+eburger68 199 Posted August 5, 2010 Hi All: Those of you with an interest in the Vietnam Air War and will find this story of interest -- the Lavelle Affair is finally brought to a close: General dead for 31 years nominated for promotion to clear his record http://www.cnn.com/2...dex.html?hpt=T2 Lavelle, of course, was the Seventh Air Force commander who was hung out to dry after details of an especially aggressive series of "Protective Reaction Strikes" that ran from October of '71 to March of '72 in the run-up to the Eastertide Offensive and Linebacker I came to light. The bitter irony of the whole affair is that not only did Nixon authorize the strikes, but Nixon himself was constantly complaining to advisors about the lack of aggressiveness among Air Force commanders. Yet when Lavelle took Nixon's directives to heart and loosened the rules for Protective Reaction Strikes, the Nixon Administration failed to step forward in his defense after Lavelle was relieved of his command by Air Force brass (because of "irregularities in the conduct of his command") and forced to defend himself before Senate and House sub-committees. Those looking for more details on the Lavelle Affair would be advised to read the following piece by Seymour Hersch (the same journalist who broke the story of the My Lai Massacre): http://www.newyorker...taco_talk_hersh Eric Howes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezlead 42 Posted August 5, 2010 (edited) My 2 cents: Nixon got what he deserved. It's too bad the rest of the Nixon White House advisers and staff don't also get what they deserved. It's just too bad that General Lavelle isn't alive to personally 'flip them off!!. I was over there during this and you wouldn't believe all the 'brass hats' pointing fingers looking to blame someone else. Lavelle was Nixon's Ollie North. I say OOOHRRRAAAHH to the Air Force and the others that are making this right. Edited August 5, 2010 by ezlead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
