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The Rescue of Bat 21
When his electronic warfare plane--call sign Bat 21--was shot down on 2 April 1972, fifty-three-year-old Air Force navigator Iceal “Gene” Hambleton parachuted into the middle of a North Vietnamese invasion force and set off the biggest and most controversial air rescue effort of the Vietnam War. Now, after twenty-five years of official secrecy, the story of that dangerous and costly rescue is revealed for the first time by a decorated Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran. Involving personnel from all services, including the Coast Guard, the unorthodox rescue operation claimed the lives of eleven soldiers and airmen, destroyed or damaged several aircraft, and put hundreds of airmen, a secret commando unit, and a South Vietnamese infantry division at risk. The book also examines the thorny debates arising from an operation that balanced one man’s life against mounting U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties and material losses, the operation’s impact on one of the most critical battles of the war, and the role played by search and rescue as America disengaged from that war.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 27, 2023
This book tells the story of the greatest rescue mission in Navy SEAL history – the Bat 21 rescue operation. The author, Darrel D. Whitcomb, was a forward air controller and directed air strikes in support of friendly forces in Vietnam from 1972 until 1974. He knew what it was like to be on the battlefield and how challenging missions like the rescue of Bat 21 were.
The author begins by providing important context for his narrative, specifically discussing Vietnamization and the Easter Offensive, which North Vietnam launched on March 30, 1972, two days before Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Eugene Hambleton, one of the main characters in this story, became the reason why a rescue mission had to be organized in the first place. He talks about the replacement of American soldiers with the ARVN in South Vietnam and guerrillas with soldiers in North Vietnam. He also gives information about the logistics of the Easter Offensive and its first days. Although his account is concise, it will be of great help to readers who know little about North Vietnam's offensive.
As the author writes, the American response to the onslaught from the North was a massive air campaign relying mostly on B-52 bomber strikes against the enemy soldiers. The B-52s were accompanied by EB-66 electronic warfare aircraft, which located enemy surface-to-air missile sites and disabled their radars. On April 2, such a bomber strike force took off from its base in Thailand to attack enemy soldiers crossing into South Vietnam, and Bat 21, as one of the EB-66s accompanying it was code-named, came under heavy missile fire. The EB-66 was shot down, and its navigator, Gene Hambleton, had to eject, which he did successfully. However, he landed in the middle of one of the two sides of North Vietnam's invading force coming from the north and west – in other words, right under the enemy's nose.
According to the author, this was a disaster in the making because Hambleton knew a large amount of classified information, including six or seven generations of American radar systems. The secrets were so important that they concerned not only Vietnam, but the Cold War in general. If captured by enemy soldiers, he would definitely be tortured to reveal them. This is why rescuing him was of great importance to the Americans – and by no means an easy task. The attempts to save him rightfully became the greatest air-rescue effort of the Vietnam conflict.
As the author chronicles, the mission began with the unsuccessful efforts of the Army's 196th Light Infantry Brigade to quickly retrieve the navigator with their Cobra gunships and Huey helicopters before the enemy soldiers could react. Then, the Air Force tried to apply search-and-rescue methods, which had been effective in other cases, to this situation only to achieve absolutely disastrous results. More aircraft were either shot down or damaged by North Vietnam's missiles. One Jolly Green HH-53 rescue helicopter was lost together with its whole crew, and forward air controllers Mark Clark and Bruce Walker also found themselves on the ground, behind enemy lines. For a week, hundreds of American pilots, navigators, door gunners, and forward air controllers put their lives on the line to retrieve Hambleton. Never before in the country's history had so many men or so much materiel – fighter planes, B-52s, attack helicopters, Navy aircraft carriers – been used to save one person, but the mission continued to give no good results: eleven men were dead, one was missing, and two more were captured.
If not for the courage and resilience of Lieutenant Tom Norris, a Navy SEAL, the story would have probably had a more tragic ending than it did. Norris and the soldiers from South Vietnam under his leadership infiltrated the enemy's lines to rescue first Lieutenant Clark and then Lieutenant Colonel Hambleton from the terrible fate that awaited them had they been captured. Lieutenant Walker was killed by enemy soldiers.
While mostly successful, the rescue mission was controversial because it prompted the question, Was it worth it? The rescue of Bat 21 might have saved the lives of Clark and Hambleton and protected classified information from falling into the enemy's hands, but in attempting such a dangerous move as infiltrating enemy lines, Norris had prioritized the lives of two men over those of his whole ARVN division. As Colonel Gerald H. Turley wrote in his account of the Easter Offensive, when a South Vietnamese colonel heard that the rescue mission was organized for one person, "he held up his finger, and meaning no disrespect said, "Just one?" We all understood his remark."
To explain why the Air Force was so dedicated to saving Hambleton, the author does an interesting analysis of the Air Force in 1972 and the state of mind of its men. According to him, they were frustrated because since 1968, all they had been doing was bombing holes in the jungle, although airpower is an offensive weapon. Those defensive operations were not to the airmen's liking, and they were not working because enemy soldiers continued to infiltrate. Search and rescue was their only mission that actually mattered for them, which explains why they spent so much effort on saving Hambleton. Notably, the author writes, they had become emotionally detached from the soldiers on the ground, with whom they did not come in much contact because they were focusing on bombing the Ho Chi Minh trail or providing air support, so the only people who mattered to them were their fellow airmen. They did not think of the ARVN soldiers' lives – they were willing to sacrifice them to rescue one of their own.
That being said, I have a different theory. In his book Saving Bravo: The Greatest Rescue Mission in Navy SEAL History, which chronicles the same mission, Stephan Talty writes that the classified information Hambleton knew was allegedly so important even the Soviets would have liked to have him. I believe that the frantic determination with which the Americans were trying to rescue him had less to do with him being in the Air Force and more with what he knew.
THE RESCUE OF BAT 21 is a well-written and informative account. Whitcomb does his best to tell the story in a clear way. This book will be of interest to those who want to learn about the mission.
The author begins by providing important context for his narrative, specifically discussing Vietnamization and the Easter Offensive, which North Vietnam launched on March 30, 1972, two days before Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Eugene Hambleton, one of the main characters in this story, became the reason why a rescue mission had to be organized in the first place. He talks about the replacement of American soldiers with the ARVN in South Vietnam and guerrillas with soldiers in North Vietnam. He also gives information about the logistics of the Easter Offensive and its first days. Although his account is concise, it will be of great help to readers who know little about North Vietnam's offensive.
As the author writes, the American response to the onslaught from the North was a massive air campaign relying mostly on B-52 bomber strikes against the enemy soldiers. The B-52s were accompanied by EB-66 electronic warfare aircraft, which located enemy surface-to-air missile sites and disabled their radars. On April 2, such a bomber strike force took off from its base in Thailand to attack enemy soldiers crossing into South Vietnam, and Bat 21, as one of the EB-66s accompanying it was code-named, came under heavy missile fire. The EB-66 was shot down, and its navigator, Gene Hambleton, had to eject, which he did successfully. However, he landed in the middle of one of the two sides of North Vietnam's invading force coming from the north and west – in other words, right under the enemy's nose.
According to the author, this was a disaster in the making because Hambleton knew a large amount of classified information, including six or seven generations of American radar systems. The secrets were so important that they concerned not only Vietnam, but the Cold War in general. If captured by enemy soldiers, he would definitely be tortured to reveal them. This is why rescuing him was of great importance to the Americans – and by no means an easy task. The attempts to save him rightfully became the greatest air-rescue effort of the Vietnam conflict.
As the author chronicles, the mission began with the unsuccessful efforts of the Army's 196th Light Infantry Brigade to quickly retrieve the navigator with their Cobra gunships and Huey helicopters before the enemy soldiers could react. Then, the Air Force tried to apply search-and-rescue methods, which had been effective in other cases, to this situation only to achieve absolutely disastrous results. More aircraft were either shot down or damaged by North Vietnam's missiles. One Jolly Green HH-53 rescue helicopter was lost together with its whole crew, and forward air controllers Mark Clark and Bruce Walker also found themselves on the ground, behind enemy lines. For a week, hundreds of American pilots, navigators, door gunners, and forward air controllers put their lives on the line to retrieve Hambleton. Never before in the country's history had so many men or so much materiel – fighter planes, B-52s, attack helicopters, Navy aircraft carriers – been used to save one person, but the mission continued to give no good results: eleven men were dead, one was missing, and two more were captured.
If not for the courage and resilience of Lieutenant Tom Norris, a Navy SEAL, the story would have probably had a more tragic ending than it did. Norris and the soldiers from South Vietnam under his leadership infiltrated the enemy's lines to rescue first Lieutenant Clark and then Lieutenant Colonel Hambleton from the terrible fate that awaited them had they been captured. Lieutenant Walker was killed by enemy soldiers.
