[gary]

On 13th December 1972, negotiations between Kissinger and his North
Vietnamese counterpart at the Paris Peace Talks had broken down.

Anxious to get the North Vietnamese back to the negotiating tables, on
December 18th, Nixon started an operation named Linebacker II, the
aerial bombardment of Hanoi. Wave after wave of B-52 Stratofortresses
were sent in, involving over 200 aircraft and 1000 men.

On the morning of the 19th Dec, shortly after it had dropped its 108,
750lb bombs on the Hanoi Radio Tower, a B-52 D designated Rose 1 was in
its post-target turn when it was hit by a SAM. The giant eight-engined
bomber crashed to the ground.

Four of the crew of six managed to bail out of the burning aircraft and
survive, where they then spent time in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison.

In March this year, in the failing afternoon light, Mai and I hurried on
foot before darkness fell, searching for Lane 55 in the Ba Dinh district
of Hanoi, only a few kilometers from Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Finally
locating the lane, we made our way down it until we reached a small
murky green pond surrounded by tenements. And there it was. Sticking out
of the pond was what remained of the wreckage of Rose 1, where it had
crashed all those years ago and had since been slowly sinking in the
mud. The USAF insignia were still visible and some of the tyres of the
B-52 protruded from the water. It was a bizarre sight.

These snapshots have no artistic merit. However, sometimes if the subject is
interesting enough, perhaps a photograph does not require artistic
merit, as the subject can just speak for itself.

Best Regards

Gary