Powers, Trent Richard, CAPT

Oriskany

A village in central New York state and the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War. During the Saratoga campaign in the summer of 1777, a British force invested Fort Stanwix in central New York, intending to seize control of the Mowhawk Valley and guard the left flank of the British advance on Albany. On 4 August 1777, a relief column of some 800 Tryon County militiamen and 40 Oneida warriors under Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer and Chief Skenandoah set out from Fort Dayton, some forty miles to the east. Two days later, as the Tryon militia entered the marshy ravine of Oriskany Creek, a smaller force of Tories, Mohawks and Senecas under Sir John Johnson, Col. John Butler and Chief Joseph Brant ambushed the patriot militia. Initially thrown into disorder and suffering heavy losses, Herkimers' force regrouped on higher ground and fought a bitter six hour battle against the Loyalists, marked by hand-to-hand combat with bayonets and tomahawks. Losses at Oriskany were severe and both sides withdrew, with American losses amounting to half the original force, including General Herkimer who died of his wounds a week later. Although the patriots did not then relieve Fort Stanwix, a second expedition forced the British force to lift the siege and retreat to Canada, contributing to British General John Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga in October.

Other Memories
Oriskany departed San Diego on 5 April 1965 for her seventh Far East deployment, arriving at Subic Bay via Pearl Harbor on 27 April. From there the carrier sailed to the South China Sea where she joined two other carriers off the coast of Vietnam. Aircraft carriers had been off South Vietnam since early 1964, and had conducted retaliatory air strikes against the North Vietnamese communists at times that fall and winter. But after a series of attacks by communist Viet Cong guerillas on American forces in South Vietnam in early 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered both a troop buildup in the south and a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnamese military targets in the north. Elements of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed at Da Nang on 8 March, which began a major troop buildup in South Vietnam, and the aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 (TF 77) began their part in Operation ?Rolling Thunder? a week later. Assigned to either ?Yankee? or ?Dixie? Stations, carriers in TF 77 launched aircraft for interdiction missions against North Vietnamese targets or conducted close air support against Viet Cong targets in the South.

Oriskany began her first line period on 8 May, mainly ?in-country? missions over South Vietnam against Viet Cong positions in the central highlands but also seven days of strikes against enemy lines-of-communication in North Vietnam and Laos. The first operational loss of the cruise took place on 25 May, when a catapult bridle failure crushed the nose landing gear of an A-3B Skywarrior tanker, sending the aircraft over the side. The four crewmen ejected and, with the pilot LCdr. Richard B. Walls and Lt(jg) Gerald D. Adams suffering from broken legs, Oriskany?s plane guard Sea Sprite ? commanded by Lt(jg) Woodrow W. Beck, piloted by Lt (jg) James R. Welsh and crewed by ATN3 Michael D. Wolack ? dropped rescue diver AMS1 J. A. Garbutt to help them into the rescue harness. The UH-2A picked up three of the crew, while the fourth was rescued by Boyd (DD-544). Following a short stop in Subic Bay 3-9 June, the carrier returned to ?Dixie Station? for a week of on-call missions in the south. On the 18th she shifted north for two weeks of strikes from ?Yankee Station,? interdicting the roads, bridges and rail lines feeding the ?Ho Chi Minh? supply trail from Hanoi to Laos and south to Viet Cong supply depots in South Vietnam. These attacks introduced Oriskany?s airmen to the heavy anti-aircraft protection provided to North Vietnamese installations, particularly around key bridges and other transport nodes. A raid on the Nam Dinh fuel storage facility illustrated the dangers, with one aircraft severely damaged by flak. With enemy defenses quickly growing in strength ? Soviet and Chinese anti-aircraft guns arrived in Hanoi by the hundreds every month ? routine Skyraider operations in the north became too dangerous and VA-152 concentrated on rescue combat air patrol (ResCap) and armed reconnaissance missions to the south. As the Skyraiders were equipped with APR-23 radar detection equipment, four planes were detached in June to help with pilot rescue operations out of Udorn, Thailand. A second operational loss took place on 30 June, when LCdr. Eric H. Schade, Jr.?s VA-152 Skyraider splashed after his catapult shot owing to engine failure. He escaped the plane and was picked up by Perkins (DD-877), who returned him to Oriskany ?in exchange for 35 gallons of ice cream.? The first few weeks of July saw the carrier return to ?in-country? operations in the south, lasting until the 18th when Oriskany sailed for Japan. Tragically, that day saw the first fatal operational loss, when Lt. Malcolm A. Avore?s VA-163 Skyhawk flamed out just after takeoff and splashed into the sea. Yet another VA-152 Skyraider was lost to engine failure on 21 July; the pilot successfully ditched about 10 miles from the aircraft carrier and was recovered by an Oriskany helicopter.

