That same morning, likely within only minutes, surely within the hour, Sgt. William “Billy” C. McCracken (USMC), the twin brother of Lt. James “Jimmy” T. McCracken (USAF), was also killed in action, in a fire fight with North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars and Viet Cong guerilla fighters to the west of Bình Dương Province, twenty miles north of Saigon, what is now called Ho Chi Minh City.
The remaining bombers, minus one more that turned back due to mechanical problems, continued towards the target. Twenty seven B-52 Stratofortresses dropped a barrage of bombs on a one mile by two mile target box from between 19,000 and 22,000 feet, with only a little more than 50% of the bombs falling within the target zone. The force returned to Andersen AFB on Guam, except for one bomber with electric
