Now his fuel was exhausted again, so he climbed back through the weather and returned again to the refueling area and took on another load of fuel. He resumed his coverage where he had spotted the downed pilot, only to find the weather still worse than it had been before. He searched eagerly for the two pilots who had been clobbered that day while he directed rescue operations for the pilot he had found from the day before, and he was constantly plagued with weather and defensive conditions that would shake the staun-chest of pilots. He stayed until his fuel was almost gone, and having successfully directed the slower-moving rescue forces into the area, he once again withdrew to the tanker. The rescuers were able to pick up the reconnaissance pilot safely and bring him back. As Gordo squirmed and wiggled in the cockpit, he took on yet another load of fuel and returned to home base seven hours after he took off, ten hours after he briefed, eleven hours after he got up. You might say that he had put in a demanding day, and had demonstrated a tenacious attitude for a soft-spoken, efficient and truly brave young gentleman.
As Gordo approached the one hundred mission mark, he again demonstrated the bravado and plain guts that he possessed. He received a second Silver Star shortly after his first, again for heroism demonstrated in the Hanoi area. His promotion to lieutenant colonel came through about this time and his continued success as he directed his squadron’s operation was most pleasant to behold. On the occasion of his second Silver Star, he was flying in the number three position of his flight, acting as element leader while he checked a newer pilot out on the complicated task of leading a strike flight into the Hanoi area. We made haste slowly with our new folks, taking the ones we felt would make good flight leaders up the steps gradually^ The finishing school for flight leaders was always a downtown strike with a highly experienced leader flying in the number three position. If he was able to satisfy the old-timer, with his prejudices and his personal likes and dislikes, the new leader was ready to be turned loose on his own to lead in the North.
The particular flight that Gordo assigned himself to that day had the mission of flak suppression along the route the strike flights followed into the Hanoi area. Flak suppression is a most demanding mission in many ways, yet it gives you more latitude and freedom of movement than other assignments within the strike force. You are not looking for a precise pinpoint target as much as you are looking for an area of intense ground fire, and there is absolutely no problem in finding that in the ring around the delta capital. They light up for you like the Fourth of July and the problem is not one of finding a place to bomb, but of determining which site is most likely to harass the strike aircraft coming after you, and then doing your utmost to eliminate it. There are obvious drawbacks to this particular facet of the operation in that before you can bomb you have to be sure that you have singled out the most fearsome of the many sites you place under surveillance. We have found through bitter experience that the only way to do this is to expose yourself to the full might of the guns and then duel with them in an attempt to destroy them. To accomplish this properly the flak suppression flight must climb to altitude directly over the target and manage their power, airspeed and position in a manner that allows them to look, evaluate, strike and still get out of the area in one piece. This sometimes involves hanging in an inverted position for several seconds while all the guns get the chance to light up. It may be only seconds but when you are in that particular position the seconds seem like hours. The flak suppressors get a great deal of satisfaction when they defeat the guns and allow the remainder of the force to accomplish their mission. They also get a great deal of defensive activity and are highly vulnerable for an extended time period.
Gordo did an outstanding job, as usual, and positioned his aircraft perfectly to draw maximum ground fire. As he prepared to roll in and drop his bombs he was abruptly presented with three SAM launch warnings, but he continued his attack and lined up on his selected site. At this time he was frantically advised by other members of the force that the three SAMs had progressed through the warning stage and had launched, and were headed directly for him. The advice from his fellows was strictly academic as he had already spotted the three SAMs and knew they were looking for him and for him alone. They were tracking and they had accelerated. Here again we have the fighter pilot making the split-second decision as to what to do. Does he toggle his bombs and concentrate on evading the SAMs and saving his neck or does he press the attack to neutralize the flak and thus protect the approach of the strike force now pressing into the target area and insure a better chance of success for the strike? With a man like Gordo, no real decision-making process was required. He pressed on. He hurled his aircraft toward the barking guns and directly through the formation of three SAMs that climbed rapidly and approached him from a head-on attack position in their chase to destroy his aircraft. Down he went, right through a flight of three supersonic missiles with his name written all over them. He beat the missiles and he dropped his bombs directly on a large flak site that immediately closed shop and lost all interest in the approaching fighters.
His flight leader had not been quite so fortunate and had taken a severe hit as he hung over the largest flak site in his zone of responsibility. The balance between getting the gunners to expose their full position and overexposing yourself is a very fine one. The leader called out the old familiar alert that he had been hit on his run and was in trouble and Gordo immediately diverted all of his attention to protecting a fellow flight member in distress. As his leader struggled to maintain control of his aircraft and grasped for precious altitude, his problems were further compounded as the rapacious Mig-21’s, waiting, looking and hoping to pick off a straggler, spotted the sick bird. The lead Mig-21 pressed his attack on the obviously crippled Thud. It took Gordo only seconds to spot his limping leader and to assess the completely vulnerable position he was in.
The leader could not maneuver, he could barely remain airborne and he had to scratch for altitude and distance in the hope of getting himself and his machine into a more favorable area should he have to bail out. As he climbed he entered ever deeper into the area of sky where the Mig’s performance envelope increasingly surpassed his own. But, as in so many cases up North, there was no choice. He was forced to fly slower than he needed to, he climbed higher than he desired and he limited his maneuvering almost completely as he attempted to nurse his impotent machine toward relative safety. Gordo spotted the Mig formation, stroked the burner and fearlessly waded into the middle of the fray. Those following were alerted to the situation and would have helped, but distance and speed made them merely observers. They hastily advised Gordo that the next two Mig-21’s, hanging on the perch and waiting, had spotted him, had correctly assessed the fact that he was bent on saving his leader, and had initiated pursuit in an attempt to knock him off their comrade’s tail.
The Migs had it all going for them as regards numbers, altitude and maneuverability. The possibility of Gordo’s surviving the scissors he now found himself between was not great. There could have been no censure of a decision on Gordo’s part to disengage; in fact, the course of action he was pursuing would seem to almost certainly invite heat-seeking missiles up his own tail pipe. But Gordo calmly acknowledged the warnings and pressed to the aid of his stricken comrade. The lead Mig was forced to maneuver and slow down to position himself for the final kill on the stricken leader. With full burner, Gordo was able to close from the Mig’s rear, and as soon as he reached firing range he unleashed a heavy burst of fire from his Vulcan cannon. His two pursuers were rapidly closing to lethal missile range on him and the event would be decided within the next few seconds. The lead 21 driver was not as dedicated to his task as was the Thud driver, and as the 20-millimeter slugs ripped through the air around him, he chose to disengage and immediately split from the scene. This made Gordo’s odds a bit better and left him with only two superior performing aircraft on his tail and in firing position. He racked his beast into an immediate and violent series of evasive maneuvers that even he cannot describe to this day. Who knows where he went or what strain the Thud survived, but it was enough to throw his pursuers off course and to cause them to overshoot both himself and the handicapped leader. The Migs promptly decided that they had more than they had bargained for, and they disengaged and exited before this crazy American Thud driver could further compromise their position or their sanctuary. With the leeches off his tail, Gordo rolled his aircraft upside down, spotted his crippled lead behind and underneath him, executed a split S and rolled his aircraft up and onto the leader’s wing to escort him safely out of the area and back home.