The Wild Weasels: Capt. Tom “Bear” Wilson
Captain Wilson served with the Wild Weasels in Vietnam, tasked with drawing fire away from friendly aircraft and destroying surface to air missile sites.
Warriors In Their Own Words | First Person War Stories · Evergreen Podcasts | The Honor Project
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (podtrac.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Captain Tom “Bear” Wilson served in Vietnam as an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO). He sat in the back seat of aircraft, and was responsible for monitoring radar in order to warn his pilot of threats, like surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), anti-aircraft artillery, and enemy aircraft. He also protected his aircraft by jamming enemy radar.
As a Wild Weasel, it was Wilson’s job to protect friendly aircraft attacking enemy SAM sites, who have one of the most dangerous jobs in modern warfare. Wilson and his front seater drew SAMs away from bombers, and targeted the SAM sites themselves. This meant that Weasels spent sometimes more than 20 minutes over the target, as opposed to the one or two minutes bomber pilots spent.
One of our favorite interviews features another Wild Weasel and MOH recipient named Col. Leo Thorsness. Check it out here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices