Leland T. Kennedy - Air Force Career - Second Southeast Asia Tour - 16 February 1967

16 February 1967

Kennedy's unit had been redesignated Detachment 1, 37th ARRS on 16 January 1967 and located at NKP. On 6 February Jolly Green 05 (low) from NKP, on a CSAR to rescue a downed Forward Air Controller, was shot down with three of its four crew members killed in action.

On 16 February 1967, Dusty 71, an F-100D flown by Col. Frank Buzze, the Deputy Commander of Operations of the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, was shot down while conducting an interdiction mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Saravane Province of southern Laos. Buzze ejected and landed on the hillside in rugged karst. Covered by his wingman and the FAC that had been working their mission, Covey 54, Buzze hid from searching Pathet Lao troops as a CSAR was launched by a pair of HH-3Es, Jolly Green 56 (low) and Jolly Green 07 (high), forward-located and on ground alert at Quang Tri in Vietnam. From NKP, a second mission also launched, Kennedy in Jolly Green 36 (low) and Capt. Robert L. Powell in Jolly Green 37 (high). Kennedy's crew consisted of RCCP 1st Lt. James A. Colyer, Godsey as HM, and PJ A2C Robert D. Bowers.

Jolly Green 56 located Buzze and attempted to hover for pickup but was struck repeatedly from three sides by automatic weapons fire, killing the RCC, Capt. Angelo Pullara, and wounding the RCCP Capt. Jerrold D. Ward. Led by Jolly Green 07 and assisted on the controls by the flight engineer, Ward flew the stricken helicopter to an emergency landing at nearby Saravane. After the aborted pickup, Buzze moved approximately a kilometer out of the area while A-1s continued efforts to suppress the AAA fire. Jollys 36 and 37 arrived on scene and the on-scene commander again authenticated Buzze's identity and new location. Kennedy then attempted a pickup, but like Jolly Green 56, was struck repeatedly in the hover, damaging a fuel cell and the aft portion of the aircraft, forcing him to return to base. After further suppression runs by the Sandys, Jolly Green 37 made a third attempt and successfully picked up Buzze more than four hours after his shoot-down. For his role in the mission, Kennedy was awarded the Silver Star.