Her expression when she bustled into the room spoke volumes ~ 'Is he yapping on about flying *again* '? Rustling of noisy items out of shot. He comes across as a hugely good bloke (thanks Vic, fascinating living history first hand) ~ Which it has to be said is pretty much the norm for the guys Mike King tracks down for this channel.
I don't think he is a chatterbox in every day life. Just when you are genuinely interested in these topics he will talk about it like this. He probably doesn't talk about this stuff with his beautiful and patient wife.
Vic, I don't know if you will see this or not but do you know another F-105 pilot named Fred Clawson? He was stationed at McConnell AFB same time I was there. I believe he was in a Reserve unit at the time but he did fly missions in Vietnam.
I’m an Air Force brat and my dad was stationed at Hill AFB flying then-new F-16As. My mom and I got to ride out in duty van driven by colonel who flew Thuds and spent time as a POW. After we watched my dad depart in his F-16 to go TDY somewhere, I remember watching F-105s from the guard or the reserve take their position and blast off into the sky. This was right before they were retired. The colonel I was with made a comment about how much he missed flying them.
The Thud is my favorite aircraft of all time. It looks so mean the way it flys. Those beautiful air intakes and that sharp nose. Those photos taken of the Thud from (I think) the takers perspective. Just looks mean as hell.
In the Amazon movie "Thud Pilots" he talks about his rescue, but it also has the perspective from the Helicopter rescue pilot and one of the shipmates. Incredible story. (Vic also is in "Hun Pilots" also an amazon docu-movie as he is the writer for it and the producer for the prior)
That aircraft always drew my attention and large was my surprize when I saw one arrive at the museum near home, I am in Europe and I believe it is the only one this side of the Atlantic, so yeah: I’m lucky.
This guy is a god dang historical library. I love it. I am reading the book "Hunter-Killers" currently and he is a big part of it so far as I am reading.
Awesome! A+++++ A genuine pleasure to listen to this legendary Fighter Pilot tell his tales about flying the Thud in combat, as well as the many amusing anecdotes regarding some non-flying USAF antics. The story about his 'buddy' taking that house in Japan is priceless! I love the F-5 as well & have seen some photos of you at Williams AFB, AZ. You are the epitome of a front line USAF Fighter Pilot, very professional, and a true gentleman as well. Cheers to You & All the Very Best for You & Your Family!
So great that one of the many unsung masters of their craft get to tell part of their story. This writing history on a different level. And what a delightful man again. How do you know who to ask, or do you get introduced by other people you interviewed? Anyway, as always I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
The part about the ejecting sure had been printed in his brain, such the details he remember about it. The whole time he was on the ground I was thinking not about the Vietnamese soldiers, but the other dangers that hide inside the forest, especially inside the caves. I watched a interview with a USAF F-4 WSO (Lt Col Tony Marshall ) that ejected over the north, he remember very little because the ejection was not commandeered by him, was very violent and he just remember being on the ground surrounded by enemy soldiers, becoming a POW.
This MacNamara (apologies if I misspelled but I won’t spend a sec or byte to look for) was the predecessor I of the modern top managers running and ruining companies (see GE). Total ignorance, authoritative with no substance, directive and pacesetting to the extreme.
Back in1980s,,,,,,At Republic Airport Long Island N.Y. They Flew A F105 in ,and I Had they great Experience to see and here the F-105 fly over at top speed and go around and set up for runway 14. I was 100 yards from the runway Here she comes Hot after landing ,,,,,,,,A shoot comes out to slow the ship down then the taxi to the Republic Factory ,In witch it was made years ago . I will never for get that Day I was 17 years old .
The politics and target selection behind Rolling Thunder never ceases to amaze me. How can you possibly be dumb enough to carry out a bombing campaign over years and years, and not accept you have to take out air defense sites and air bases???? And the reason for that is "not escalating the war"????
We carried out daylight, daily bombing all over germany at our will, destroying them and bringing them death... with out paying any attention anti air... Our forefathers were not fearful men. We welcome conflict. We are not europeans. It kind of even makes it more fun for us when they shoot back.
Thx I enjoyed the Vid, but you missed the best part, Vic Vizcarra`s famous nose art "Pussy Galore II" When he returned to 354th TFS/355th TFW Takhli Thail. in late Oct. 1966, Vizcarra decided to create "Pussy Galore II". Vizcarra decided to get permission before painting the Jet and after talking to the flight Cdr, squadron Cdr and wing director of Operations permission was granted and "Pussy Galore II" was created. Unfortunately this Jets (a F-105D-31-RE) Nose Art lasted only a few weeks (in late 66) and was "lost" when Col. Robert Scott, the former Flying Tiger and Cdr. of the 355th saw the Artwork and suffered a thundering outburst, he ordered it to be removed.
and no one asked the most crutial question, about the very very faimous painting on the nose of the Thud... the painting of all mighty ***** Galore on his airplane. :)...
