PORTLAND, Ore. -- March 29th is National Vietnam War Veterans Day, an observation which stems from the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017. On this day we remember the service and sacrifice of the men and women who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Most were denied a respectful welcome back when they returned home from the war.
March 29th was selected as it marked the day in 1973 when the last U.S. combat troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam, and the day the last acknowledged American POWs held in North Vietnam arrived on American soil. Since 2011 in Oregon, March 30th of each year is designated as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.
Col Lars Granath is a fighter pilot who commanded the 142nd Fighter Wing from 1996 to 1997. A veteran of combat in Southeast Asia (SEA) flying the F-4E Phantom II with the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron (tail code JV), the Fightin’ Bulls.” he recapped his SEA experience to share with us on this National Vietnam War Veterans Day 2025. In his own words:
“After graduating from the 4535th CCTS (F-4 RTU) at George AFB, Ca in July 1971, I headed home to Eugene on leave. In August I attended Water Survival at Holmstead AFB, Fl. In September 1971, I headed to SEA for my combat tour with the 432 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Udorn AB, Thailand. Stopping at Clark AB, Philippine Islands for Jungle Survival School, I received new orders transferring me to the 388TFW at Korat AB, Thailand. I arrived at Korat the last week of September and was assigned to the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron. The wing was equipped with F-4Es which I had never flown in training.
“Just prior to the end of the month, I was scheduled for an orientation flight with an experienced Weapon Systems Officer (WSO). We launched single ship and took a “tour” of neighboring Laos from the southern Steel Tiger area to the Barrel Roll area of northern Laos. The unit had a 10 ride checkout program to gain familiarity with the various missions we were tasked to complete.
“After completing the “check out”, the green LTs were thrown onto the night schedule. The night schedule consisted to flying “gun ship” escort over the “trail” complex located along the eastern side of Laos which brought supplies to the North Vietnamese Army /Vietcong forces in South Vietnam. The C-130s and C-119s used infra-red and/or low light scanners to detect traffic along the trail; and to engage these targets with their mini guns, 40mm canons, and later 105s. We were loaded with Mk-82s (500# bombs) and CBUs (cluster bombs), tasked with responding to any AAA that threatened the gun ship. It was an invaluable experience for a young LT. The missions were flown single-ship who rotated with another single-ship to provided coverage of a gun ship over a 4 – 6 hour period. We would refuel after take off, escort the gunship, leave when relieved, head back to the tanker and top off, return to the gun ship, etc. My best month for flying time was Dec 1971 where I logged just under 100 combat hours for the month.
“I had my first mission over North Vietnam in December. An F-4 out of Udorn had been shot down and it was concluded that several long range NVN Barlock radars had been involved in the incident. 7th AF put together a mission to take them out. 2 F-105Gs and 3 F-4Es (1 was an airborne spare) launched out of Korat using F-4 call signs and formations, etc. After getting the long range radars actively “painting” us, we vectored towards Hanoi at high speed. When the Thuds met their requisite parameters, they launched an AGM-78 which subsequently took out the radar site.
“January – March 1972 were primarily missions flown night and/or day in Laos. With a couple flown in southern NVN. On 1 April, with the invasion of the NVN across the DMZ, things picked up. We started flying close air support missions for the SVN forces and increased the number of missions in SVN. We started flying “turns” out of Bien Hoa and DaNang. Flying out of Korat, striking, landing/re-arming at DaNang (for example), striking, returning to DaNang, re-arming, striking and returning to Korat.
“Once Linebacker started, we started flying with the large packages to the Hanoi area. While flying “dumb bomb” missions in the Hanoi area, we were primarily tasked with strike escort or BAR Cap missions within these packages. Ubon had the ”smart bombs” and carried the bulk of the strike missions. The tempo of these missions “downtown” were intense and our losses grew. 7 of my squadron mates were shot down over the north; thankfully, though POWS, they all survived.
“In early August, I received orders to report to Nellis AFB, NV to attend the F-4 Wild Weasel (WW) school. This resulting in shortening my SEA tour by 5 – 6 weeks. One final flight over NVN, EOT passes back home at Korat, then hopped on a “freedom bird” heading back to the land of the big BX. I had flown 178 combat missions, amassed 435 combat hours and was a qualified 4-ship flight lead as a 1Lt.
“After qualifying at Nellis, I headed to the 67th TFS at Kadena as an F-4C WW pilot for a 30 month tour. Leaving Kadena in Apr 1975, I reported to the 555th TFS at Luke AFB as one of the initial instructor pilots. I resigned my regular commission and left active duty in 1979 and joined the 123rd.”
During his service with the 469th TFS, Col Granath helped the squadron earn the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm award (8 April 1966 – 31 October 1972), and credit for participation in two campaigns, Commando Hunt VII (1 November 1971 – 29 March 1972) interdiction campaign against North Vietnamese infiltration on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnamese Ceasefire Campaign (29 March 1972-31 October 1972) for the response to the North’s Easter invasion of South Vietnam.
The 469th TFS inactivated on 31 October 1972, during the relative lull in combat operations between Operation Linebacker and the Linebacker II operations in December, 1972 which lead to the Paris Peace Accords of January, 1973. The Fightin’ Bulls squadron was reactivated on 10 April 2009 as a Flying Training Squadron supporting the Euro NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard AFB, TX.
On this 2025 observation of National Vietnam War Veterans Day, we salute Col Granath for his serviced in SE Asia and honor all those who served and sacrificed in that long war.