Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 40 Years Ago... the Fall of Saigon

It's hard to believe it's been 40 years since Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history, marking the fall of Saigon and the closing of the final chapter on the war in Vietnam. On this anniversary, I decided to share some of my photos from those dark days, of evacuations from Cambodia and Vietnam, in remembrance of those who did not come home. They are mere footnotes in the history of the Vietnam War, but they deserve to be remembered. They include 2 Marines killed in the last ground combat in Vietnam at Tan Son Nhut. More perished in the days that followed, including two Marines in a helicopter crash at sea, 23 Airmen in a helicopter crash in Thailand, and 18 Marines, Sailors and Airmen who died in the Battle of Koh Tang Island, Cambodia. I choose to believe that their sacrifice was not in vain. Koh Tang was a near disaster, but SS Mayaguez was retaken and her crew rescued. Many were rescued from Cambodia in operation Eagle Pull, and more than 138,000 Vietnamese eventually made it safely to America and are a part of the great melting pot. One is now a US Army general.

So rest in peace, my brothers. You are not forgotten.













[img]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv283/Kentucky_Windage/Frequent%20Wind%2005.jpg[/img]

Wow. Amazing pics. Thanks for your service. As a young kid I remember having SE Asian kids, many with little to no English language skills, being introduced in our school. Back then I want to say many were referred to as 'Boat People'. Most went on to master the language, our way of life and went on to become productive, patriotic Americans.

My brother, during college, interviewed a number of SEA immigrants and was told of the plight of some. Some gruesome, brutal stuff some encountered on their journey to our shores. One was a small child of 8 or so, who now calls himself 'Frankie', who along with about a dozen family members, were adrift somewhere in the South China Sea when they were boarded by pirates. I believe they were all originally from Laos. His mother, aunt, two sisters were all raped, and some had their throats slit. In total I believe eight of them were sent overboard to the sharks in front of the shrieking children.

Frankie eventually made it with a couple other family members to some refugee camp, and was allowed to be taken in here in the states. He now owns several businesses, and does lots of charity work in his community for all kinds of folks in need. As I understand it, Lowell MA, was at some point home to one of the largest Laotian communities, and I believe those of Asian descent make up something like 20% of their population. Great places to eat there, that is a fact.

Thanks. Something happened last year that helped put things in perspective for me. I got a traffic ticket and went to traffic school. The young gal teaching it looked clearly Vietnamese to me, so I asked her about her nationality during a break. Turns out her father was a former ARVN officer who, along with her mother, was saved during Frequent Wind and started over here with next to nothing. He worked three jobs like a dog and built a life for his family. This young Vietnamese gal teaching the class was born and raised here and is a school teacher. She is smart and highly conservative, politically, has her concealed carry permit, and speaks with a full-on Texas drawl. Talking with her actually made me feel proud of what we accomplished at the end, in a rapidly deteriorating situation (made worse by an ambassador in denial who refused to plan for an evacuation) in saving so many lives.

The best part of the conversation was when she told me her father, in Vietnam, had worked with John Kerry.

"What did he think of him?" I asked.

"Oh, he always said Kerry's a prick."

Only in America...

Great story. "Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore" indeed.

Thank you for sharing.

You're welcome.

I'll never forgive Congress for abandoning South Vietnam, and never forgive that idiot Nixon for giving America that Congress.

Just watched a documentary on this. Probably shouldn't have. Dark Days indeed, even for those of us who weren't there, but had brothers, cousins, friends who were.
God Damn wars. God damn them all.

I saw that documentary, and it barely scratched the surface, even with a 2 hour treatment. But it did put into perspective the herculean efforts of our people in uniform vs. the cowardly actions of betrayal by Congress and the insane denial of reality by the ambassador. Some 16 fuggin' divisions of NVA were rolling south, and application of US airpower (which had stopped the previous offensive in 72) was refused by Congress, reneging on a US pledge to defend the south (as promised to get them to sign the Paris peace accords). The ambassador refused to plan for an evacuation until nearly the end. Were it not for the efforts of Task Force 76, things could have turned out far, far uglier than they did.

Anyway, enough of that... A good friend of mine is in Vietnam right now and is quoted in this AP story, linked below, about the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. John Stewart is part of a group of former Marine embassy guards who are there to place a plaque and honor two of their own who became the last US combat casualties in Vietnam in a rocket attack at Tan Son Nhut. Those two had just relieved John and another Marine at their post at the DAO compound when they were hit, and John has had to carry that with him all these years. From the photos and texts he's sending me, I wish I was there with them.

John and I figured out that our paths likely crossed one dark night during those hectic ops, but we wouldn't meet and discover that fact until 30 years later. Sometimes, the wheel turns in amazing ways.

http://www.stripes.com/news/veteran...gon-describe-chaos-of-war-s-end-1.343328