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 LtCol Robert L. Brumm 1 Jan-1 Jul 68 LtCol John J. Shippey 1 Jul-1 Nov 68 LtCol Atlee R. Ellis 1 Nov-5 Nov 68 LtCol Robert L. Schultz 5 Nov 68-1 Jul 69 LtCol Robert W. Stout 1 Jul 69

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 By the time the last four surviving A-26s were withdrawn at the unit stand down, the squadron had flown 7,159 combat missions, and been credited with destroying 4,268 enemy supply trucks.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.