Cold War Missileers Refute Okinawa Near-Launch

Stars & Stripes via Military.com ^ | December 28, 2015 | Travis J. Tritten

[GreyFriar]

If the “2 man control” of launch codes that was in the nuclear surety regulations of the 1970s and 80s were in effect in the 1960s, then the “major” would have had to have had another person with him to open the safe to get the codes out and check them against the order to launch.

I’m doubtful on this story’s validity.

[DUMBGRUNT]

I don’t know nothin about no missiles!

But I can say for certain, there are many nuts out there!

I asked one ‘CIA Agent’; what unit did you work with?
“I can’t tell you, it’s classified!”
After a ‘long after’, after action report!
FORTY YEARS AGO!!!

I have known a few that have been in some very interesting situations, they tend to be closed mouth.

[GreyFriar]

The Mace was on a launch truck, not in a vertical missile silo. It was a cruise missile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM-13_Mace

[okie01]

Bordne's story doesn't pass the smell test.

The Mace B missile -- which was reportedly emplaced on Okinawa at this time -- had a maximum range of 1300 miles. Thus, only one point in the Soviet Union was within range -- Vladivostok. And that just barely...

As an enlisted man, I wonder if Bordne actually knew the missile's real range at the time. After all, the Mace was styled as a "tactical" missile, not a "strategic" missile for a reason.

Methinks Bordne is trolling for a publisher for his unpublished "memoirs".

[Oztrich Boy]

The Mace was on a launch truck,

Not on Okinawa

[gandalftb]

Thank you for the correction.

Everyone, check out this article from 3 years ago:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/07/08/general/okinawas-first-nuclear-missile-men-break-silence/#.VoHV_RUrKUk

In it, John Bordne says:

“For the purpose of your story just say that the missiles were preprogrammed and we weren’t told the destinations for security reasons,” says Bordne.

“I used to hate the Russian missileers, but after reading accounts of their experiences, it is clear that they exercised the same restraint and clear judgment as we did. Now, I know that none of us wanted to alter life on this planet for eternity.”

He says nothing about this “event” amidst his recollections of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

[pfflier]

Nope. This story (fabrication IMO) is about a TAC missile on wheels.

[pfflier]

In the case of an accidental or mutiny launch sequence, APC’s get parked on top.

WTF?? There aren't enough SAT teams to do that and never an APC anywhere.

[QT3.14]

Caption of photo in link:

A Mace nuclear missile displayed at a launch site on Okinawa in the 1960's. (Photo courtesy of George Mindling)

[armydawg505]

Its really tough to refute a lie from the lunatic left when they control the media and have no interest in changing anything that promotes their agenda. Meanwhile, this guy is a liar and a disgrace to the uniform, the Air Force and his country. I hope he takes his silver and spends it wisely.

[Portcall24]

Totally agree. The reason the AD made me a Weapons Controller is they once had Genie air-to-air missiles with nuclear warheads and needed an officer from Commander-in-Chief to pilot.

[BatGuano]

My BS meter pegged when I read the first part of the story.
My experience with Nuclear Weapons, as a pilot are as follows.
Any launch order or even a launch under “Positive Control” requires independent authentication. This story seems to be as if the order came down written on a piece of scrap paper and then the word “got out” that it was a launch message.
Also, the fact that officers or enlisted men would then choose to not follow the order because of personal thoughts or ideas about nuclear war is absurd at face value. The process of authentication is never mentioned. I flew B-52s from 1963 through 1967 and was tested constantly on all applicable procedures and doctrine. “Fail Safe” was the doctrine that never would a lone crew member be able to release a weapon. It required three independent and simultaneous actions in separate areas to enable a release.
“No Lone Zones” included the aircraft on the ground and attempting to breach the security would cause being shot without challenge. Serious stuff. I just think that Bordne seeks some fame for being a mechanic on Okinawa.
An honorable job but somehow it got to his head.

[DJ Taylor]

"As a near contemporary of airman Bordne and also enlisted at that time, I can say that this is probably what we called a "war story".

I stopped attending reunions held by veterans of a unit I served with in Vietnam simply because it became too difficult for me to keep my mouth shut while they were telling "war stories" that weren't even close to how I remembered it to have happened. I could tell by their intensity and attention to detail that they weren't intentionally lying; they truly believed what they were saying was the truth to the point I'm sure they could have passed a polygraph.

Eventually, after several years of observing these "story tellers" at annual reunions, I think I figured out how this could have happened: In the last forty-five years, they had told this story thousands of times, and each time they told it, they changed it just one tiny bit until their memory of the incident wasn't even remotely similar to what actually happened, but they truly believed this was exactly how it happened.

At first, I thought these flights of imagination were harmless, but when someone started collecting these stories and publishing them in books claiming to be the History of the Vietnam War, it became serious. If this is happening with the history of the Vietnam War, what does it say about the histories of all the wars going back to Thermopylae and beyond, as the histories of these wars are also "eye witness" accounts recorded many years after these wars had ended.

I have noticed when authors are given a choice between how an action actually occurred and an account of the same action that has been exaggerated, they'll publish the more exciting exaggerated account.

[jwalsh07]

In 1962 I was still practicing diving under my desk to save my behind from the Russian Bears missiles. That’s about all I can offer here intellectually speaking.

[riverdawg]

Thirty-four years ago, I did some some consulting work for one of the intelligence agencies. I signed a non-disclosure agreement. There was no statute of limitations. To this day, I've never told anyone the subject or nature of the work.

[JimRed]

They needed Dabney Coleman and the W.O.P.R.

Beat me to it. Saw that movie again a few weeks ago; quite entertaining.

[AFreeBird]

Okay that makes sense.