This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Richard Buell, CDR
to remember
Buell, Kenneth Richard, CDR.
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In June, 1972, USS America (CVA 66) rounded Cape Horn and joined the 7th Fleet in Southeast Asia, relieving USS Coral Sea. It suddenly had mechanical problems requiring it to return to Subic Bay, but commenced combat operations at Yankee Station on 9 August 72.
Onboard were various aviation units, including VA-35 - the 'Black Panthers' of attack squadron 35 with their A-6 Intruders. The Grumman A-6 was a 2-man, all weather, carrier-based attack jet. Equipped with a sophisticated navigation and attack system, it could hone in on small objects (bridges, barracks, fuel depots) in all types of weather.
On 17 Sept 72, CDR Verne Donnelly (pilot) and LCDR Kenneth Buell launched from America on a routine combat mission over the vicinity of Hai Duong, North Vietnam. As their aircraft was about 8 miles west of the city, it was assumed that they were shot down - and both declared Missing in Action.
Neither was acknowledged by the North Vietnamese as captured, and they did not return in the POW release of 1973. On 05 Feb 1991, the U.S. announced that remains returned by the Vietnamese had been positively identified as those of Verne G. Donnelly; after 25 years, he was finally home. As of 31 July 2006, Ken Buell still is missing.
Other Comments:
A note from Commander Rick Buell, SC, USN, son of LCDR Ken Buell:
My dad was born in Louisville, KY 24 Aug 1939 as the only child of Louis & Libby Buell of Xenia, OH & later on Yellow Springs Ohio.
He was a Son of the American Revolution & entered naval service enlisting on 12 May 1958 and training at RTC Great Lakes 28 July - 12 Sep 1958.
In September 1965, the Black Panthers received their first Grumman A-6A Intruder, an aircraft that was destined to become the workhorse during the Vietnam conflict. With its highly sophisticated ground-mapping radar and computerized weapons systems, the A-6 was able to deliver its ordnance against significant North Vietnamese targets in all weather conditions. VA-35 aircrews saw action on four Western Pacific combat deployments during the years 1966 through January 1973, when VA-35 participated in the last air strike in South Vietnam, attacking North Vietnamese forces near the DMZ. In 1968, while deployed onboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) enroute to the Gulf of Tonkin VA-35 and her air group responded to the PUEBLO crisis in the Sea of Japan.
In 1980, the Black Panthers became the first operational A-6 squadron to deploy with the forward looking infrared receiver and laser equipped A-6E TRAM aircraft. Responding to the hostage crisis in Iran, the squadron left the Mediterranean for the Indian Ocean onboard USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) in January 1980 where it spent 144 continuous days at sea.
The Black Panthers concluded a highly successful Mediterranean deployment in 1987 and ended a 12-year association with USS NIMITZ (CVN 68). In 1989, the Navy’s oldest Attack Squadron joined the Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71), for its maiden Mediterranean deployment. Also in 1989 theBlack Panthers began the real-world employment of the latest night attack technology: Night Vision Devices. Used in conjunction with the A-6E SWIP’s already impressive night attack capabilities, the NVDs allowed unprecedented stealth and tactical maneuverability.
In August 1990 the squadron deployed once more for what promised to be a relatively easy summer Med cruise. Operation Desert Shield/Storm put an end to that idea quickly. The men of VA-35 would set many Navy firsts before their eight month combat cruise ended. Flying from the deck of USS SARATOGA (CV 60), the squadron was the first Navy squadron to drop bombs on Iraqi targets, the first to use Night Vision Devices in combat (over 300 combat hours with NVDs), and the first fleet squadron to drop high altitude Rockeyes, Gators, and DSTs (destructors) on Iraqi targets. Additionally, the Black Panthersflew nearly 400 strike sorties (all over 5 hours duration) and expended over 1.7 million pounds of ordnance.
