Thank you for this gift. I cannot express the amount of pride I have for my father and all of VA-115. We (John’s children and grandchildren) have been soaking up every bit of information that we can since he started opening up about his time in Vietnam. I am so thankful this recording exists so I can continue to share the history of what these fine young men did. Thank you Fighter Pilot Podcast!

Capt. David Kelly was..is my elder brother.Thank you John Koch for keeping Dave 'topside'

The bravery of aircrew flying those missions is something that I will never be able to comprehend. You always hear about the "Greatest" generation but surely the time has come for America to acknowledge the bravery and sacrifices made regardless of the decade or conflict.

Thank You for your service Shylok. I was on U.S.S. Midway in Weapons Department 77'-79' and was an A-6 Ordnanceman prior to that. I remember VA-115, I have touched your aircraft.

The B52 he witnessed get shot down was call sign Charcoal 1, a B52G, 58-0201. They got hit by two SA2s at once and only three of the crew members survived, including the navigator who he references here. Their target was a rail yard that they never made it to. The aircraft essentially detonated in air. My uncle was the commander of Charcoal 1 and died from injuries sustained when one of the SAMs hit the cockpit.

My grandfather died in a multi-million dollar F4 Phantom bombing a cheap ass Soviet 37mm AAA gun. He was due to meet my grandmother in Hawaii in 2 weeks. That war screwed a lot of families over.

This episode was awesome. And for a 75 year old Marine very moving. Those were tough times. The sacrifices made were enormous and largely unrecognized and unappreciated. Thank you and John so much for sharing.

Please keep these coming. These stories never get old.

Very very good, most Americans do not understand what these men did, the bonds they developed. Thank you.

I remember, as a VQ/VP aircrewman in those days, the talk about who was being considered for mining the NVN harbors. P-3s could carry a bunch of mines internally & externally & were considered for the missions. Fortunately someone realized P-3s had a 12 man crew and losses were anticipated. The A-6 could carry almost as many mines as a P-3 & the SARCAP for a downed A-6 would be way easier to do than for a P-3. That was a long time ago in a place far far away.

It's all fun and games in peacetime. This guy is a warrior.

Gotta be one of my favorite episodes. Very moving as this gentleman shares his experience and the emotions surfacing. Jell-o you do such a great job.

A humble and courageous American here. Thank you and welcome home Mr Koch

Thanks for a another great podcast, Vincent. This one was both informative and moving. And glad to hear you're back in the cockpit!

As someone born months before the fall of the Soviet Union, I find stories like these fascinating. I think about how important it is that firsthand accounts of what happened are saved and passed on. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this video.

What a wholesome discussion. The stories are human-changing! Bravery, brotherhood, patriotism, wowww... Glad everyone of us could share lump and tears for good! Thanks Jello ^^

Thanks! Jell-o you've become a very talented interviewer speaking just enough to control the pace and help the guest tell their story. You guys put a lot of work into this and I appreciate it!

For me aiello, you rounded the circle with this interview. Seriously. I red at the age of 12 the Coontz,s flight of the intruder and that book and Jake grafton made me a pilot and an aviation professional. That book , A6s, night missions, Yankee station and A6s carrier ops created the spark to the aviation professional I’m today. Terrific interview. Made justice to that pice of flying history. Congrats.

Much love to U.S. veterans from the UK side of the pond 🇬🇧

A true hero! Thanks, for another great show!

I was waiting for somebody to tell the USN / USMC A-6 story in Vietnam, Thank You Jello

Very compelling interview between two real professionals. My Dad was a radioman/gunner in VB 74 aboard Midway from 1945-1946. He always said those were the two best years of his naval career. Thank you both for your dedication and sacrifice for this country!

Fantastic episode J-ello! Absolutely riveted the entire time listening to John recall his experiences.

All I can think of to say is WOW what a heck of a story and a career as a Nsvy aviator Sir thank you for your service.

History preserved and 2 great people getting to discuss it. Thank you.

Great interview! Much respect for Shylock! I was privileged to have served with VA115 “Eagles” from 1987-88. 🫡

Jell-o you bring real "war stories" to us. My father was in South Vietnam with the RAAF, but on a US AFB, and he has a lot of admiration for the US pilots and aircrew and the way they really looked out for each other. Shylock, thanks for regaling us with this history - I could see it was difficult describing the losses you've experienced.

This is quite possible the best one yet! Thank you so much for bringing Mr. Koch on.

EXCELLENT INTERVIEW BY BOTH WHAT AN INTERESTING GUEST "SHYLOCK" KOCH

Amazing man, and the idea of a Naval Aviator and BN replacing a part on their aircraft is equally amazing.

In terms of the disrespect the government and certain citizens treated these American hero’s during and after their courageous service. Is absolutely disgusting. I know of nothing more important than these men telling their stories and getting their due respect accolades and thank you’s for their service to this countries history. These men won the Vietnam war and the abhorent politicians in Washington forced our demise in this conflict. These videos should be mandatory for any of our children’s high school education. We must be truthful through education if our young erst we risk losing the history and reasons for our place in the world . And sacrafices made for these kids and their future freedoms America affords them. Thank You to Shylock and all Vietnam aviators. Great video keep ‘em coming!

Great interview as always sir, i have an uncle who served on a destroyer in Vietnam and love hearing some of the stories he has shared. Thank you Shylock for sharing and thank you Jello for having him on.

