Armed Forces: Down in Thanh Hoa

As a 22-year Air Force veteran and an eight-MIG jet ace in Korea, Lieut.Colonel James Robinson Risner, 40, was the archetype of the professional who until recently has borne the brunt of the U.S. military effort in Viet Nam.

In the months since he was the subject for TIMES’S cover story (April 23) on the American fighting man, Risner, commanding officer of the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron (“The Fighting Cocks”), led scores of air strikes over North Viet Nam and was called back to the Pentagon briefly to receive the Air Force Cross for heroism. After the ceremony, Air Force Chief of Staff John P. McConnell told Risner, a part-Cherokee from Tulsa: “Now goddam mit, Robbie, don’t go back out there and get your tail shot off!”

Last week Robbie’s wife and five sons on Okinawa learned that he was missing. Risner’s flight of six F-105 Thunderchiefs, said the official report, had streaked off on a late-morning mission against a “military target” near the Phu De Van Chan mountain range, 80 miles northwest of Hanoi. The weather was clear, visibility good, and the jets dumped three tons of bombs on the site. But the airmen had to brave a murderous curtain of ground fire from mounted .50-cal. machine guns and 37-mm. cannon. Risner’s jet and that of another pilot were hit. Desperately, they headed southeast, hoping to reach the South China Sea, where Risner had bailed out last spring.

Last week he almost made it again. Nursing their crippled craft, the two pilots kept airborne for 170 miles—then had to eject near the town of Thanh Hoa, within sight of the water but still over Ho Chi Minh’s real estate. Risner landed in a paddyfield, his buddy several miles away. Their squadron mates, circling them, saw both flyers on the ground with no signs of injuries. But by the time rescue aircraft from the carrier Independence reached the area, Risner and his buddy had disappeared, and the beeps from Risner’s emergency transmitter had ceased.

In Saigon, a military official said hopefully, “Risner is a pro. A guy like this is just liable to come walking outta there one of these days.” Once before, back in 1949, after his P-51 was blown off course and landed in the Mexican jungle, Risner had been given up for lost only to emerge three days later astride a burro. This time the odds were against him. Thanh Hoa is alive with North Vietnamese troops.