Following arrival in Yokosuka on 24 July 1965, Oriskany underwent a short refit before getting underway on 5 August to return to the war zone. Combat missions began on 10 August with strikes against heavily defended North Vietnamese barracks complexes; the days fatal loss coming not from ground fire but mechanical failure when Lt(jg) Lawrence S. Mailhes? VA-152 Skyraider splashed in the Tonkin Gulf. Owing to frequently poor weather, the air wing flew mostly armed reconnaissance and interdiction missions that month with major strikes planned for breaks in the weather. One such strike was the attack on a suspected Surface to Air missile (SAM) site at Kep northeast of Hanoi, whose heavy defenses damaged three jets in mid-August. It was a preview of things to come. The first combat loss for the air wing took place on 26 August, when Lt (jg) Edward A. Davis? Skyraider was hit by ground fire after making a rocket attack near Loc Xa. Davis bailed out and was captured by the North Vietnamese. The first pilot killed in action took place on 29 August during a ResCap mission. Lt. Edd D. Taylor, flying a Skyraider in a tight search pattern after receiving signals from an Air Force emergency beacon, was killed after his plane took heavy automatic weapons fire and crashed into a ridge line. A second loss took place that same afternoon, when Lt. Henry S. McWhorter was killed after his VFP-63 (Det G) Crusader was hit by 30mm anti-aircraft gun fire.

An increasing focus on finding enemy SA-2 Guideline SAM sites ? part of Operation ?Iron Hand? ? meant even more sorties against heavily defended locations in September 1965. During a strike on the primary North Vietnamese truck route along Rte 1A at Ha Tinh on 6 Sep, heavy ground fire damaged one Skyhawk, which landed safely on Oriskany, and set fire to another. Lt. James L. Burton managed to guide his burning Skyhawk out to sea and bailed out just before his jet exploded. He was recovered by an Air Force HU-16 and returned to the ship via Da Nang. One of the most successful missions of the cruise took place two days later, when Cdr. James B. Stockdale, then commander of CVW-16, led a six-plane mission that found and destroyed an 18-truck convoy northeast of Thanh Hoa. During that strike, however, an RF-8A Crusader piloted by LT (jg) Robert D. Rudolph took heavy 37mm fire just after crossing the beach, caught fire and rolled inverted into a dive. Although his wingman did not see the plane crash, he did not see a parachute and the pilot was presumed killed. More bad news followed on 9 September when Cdr. Stockdale led a two-plane Snakeye bombing attack against enemy railroad equipment. Immediately after the bomb run Stockdale?s Skyhawk took heavy damage and he bailed out, landing in a heavily populated area. Captured almost immediately, Cdr. Stockdale remained a prisoner of the North Vietnamese until 12 February 1973. Oriskany departed ?Yankee Station? on 11 September and sailed to Subic Bay for repairs and then on to Hong Kong for rest and recreation.

Back on station on 30 September 1965, the air wing resumed interdiction strikes on North Vietnamese logistics routes. During one strike against bridges north of Hanoi on 5 October, an F-8E on barrier combat air patrol (BarCap) came under attack from two or three enemy SAM launchers. One of the ?flying telephone poles? detonated aft of the Crusader, setting LT(jg) Robert F. Adams aircraft on fire. Adams turned seaward and ejected when ?feet wet?, and was rescued by a helicopter from Galveston (CLG-3). Two days later VA-163 strikes finally dropped the Vu Chau highway bridge. A second bridge, this time on the Dong Phuong highway north of Thanh Hoa, was destroyed on 9 October and, after two SAMs sailed overhead, the attackers inflicted heavy damage on the launch site. Continuing the anti-bridge campaign on 17 October, CVW-16 joined with planes from Independence (CVA-62) to launch a coordinated strike against the Thai Ngyen highway bridge near the Chinese border. Although no Oriskany planes were shot down, two Independence pilots bailed out over the target. Four Skyraiders on ResCap tried to cover a helicopter rescue mission but heavy ground fire, including the firing of SA-2s, drove off the aircraft. In addition, a VMF-212 Crusader was lost owing to mechanical failure, but the pilot was rescued. The aircraft carrier then spent 19-27 October at Subic Bay and Hong Kong.

