609th Special Operations Squadron
| 609th Air Commando Squadron | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Air Force: | |||
| Division: | |||
| Wing: 56th Air Commando Wing | |||
| Active: 22 Aug 1967- 1 Dec 1969 | |||
| Theater Southeast Asia | |||
| Motto: | |||
| Aircraft: Douglas B-26K | |||
| Commanders: LtCol Howard L. Farmer 1 Aug 67-1 Jan 68 | |||
The 609th Special Operations Squadron was organized as the 609th Air Commando Squadron at Nakhon Phanom RTAFB, Thailand on 15 September 1967. It was assigned to the 56th Air Commando Wing. The squadron flew the Douglas A-26 Invader, a twin engine attack bomber of WWII vintage. The first aircraft for the unit were transferred from the 603rd Air Commando Squadron - Detachment 1, which was attached to the 606th Air Commando Squadron. The 606th itself never flew B-26Ks, they flew Trojans. The primary mission of the 609th was night interdiction of truck traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Its call sign for these missions was "Nimrod", inherited from the 606th and other squadrons that had flown that mission, and "The Nimrods" soon became the squadron's nickname. The squadron's A-26 aircraft carried tail letters "TA".
On 1 August 1968, all Air Commando Wings were redesignated as Special Operations Units, and the 56th Air Commando Wing became the 56th Special Operations Wing, with the 609th Air Commando Squadron becoming the 609th Special Operations Squadron.
The night interdiction tasks of the 609th were gradually taken over by squadrons flying Lockheed AC-130 gunships, and the A-26 aircraft were phased out of active service by November 1969. By the time the last four surviving A-26s were withdrawn at the unit stand down, the squadron had flown 7,159 combat missions, and been credited with destroying 4,268 enemy supply trucks.
The 609th was inactivated on 1 December 1969. The squadron's losses had been heavy, and it was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry.
The remains of two squadron pilots, Maj. James E. Sizemore and Maj. Howard V. Andre, shot down over Laos in 1969, were recovered in 2013 and buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
People
| Rank | Name | Date Left | Role | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPT | Robert E. Pietsch | May 1968 | Pilot | MIA 30 Apr 1968 |
| MAJ | Richard Mendonca | May 1968 | Pilot | |
| LTCOL | Howard L. Farmer | May 1968 | Pilot | C.O. 1 Aug 1967 - 1 Jan 1968 |
| MAJ | Robert W. Bakken | Jun 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Bennie L Heathman | Jun 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Richard P. Schramm | Jul 1968 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Michael J. Roth | Jul 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Edward M Robinson | Jul 1968 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Bruce R Wolfe | Aug 1968 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Seijun Tengan | Sep 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Kenneth E. Lafave | Oct 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | John A. Parrish | Oct 1968 | Pilot | |
| LTCOL | John J. Shippey | Nov 1968 | Pilot | C.O. 1 Jul-1 Nov 1968 |
| LTCOL | Robert L. Brumm | Nov 1968 | Pilot | C.O. 1 Jan-1 Jul 1968 |
| LTCOL | Atlee R. Ellis | Nov 1968 | Pilot | C.O. 1 Nov-5 Nov 1968 |
| MAJ | Bobby J. Sears | Nov 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Bernard N Disteldorf | Nov 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Mark R Richards | Nov 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Robert F. Bennett | Dec 1968 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Jay L Norton | Dec 1968 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Daniel F. Grob | Dec 1968 | Pilot | |
| LTCOL | Douglas W. Carmichael | Apr 1969 | Pilot | O.O. 1 Nov 1968-1 Apr 1969 |
| MAJ | Delbert W Litton | May 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Charles A Kenyon | Jun 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Lee D Griffin | Jun 1969 | Pilot | |
| LTCOL | Robert L. Schultz | Jul 1969 | Pilot | C.O. 5 Nov 1968-1 Jul 1969 |
| MAJ | Elmer E Peters | Jul 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Albert Shortt | Jul 1969 | Pilot | O.O. 1 Apr-1 Jul 1969 |
| MAJ | James G. Fitzgerald | Jul 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Charles C. Vogler | Sep 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Kenneth E Yancey | Sep 1969 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Roscoe R. Roberts III | May 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Milton J Warner | Oct 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Robert L. Dixon | Nov 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Charles T Bates | Nov 1969 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Anthony M. Hotsko | Nov 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Joe A. Jefferis | Dec 1969 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Paul M. Marschalk | Dec 1969 | Pilot | |
| CPT | James W. Widdis | Dec 1969 | Pilot | MIA 21 Mar 1969 |
| CPT | Neal E Monette | Dec 1969 | Pilot | KIA 12 Mar 1969 |
| LTCOL | Floyd A Peede | Mar 1969 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | James E Sizemore | Jan 1970 | Pilot | KIA 4 Jul 1969 |
| LTCOL | Robert W Stout | Mar 1970 | Pilot | C.O. 1 Jul 1969 |
| MAJ | William H Lorimar | Mar 1970 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Daniel W Koyn | Mar 1970 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Eddie L. Parris | Mar 1970 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Peter F Peterson | Mar 1970 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Henry J. Mauldin | Mar 1970 | Pilot | |
| CPT | Michael King | Apr 1970 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Robert C Mason | May 1970 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Richard G Keller | May 1970 | Pilot | |
| MAJ | Francis E Riley | Jun 1970 | Pilot |
Planes
| Serial Number | Date Assigned | Date Left | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64-17640 | 7 Jun 1965 | 15 Apr 1968 | Left the base in Mar 1966 and Oct 1967 for maintenance at McLellan AFB and OnMark. Glass nose. |
| 64-17647 | 8 Oct 1965 | 3 Apr 1968 | Went to McLellan AFB in Jun 1966 for modifications. |
| 64-17648 | 9 Sep 1964 | 19 Jul 1967 | Sent back to OnMark, then over to Vietnam. Glass nose. |
| 64-17651 | 20 Sep 1964 | 27 Jul 1967 | Sent to OnMark, then over to Vietnam. |
| 64-17653 | 13 Oct 1964 | 25 Mar 1968 | Sent to McLellan Mar 1968, then to Vietnam. |
| 64-17655 | 2 Nov 1964 | 18 Apr 1968 | Sent to 1st Air Commando Wing, Eglin AFB. Glass nose. |
| 64-17657 | 11 Nov 1964 | 18 Jan 1968 | Sent to McLellan AFB Jan 1968, then to 1st Air Commando Wing, Eglin AFB. |
| 64-17659 | 28 Nov 1964 | 18 Aug 1965 | Destroyed in accident, dropped from inventory. |
| 64-17661 | 4 Dec 1964 | 2 Aug 1967 | Sent to OnMark, then over to Vietnam. |
| 64-17663 | 22 Dec 1964 | 23 Apr 1965 | Destroyed in accident, dropped from inventory. |