Also that I later heard he had a lady in Vietnam a Vietnamese lady do you know if he loved her and was going to bring her back to the United States with him he never mentioned anything to me about this and I asked him do you have a wife or a special lady in your life he said no when I was dating him maybe you know the truth I'd love love love to know thank you
20:00 in , it was neat to learn my little town of Melbourne FL was the staging ground for F-105 heading overseas.
Roger Braddy - I was at Patrick AFB
I could listen for hours..... Need a part ,3, 4, 5....
Vic, all pilots who flew Thuds over the North deserve tremendous respect, admiration, and thanks. I wish I had the privilege of buying you a drink.
Hear, Hear!
And a steak.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯🙏 Welcome Home, God bless you ALL. Much Respect for your Wife. Her job was just as tough and important as yours...
Outstanding, and what a brave man.
This guy is priceless, his wife knows he’s a chatterbox. But everything he says is awesome knowledge. I wish he was my neighbor
Her expression when she bustled into the room spoke volumes ~ 'Is he yapping on about flying *again* '? Rustling of noisy items out of shot.
He comes across as a hugely good bloke (thanks Vic, fascinating living history first hand) ~
Which it has to be said is pretty much the norm for the guys Mike King tracks down for this channel.
I don't think he is a chatterbox in every day life. Just when you are genuinely interested in these topics he will talk about it like this. He probably doesn't talk about this stuff with his beautiful and patient wife.
Thanks for this Mike. Much respect to Vic, absolute legend. These guys are a cut above the rest I tell you.
Cheers Mo.
Vic, I don't know if you will see this or not but do you know another F-105 pilot named Fred Clawson? He was stationed at McConnell AFB same time I was there. I believe he was in a Reserve unit at the time but he did fly missions in Vietnam.
CAME BACK TO WATCH THE LEGEND AGAIN!
Love this plane and this guy
Stories behind actual pictures really give fascinating extra depth
I love listening to this guys stories!! What a great American!!!
Mr. Vizcarra's war stories are top-notched. What a tremendous flying career he had. This was an awesome interview, my favorite of the series .
Many thanks!
People dont realize how big of a chonker the thud is. I got to see a couple in a boneyard and holy crap they are big
I’m an Air Force brat and my dad was stationed at Hill AFB flying then-new F-16As. My mom and I got to ride out in duty van driven by colonel who flew Thuds and spent time as a POW. After we watched my dad depart in his F-16 to go TDY somewhere, I remember watching F-105s from the guard or the reserve take their position and blast off into the sky. This was right before they were retired. The colonel I was with made a comment about how much he missed flying them.
The Thud is my favorite aircraft of all time. It looks so mean the way it flys. Those beautiful air intakes and that sharp nose. Those photos taken of the Thud from (I think) the takers perspective. Just looks mean as hell.
In the Amazon movie "Thud Pilots" he talks about his rescue, but it also has the perspective from the Helicopter rescue pilot and one of the shipmates. Incredible story. (Vic also is in "Hun Pilots" also an amazon docu-movie as he is the writer for it and the producer for the prior)
Fascinating gentleman. The F105. Triple threat. It could bomb, strafe, or fall on you.
What an amazing man . . .
That aircraft always drew my attention and large was my surprize when I saw one arrive at the museum near home, I am in Europe and I believe it is the only one this side of the Atlantic, so yeah: I’m lucky.
What a treat that was. Thank you on many levels.
Great stories for us, but some scary life stories for him. Thanks for sharing and for your service
Fascinating guy, great storyteller. Reading his Hun Pilot book at the moment. Thank you!
This guy is a god dang historical library. I love it. I am reading the book "Hunter-Killers" currently and he is a big part of it so far as I am reading.
Great interview, it sounds like Robert McNamara was working for the other side with the decisions he was making !
What a guy! They don’t make em like they used to.
Awesome! A+++++
A genuine pleasure to listen to this legendary Fighter Pilot tell his tales about flying the Thud in combat, as well as the many amusing anecdotes regarding some non-flying USAF antics. The story about his 'buddy' taking that house in Japan is priceless!
I love the F-5 as well & have seen some photos of you at Williams AFB, AZ.
You are the epitome of a front line USAF Fighter Pilot, very professional, and a true gentleman as well.
Cheers to You & All the Very Best for You & Your Family!
Cheers!
Fantastic interview, such fascinating stories from Vic, love to hear more for sure 😊👍👍 great work buddy 🤙
This was probably the best and most riveting accounts you've done so far, need to look up his books
Thank you!
