November 21, 1970: The POWs heard the helicopters, missiles and high flyers. There hadn't been any bombings north of the 19th parallel since President Johnson ordered the halt—and even before that, they'd taken place during the day.
The Raiders, made up of a select team of Green Berets and U.S. Air Force Special Operations forces, were on their way to rescue POWs at Son Tay prison. They had 30 minutes to get in and out. Intel had indicated there were about 60-70 POWs. Different portions of the rescue had been practiced 170 times—including every imaginable contingency plan. The one scenario they hadn't planned for hit everyone involved as Bud Sydnor called “Rollback,” without a single POW found and/or returning home with them.
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