is airborne and simply unknown
to the observer? It would be easy to assume such is the case. However, time and
time again we see the term “UFO”, or “Unidentified Flying Object” as distinctly referenced alongside terms
like “unidentified aircraft”, “unknown aircraft” and the like.
One of the many examples of this distinction
can be found in the individual line items found in a United States Marine Corps
(USMC), “Command Chronology” publication, titled “Command Chronology, Headquarters, 3erd Marine Division, 1st Amphibious
Tractor Battalion, 1 June, 1968 to 30 June, 1968”. In the “Sequential
Listing of Significant Events” section of the document, there are pages of raw,
tabulated text which discusses the daily activities of the 3erd Marine Division’s
1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion, in June, 1968. An entry for the 18th of June
states:
“Co
‘A’ at C–4 position reported unidentified aircraft due east of C–4 position.”
The very next line item states:
“Elms
Co ‘A’ at Oceanview reported 6 UFOs vic of the mouth of the Ben Hai River”
Note the distinction between the terms “unidentified
aircraft” and “UFO”? Presumably, military observers would desire to use anything but the term “UFO”, yet we see
it used time and time and again throughout all manner of such records.
Another (USMC) “Command Chronology”
publication makes reference to ongoing UFO activity in the precise vicinity of
where HMAS Hobart was patrolling, and only two nights beforehand. Titled “III Marine Amphibious Force, Air Ground
Team, Command Chronology, June 1968”, it was printed by Headquarters, III Marine
Amphibious Force, Military Assistance Command on the 9th of August, 1968. Originally
classified “SECRET”, and only downgraded to “UNCLASSIFIED” in 2014, it is held,
among thousands of similar publications, at the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) in Washington DC. In a chapter titled “Intelligence”,
there is this curious statement on Page 17:
“During
the late evening hours of 15 June approximately 15 unidentified aircraft,
believed to be enemy helicopters, were reportedly sighted in the DMZ area. Since that time there have been numerous
sightings, both visual and by radar, of unidentified, slow–moving UFO’s in the
DMZ area and seaward toward Tiger Island.
No hard evidence of these aircraft has yet been received.”
So, even this USMC historical record –
which was authored by utilising raw and classified records – states that
“unidentified aircraft” on the 15th of June were only “believed” to be enemy
helicopters. Beyond that, “numerous sightings” – seen both visually and on
radar – of “unidentified, slow–moving UFO’s” around Tiger Island obviously were
of concern. The date–range of these sightings, of course, lead right up to the
accidental missile strike on HMAS Hobart. I have imaged the page below.
The United States Navy (USN) didn’t come
up with any clear picture either. After searching through dozens of US Naval
Forces, Vietnam “Historical Supplement” publications, I managed to locate the corresponding
item for June, 1968. Titled “US Naval
Forces, Vietnam Monthly Historical Supplement, June 1968”, and originally
classified CONFIDENTIAL, discussion of the HMAS Hobart attack is concentrated
on Page 5. It states:
“Air
Force pilots called in response to earlier reports of enemy aircraft near the
DMZ, reported shooting down several helicopters. However, no evidence of
wreckage could be found. Subsequent investigation of the events indicated that,
in the confusion following the initial reports of helicopter sightings, the
friendly aircraft had attacked targets which appeared to be on radar. These
radar targets probably included PCF 19. The use of helicopters by the enemy was
neither conclusively proved nor disproved although observers ashore and MARKET
TIME units continued to observe lights and other indications of helicopter
activity along the North Vietnamese coast and between the coast and nearby
Tiger Island.”
This publication was written well after the HMAS Hobart incident, yet
confusion around what was actually flying in the DMZ is still very apparent. Specifically,
“US Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly
Historical Supplement, June 1968” was signed off for distribution by
Commander J. P. Rizza, Chief of Staff for US Naval Forces, Vietnam, on the 18th
of Feburary, 1969, which is eight months after that fateful night. Most telling
are the passages of text which state “…use of helicopters by the enemy was
neither conclusively proved nor disproved…” and “…continued
to observe lights and other indications of helicopter activity along the North
Vietnamese coast and between the coast and nearby Tiger Island.”. I have imaged
the page below.