While mostly successful, the rescue mission was controversial because it prompted the question, Was it worth it? The rescue of Bat 21 might have saved the lives of Clark and Hambleton and protected classified information from falling into the enemy's hands, but in attempting such a dangerous move as infiltrating enemy lines, Norris had prioritized the lives of two men over those of his whole ARVN division. As Colonel Gerald H. Turley wrote in his account of the Easter Offensive, when a South Vietnamese colonel heard that the rescue mission was organized for one person, "he held up his finger, and meaning no disrespect said, "Just one?" We all understood his remark."
To explain why the Air Force was so dedicated to saving Hambleton, the author does an interesting analysis of the Air Force in 1972 and the state of mind of its men. According to him, they were frustrated because since 1968, all they had been doing was bombing holes in the jungle, although airpower is an offensive weapon. Those defensive operations were not to the airmen's liking, and they were not working because enemy soldiers continued to infiltrate. Search and rescue was their only mission that actually mattered for them, which explains why they spent so much effort on saving Hambleton. Notably, the author writes, they had become emotionally detached from the soldiers on the ground, with whom they did not come in much contact because they were focusing on bombing the Ho Chi Minh trail or providing air support, so the only people who mattered to them were their fellow airmen. They did not think of the ARVN soldiers' lives – they were willing to sacrifice them to rescue one of their own.
That being said, I have a different theory. In his book Saving Bravo: The Greatest Rescue Mission in Navy SEAL History, which chronicles the same mission, Stephan Talty writes that the classified information Hambleton knew was allegedly so important even the Soviets would have liked to have him. I believe that the frantic determination with which the Americans were trying to rescue him had less to do with him being in the Air Force and more with what he knew.
THE RESCUE OF BAT 21 is a well-written and informative account. Whitcomb does his best to tell the story in a clear way. This book will be of interest to those who want to learn about the mission.
November 29, 2009
This was a well written and researched account which told the true story behind the numerous missions to rescue Bat-21 Bravo and other fliers downed during subsequent missions during April 1972. Firstly I must say I was amazed to read of the neglect shown in the passage of information and/or Intelligence between the American Air Force and Army. How this could come about or allow to continue amazes me considering it had some bearing on the lives of American soldiers and airmen and also on the prosecution of the war.
I was unaware of the full details of the rescue of Lt. Col. Hambleton and the role and involvement of Navy SEALS and Sth Vietmanese troops. I had only seen the movie 'Bat 21' before and figured that it portrayed the 'true' story - how wrong can you be.
I think the authors attempt to answer a number of questions in relation to the 'worth' of one man during the 1972 Easter Offensive is well done but I would recommend that readers should take the opportunity to read 'Trial by Fire' by Dale Andrade which offers a detailed and excellent account of America's last Vietnam battle and which could also place this episode in perspective.
'The Rescue of Bat 21' is a good, quick book (164 pages) to read, the narrative flows along and the story never gets bogged down. If you want to read about man's un-selfish devotion to duty and his fellow man during a terrible war this is the book to read. Well done to the author and well done to those men who played a part in this story, especially those who did not return.
July 31, 2008
This book fictionalizes the true life story about the rescue of Lt. Col. Hableton in 1972 Vietnam. For those of you who saw the movie, the book does a better job of providing the big picture surrounding the numerous rescue attempts of the Lt.Col. The amazing dedication of our military men to rescuing this man from the middle of the DMZ surrounded by enemy fire is compelling to say the least.
Still the book doesn't begin to do justice to the real-life story of the lone survivor (Bat 21 Bravo) of a six-man crew American warplane shot down by a surface-to-air missile. I personally know one of the Sandy pilots who participated in the rescue and he too agrees that the story overall is a good generalization but no where near the real story.
Still the book doesn't begin to do justice to the real-life story of the lone survivor (Bat 21 Bravo) of a six-man crew American warplane shot down by a surface-to-air missile. I personally know one of the Sandy pilots who participated in the rescue and he too agrees that the story overall is a good generalization but no where near the real story.
September 21, 2023
I found this book at an estate sale at a home where a veteran had lived. From the items and age (vintage) of the items for sale, it was obvious that the veteran was from the Vietnam War era. I had hear the story of BAT 21 and had seen the movie. This book is not the "movie". It is the real story of the rescue of BAT 21.
The book is incredibly well researched and documented in the bibliography. Darrel Whitcomb interviewed dozens of participants in the actual Search and Rescue (SAR) effort and many others in the higher level commands and historians of the era. This book provides the nitty gritty of the rescue of BAT 21, the loss of several other airmen and soldiers, and the actions of countless heros that participated in the rescue and recovery efforts.
