If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Eldorado
Last Address Birth: Jul. 24, 1915 in Eldorado, Jackson County, Oklahoma Death: Aug. 5, 2009 Riverside Regional Medical Center Newport News, Virginia Complications after a fall.
Date of Passing Aug 05, 2009
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Navy Admiral Ralph Wynne Cousins led Naval Air Operation in Vietnam.
A HIGHLY DECORATED Navy aviator during World War II and commander of the attack carrier strike force during some of the heaviest fighting of the Vietnam War, retired Admiral Ralph W. Cousins died in Newport News, Va., in August at the age of 94. From 1967 to 1969, Cousins commanded the attack carrier strike force and led the Gulf of Tonkin naval operations that were carried out from aircraft carriers. In 1970 he was promoted to four-star admiral and became the Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO).
A dive bomber pilot on the Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea Noun 1. battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, Cousins led bombing attacks against the Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho and survived the sinking of his own ship. He was awarded the Navy Cross in WWII. His other military decorations included three awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit and two Air Medals.
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (68)/ Yankee Station, North Vietnam
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station. Carriers conducting air operations at Yankee Station were said to be "on the line" and statistical summaries were based on days on the line.
The name derived from it being the geographic reference point "Y", pronounced "Yankee" in the NATO phonetic alphabet. In turn the term Point Yankee derived from the launch point for "Yankee Team" aerial reconnaissance missions over Laos conducted in 1964. It was located about 190 km due east of Dong Hoi, at 17° 30' N and 108° 30' E.
During the two periods of sustained air operations against North Vietnam (March 2, 1965-October 31, 1968 and March 30, 1972-December 29, 1972) there were normally three carriers on the line, each conducting air operations for twelve hours, then off for twelve hours. One of the carriers would operate from noon to midnight, another from midnight to noon, and one during daylight hours, which gave 24-hour coverage plus additional effort during daylight hours, when sorties were most effective. However at the end of May, 1972, six carriers were for a short period of time on the line at Yankee Station conducting Linebacker strikes.
The first aircraft carrier at Yankee Station was USS Kitty Hawk, which was ordered there in April 1964 for the Yankee Team missions. Kitty Hawk was joined by Ticonderoga in May and Constellation in June, two months prior to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Ticonderoga and Constellation launched the first bombing missions from Yankee Station on August 5, 1964. Constellation was also the last carrier conducting operations at Yankee Station on August 15, 1973. USS Forrestal suffered a major accident while at Yankee Station when a series of fires and explosions on her deck killed 134 men and injured another 161.
A corresponding Dixie Station in the South China Sea off the Mekong Delta was a single carrier point for conducting strikes within South Vietnam from May 15, 1965 to August 3, 1966.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Last Updated: Dec 22, 2023
Personal Memories
Memories From 1967 to 1969, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war, Admiral Cousins was commander of the attack carrier strike force and responsible for all naval aviation operations carried out from aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin. He developed tactics for combating antiaircraft missiles fired at Navy airplanes and directed the first successful attack on a missile installation in North Vietnam in 1967.
Described in a 1967 New York Times article as a ``soft-spoken, clear-eyed man,?? Admiral Cousins had 30 ships under his command at the time, including five aircraft carriers. He said his primary role was to coordinate bombing orders from the Pentagon and the Navy?s Pacific headquarters in Hawaii.
``They order the strike,?? he said, ``and then my people have to figure out the best way of getting the job done - the number and type of plane we?ll use, the ordnance they?ll carry, the timing, and the rest. We have to coordinate with the Air Force.??
To Admiral Cousins, each takeoff and landing - launch and recovery, in Navy parlance - signified a successful mission.
