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Show Family Weekly/ February 25, 1968 battles against blazing flak and screaming MIGs Back Alive!”sy sox canes @eeeesveesee ruGeN Keyed-up travelers unwind at heraton Wife Ella Raines, former film star, and daughters Chris and Susan welcome Olds home. Olds believes in doing things fast and well. At West Point, he was an All-America tackle and captain of the football team. He graduated in time to fly P-51 Mustangs over Germany and make major by the time he was 22. After the war, he helped start the Air Force jet.acrobatic team and raced P-80s for the Thompson Trophy. In 1947 he met actress Ella Raines at a party in Palm Springs, Calif. It was a jet-propelled courtship—dancing at Ciro’s in Los Angeles, skiing at Tahoe—and they were married a few months later. They now have two teen-age daughters, Christine and Susan. Olds still gnashes his teeth when he recalls his stateside assignments during the Korean war—but then he got his second chance at air combat when he was appointed wing commander of “The Wolfpack” in September, 1966. By January, 1967, Olds was ready to tackle the one assignment every American fighter pilot craves—MIG hunting. The MIGs had been chopping up our F-105 Thunderchiefs on bombing raids in the Haiphong-Hanoi area, and 7th Air Force headquarters wanted to discourage them. “The plan was to lure the MIGs into coming up and then hit them with seven flights of F-4 Phantoms,” Olds recalls. “I had the lead flight. Their airbase at Phuc Yen was clouded over as we came in, and there was no sign of MIGs.” Suddenly, a shout on the intercom, “MIGs at your six o'clock,” and silver MIGs came shooting up out of the cloud cover into the sunlight. This was the battle Olds had been waiting fof since World WarII. Quickly, he spotted a MIG about a mile off, locked in his attack computer system,and released two Sparrow missiles. They arced after the North Vietnamese pilot but lost radar contact. The jet dropped down into the cloud cover. Now a MIG-21 popped up through the clouds. Olds brokeaferit, threw his Phantom into afterburner, and snap-rolled straight up. When the angle was right, Olds came slowly out of his roll and squeezed off a Sidewinder. There was a flash of red, a smoky explosion; and the MIG’s wing brokeoff. Now MiGs and dapple-gray Phantoms were twisting «nd maneuvering desperately in the thin air. The MIG cannons sprayed the sky with red golf balls, and the Phantoms slammed their missiles back. Engines screamed as the jets dove and rolled at 20,000 feet. The Phantoms’ in- tercom systems crackled with the excited shouts of the pilots. Later, in the debriefing room back at Ubon, Robin Olds and his men put together what they had seen. Seven MIGs had been destroyed—one by Olds. “The day stands out in my mind, first because it was an important battle, second No matter how youtravel and just about anywhere you go, there's a Sheraton waiting. Always with Free Parking and Family Plan. Sheraton: great place te unwind. Most have swimming pools. Enjoy wonderful meals,lively lounges, big, quiet, air-conditioned rooms andall the other extra values Sheraton is famous for — from New York to Hawaii and over 100 places in-between. Diners’ Club and Shell Oil credit cards honored. For Insured Reservations at Guaranteed Rates, see your favorite Travel Agent or call anv Sheraton. because it was the day I got my first MIG,”says Olds. “This is the kind of battle every fighter pilot dreams about—mixing it with the MIGs. But don’t thinkit’s easy. This is a tough war and every day scares you.” Family Weekly, February 25, 1968 iz Sheraton Hotels & MotorInns 5 Coast to coast in the U.S., in Hawaii. Canada. Jamaica. Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Nassau, Manila ‘ |