SYNOPSIS: Frustrated by problems in negotiating a peace settlement, and 
pressured by a Congress and public wanting an immediate end to American 
involvement in Vietnam, President Nixon ordered the most concentrated air 
offensive of the war - known as Linebacker II - in December 1972. During the 
offensive, sometimes called the "Christmas bombings," 40,000 tons of bombs were 
dropped, primarily over the area between Hanoi and Haiphong. White House Press 
Secretary Ronald Ziegler said that the bombing would end only when all U.S. POWs 
were released and an internationally recognized cease-fire was in force. 

Linebacker II flights generally arrived over Hanoi in tight cells of three 
aircraft to maximize the mutual support benefits of their ECM equipment and flew 
straight and level to stabilize the bombing computers and ensure that all bombs 
fell on the military targets and not in civilian areas. 

The pilots of the early missions reported that "wall-to-wall SAMS" surrounded 
Hanoi as they neared its outskirts. The Christmas Bombings, despite press 
accounts to the contrary, were of the most precise the world had seen. Pilots 
involved in the immense series of strikes generally agree that the strikes 
against anti-aircraft and strategic targets was so successful that the U.S., had 
it desired, "could have taken the entire country of Vietnam by inserting an 
average Boy Scout troop in Hanoi and marching them southward." 

To achieve this precision bombing, the Pentagon deemed it necessary to stick to 
a regular flight path. For many missions, the predictable B52 strikes were 
anticipated and prepared for by the North Vietnamese. Later, however, flight 
paths were altered and attrition all but eliminated any hostile threat from the 
ground. 

Still, aircraft were shot down near the end of the campaign. On December 22, 
1972, a B52 was shot down near Hanoi. Its crew included LTCOL John H. Yuill, 
LTCOL Louis H. Bernasconi, LTCOL William W. Conlee, CAPT David I. Drummond, 1LT 
William T. Mayall, and TSGT Gary L. Morgan. This crew was exceptionally 
fortunate--they were all were captured by the North Vietnamese. The captured 
crew was held in Hanoi until March 29, 1973, at which time they were released in 
Operation Homecoming. The U.S. did not know all of them had been captured. 

Linebacker II involved 155 Boeing B52 Stratofortress bombers stationed at 
Anderson AFB, Guam (72nd Strat Wing) and another 50 B52s stationed at Utapoa 
Airbase, Thailand (307th Strat Wing), an enormous number of bombers with over 
one thousand men flying the missions. However, the bombings were not conducted 
without high loss of aircraft and personnel. During the month of December 1972, 
61 crewmembers onboard ten B52 aircraft were shot down and were captured or 
declared missing. (The B52 carried a crew of six men; however, one B52 lost 
carried an extra crewman.) Of these 61, 33 men were released in 1973. The others 
remained missing at the end of the war. Over half of these survived to eject 
safely. 

Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports have been received relating to 
Americans missing, prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. The crew of 
the B52 shot down on December 22 was lucky to have survived and only have a few 
weeks imprisonment. Many authorities are now convinced that many Americans are 
still held captive in Southeast Asia. It's time we found them and brought them 
home. 

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977 
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor 
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and 
spelling errors). 
UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO 

WILLIAM W. CONLEE 
Lieutenant Colonel - United States Air Force 
Shot down: December 22, 1972 
Released: March 29, 1973 

Many people have asked me "Why do all POW speeches sound alike?" At first I 
was taken aback by this but perhaps they are right. One comes to cherish 
freedom when it is taken away and I guess we all realize how lucky we are to 
be Americans and live in a country where each citizen has basic rights. 

It was wonderful to feel the warmth of our welcome home and to realize how 
much everyone did care. 

The bravery and courage displayed by my wife and family while I was MIA and 
POW will always be an inspiration to me. The courage and fortitude of the 
other POWs surely strengthened me and made my relatively short period of 
confinement much more bearable The United States is truly the land of the free 
and the home of the brave. 

November 1996 
William Conlee retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. He and 
his wife Mary Beth reside in California.