THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Dear Msgt Russell Klein, Thank you for your service with the 458 Tactical Airlift Squadron. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is the 9th Day of Christmas, Merry Christmas and happy New Year in heaven. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

I was Russ’s hootch mate at Cam Rhan, he taught me to do leatherwork. He got shoot down the day I left to return to the US. It was a few weeks before I found out he had died. Over the years I often thought about him, after returning from an AF reunion this weekend I found this site. Salute Russ and I hope your family has done well without you. Sorry it has been too long.

On April 1, 1970, North Vietnamese army troops attacked the Dak Seang Special Forces Camp which lay northwest of Kon Tum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, starting a siege that would last over five weeks. Despite indications that the enemy was building up strength in the area, no preparations were made. Only 12 hours before the attack was launched, USAF C-7 Caribou cargo aircraft were landing at Dak Seang to pick up ammunition for transport to another camp where the threat was thought to be greater. The NVA made their presence known at Dak Seang in the form of numerous anti-aircraft guns in the areas that were the most likely air resupply corridors. During the afternoon of April 1st, C-7 crews made the first drops into the camp. Enemy fire was light during the drop, but increased as the crews left the area. One airplane took two hits. The next morning, fighter suppression tactics were used and the C-7s were escorted by USAF A-1E Spads as they approached the drop zone. Despite these protective measures, the resupply aircraft continued to experience enemy pressure. The first C-7 over the camp reported ground fire while making a right hand turn after his drop. The second airplane, a C-7A (#61-2406) turned left, and was hit by heavy fire. It crashed five miles from the camp; there were no survivors. That afternoon an all-out effort was made to supply the camp. Eleven C-7s dropped to the camp using tactics such as descending turns to approach the camp at 20-second intervals. Three airplanes were hit by ground fire. On April 4th, fifteen sorties were flown in five or six ship cells, with elaborate protective measures, but still one aircraft was lost. With NVA troops only 30 feet from its outer walls of the camp, a USAF F-100D Super Sabre piloted by MAJ Jim Icenhour attempted to create a smokescreen by delivering white phosphorous pellets from an altitude of 200 feet at 500 knots so the Caribou could drop its supplies. Both Icenhour’s jet and the C-7B (#62-4180) he was escorting were hit by ground fire. The Caribou crashed two miles west of the airfield, killing its crew of three. Icenhour managed to recover his Super Sabre and landed at Phu Cat airbase. Tactics for the day of April 6th changed again. A-1E Spad escorts were placed under the control of each C-7 aircraft commander who could use them to escort or suppress as necessary during their drop. Forward air controllers (FACs) were used to prepare the approach corridor. The drop times were spaced at twenty minute intervals, and each C-7 was supposed to drop from a different heading. When the first three C-7s neared the target, however, the FAC on the scene directed that all three approach from the same heading. The last aircraft in this element, a C-7B (#63-9746), was hit and crashed after a short drop; again, there were no survivors. Though supplies were getting into the camp, some were lost while the C-7s were paying a heavy toll. In an attempt to reduce the losses, the C-7s turned to night drops under the light flares dropped by USAF AC-119 gunships who would also provide fire suppression. The new tactics worked as the C-7s took less hits and most of the bundles landed within the camp. By the beginning of May, enemy began to withdraw from the area and on May 9th the campaign had concluded. The lost Caribou air crews during the siege of Dak Seang included: (from C-7A #61-2406) aircraft commander 1LT Steve W. Train, co-pilot 1LT Charles E. Suprenant Jr., and flight engineer MSGT Dale E. Christensen; (from C-7B #62-4180) aircraft commander CAPT James A. Gray, co-pilot MAJ Frederick W. Dauten Jr., and engineer MSGT Russell L. Klein; and (from C-7B Caribou #63-9746) aircraft commander CAPT Julius P. Jaeger, co-pilot 1LT Theron C. Fehrenbach III, and flight engineer TSGT Gordon M. Gaylord. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, wikipedia.org, archive.org, sammcgowan.com, and the book “F-100 Super Sabre Units of the Vietnam War” by Peter E. Davies and David Menard]

I was too young to remember him but I have a china set he sent my Grandmother - I was not even 4 when he died - He has always been a hero to me though much of what I remember is sadness family members experienced at his loss - I joined the US Navy and became a Dental Assistant always feeling proud and patriotic - I salute all who serve - God Bless the USA