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Contact Info
Last Address OCALA, FL
Date of Passing Feb 19, 2010
Location of Interment Lakelawn Memorial Park - Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania
SFC Richard Darrell Hinderliter, 72, of Ocala, Florida died on Friday, February 19, 2010 after a long illness. Mr. Hinderliter Retired after 231/2 years with The United States Army. He is survived by his wife, Margaret O.; of Ocala, Mother, Twilla Enterline of PA; sister, Maxine Bish of PA; brother Kenneth Hinderliter of PA; seven children, many Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. He has gone home to be with his step-dad, Sam, his two daughters and his great granddaughter.
Other Comments:
I am presently retired from the U.S. Army and on Social Security Disability. I cannot do a lot but i enjoy my retirement as much as possible. After my 23 1/2 years in the military, i worked in Plastic Injection molding in Pa, Ohio, and Florida where i now reside. I worked in plastics for another 20 years before the plastic fumes finally got to me and i had to retire.I used to ride motorcycles but can not do that anymore also i like to travel and love animals. I was a big time bowler while in the military and bowled on th ft Gordon bowling team. I also have many bowling patches and trophys for bowling in the PBA in Germany and countries around there in competition.
While in the military, I served in the following states and areas:
100th Inf - Ft Know Ky, 101st Abn Ft Jackson SC before they moved to Campbell,Stu Co 10 Ft Gordon Ga (Crypto School), 7781 Sig Svc Bn Berlin Germany, 7774 Sig Bn Heidelberg Germany, Btry A 776 FA Bn Punxsutawney Pa, Ft Jackson Replacements Depot SC,304th Sig Bn Seoul Korea,14th Sig Det Ft Lee Va,595th Signal Co Ft Monmouth NJ, 595th Signal Co Ft Devens Mass, All over VietNam with the 1st Inf DiAn, 11ACR Xuan Loc, 196th Inf Tay Ninh, 25th Inf at CuChi, and attached to other units. Then to the Pentagon TCC USASTRACOM, Ft Bragg NC Special Warefare School and Laotian Language, Vientaine Laos SECRET Assignment,, The Pentagon USASTRACOM again,267th Sig Co, 73rd Sig Bn Pirmasens Ger,Signal School for Tactical Communications Ft Gordon where i retired in 1977.
Description Operation Steel Tiger was a covert U.S. 2nd Air Division, later Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction effort targeted against the infiltration of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) men and material moving south from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) through southeastern Laos to support their military effort in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) during the Vietnam War.
The operation was initiated by the 2nd Air Division on 3 April 1965, continued under the direction of the Seventh Air Force when that headquarters was created on 1 April 1966, and had a subsidiary operation code-named Operation Tiger Hound. The purpose of Steel Tiger was to impede the flow of men and materiel on the enemy logistical routes collectively known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route to the North Vietnamese).
Bombing of the trail system had begun on 14 December 1964 with the advent of Operation Barrel Roll. Due to increasing U.S. intelligence of the build-up of regimental-size PAVN units operating in South Vietnam, the increased American military presence in that country, and the initiation of Operation Rolling Thunder, American planners in Washington and Saigon decided that the bombing in southeastern Laos should be stepped up. On 11 November 1968 Steel Tiger and Tiger Hound were combined and renamed Operation Commando Hunt.
It was estimated by U.S. intelligence analysts that, during 1965, 4,500 PAVN troops were infiltrated through Laos along with 300 tons of materiel each month. From April to June 1966, the U.S. launched 400 B-52 Stratofortress anti-infiltration sorties against the trail system. By the end of 1967 and the absorption of Steel Tiger operations into Commando Hunt, 103,148 tactical air sorties had been flown in Laos. These strikes were supplemented by 1,718 B-52 Arc Light strikes. During the same time frame, 132 U.S. aircraft or helicopters had been shot down over Laos. The actions implemented aircraft of the Air Force, Marines, and Navy flying from carriers in the South China Sea as well as bases in South Vietnam and Thailand. While B-52 bombers accounted for a majority of the strikes, the most effective aircraft were fixed wing gunships, including the AC-47, the AC-119, and the AC-130.
Operation Steel Tiger, Operation Tiger Hound, and Operation Commando Hunt inevitably slowed the flow of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong men and supplies into South Vietnam and required them to divert a multitude of assets to keep the Ho Chi Minh Trail in serviceable condition, however airpower was never able to completely close the trail during the war.
