Re: Killing of Civilians?

[<CavKVet50@aol.com>]

fyi - Army perspective to follow. Marty


Subj:    AP Story, Air Force perspective
Date:   99-10-06 09:02:46 EDT
From:   tbarker@kwp.org (Ted Barker)
To: CavKVet50@aol.com

Marty,

Here is a piece by Col Bud Biteman, 18th Fighter Bomber Wing
The story that he mentions is on our Recollections section and has appeared 
in many magazines over the years.

The article is for public viewing.

I have now about 125 replies with comments about the AP story and the media 
coverage. 
======
--- On Tue, 05 Oct 1999 17:46:29 -0700  'Bud' Biteman 
<seaflybud@earthlink.net> wrote:
Ted..

I, too, had several phone calls from concerned individuals, and referred
most of those with internet capability to check out my "White Robes"
article on your website; feel free to copy and quote me to any you
choose.

By way of further explanation concerning our Fighter opertions out of
Taegu during that same brief period, I was assigned as Intelligence
Officer for the 12th Fighter Squadron ... at that time, we were the only
F-51 unit at K-2, so in addition to personally flying combat missions in
the entire Seoul to Taejon to Waegwan to Masan area; I was also tasked, 
to interrogate every one of our pilots returning from their missions to
the same areas when I wasn't flying. 

Never once did I hear ANY MENTION of those pilots having been directed
(by Mosquito Control or any other Control) to attack the ever increasing
stream of refugees. Nor did any mention having made such an attack on
their own, without specific authorization.  We had more than enough
military targets throughout the area ... we couldn't waste our limited
ammunition on unarmed personnel!

That is not to say that we did not attack legitimate targets .. vehicles
or reported enemy positions in what probably seemed to be CLOSE
PROXIMITY to the cluttered roads being shared by both by our retreating
forces, and by the streaming refugees. Six fifty calibers firing at low
altitude within a half-mile distance would sound as if they were aimed
right at the listener... Such an attack against refugees MAY have
happened, but I was in a good position to have heard about it, and I
never did.

Feel free to highlight or quote the White Robes article, if you wish.

Bud Biteman