Returning to combat missions on 28 October 1965, Oriskany?s attack aircraft spent the next two and a half weeks of November mainly conducting armed reconnaissance and interdiction strikes, with the Skyraiders? focused on ResCap missions. In between these routine activities, the air wing participated in six major strikes. In the first, an unusual ?Iron Hand? mission, Lcdr. Trent R. Powers, Executive Officer of VA-164, flew a Skyraider to an Air Force base at Takhli, Thailand, on the 30th. There, he joined up with eight Air Force F-105D Thunderchief fighter bombers for a strike against enemy SAM sites north of Hanoi. As his Skyraider was equipped with the APR-23, and the Air Force ?Thuds? were not, Powers acted as pathfinder for the mission launched on the 31st. Arriving in the target area, the jets and the single piston aircraft attracted a flurry of enemy SA-2s before diving on the target. The ?flying telephone poles? all missed, but heavy flak cut Powers? Skyraider into pieces as he attacked. Somehow he survived and other pilots witnessed a good chute as he floated down into enemy captivity. Lcdr. Powers later died in enemy hands and his body was not returned until 25 September 1987. On 5 November, the attack squadrons tried to blow the Hai Duong rail road bridge east of Hanoi. The strike failed, costing VMF-212 one aircraft piloted by Capt. Harlan P. Chapman who parachuted to earth and was captured after his F-8E took heavy 57mm anti-aircraft fire. Two days later the attack squadrons successfully attacked their nemesis, SAM batteries near Nam Dinh, but lost a VA-152 Skyhawk in the process. Luckily, Lcdr. Charles G. Wack managed to get his burning jet over the sea and parachuted to safety. He was picked up by an Air Force HU-16 helicopter.

The toll on men and planes continued, with another VA-152 Skyraider lost on the night of 9 November 1965 when LCDR Paul G. Merchants? aircraft lost engine oil pressure owing to small arms fire while on an armed reconnaissance mission. He turned for the beach but the engine stalled enroute and he glided across the shoreline before safely ditching in the Tonkin Gulf. Lcdr. Merchant was then rescued by a UH-2 helo from Gridley (DLG-21). By 10 November, poor weather socked in the entire region and the air wing only managed two days of combat flights over the next week, although both proved deadly. On the 13th, during an armed reconnaissance mission, Cdr. Harry T. Jenkins Skyhawk from VA-163 burned after taking anti-aircraft fire; though he managed to parachute safely to the ground he was quickly captured. Four days later, during a repeat attack on the Hai Duong bridge, the air wing lost four aircraft, the worst day for CVW-16 during the whole cruise. First, while crossing the beach, a Crusader from VMF-212 lost electrical power after being hit by 37mm anti-aircraft fire. The pilot, Capt. Ross C. Chaimson, flew back to ?Yankee Station? and ejected safely. He was rescued by a UH-2 helicopter from Bon Homme Richard. During the attack, an A-4E from VA-163 lost its right wing stabilizer to 37mm ground fire and Lcdr. Roy H. Bowling ejected, only to be captured shortly thereafter. Then, a VA-152 Skyraider on ResCap over Bowlings? crash site was set on fire by enemy small arms. Lcdr. Jesse J. Taylor tried to ditch at sea but the plane exploded about 3 miles offshore and he was killed. Finally, VMF-212 lost a Crusader to mechanical failure though the pilot was recovered safely. The ?ResCap? Skyraiders remained busy in early November, providing air cover for the successful rescue of seven Air Force and Navy pilots. One Skyraider even got credit for sinking a North Vietnamese junk that was trying to capture a downed pilot. Flying such close air support was also dangerous, and over half-a-dozen ?Spads? were badly shot up, two crash landing ?wheels up? at Da Nanag and a third, flown by Cdr. Albert E. Knutson, commander of VA-152, took 26 anti-aircraft bullet and shell hits during an unsuccessful rescue attempt on 13 November. A final strike by CVW-16 took place on 25 November and, as put by the command history for VA-163, ?To everyone?s great relief, the last strike of the cruise was a milk run.?

In combat operations that brought Oriskany and embarked CVW-16 the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service between 10 May and 6 December 1965, the aircraft carrier conducted over 12,000 combat sorties ? a record never achieved before by any carrier during a single combat deployment ? and delivered nearly 10,000 tons of ordnance against enemy forces. The air wing also racked up some impressive pilot statistics, with Cdr. Knutson from VA-152 flying 116 combat missions during his tour. The cost was heavy, with 22 planes lost in combat or accident and six pilots killed and another six made prisoner. After a short stop for a badly needed rest and minor repairs, Oriskany departed Subic Bay on 30 November and returned to San Diego on 6 December.