Hi James, I can verify his books are outstanding! If you liked this interview you’ll love the books.
This is something amazing! So fascinating stories! I like it! Thanks to the pilot, thanks to the host!
Great to hear you enjoyed it.
Great interview. I was looking forward to part two and I wasn't disappointed. Many thanks and much respect to Vic and as ever, Mike cheers
Cheers Phillip!
Another salute to you Sir !
Really enjoyed Vic's flying and non flying stories!
So great that one of the many unsung masters of their craft get to tell part of their story. This writing history on a different level. And what a delightful man again. How do you know who to ask, or do you get introduced by other people you interviewed? Anyway, as always I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
"30 hours and a bit of holy water and you were one"
I nearly fell off my chair laughing :D
A fascinating historical document! What a great interview.
200 miles north of the chute ha ha!
Looking forward to this!
I hope you enjoy!
F105F/G Coolest Wild Weasels All Time.
The part about the ejecting sure had been printed in his brain, such the details he remember about it. The whole time he was on the ground I was thinking not about the Vietnamese soldiers, but the other dangers that hide inside the forest, especially inside the caves.
I watched a interview with a USAF F-4 WSO (Lt Col Tony Marshall ) that ejected over the north, he remember very little because the ejection was not commandeered by him, was very violent and he just remember being on the ground surrounded by enemy soldiers, becoming a POW.
Thank you!
I have subscribed to your Channel because of this guy!
Cheers Robert!
Watching some interviews on the Library of Congress Veteran Project site gave me new respect for the guy asking the questions here. Great interview.
Thank you Ryne.
For anyone interested in the F-105 in Vietnam I recommend 100 Missions North By Brig Gen Ken Bell.
Thank you and those like you.
Thanks for a great video.
11:53 I was waiting for the DACT question!
What did Vic do after the Air Force ?
This MacNamara (apologies if I misspelled but I won’t spend a sec or byte to look for) was the predecessor I of the modern top managers running and ruining companies (see GE). Total ignorance, authoritative with no substance, directive and pacesetting to the extreme.
Back in1980s,,,,,,At Republic Airport Long Island N.Y. They Flew A F105 in ,and I Had they great Experience to see and here the F-105 fly over at top speed and go around and set up for runway 14. I was 100 yards from the runway Here she comes Hot after landing ,,,,,,,,A shoot comes out to slow the ship down then the taxi to the Republic Factory ,In witch it was made years ago . I will never for get that Day I was 17 years old .
LOL @ "a hard cloud" !!
The politics and target selection behind Rolling Thunder never ceases to amaze me. How can you possibly be dumb enough to carry out a bombing campaign over years and years, and not accept you have to take out air defense sites and air bases???? And the reason for that is "not escalating the war"????
We carried out daylight, daily bombing all over germany at our will, destroying them and bringing them death... with out paying any attention anti air... Our forefathers were not fearful men. We welcome conflict. We are not europeans. It kind of even makes it more fun for us when they shoot back.
Politicians really messed with tactics and strategies in NAM in all of the services .
I knew there was a reason I liked you vic .....F-16 for LIFE! If you had flown the 16 that would have been your number 1 😉
Thx I enjoyed the Vid,
but you missed the best part, Vic Vizcarra`s famous nose art "Pussy Galore II"
When he returned to 354th TFS/355th TFW Takhli Thail. in late Oct. 1966, Vizcarra decided to create "Pussy Galore II".
Vizcarra decided to get permission before painting the Jet and after talking to the flight Cdr, squadron Cdr and wing director of Operations permission was granted and "Pussy Galore II" was created.
Unfortunately this Jets (a F-105D-31-RE) Nose Art lasted only a few weeks (in late 66) and was "lost" when Col. Robert Scott, the former Flying Tiger and Cdr. of the 355th saw the Artwork and suffered a thundering outburst, he ordered it to be removed.
Excuse me
Are you F-105 pilot served in Korat Air Base in Thailand ?
and no one asked the most crutial question, about the very very faimous painting on the nose of the Thud... the painting of all mighty ***** Galore on his airplane. :)...
Give me the Cole's notes version, how many SA-2 missiles did Vic take up his wazoo, anyway?
Crusader was much faster than an F-100
One foul up after another, this guy is lucky. They need actual emergency traning so they dont get rescue people killed.
Pussy Gallore 2
3:53 I bet one or two pilots had cottonmouth for a different reason
Also that I later heard he had a lady in Vietnam a Vietnamese lady do you know if he loved her and was going to bring her back to the United States with him he never mentioned anything to me about this and I asked him do you have a wife or a special lady in your life he said no when I was dating him maybe you know the truth I'd love love love to know thank you