Thompson, Victor H., III – KIA

The following is from a memorial page on Aggienetwork.com:

“Victor Hugo Thompson III was born and raised in Houston, the only son of Victor Hugo Thompson, Jr. and Pearl Frances Barnes. Vic was only eight months old when his mother died in the polio epidemic, leaving Vic’s father in a difficult situation. Fortunately, the extended Thompson family came to the rescue. Thus, Vic’s early development included much input from his grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

When Vic was 9 years, his father and stepmother, Flavia, married. A year later twin sisters Karen and Kathy were born. From Vic’s letters, it is obvious that he was a wonderful “Big Brother” and the twins
thought the world of Vic.

Vic graduated from Sam Houston High School where he was Cadet Colonel in the ROTC. His senior yearbook shows he was selected “Cadet of the Year”. He attended Woodland Baptist Church and was a life member of the Reagan Chapter of the Order of the DeMolay.

While at Texas A&M…

Vic Thompson reported to Texas A&M in September 1960 and was assigned to Squadron “Hellcat” 9.
No freshman ever reports to Freshman Orientation Week fully prepared for the “training” that is planned for them. For most of the new cadets, the week offers the first exposure to skills like drill & ceremonies or brass & boot shining. But, there are always one or two in each outfit who knew what to expect and how to
respond. They know how to stand at attention, how to step-off on the left foot, and keep their eyes straight to the front.

Vic Thompson was one of the few who come to FOW ready. He came ready to march, ready to spit & polish, and ready to respond to any Serge Butt (aka junior) orders.” (1)

Vic was on his 21st mission on March 15, 1967. Mike Miller, a Scripps-Howard Staff Writer, who was visiting the 531st TFS wrote: ” The target was an enemy transshipment point located in the Cần Giờ Mangrove Forest, about 20 miles southeast of Saigon at the point where the Song Soai Rap (Soai Rap River) flows into the South China Sea.

The Cần Giờ Mangrove Forest is impenetrable to ground forces and inhospitable to them after they get in. At low tide, water-level drops 3-4 feet leaving a muddy landscape of tangled tree roots. At high tide, the South China Sea invades the forest and the water level rises 2-4 feet leaving only the trunks of taller trees…

…By early 1967, the North Vietnamese Army used the Ho Chi Minh trail to funnel men, weapons, and ammunition south to the war zone. To counter this, United States and Vietnamese forces established an effective perimeter around the north side of Saigon that discouraged the enemy from using the ground approaches to Saigon. This forced the enemy to use any possible avenue to support operations against the capital, including the South China Sea and the rivers and canals around Saigon. To get there, they used a complex system of routes and transshipment points along the Mekong River, the Mekong Delta, and the South China Sea to smuggle the material to distribution points near Saigon. The target for Combat Mission 21 was probably one of those distribution points.

Combat Mission 21 was a two-aircraft mission with Vic flying as Ramrod 2. The F-100’s carried a full compliment of munitions for a ground attack mission – bombs, napalm, and 20 mm cannons.
The 40-mile trip to the target area took less than ten minutes, but it is likely that Ramrod One and Two loitered in a holding pattern over the South China Sea for a few minutes while they checked-in with the Forward Air Controller (FAC) in an L-19 Bird Dog.

When the time came, the two F-100s turned out of the loiter pattern and approached the target at enough altitude – three or four thousand feet – to avoid detection. Without notice, the FAC turned his L-19 toward the target and fired a single rocket to mark the target. Ramrod One immediately banked his F-100 and dove toward the target to launch his first bomb. Ramrod Two (Vic) followed closely with his first “iron bomb.” Ramrod was on target again…

Ramrod One and Two made another bomb pass and two napalm passes without response from the defenders. Ramrod One completed his fifth pass using his 20mm cannon, and Vic followed for his first cannon run. Just before he could pull out of the dive, Vic’s aircraft was hit by ground-fire and plunged directly into the ground 300m from the target. No parachute was seen. The location of the wreckage and the intensity of the ground-fire prevented any rescue or recovery. Ramrod One returned to Bien Hoa to report Vic as Missing/Presumed Killed in Action (KIA).” (1)

Victor Thompson, III was married at the time of his death.

Vic Thompson’s remains were found in 1973 and were repatriated in 1974. He returned home to Texas and was buried with full military honors at Forest Park Cemetery in Houston.

Thompson is also memorialized at Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii, and is honored on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC. His name is inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 16e, Line 87.

Sources: (1) Aggienetwork.com; HonorStates.org; Findagrave.com