Yankee Air Pirate

Captain Richard A. Stratton, USN Ret. Speaking at the NAPS class of 1983 40th reunion in Jacksonville, Florida. October 21, 2023.

Link to the YouTube video of this event:

https://youtu.be/QYS3OUOwLQQ?si=kxjbzX7_kPlB9B5q

In this episode of the podcast my daughter Ashley Stratton, a senior at Saint John's University, interviews her grandfather, The Yankee Air Pirate as part of her senior project. The purpose of the project was to learn about American society and culture from the period they have been studying in class from someone that experienced those events first hand while learning from their perspective and enriching their own understanding of it.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

~George Santayana

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During this episode we discuss some better times… including his last weeks and months in Vietnam, his release day experiences, and his travel back to Virginia to be reunited with his family… We’ll also discuss some of his favorite Navy jobs after returning from Vietnam.

Make sure to check out the article written by Paul. “American’s have much to be thankful for” using the link below:

https://richmond.com/opinion/columnists/paul-galanti-column-americans-have-much-to-be-thankful-for/article_f2d327ef-6d95-56fa-97d8-d85c862347ab.html

This is part number 3 of 3 episodes discussing The Son Tay Raid with Col John Gargus USAF (Ret). If you haven’t listened to parts 1&2 with Col Gargus yet, go back and listen to those episodes first to get the full story of the Son Tay Raid… In 1970, then Major Gargus was a key mission planner and lead navigator for The Son Tay Raid on November 21, 1970… 

In this episode we discuss the Raiders deployment to Southeast Asia, the Son Tay Raid execution, and the Raiders feelings immediately following the mission.

This Son Tay Raid Web Site has pictures and other key information about the Raid:

sontayraid1970.com

Link to the book about the Son Tay Raid written by Colonel Gargus:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/160344212X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HxPNFbTQ7QJ8W

This is part number 2 of 3 episodes discussing The Son Tay Raid with Col John Gargus USAF (Ret). If you have not listened to part 1 with Col Gargus yet, go back and listen to that episode first to get the full story… In 1970, then Major Gargus was a key mission planner for The Son Tay Raid. Because of his expertise in navigation over Vietnam he also served as the lead navigator on that mission helping to guide all the Raiders behind enemy lines, undetected, arriving at the Son Tay Prison compound at 0218 on the morning of November 21st, 1970.

In this episode we discuss more details of the secret training in Florida, the special equipment they acquired to use during the mission, and also, i ask Col Gargus about how and when Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command, ADM John S. McCain Jr. was notified about the secret rescue mission being planned for the POWS… He of course had operational responsibility for the Vietnam theater of operations, and was the father of then POW..LCDR John Sidney McCain III.

This Son Tay Raid Web Site has pictures and other key information about the Raid:

sontayraid1970.com

Link to the book about the Son Tay Raid written by Colonel Gargus:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/160344212X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HxPNFbTQ7QJ8W

In November, 1970, U.S. special forces attempted to rescue POWs from captivity in North Vietnam. The Son Tay raid was one of the most complex and dangerous missions of the War in Southeast Asia. It laid the groundwork for future joint forces operations by serving as a model of organization, cooperation, and flexibility of execution.

This is the first of three episodes with Col John Gargus USAF (Ret). In 1970, then Major Gargus was a key mission planner for The Son Tay Raid. Because of his expertise in navigation over Vietnam he also served as the lead navigator on the mission helping to guide all the Raiders behind enemy lines, undetected, arriving at the Son Tay Prison compound at 0218 on the morning of November 21st, 1970.

In this episode we discuss his early life, including his own escape from communist Czechoslovakia at the age of 15, his early years in the Air Force when he developed some very unique navigation skills, how he later became involved in the planning for the top secret Son Tay Raid, and how they set up a mock-up of the Son Tay Prison in Florida to secretly train for the mission.

This Son Tay Raid Web Site has pictures and other key information about the Raid:

sontayraid1970.com

Link to the book about the Son Tay Raid written by Colonel Gargus:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/160344212X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HxPNFbTQ7QJ8W

Anyone thats ever been part of the armed forces knows the positive long-lasting impact a good drill instructor can have on your military career and life afterward.

For the members of the great NAPS class of 1983 that drill instructor and important figure was the legendary and iconic...

Gunnery Sgt - Alex Nevgloski USMC…

It's both an honor and a privilege to have Alex with us on the show today. Thank you for all that you did for all of us!

Semper Fi Alex

In this episode we talk to Paul about the work his wife Phyllis did with the National League of POW/MIA Families including her trips to Paris France to meet with the French communist journalist that met with Paul in Hanoi and her trip to Sweden all while working to help free her husband. After the bombing of Hanoi intensified Paul describes his move to a new prison camp called "Dog Patch" located further North, not far from the Chinese border. We also discuss theories on why the Vietnamese would move so many of the POWS to a location so close to the Chinese border.

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For the best pictures of the POWS and their experiences.

In this episode we discuss the day Paul made contact with Richard Stratton in the Hoa Lo Prison, the East German propaganda movie Pilots In Pajamas, and the photo of Paul that Life Magazine purchased from the East Germans which they later used as their October 1967 cover after deceptively altering that photo.

At the very end of this episode you will also get to hear one of my favorite Paul Galanti flying stories which took place many years later, after he returned from Vietnam.

Here's the link which shows the Life Magazine cover using the altered photo along with two original photos which shows what Paul was really doing during the East German photo shoot:

https://www.facebook.com/TheYankeeAirPirate/posts/297581834993194

Commander Paul Galanti USN Ret. is our guest for another excellent discussion about the events that took place soon after he arrived at the Hoa Lo Prison in 1966. This episode includes a discussion of the Hanoi POW March that took place July 6, 1966.

Video link of the Hanoi POW March:

https://youtu.be/JYWy0lbEerg

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