Misty 17

Misty 17 (HMRC6)

Location: Cohoes, NY 12047 Albany County
Buy New York State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 42° 47.026', W 73° 42.563'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 546 views
Inscription
"Misty" was the call sign used by the F-110F Fast Forward Air Controllers (Fast Fac's) during the Vietnam War. There were 155 pilots officially assigned to fly missions over North Vietnam from June 15, 1967 to May 19, 1970. 21 other attached pilots flew occasional missions. There were also Intelligence Officers, Flight Surgeons, and Maintenance Officers assigned. It was a small, tight knit group of people given a difficult task in a terrible war.

Misty began with 16 pilots and four aircraft as Detachment 1, 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phu Cat Air Base, Vietnam on June 15, 1967. It's official name was "The Commando Saber Operation".

The Misty mission was to interdict men and materials headed to South Vietnam and to prevent SAM (Surface to Air Missile) deployment in their area of responsibility.

The general tactics employed by the early Mistys included: staying fast, 400-500 knots; continually "jinking" (changing flight path direction every 5-7 seconds; the time of flight for a 37 mm round); and staying at 4500' or above, unless making targets, participating in a RESCAP (close air support for a rescue mission), or taking a close look at a particular target. Violating any of these rules dramatically increased chances of being shot down; observing them was by no means a guarantee of safety.

Of the 155 Mistys, 34 (22%) were shot down. Eight others were shot down when not flying with Misty. There were seven KIA, and four became POW's. There was also one Medal of Honor recipient, two Air Force Chiefs of Staff, six General Officers, a winner of the Collier Trophy, a winner of the Lewis Bleriot Medal, a recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal of Honor, and the first man to fly non-stop, un-refueled, around the world. By any measure this was an unusual and exceptional group of men. Col. Robert R. Craner, the man we honor here was one of those unusual and exceptional men.

At the height of the Vietnam War almost 550,000 American and 800,000 South Vietnamese battled the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong in pitched battles on the ground and in the air. Over 300,000 American troops were wounded. A total of 650 POW's returned from the war. Four were Mistys:

Bud Day ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Bob Craner ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Guy Gruters ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? P.K. Robinson

A total of 58,229 names are engraved on the Vietnam War Memorial "Wall" in Washington D.C. Eight were Mistys:

Howard "Howie" Williams
Michael "Mike" McElhanon
John F. Overlok
Laurent "Lee" Gourley
Jefferson "Scotty" Dotson
Patrick "Pat" Caroll
Lawrence "Larry" Whitford
Clyde Seiler

Bob Craner's story is intertwined with their story, and it is to him and this exceptional group of men that we humbly pay homage. The Mistys are more than a legend. They are the finest example of those who have come forward and gone in harm's way when our Nation has called.
Details
HM NumberHMRC6
Tags
Year Placed2006
Placed ByThe City of Cohoes
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, September 6th, 2014 at 12:39am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 605564 N 4737610
Decimal Degrees42.78376667, -73.70938333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 47.026', W 73° 42.563'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 47' 1.56" N, 73° 42' 33.78" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)518
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 220 N Mohawk St, Cohoes NY 12047, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?