This is a perfect book for military history readers, particularly those interested in the Vietnam was. However, the lessons learned in the rescue efforts laid the groundwork for combat SAR from Vietnam through OID/OEF and the many combat and hostile actions that followed to the present.
The book is incredibly well researched and documented in the bibliography. Darrel Whitcomb interviewed dozens of participants in the actual Search and Rescue (SAR) effort and many others in the higher level commands and historians of the era. This book provides the nitty gritty of the rescue of BAT 21, the loss of several other airmen and soldiers, and the actions of countless heros that participated in the rescue and recovery efforts.
This is a perfect book for military history readers, particularly those interested in the Vietnam was. However, the lessons learned in the rescue efforts laid the groundwork for combat SAR from Vietnam through OID/OEF and the many combat and hostile actions that followed to the present.
February 23, 2021
Good insight into some of the combat during the Easter Offensive 0f 1972, the largest North Vietnamese offensive of the war. Although not involved in this mission, I was in Vietnam then and lost friends. You rarely thought about it, but it was comforting to know that every effort would be made by the United States military to rescue a crew if they went down. No other country in the world would expend so much resource to save one flyer.
March 6, 2022
This is a marvelous in-depth case study of the events surrounding the SAR mission rescuing Bat-21 (and others) during the Vietnam War. It complements and greatly expands on material covered in B-21 by William C. Anderson. It uses information previously classified and does a deep dive into serious questions specific to that operation and to the American use of air power (and search & rescue) more broadly. Excellent book.
April 13, 2023
I’m a huge fan of military history, but this book is about as interesting as a potato.
December 11, 2019
Jolly Greens forever
Bat 21 was a very informative book revealing the very hazardous missions the Jollies flew attempting to rescue downed airman. I was a Naval aviator during the Vietnam crisis flying A4’s from the deck of the USS Intrepid. Before each and every mission over N. Vietnam I had full confidence I would be rescued by the Jollies had I been shot down and survived. Lucky me had a guardian angle on my should and thankfully did not need the brave Jolly pilots help. Thank you Jollies for your above and beyond flying skills that helped so many aviators return to home base-Lt. Tyrie VA-66
Bat 21 was a very informative book revealing the very hazardous missions the Jollies flew attempting to rescue downed airman. I was a Naval aviator during the Vietnam crisis flying A4’s from the deck of the USS Intrepid. Before each and every mission over N. Vietnam I had full confidence I would be rescued by the Jollies had I been shot down and survived. Lucky me had a guardian angle on my should and thankfully did not need the brave Jolly pilots help. Thank you Jollies for your above and beyond flying skills that helped so many aviators return to home base-Lt. Tyrie VA-66
November 12, 2013
Author Darrel Whitcomb, Air Force Academy '69, served three tours in Southeast Asia as a cargo pilot and forward air controller (FAC). He flew combat until the last day in 1973 (like my good friend, Robyn Read, Col., retired).
Author provides a good description of the rescue of Bat 21 Bravo, Lt. Col. Hambleton, and the combat situation surrounding the rescue (NVA Easter invasion of South Vietnam). Author's extensive references and interviews provide good basis for his generalizations about the antecedents and consequences of search and rescue operations (SAR) in this and other cases (and the Vietnam War, in general - also see Ed Rasimus book, When Thunder Rolled). Included is the rescue of Boxer 22 Bravo, my friend and UPT classmate, Woody Bergeron, whom Author interviewed (see pp. 272-3).
Angelique, whose father-in-law was a Sandy pilot on the Bat 21 rescue, rated it 5 of 5 stars. She said, "This book fictionalizes the true life story about the rescue of Lt. Col. Hableton in 1972 Vietnam. For those of you who saw the movie, the book does a better job of providing the big picture surrounding the numerous rescue attempts of the Lt.Col. The amazing dedication of our military men to rescuing this man from the middle of the DMZ surrounded by enemy fire is compelling to say the least. Still the book doesn't begin to do justice to the real-life story of the lone survivor (Bat 21 Bravo) of a six-man crew American warplane shot down by a surface-to-air missile. I personally know one of the Sandy pilots who participated in the rescue and he too agrees that the story overall is a good generalization but no where near the real story." Then, in response to a comment, she said, " I'm a little biased I suppose. I'm humbled that my father-in-law was one of the "Sandy" pilots who flew in this rescue mission and have been fortunate to hear he and several of the other pilots speak of this experience. Obviously the book was written to be informative and still hold the reader's interest. As a result, the author stayed true to the overall facts and mission details but to maintain readability and focus on the key points of the mission, several characters were combined. Still, this is a remarkable story and just goes to show that truth is often better than pure fiction."