An Australian Prime Minister’s Department
file, titled “HMAS ‘Hobart’ – Attack by
United States Aircraft In Vietnamese Waters”, contains fifty–six pages of “cablegrams”
and other teletype message traffic between the Australian Embassy in Saigon,
Vietnam, the Australian Department of External Affairs, and the Office of the
Prime Minister. Held now at the National Archives of Australia (NAA), the file
was originally classified SECRET and was given the Control Symbol designation 1968/8614,
within the A1209 filing Series. In a four page “inward cablegram”, dated the
31st of July, 1968, received by the Department of External Affairs, Canberra
from the Australian Embassy, Saigon, it is stated that:
“No
physical evidence of helicopters destroyed has been discovered in the area of
activity nor has extensive reconnaissance produced any evidence of enemy
helicopter operations in or near the DMZ.”
So, six weeks after the incident,
despite “extensive reconnaissance”, the US military could not find “any evidence of
enemy helicopter operations in or near the DMZ.”. I have imaged the page below.
Even General Creighton W. Abrams, the
Commander of all US Forces in Vietnam when HMAS Hobart was hit, refuted the
notion that enemy helicopters were definitely operating in the Demilitarized
Zone (DMZ). One of the US Army Press Corps carried a short statement from Gen.
Abrams which was picked up by media organisations in the final week of June.
One such example was printed in the Springfield
Massachusetts Union on the 24th of June, 1968. It states, in part:
“Gen.
Creighton W. Abrams, the US commander in Vietnam, said Sunday ‘there is no
formal, concrete, factual evidence’ of enemy helicopters being used along the
Demilitarized Zone.”
If the USA’s top General in Vietnam couldn’t
confirm that all the strange activity in the DMZ could be readily accounted
for, then we are somewhat forced to conclude that no one did.
To conclude, at least for now, I again raise the contents of Part 1 of this series. There, I discussed
the contents of “Project CHECO South East
Asia Report: Air War In The DMZ September 1967 – June 1968” which
highlighted, amongst other curiosities, a “joint service conference on the UFO
problem”, as well as authorized “projects” that were “established to observe
the UFOs”. Further, In this Part 2, I have presented further records that establish a
very high level of confusion during the period leading up to the USAF’s
accidental strike on HMAS Hobart. The constant utilization of the term “UFOs”,
at all levels of military officialdom, indeed matches some of the rumours that
circulated in June, 1968 and beyond. That the USAF, and indeed the whole US
Armed Forces in Vietnam, were totally unable to present verifiable information –
either in public statements, classified records, or anywhere else – that North
Vietnamese choppers were intensely active in the DMZ is undeniably significant,
and, many would argue, rather disquieting.
Moreover, none of this activity was
filed with Project Blue Book, the USAF’s official collection and investigation
of UFO reports. This wasn’t merely a case of administrative bungling or
misplaced records. It was, however, another example of systematic deception by
the US military in regards to what was really going on. When the Secretary of
the USAF, Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr, announced, on the 17th of December, 1969, that
no UFO reported, investigated and evaluated was “ever an indication of threat
to our national security”, one can’t help but suspect that he simply had no
idea what was really occurring.
Finally, I have imaged, below, the front
covers of some of the documents which I have presented to assist other
researchers to verify what I have displayed and discussed. These are the cover
pages for the records “III Marine
Amphibious Force, Air Ground Team, Command Chronology, June 1968”, “US Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly Historical
Supplement, June 1968” and the Australian government file “HMAS ‘Hobart’ – Attack by United States
Aircraft In Vietnamese Waters”.
Thanks Paul. That was a nice load of documents.
ReplyDeleteRobert
Dear Paul,
ReplyDeleteYour ongoing research is filling in some interesting and
important gaps in our understanding of the Vietnam war period.
Keep up the good work.
Yeah, I really like your research, Paul. Glad to be on the email list for notifications of new blog posts, like this one.
ReplyDeleteSo, nobody really seems to know whether the NVA had or used helos in the area and time, despite the lights and radar tracks, eh? Intriguing. I'd heard of this incident vaguely before, and UFO activity along the DMZ in Vietnam, but your writings and docs provide a nice filling in of the gaps in the online records. Goood stuff! 8^}