Page not found Instagram He has worked as lead editor of scholarly publications for the Naval History and Heritage Command, senior editor ofProceedingsandNaval Historymagazines, and writer-editor for the U.S. Marine Corps History Division. [6] President Thiu and his family left Tan Son Nhut on 25 April on a USAF C-118 to go into exile in Taiwan. [10]:187, The air wings of USS Enterprise and USS Coral Sea, were ready to provide close air support and anti-aircraft suppression if required with their A-6 and A-7 attack aircraft, and would provide continuous fighter cover the evacuation route including by VF-1 and VF-2, flying from Enterprise with the first combat deployment of the new F-14A Tomcat. [6], The evacuation proceeded without interference from the PAVN. Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. [10], During the demolition of the embassy, the metal staircase leading from the rooftop to the helipad was removed and sent back to the United States, where it is now on display at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Cookie policy. The weather conditions deteriorated as the operation continued. Company G occupied the eastern section of the Annex, while Company H assumed control of the western section. Major Kean saw Ambassador Martin to request that he contact the Oval Office to ensure that the airlift continued. Overbearing tension. Major Kean saw Ambassador Martin to request that he contact the Oval Office to ensure that the airlift continued. The Air America pilot shut down his helicopter and left it. [35], On the afternoon of 29 April 1975, Hubert van Es, a Saigon-based photographer for United Press International, took the iconic photo of Operation Frequent Wind of an Air America UH-1 on a rooftop picking up Vietnamese evacuees. [10], "Alpha" command group, two rifle companies, and the 81mm mortar platoon were deployed around the DAO headquarters building (the Alamo) and its adjacent landing zones. The note read "Can you move these helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly 1 hour more, we have enough time to move. Evacuation plans already existed as a standard procedure for American embassies. [36] [37] The building in the photo was the Pittman Apartment building at 22 Gia Long Street (now 22 L T Trng Street), which was used as a residence by various embassy, CIA, and USAID employees. Writer Claude-Michel Schnberg has acknowledged that the musical was inspired by pictures of the evacuation. Air America helicopters continued to make rooftop pickups until after nightfall by which time navigation became increasingly difficult. They wanted me to take pets from the kids and throw the animals over the side. He instructed his executive officer to Tell the powers that be that the action is done, and then dont do a goddamn thing! Had he followed that order, I would have had a riot on my hands.. Subscribe now and never hit a limit. The evacuation of Saigon: "Operation Frequent Wind" . [6] The fall of Xun Lc on 21 April and the resignation of President Nguyn Vn Thiu on 21 April brought greater crowds seeking evacuation to the DAO Compound as it became apparent that South Vietnam's days were numbered. With the collapse of South Vietnam, numerous boats and ships, Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) helicopters and some fixed-wing aircraft sailed or flew out to the evacuation fleet. Strategic Air Command KC-135 tankers provided air-to-air refueling. [23], One of the more notable events occurred on Midway when the pilot of an RVNAF Cessna O-1 dropped a note on the deck of the carrier. The U.S. government was continuing to observe its obligations under the Accords, notwithstanding the North Vietnamese invasion. Eventually the ARVN commander controlling the gates agreed to permit the remaining buses to enter the compound. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of It has often been misidentified as the US Embassy. [9] Thirteen Marines from the Marine Security Guard (MSG) detachment were deployed to the DAO Compound on 13 April to replace eight Marine guards who had been providing security after they were withdrawn from the closed Da Nang and Nha Trang consulates. [21]:6 At the same time, General Carey met Admiral Whitmire to convince him to resume flights to the embassy despite pilot fatigue and poor visibility caused by darkness, fires and bad weather. On the ground floor a water tanker was driven through the chancery door and the crowd began to surge up through the building toward the rooftop. At approximately 14:30, Air America Bell 205 serial number "N47004" landed on the roof of the Pittman Apartment Building at 22 Gia Long Street to collect a senior Vietnamese intelligence source and his family. On 2 May, the ragtag navy began its 1,012-mile trek to Subic Bay, the Philippines. [14], After the evacuation signal was given, the buses began to pick up passengers and head to the DAO Compound. Hannahthe Other Carrier in the Fall of Saigon This week marks exactly 40 years since the largest helicopter airlift in history, Operation Frequent Wind. Helicopters overflew the designated LZs to check no Americans had been left behind and then the last helicopters (many low on fuel) headed out to TF76, located USS Midway or USS Hancock and shut down. The Marine evacuation contingent, the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (Task Group 79.1), consisted of three Battalion Landing Teams (BLT); 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4), 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9), 3rd Battalion 9th Marines (3/9) and three helicopter squadrons HMH-462, HMH-463, HMM-165 along with other support units from Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39). Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. More than 7,000 people were Then the F-4D was cleared to destroy the 57 mm battery and did so with two CBU-71 and two CBU-58 Cluster bombs, neutralizing the site, 10 miles (16km) northeast of Saigon, without damage to either aircraft. [6], Throughout April, the "thinning out" proceeded slowly, largely because the South Vietnamese government was slow to issue papers allowing Americans to take Vietnamese dependents with them, with the result that MAC aircraft were often departing empty. Total: 172 heroes honored View a collection of Operation Frequent Wind related videos to commemorate this historic event. The note read "Can you move these helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly 1 hour more, we have enough time to move. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese evacuated themselves by sea or air. [10], As part of the evacuation plan agreed with the DAO, Air America committed 24 of its 28 available helicopters to support the evacuation and 31 pilots agreed to stay in Saigon to support the evacuation; this meant that most helicopters would have only one pilot rather than the usual two. [10], The first wave of 12 CH-53s from HMH-462 loaded with BLT 2/4's command groups "Alpha" and "Bravo", and Company F and reinforced Company H arrived in the DAO Compound at 15:06 and the marines quickly moved to reinforce the perimeter defenses. [3] The evacuation took place primarily from the Defense Attach Office compound, beginning around 14:00 on the afternoon of 29 April, and ending that night with only limited small arms damage to the helicopters. [14], At 03:58, C-130E, #72-1297, flown by a crew from the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, was destroyed by a 122mm rocket while taxiing to pick up refugees after offloading a BLU-82 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. The Kirk, later redesignated as a frigate (FF-1087), continued to serve until she was decommissioned on 6 August 1993. Eligible evacuees now had to make themselves known to the Marine guards or embassy staff manning the walls and were then lifted over the walls and into the embassy compound. The Pittman Building was not an approved LZ, but when the agreed pickup point at the Lee Hotel at 6 Chien Si Circle was declared unusable, CIA Station Chief Tom Polgar asked Oren B. Harnage, Deputy Chief of the Embassy's Air Branch to change the pickup to the Pittman Building, which was the home of the Assistant Station Chief and had an elevator shaft believed capable of supporting the weight of a Huey. Moments later a RVNAF UH-1H attempted to land on the helipad, locked rotors with the Air America Bell, almost pushing it overboard. Despite receiving sporadic PAVN AAA fire, USAF and USN aircraft made no attacks on AAA or SAM sites during the evacuation. The Marines on the rooftop had sealed the doors and were using Mace to discourage the crowd from trying to break through. [10]:196 The plan for the evacuation included stationing buses and American civilian bus drivers at 28 buildings throughout metropolitan Saigon. [16] Japanese journalists, concerned that they would not recognize the tune, had to get someone to sing it to them. American administration plans for final evacuation By this time the Ford administration had also begun planning a complete evacuation of the American presence. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images. [6] At 08:30 on 29 April, with the shelling of Tan Son Nhut Airport subsiding, Air America began ferrying its helicopter and fixed-wing pilots from their homes in Saigon to the Air America compound at Tan Son Nhut, across the road from the DAO Compound. It's a laundry ship". Frequent Wind at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. U.S. officials decided to stop using the less maneuverable C-141s, which had been loaded with up to 316 evacuees, and use only C-130s, which had been taking off with more than 240. Vestibulum euismod interdum neque vitae facilisis. Twenty-six ships of Task Force 76, including the Kirk, converged on the South China Sea for Operation Frequent Windthe evacuation of Saigon. [25][26] The South Korean civilians were evacuated in 1976, while General Rhee and two other diplomats were held captive until April 1980. [10]:188, In the event that the PAVN or ARVN shot down a helicopter or a mechanical malfunction forced one to make an emergency landing in hostile territory, two orbiting CH-46s of MAG-39 each carrying 15-man, quick-reaction "Sparrow Hawk" teams of Marines from 1st Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, from USS Blue Ridge, were ready to land and provide security enabling a search and rescue helicopter to pick up the crew. C-130 flights were stopped temporarily after the air attack but resumed at 20:00 on 28 April. Planning for the evacuation of