Author provides a good description of the rescue of Bat 21 Bravo, Lt. Col. Hambleton, and the combat situation surrounding the rescue (NVA Easter invasion of South Vietnam). Author's extensive references and interviews provide good basis for his generalizations about the antecedents and consequences of search and rescue operations (SAR) in this and other cases (and the Vietnam War, in general - also see Ed Rasimus book, When Thunder Rolled). Included is the rescue of Boxer 22 Bravo, my friend and UPT classmate, Woody Bergeron, whom Author interviewed (see pp. 272-3).
Angelique, whose father-in-law was a Sandy pilot on the Bat 21 rescue, rated it 5 of 5 stars. She said, "This book fictionalizes the true life story about the rescue of Lt. Col. Hableton in 1972 Vietnam. For those of you who saw the movie, the book does a better job of providing the big picture surrounding the numerous rescue attempts of the Lt.Col. The amazing dedication of our military men to rescuing this man from the middle of the DMZ surrounded by enemy fire is compelling to say the least. Still the book doesn't begin to do justice to the real-life story of the lone survivor (Bat 21 Bravo) of a six-man crew American warplane shot down by a surface-to-air missile. I personally know one of the Sandy pilots who participated in the rescue and he too agrees that the story overall is a good generalization but no where near the real story." Then, in response to a comment, she said, " I'm a little biased I suppose. I'm humbled that my father-in-law was one of the "Sandy" pilots who flew in this rescue mission and have been fortunate to hear he and several of the other pilots speak of this experience. Obviously the book was written to be informative and still hold the reader's interest. As a result, the author stayed true to the overall facts and mission details but to maintain readability and focus on the key points of the mission, several characters were combined. Still, this is a remarkable story and just goes to show that truth is often better than pure fiction."
September 6, 2013
I decided to read the book after enjoying the Gene Hackman movie "Bat 21". The introduction clears up that this book came after and is to a great deal a response to that movie and the book it was based on. More thoroughly researched and able to divulge more details, this is a more commplete and accurate story of the late way SAR operation than the movie could have been. Yes, acronyms - there are a bundle in this work, seemingly touching every sentence in a work possibly geared at vets and other military pros. Fortunately, there is a glossary and an index to remind you where technology and operation code names were first mentioned and explained. Among the tech I never heard of before was the debilitating BLU-52 poison gas (seemingly in between tear and nerve varieties; very nasty stuff) and such things as WAAPM: "these weapons would release hundreds of bomblets that ... would not explode, but instead would extend trip wires, that when snagged by a person would explode" and other air bomblet "gravel". Wow! How did that work? Similary the air-dropped sensors and automatic guns along the persitent Ho Chi Min Trail.
The author makes an observation that some may want to apply to later excursions: "the story is also a warning about the dangers of alliances and pitfalls of coalition warfare in wars that are too drawn out, with objectives not clearly defined."
This book is also a lot about this, late period in the war when it was largely an air war of a withdrawing America and an invading North Vietname. A time when pilots had very little connection to the ground and the war at all, but the SAR missions were integral to morale: they kept would-be victims fighting and offered missions pilots and crews actually believed in.
The author makes an observation that some may want to apply to later excursions: "the story is also a warning about the dangers of alliances and pitfalls of coalition warfare in wars that are too drawn out, with objectives not clearly defined."
This book is also a lot about this, late period in the war when it was largely an air war of a withdrawing America and an invading North Vietname. A time when pilots had very little connection to the ground and the war at all, but the SAR missions were integral to morale: they kept would-be victims fighting and offered missions pilots and crews actually believed in.
May 5, 2022
Just an amazing story. The book is way better than the movie. Definitely read the book first. There are so many of these stories every time around. Just thankful that some of them get written. You can't read it dry eyed unless you completely miss how these men choose to put themselves in harms way for another American.
October 21, 2008
Reads like an after action report. Very bureaucratic style. Dull.
December 12, 2011
An interesting true story of the rescue of a pilot shot down in Vietnam.
December 20, 2014
I read this because as a child I knew (not then, only later) a man who flew this type of mission. I wanted to learn more about what he did and this was a wonderful book for that purpose.
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