Relative to the F-4 Phantom II, 12 TFW, or Vietnam
( Stars and Stripes, 28 Dec 69)
Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Vietnam--A New Orleans, LA, Air Force pilot said Friday he survived his recent 51-hour ordeal behind enemy lines by praying a lot and having faith. First Lt. Woodrow Bergeron said he took cover in a bamboo thicket after parachuting from his disabled F-4 Phantom jet fighter and landing near a river bank.
"I could hear the enemy fire ricocheting over my head." he said. "I just sat there praying a lot." He found a clearing in the bamboo, hid under driftwood and leaves, and called for help on his survival radio. Helicopters, A-1 Skyraiders, and other F-4s responded to his call. They made 16 attempts to rescue him. "The A-1s were receiving heavy ground fire from all directions. I knew the only way they were going to get me out was if I could tell them where all the guns were firing from," Bergeron said.
He directed fire on the Communist guns, but there was still too much fire for the helicopters to reach him. Finally they advised him to dig in for the night. The next day one rescue craft got within six feet of him before the Communist fire from caves and bunkers became too intense. Again he had to dig in for the night.
But Bergeron decided to move to a clump of mangrove roots at the edge of the nearby river. Shortly after he moved, Communists moved into his former refuge and riddled it with bullets. That night, the hungry, exhausted airman suffered hallucinations, but the next day he again directed fire on the Communists. The concussion of the bombs lifted him from the ground. Bullets from a strafing plane came within a foot of him. But the Communists were in the nearby trees and "that was where it had to be," he said.
After six hours of bombing and strafing attacks, a "Jolly Green Giant" rescue helicopter came back and on its second try that day, hauled Bergeron to safety.