the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies from South Vietnam had begun before April 1975. [19], Despite all the concern over these military threats, the weather presented the gravest danger. During the fixed-wing evacuation 50,493 people (including 2,678 Vietnamese orphans) were evacuated from Tan Son Nhut. The Air America pilot shut down his helicopter and left it. [6] Also on 25 April the Federal Aviation Administration banned commercial flights into South Vietnam. The Kirk and her 45 sisters of the Knox class had relatively short service lives with the U.S. Navy, with none serving more than 23 years. At the beginning of March, fixed-wing aircraft began evacuating civilians from Tan Son Nhat Airport through neighboring countries. Do not disclose to other personnel. Shipmates would fight for that ship. President Ford later called it "a sad and tragic period in America's history" but argued that "you couldn't help but be very proud of those pilots and others who were conducting the evacuation". The tail rotor sheared off and embedded itself in the engine of an Air America Bell 205 that was doing a hot refueling on the helipad at the rear of the ship. Midway's commanding officer, Captain L.C. [14], At 17:00 the first CH-46 landed at the embassy. [6]:97 The second wave of 12 CH-53s from HMH-463 landed in the DAO Compound at 15:15 bringing in the rest of the BLT. When Lady Ace 09 transmitted "Tiger is out", those helicopter crews still flying thought the mission was complete, and delayed evacuating the Marines from the embassy rooftop. The biggest problem occurred when the ARVN unit guarding the main gate at Tan Son Nhut refused to allow the last convoy of buses into the DAO Compound at about 17:45. The Operations were called "Eagle Pull" and "Frequent Wind". As the War was coming to an end on April 29th to 30th, 1975, Operation Frequent Wind airlifted about 7100 at risk Vietnamese (to death from the Communist Viet Cong) and American civilians out of Sai Gon, the capital of South Viet Nam. RVNAF Huey is pushed overboard from USS Midway. Aircraft flying air cover for the evacuation reported being tracked with surface to air radar in the vicinity of Bin Ha Air Base (which had fallen to the PAVN on 25 April), but there were no missile launches. [6]:40 The Frequent Wind plan set out four possible evacuation options:[6]:9, With Option 4, the helicopter evacuation would be expected to be similar to Operation Eagle Pull, the American evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April 1975. All Air America flights had ceased by 21:00. Harnage boarded an Air America Huey from the Embassy's rooftop heliport and flew the short distance to the Pittman Building. [6], With the fall of Saigon imminent, between 18 and 24 April the U.S. Navy assembled ships off Vng Tu under Commander Task Force 76:[8], Task Group 76.4 (Movement Transport Group Alpha), Task Group 76.5 (Movement Transport Group Bravo), Task Group 76.9 (Movement Transport Group Charlie). During the course of the operation an unknown number of RVNAF helicopters flew out of what remained of South Vietnam to the fleet. [14]:63, After the evacuation signal was given, the buses began to pick up passengers and head to the DAO Compound. All structured data from the file namespace is available under the. [41][42], The operation was the subject of the 2014 PBS documentary Last Days in Vietnam.[43]. Once the deck was clear Major Buang approached the deck, bounced once and then touched down and taxied to a halt with room to spare. [14]:567 A Marine AH-1J SeaCobra ran out of fuel while searching for USS Okinawa and ditched at sea, the two crew members were rescued by a boat from USS Kirk. [2]:92. Harnage leaned out of the Huey and helped approximately 15 evacuees board the Huey from the narrow helipad. This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 09:46. By 22 April, 20 C-141 and 20 C-130s flights a day were flying evacuees out of Tan Son Nhut to Clark Air Base,[6]:60 some 1,000 miles away in the Philippines. [4], Evacuation plans are standard for American embassies. [17] Members of the police in Saigon had been promised evacuation in exchange for protecting the American evacuation buses and control of the crowds in the city during the evacuation. Lady Ace 09, CH-46 serial number 154803, is now on display at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in San Diego, California. [4], Although American officials at the highest levels of the intelligence community (e.g., CIA Director William Colby) were certain that the South Vietnamese government would collapse, everyone in the U.S. government underestimated the speed of the North Vietnamese advance during the 1975 Spring Offensive and how quickly the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) would collapse. The evacuation of personnel from the DAO compound had lasted nine hours and involved over 50 Marine Corps and Air Force helicopters. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images. The biggest problem occurred when the ARVN unit guarding the main gate at Tan Son Nhut refused to allow the last convoy of buses into the DAO Compound at about 17:45. [6] At 00:30 on 30 April, thermite grenades, having been previously placed in selected buildings, ignited as two CH-53s left the DAO parking lot carrying the last elements of BLT 2/4. With the collapse of South Vietnam, numerous boats and ships, Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) helicopters and some fixed-wing aircraft sailed or flew out to the evacuation fleet. On 23 April President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines announced that no more than 2,500 Vietnamese evacuees would be allowed in the Philippines at any one time, further increasing the strain on MAC which now had to move evacuees out of Saigon and move some 5,000 evacuees from Clark Air Base on to Guam, Wake Island and Yokota Air Base. The ships could not enter under the RVN flag. [27] Forty-nine Americans, including dependents, were also left behind or chose to remain in Saigon. Taken with other categories of Vietnamese, the number quickly passed 200,000. Armitage, a former Navy officer with three combat tours in Vietnam with the Brown Water Navy, later became Deputy Secretary of State in the George W. Bush administration. [6]:69 Armed guards were also present on each flight to prevent hijacking. [24] Major Buang became the first RVNAF fixed-wing pilot to ever land on a carrier. [33], The Cessna O-1 Bird Dog that Major Buang landed on USS Midway is now on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The Marines closed and bolted the chancery door, the elevators were locked by Seabees on the sixth floor and the Marines withdrew up the stairwells locking grill gates behind them. Some 400 evacuees were left behind at the embassy including over 100 South Korean citizens; among them was Brigadier General Dai Yong Rhee, the intelligence chief at the South Korean Embassy in Saigon. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images. They quickly established an austere command post in preparation for the arrival of the Marine CH-53s and the ground security force. WebAs the North Vietnamese continued to advance south, President Gerald R. Ford announced on April 3, 1975, that U.S. aircraft delivering supplies to Saigon would carry Vietnamese orphans to the United States on their return flights. Pilots of other helicopters were told to drop off their passengers and then take off and ditch in the sea, from where they would be rescued. General Carey's threat to use the AH-1J SeaCobra helicopter gunships flying overhead may have played a role in the ARVN commander's decision. Two LZs were now available in the embassy compound, the rooftop for UH-1s and CH-46s and the new parking lot LZ for the heavier CH-53s. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. She was commissioned on 9 September 1972 at Long Beach, California. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. [38] Hubert van Es' photo is frequently used in political cartoons commenting on US foreign policy. [10] At 08:00 Lieutenant General Minh, commander of the RVNAF and 30 of his staff arrived at the DAO compound demanding evacuation, signifying the complete loss of RVNAF command and control. You will find some squadron reports that may help and photos with dates and dates and descriptions. [20]:2728 The scene was famously captured on film by Hubert van Es. [6]:44 Finally, on 19 April, a simple procedure was implemented that cleared up the paperwork jam and the number of evacuees dramatically increased. [8], On 1 April an evacuation control center manned by U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force (USAF) and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) personnel began operating at the Defense Attach Office (DAO) compound on 12-hour shifts, increasing to 24-hour shifts the next day. The buses would follow one of four planned evacuation routes from downtown Saigon to the DAO Compound, each route named after a Western Trail: Santa Fe, Oregon, Texas, etc. At the beginning of March, fixed-wing aircraft began evacuating civilians from Tan Son Nhat Airport through neighboring countries. In Operation Frequent Wind a total of 1,373 Americans and 5,595 Vietnamese and third-country nationals were evacuated by helicopter. The buses would follow one of four planned evacuation routes from downtown Saigon to the DAO Compound, each route named after a Western Trail: Santa Fe, Oregon, Texas, etc. President Ford later called it "a sad and tragic period in America's history" but argued that "you couldn't help but be very proud of those pilots and others who were conducting the evacuation". [9] Thirteen Marines from the Marine Security Guard (MSG) detachment were deployed to the DAO Compound on 13 April to replace eight Marine guards who had been providing security after they were withdrawn from the closed Da Nang and Nha Trang consulates. On 2 May, Task Force 76, carrying the Operation Frequent Wind evacuees and 44,000 seaborne evacuees and the RVN Navy group set sail for reception centers in the Philippines and Guam.