Buff strikes were earth quakes dropped from the heavens..I remember watching glasses in our chow hall vibrate in their racks as those Mk-84's rained down from many miles away..Can't imagine being in the nose bleed zone much less ground zero!
The Arc Light strike was the most jaw-dropping sight I believe I ever saw over there. We got a little too close one day with our little Caribou and had a ringside seat, Arc Light went in near the road up from Dong Ha to Khe Sanh, we were at maybe 6000 feet or so and could see the whole thing in great detail, huge explosion after huge explosion, on and on, just kept on going for 2 or 3 miles it seemed like, raised dust and smoke way over our altitude, shock waves very visible in the humid air. What a terrifying thing it must have been for the poor bastards on the ground, those that survived at least.
General Westmoreland credited the fire of the B-52's for breaking the back of the NVA siege at Khe Sanh, I don't doubt it a bit.
