European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 26, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The pilots reminiscing pilots at Ramstein pause to buy souvenirs. Who Rode thud Ridge to Hanoi by John Vinol r new York times s . They agreed that Vietnam had been a Lumb War. It was a one hand behind your Back moronic War ought All wrong. Too Many Good Guys were gone after meeting the Golden by. Enough anger disillusionment and confusion to asphyxiated a generation. Agreed agreed quietly. By 11 30 . The tone had changed. After All everyone Here at Ramstein air base was obviously still alive the responsible citizen in uniform talk was running its course and he european reunion of the red River rats fighter pilots who crossed the red River in North Viet Nam to attack Hanoi and Haiphong making it or not making it through sheets of missiles and flak had reached the stage where personalized Meissen rat mugs vere being raised in a comfortable direction. Dead Bug dead Bug someone shouted. Bodies Dove or the floor tumbling away from he bar Way from the Hor d oeuvre i table with its Small Mountain of cheese doodles. Forty five or fifty men in red jumpsuits in Blue ones i Black ones worthy of Gen. Nguyen Cao by in Green ones with yellow tap dancer s insets at the Ankles All wig on their backs their legs raised looking like dead bugs. For a moment it was Thailand 1966-73 once More a Flashback to the time Between missions thai produced losses in men and planes that a Wing commander of an f-105 unit called astronomical and  in dead Bug everyone hits the floor and the last Man i pays for the round. The exercise in the clubhouse on the Ramstein base Golf course was a Little academic knee the reunion was All paid for to for the bar and and table but the response was Dutiful. Beautiful said maj. Roger Krause. Who had tucked into his Blue jumpsuit a Slars and stripes neckerchief St was embroidered with half a dozen patches signify a units or engagements the Way a racing Driver covers self with patches for valve Oil or exhaust systems. Niese Guys. Incredible you never  he said recalling cover nights bring the Rescue of american merchant seamen after freighter May ague was seized by the cambodians in gulfofsiaminl975. Then the talk at the reunion turned to flying Lor the evacuations of Saigon and Panom pen Yean ago. Cover us three the major had decided on not having patches for those jobs but when someone suggested a Western scene with people with both guns drawn backing out of a Saloon made to look asian there was a Broad smile. Not bad atall. It was the dead Bug routine that set off maj. Greg Ellis after he picked himself off the floor and returned to the bar it had something to do with logic. You know he said this does t quite make  his irritation started with the unreasonableness of diving to the floor when no one was going o get stuck with the bar Tab but a critical wire stayed tripped. When someone asked about the red River rats reunions and How they run against the Stream of american Public opinion which seems intent on isolating Vietnam from memory the major nodded.  be said again the whole thing does t quite make sense. I m Here because i like the Guys who come and the fact is i was there and i raised my hand and told them i d do the Job. Which i did. But the War stank. There Are Guys around who will Tell you it was not. But there Are also a few Good hard working career people who will Tell it was terrible. Me or example. There s a Bunch you know who la say before they open the bar that it was disastrous but a couple of hours later they re giving you All the old War stories seven eighths of which Aren t True anyway. Before and after i say it was  there Are no arguments around the bar no Dove Hawk confrontations but there is a difference in tone in the conversations that seems to indicate that the War is still undigested among the Small group of men who Rode thud Ridge to Hanoi and Haiphong Felt Lucky to get Back alive 912 air Force and Navy planes were lost Over North Vietnam Between 1966 and 1973 and then read about the crowd Back Home screaming or the bombing to  most members a group like the red River Assoc a " we re bos Colly patriotic conservative people. And we re blameless " wednesday april 26, 1978 Good a Job As a dumb War would  the get Ogeth ers do not seem to offer much insulation against More Basic doubts. The colonel who said that with Hindsight not one of the Damn targets was Worth a plane or a Pilot s life acknowledged that As the War became More a part of the past the association probably had less Appeal a Good buddy of mine in Washington Fine Pilot Fine officer just does t want to be involved. The attitude is Vietnam Bury  the association a Blob includes Ball of the 6,000 eligible provides scholarships and other assistance to the families of pilots killed to North Vietnam. In an Effort to sustain it its membership has been wid ened to people who had nothing to do with piloting fighter planes and this has apparently brought defections by those who feel it is no longer sufficiently elite. Flying a lighter plane is  said capt. Gary Sholden who wore on his jumpsuit a red Star with a 21 in it that stands or a Mig he chased until it ran out of fuel and crashed. It s a Macho thing maybe an Extension of your manhood. You do it concentrate on it and under the circumstances it was Damn hard for me to get worried about the political implications of the War. It was Chance for us to show our military Power. We re basically patriotic conservative people. And we re  the Day South Vietnam fell we were there around the television set and for me. I swear it was like the Day president Kennedy was shot he went on. So 1 asked myself this question am 1 really proud of what i be done and the answer was yeah. It was challenging and it was what the country wanted. Let the other Guys say it was All for nought. But it s hard to talk about it honestly and not come out like a reactionary and that really bothers  just beyond be bar half a dozen or to rats bad stretched out on folding Chain to watch an old movie showing people scurrying for cover during Ike London Mill and the digging Giro age nibble be soundtrack was Laden with rims. Within five Mlo Lei Only one Wai Mill witching. Popular War a Man at the bar said of the film then jerked his thumb in the direction of u. Col. Kenneth Cor Dier. Unpopular War he said and there were a new laughs. The colonel a lean Man with a Quick energetic look spent 1966 to 1973 in a North vietnamese prison amp the stars and stripes Poge 13