[8]. In any case this effectively marked the end of the commercial airlift from Tan Son Nhut. These were the upper crust of Vietnamese society and were not suffering from typical diseases endemic in Vietnam. Evacuation plans already existed as a standard procedure for American embassies. [10] This was the last USAF fixed-wing aircraft to leave Tan Son Nhut. Pay tribute to a Vietnam War Hero past or present and hear the stories of Operation Frequent Wind and the Fall of Saigon from those who lived it. At 15:00 the first CH-53s were sighted heading towards the DAO Compound at Tan Son Nhut. Please check back here for updates regarding this event or the reopening of the USS Midway Museum. [30], For an operation of the size and complexity of Frequent Wind, casualties were relatively light. All magazines and ready service lockers were emptied of their ammunition, which was dumped over the side. [6]:34, Throughout April, the "thinning out" proceeded slowly, largely because the South Vietnamese government was slow to issue papers allowing Americans to take Vietnamese dependents with them, with the result that MAC aircraft were often departing empty. By mid-April, contingency plans were in place and preparations were underway for a possible helicopter evacuation. [10]:197 With the evacuation of the landing control teams from the Annex and Alamo completed, General Carey ordered the withdrawal of the ground security forces from the DAO Compound around 22:50. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Most of the Marines were inside the chancery when the crowds outside the embassy broke through the gates into the compound. RVNAF F-5s took off in pursuit, but they were unable to intercept the A-37s. Midways commanding officer, Captain L.C. [6]:27 By 16 April, Alamo was complete: water, C-rations, petroleum, oil, and lubricants had been stockpiled; backup electricity generators had been installed; sanitary facilities were completed; and concertina wire protected the perimeter. [6]:111 However, one USAF report states that an F-4C Wild Weasel and an F-4D of the 388th Fighter Wing, was patrolling between Tan Son Nhut and Bien Hoa about 16:00 when the Wild Weasel detected SAM radar emissions to the north. Admiral Donald Whitmire, commander of Operation Frequent Wind, ordered the ships captain, Paul H. Jacobs, to Con Son Island, about 50 miles off Vietnams southern coast, to rescue the Vietnamese navy. The crew evacuated the burning aircraft on the taxiway and departed the airfield on another C-130 that had previously landed. This operation was also the debut combat deployment of the F-14 Tomcat aircraft. On 28 April, Tan Son Nhut Air Base (next to the airport) came under artillery fire and attack from Vietnamese People's Air Force aircraft. One AC-119 gunship had spent the night of 28/29 April dropping flares and firing on the approaching PAVN. Company G occupied the eastern section of the Annex, while Company H assumed control of the western section. [16] Japanese journalists, concerned that they would not recognize the tune, had to get someone to sing it to them. The RVNN was no more. [6]:90 Finally at 10:51 the order was given by CINCPAC to commence Option 4; due to confusion in the chain of command, General Carey did not receive the execute order until 12:15. The staff of 9th MAB prescribed altitudes, routes, and checkpoints for flight safety for the operation. [20] According to US Naval Archives, at 12:30 an Air America Bell 205 landed Air Vice Marshal Nguyn Cao K, Madame K, Dorothy Martin (wife of Ambassador Martin) and others on USS Denver; however, contemporary reports state and photos show that Marshal K piloted his own UH-1H Huey to USS Midway.[20]. So, at noon on 7 May, the Vietnamese crews gathered at attention on their respective ships, struck their colors, and raised the Stars and Stripes, officially returning the ships to the U.S. Navy list. [6] USAF aircraft operating out of Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Korat Air Base and U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand were also overhead for the duration of the helicopter evacuation. Operation They were evacuated to Bangkok on 1 August 1976. The Peoples Army of Vietnam was rapidly advancing and would soon threaten Saigon. The Kirk was one of 46 Knox-class destroyer escorts. Ambassador Martin soon sent word back to Major Kean that sorties would continue to be flown. [36][37] The building in the photo was the Pittman Apartment building at 22 Gia Long Street (now 22 L T Trng Street), which was used as a residence by various embassy, CIA, and USAID employees. [6], At 03:30 on 29 April a PAVN rocket hit Guardpost 1 at the DAO Compound, instantly killing Marine Corporals McMahon and Judge. The destroyer escort, accompanying the carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19), which had offloaded her combat wing in Pearl Harbor in exchange for the 25 helicopters of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 463, arrived in the Gulf of Thailand on 11 April to join in the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Kirks legacy, however, is bound up in compassion and mercy; the little DE was an integral part of the rescue of tens of thousands of refugees. [3] The evacuation took place primarily from the Defense Attach Office compound, beginning around 14:00 on the afternoon of 29 April, and ending that night with only limited small arms damage to the helicopters. 14276659. The destroyer remained in service until decommissioned on 20 December 1975 and officially transferred to the Republic of China through the Security Assistance When Lady Ace 09 transmitted "Tiger is out", those helicopter crews still flying thought the mission was complete, and delayed evacuating the Marines from the embassy rooftop.