Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:17 | For four years, Jim Harding went back and forth from Okinawa to Vietnam. He was given the task of developing the best tactics for Forward Air Controllers in Vietnam. During this time, he flew over 450 missions himself, mostly as a FAC.
Keywords : James Jim Harding pilot Forward Air Controller (FAC) Vietnam Okinawa Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Republic F-105 Thunderchief North Vietnam North American F-100 Super Sabre LTV A-7 Corsair II McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Douglas A-1 Skyraider Thailand Single Integrated Operations Plan (SIOP)
Hailing from rural Pennsylvania, Jim Harding was recruited to play football for Penn State. He signed up for ROTC and took his first ride on an airplane. He was hooked. After he graduated, he took an Air Force commission and entered flight school
As he made his way up the chain of aircraft in his training, Jim Harding was most satisfied flying a fighter, alone and in control. His talent at football allowed him to pick assignments because every Air Force Base wanted him for their team. He flew his first real missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and then he was tasked with developing Forward Air Control tactics for Vietnam.
In the early years of the Vietnam war, all air strikes were controlled from the ground. When Jim Harding came in as an Air Force Liaison Officer he realized right away this was a poor method. Determined to get the Forward Air Controllers up in the air, he began to explore options for aircraft, starting with the O-1.
Jim Harding would visit different units in Vietnam and evaluate their Forward Air Controller tactics and then disseminate the good ideas to all FACs in the field. The Starlight scope was an innovation that helped them a lot. The O-2 was a newer aircraft with some better capabilities but he had a fondness for the old O-1.
They flew low and slow, always looking for something. Jim Harding began flying Forward Air Controller missions early on in Vietnam. Once, he found a POW camp in Laos but it was abandoned before a rescue could be attempted. When he and a fellow FAC in another plane spotted a SAM site just across the DMZ, the other pilot was shot down but he was able to call in the strike that destroyed it.
Artillery fire is no laughing matter but there is always some humor in war. Jim Harding recalls a funny story about a mad scramble for the shelter when the shells began to fall. He was a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam, a dangerous profession.
Jim Harding enjoyed flying as a Forward Air Controller but the search and rescue flights were the most satisfying. It was a great feeling when you kept someone from becoming a POW.
