Remembering San Diego’s Role In The Gulf War

You were listening to Midday Edition and KPBS. IM top fudge. Operation Desert Storm the first Gulf War ended 25 years ago. The true anniversary is coming up next week. Naturally San Diego played a large role in the liberation of Kuwait in operation ordered in order by George HW Bush. Here is present Bush announcing the launch of operation Desert Storm on January 16, 1991 to the people. Just two hours ago Allied forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait. These attacks continue as a state, ground forces are not engaged. This conflict started August 2 when the dictator of Iraq invaded a small and helpless neighbor. Kuwait a member of the Arab League, a member of the United Nations was crushed. Its people brutalized. Again, that is George Bush Senior, president of the United States. Desert Storm was called a tremendous success both politically and militarily. Yet we look back on it today from the chaos and violence that still exist in Iraq and most of the Middle East. Let me know introduce two men who will help us remember the first Gulf War. Joining us in the studio is our friend Tony Perry for -- thank you for coming. Joining me by phone is Scott McGaugh he is Mark and director and author for the U.S.S. Midway Museum. Scott enqueue. Event, Tom. What you remember most about the time period of on the Gulf War? What sticks in your mind? Do you want to start out, Tony? What sticks out in my mind is all the attempts made to warn Saddam Hussein not to do what he was about to do. The United Nations nor -- warned him work the US warned them. President Bush warned him. His neighbors warned him. But he persisted. And at 2 AM one morning on August 2, he said what turned out to be about 300,000 troops across the border into to equate. He also had artillery, some are capability, a major assault on a US ally. Then we are off to the races. As it turned out the first Marine division from camp Pendleton deployed very quickly. An entire division deployed the first time since the Vietnam War. And they went to Saudi Arabia to stage and to get ready. Camp Pendleton through the first Marine division infantry, artillery, supply, and aviation, played a significant -- one might say crucial role, in the buildup. And then in the 100th our offensive the end of the hostilities. As we heard with President Bush, it start with bombing. This was bombing with both Iraq and Iraqi military units in Kuwait? Kuwait and Iraq. It was a 39 day campaign. Everyone will remember the CNN images. I think Scott is going to tell us also if people are interested, the Midway has an awfully good exhibit that will explain and bring home what that bombing campaign was like. Scott, do you want to tell us about that? You're absolutely right. And Tony makes a good point, the very first plane to go feet dry over Iraq and Kuwait was from the U.S.S. Midway. It was stationed in the most northern parts of the Arabian Sea because it was the oldest and smallest carrier in the fleet was -- with unique abilities for turning. Midway even though it had been's schedule for decommissioning the following year played a vital role throughout the war starting with the very first hours that President Bush was referring to. It posed as unique dangers to the crew of midway, Midway came through with flying colors. It really played an important role both in the beginning, it was the first carrier and station as early as November during that buildup that Tony was eluding to. They were patrolling outside the Arabian Gulf and played a crucial role throughout the word cell. The ship now in a museum in San Diego was involved in the first Gulf War? Very much so. Arts Zebrowski the commanding officer made a post in some people's opinion during that planning period that Midway could actually out launch every other carrier, the other six carriers in the war. It was called Midway magic the ability to operate extremely efficiently. In fact copied the end of the conflict, Midway had launched more missions per available plane per day then all the new carriers that were involved in operation Desert Storm. More than 3400 launches. So much so, Tom, that they were off the asphalt nonskid coating on the flight deck. And at one point they had to pull off the line for six days, figure out how to apply nonskid which normally took place in the shipyard and return to battle. Midway had a very intimate and leading role in Desert Storm. Did the crew and the fighters on the Midway suffer any losses? No. Midway, we've heard two different reports on. Midway was either the only carrier for only one of two carriers not to lose any pilots suffer any casualties or lose any aircraft despite launching more than 3000 missions throughout Desert Storm. And we're talking about the first Gulf War with Tony Perry, former San Diego Bureau chief for the LA Times, and Scott McGaugh who joins us by phone. He's an author and the marketing director for the USS midway Museum. The U.S.S. Midway did play a very large part in the first Gulf War. Tony, take us back to the story of the Gulf War. There was a bombing campaign, American troops, and other