Get all of these Vietnam era guys you can.

How is it I just found this wonderful podcast!?!? Bravo!!!!

Absolutely brilliant episode, through your hard work and the kind people giving their experiences,it's like being given the exact book you always wanted.thank you 🙏👌

What a great episode. That's the FPP how I love it. Thanks so much for sharing those stories!

Wow! What a great interview. I hope you gave him a big hug when you finished.

Fantastic! Great BN stories

John, you are a remarkable man in whom my husband, David "Snake" Kelly, had complete confidence as his flying partner. As hard as your stories are to listen to, they continue to fill me with pride and gratitude to you and the others who served in that war, putting your lives at constant risk

Amazing interview. Good work, Jell-O.

This was so moving and amazing! Thank you for this.

Always great to hear Vincent and his interviews. 😊

Great interview. Thank you for sharing this great person's life in the Navy!

Excellent interview as always.

Outstanding guys, thanks for this!

What a great interview and what a gentleman. Thank you Jell-O and team! He still remembers everything like it happened yesterday. And I totally agree with him as to how war changes a person. The only way we can begin to understand is by listening to their stories. So, thanks again Jell-O and team for this amazing interview.

Another great presentation. Thank you.

Some deeply emotional and gut-wrenching moments in this podcast. Thank you

As a kid, I was a avid reader, around the time "Top Gun" came out/released on VHS, I read this book called "Flight of the Intruder" along with countless books about WWII and Vietnam. For some reason "Attack" pilots appealed to my child's mind, I could not decide if I wanted to fly A-6's or F-105F/G's. While my peers dreamed of being Tomcat pilots I wanted to drop bombs and kill SAM's.

This was your best podcast. Thanks for sharing.

Was that the start of the KC-130 that the Marines use today, I didn't realize it started that far back. This was an amazing story Jell-o, hard to listen to at times as it still hurts John so many years later.

Very moving, liked this episode . Thanks 👍

Great interview, thanks

This is intense and important to be heard

True hero’s come in many forms. This man is one of them.

Great show

This is an amazing podcast, what a valiant A6 bombardier navigator 🇺🇸, I definitely enjoyed it. Thank you to you both for sharing and for your service. A couple of things I want to mention, Cunningham and Driscoll was on the carrier Constellation. The pilots that took out the Thanh Hoa bridge in Oct of 72 were A7 pilots of VA 82 Marauders flying from the Carrier America. What I understand, there were four them that hit critical points of the bridge with the walleye bomb. And I think Naval Aviators like Shylock don’t get enough credit for mining the harbors of Haiphong, those tasks crippled the North Vietnamese war machine by 85%. Operations Linebacker I and II effectively disabled North Vietnamese aggression and caused North Vietnam to bring favorable terms to the 1973 Paris peace accords. This is a question I have, I also like the movie Flight of the Intruder, but was morale that low among squadrons in 1972 as depicted in the movie? From the sources I read, the Navy was relieved and morale raised when they were tasked with Operation Pocket Money because they felt that they were finally given an objective to fight the war after 7 years of involvement. Also, in 1972 the services were free for first time to hit key infrastructure points and oil reserves in North Vietnam.

Another great podcast, thanks for the stories but also for showing respect when it got tough to talk about things.

As always a good listen.

That was very humbling

Sounds almost exactly like the flight of the intruder story!

Man, great interview, he even sounds like William Defoe. I wonder who consulted on that movie because it sounds like they were spot on.

Thanks John, for sharing your history and sacrifice. Now I know "the rest of the story". Enjoy your semi-retirement. - Lynda B

Mr Koch sounds like the narrator for Discovery Channel Wings

As an Air Force guy, I've always thought the A-6 was a good looking airframe. Purpose built.

Role model for us all. Damn straight.

Welcome home air sailor, thank you...

I love the A6... unless I had to pin the gear while it was spooled up.... That hurts the ear balls

great show Jello

I was wondering if the A-7 loss was Clarence 'Smokey' Tolbert.

👽👽👽👽ths for your services👽👽👽👽

Can you fly an F15 without hydraulics? If I couldn't get the gear brakes or speed brake to work I don't think I would want to go flying again.

I wonder why it was called Kiwi point?

Just the plane captains? I guess. It always seems that way. They put you in the cockpit. They get you out. They do the D's & T's. I've seen squadron movies where they list the pilots and just the PCs in the credits. Kinda jacked up from a maintenance standpoint.

could there be any better reminder that memorial day needs to be every day? not just one holiday? or any better reminder that the greatest generation can't nearly be gone? all reverence, thankful reverence, to the generations that turned back the world wars. but we have to know, have to believe, that this generation remains and proliferates, even as the enemies of peace proliferate by any means available to them. sometimes that same generation is truly present in reserve? maybe even still? thank you.

Jello you need to get Col Fred J. Cone, he was an A-6 driver during Vietnam. Navy Cross winner.

10 May 1972 was Duke and Willie"s day

Is it the Horrors or the heroes who overcome them that's the focus?

Shylock is a somewhat derogatory term. It comes from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice as that of the play’s main antagonist who is a money lender that charged excessive interest. Shylock is famously Jewish in the play, and is ultimately forced to convert to Christianity in the end as a form of punishment. The name is considered to mean "White-haired" in Hebrew.

Jello's beard has gone... Good news on flight status???

Absolutely amazing episode. Thanks Gents 🙏