allied troops invaded Kuwait. What happened then? At first, nothing. Saddam who had up to 3000 troops, it collapsed into legend that they were all patsies. They were not. They were at that moment well armed, trained, and a formidable force. They were experienced in that longboard that they had with Iran. They were good troops. This was the famous Republican guard? That was one of the units. They were good. They were not going to be easy to push over. 39 days of the bombing popped up. The world that lead from the city into Iraq, even years later, carcasses of trucks and personnel carriers and all sorts of things still litter that road. 39 days a bombing and then 100 hours, the first Marine division, and along with three -- Marines from the second Marine division had a very swift attack to finish them off. It took a lot of preplanning, but it took a lot of audibles called at the line of scrimmage, if you will. Scott managed -- talks about the changing of the nonskid on the changing of the Midway. That is what happens during the war. What you think is going to happen -- the enemy gets about. Things to work out and you have to change. I've just recently, the Marines during this war, it is replete they tried this, didn't work. So they tried something else to see if it would work. Again, the Iraqis were not pushovers. They were tough. They were vanquished, but they were top. Did the United States military pursue them into Iraq? Not sufficiently. There was body language given that if the Shiites and the Kurds staged a revolt, they had been brutalized for years by Saddam, if they staged a revolt, we would be there for them. We want. We did ultimately impose a no-fly zone on the Iraqi forces that were left in terms of the Kurdish area and today the Kurds who are helping us against Isys, -- ISIS they enjoy an area that is their own but none. Scott, make it back to the U.S.S. Midway. I understand the military had already made an announcement about the decommissioning before operation Desert Storm. That's right. It was scheduled to be decommissioned the following year. It was 46 years old and a real dinosaur in the Navy fleet. Did been commissioned what we World War II. It was consuming 100,000 gallons of villas -- fuel every day. It was the old car in the family. It was time to be retired. When Admiral Dan March had his choice of any carrier in the fleet in which to plant his flag and have his offices and establish his base of operations, he chose the Midway. He knew that he would not have to worry about the efficiency of the productivity of the roadway at the aircraft carrier and he could concentrate on those audibles and other contingencies that Tony was referring to. And he has donated in fact, his flight jacket, bombing maps of Baghdad that Midway used and someone to one of the exhibits on the Midway. And he has many times said that it was a wise choice to choose Midway as his flagship even though it was 46 years old. What's Marine called and reservists, they called and retirees up to the age of 60. This was all hands on deck's -- deck. There was something like 90,000 Marines involved in this. There was also Army. But there were 90,000 Marines, many from camp Pendleton. The United States did have losses. An article I read said approximately 148 combat deaths occurred in among the American service men and women during that entire conflict. Tony, in the end, Saddam Hussein was not posted by the first Gulf War. And the United States did not occupied the territory. A lot of people praise President Bush the first for keeping us out of that are pit. What you see when you consider the effect of the first Gulf War given the current situation in the Middle East? I will leave that historians to vent that one out. But it does show the difficulty of living things -- leaving things as they progress as opposed to having the leisure of looking at them what if we done this or had done that. You speak of casualties, 18 Marines from Camp Pendleton were killed, up to 60 were injured. Thousands of Kuwaiti soldiers were killed. Several thousand Kuwaiti civilians were killed in the bombing. There has never been a good accounting of that in my mind. It has left his -- lapsed into legend that it was quick and easy. It was a quick it wasn't easy, and people died on both sides. Scott, what did we learn from the first war? Well, is Tony said, no outcome is certain. No outcome can be certainly quantified or defined for one, five, 10, or 20 years. Until you have the luxury of looking back. It was a mission that was accomplished. They certainly answered the nation's call. They performed admirably and extraordinarily under the circumstances. It's up to the rest of the public and politicians to deal with the fallout. I would suggest we are doing that exactly today. We are. Well Scott McGaugh is offered a marketing director for the USS midway Museum. Scott, thank you very much. I pleasure Tom. Also talk about the 25th anniversary of the end of the first Gulf War has been Tony Perry, former San Diego Bureau chief for the LA Times who was on the job during that conflict covering the local forces. Thank you very much, Tony.