The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images. 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. [24] Major Buang became the first RVNAF fixed-wing pilot to ever land on a carrier. [6]:103 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. [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. WebOperation Frequent Wind was carried out 2930 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War. Operation Frequent Wind Despite receiving sporadic PAVN AAA fire, USAF and USN aircraft made no attacks on AAA or SAM sites during the evacuation. Cookie policy. [14], At 17:00 the first CH-46 landed at the embassy. [21]:7 At 03:27 President Gerald Ford ordered that no more than 19 additional lifts would be allowed to complete the evacuation. They were the last American ground casualties in Vietnam. At this time, the embassy indicated that another 19 lifts would complete the evacuation. [6] The Frequent Wind plan set out four possible evacuation options:[6], 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. As they approached the helicopters had taken rifle and M-79 grenade fire from ARVN troops but without causing any apparent damage. Ambassador Martin refused to accept General Smith's recommendation and instead insisted on visiting Tan Son Nhut to survey the situation for himself. [21], By the morning of 29 April, it was estimated that approximately 10,000 people had gathered around the embassy, while some 2,500 evacuees were in the embassy and consular compounds. Total: 172 heroes honored View a collection of Operation Frequent Wind related videos to commemorate this historic event. As the imminent collapse of Saigon became evident, the U.S. Navy assembled Task Force 76 off the coast near Vng Tu to support a helicopter evacuation and provide air support if required. Available for both RF and RM licensing. During Operation Frequent Wind, 71 helicopters flew over 650 sorties between Saigon and elements of the Seventh Fleet off shore. [5] The Saigon plan had been developed over a number of years. Web12 likes, 0 comments - The Bee News (@thebeelivenews) on Instagram: "#TheFallOfSaigon On this day 1975 Vietnam War, US begins to evacuate its citizens from Saigon in" [41] [42], The operation was the subject of the 2014 PBS documentary Last Days in Vietnam.[43]. A second Cessna O-1 was also recovered by USS Midway that afternoon. The crowds prevented the use of buses for transporting evacuees from the embassy to the DAO Compound for evacuation, and the embassy gates were closed to prevent the crowd from surging through. NavSource WebBelow, is a link to photographs taken aboard USS Duluth LPD-6 during Operation Frequent Wind in April 1975. [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. As this was happening, a firefight between two ARVN units broke out and caught the rearmost buses in the crossfire, disabling two of the vehicles. Planning for the evacuation of the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies from South Vietnam had begun before April 1975. [20]:21 At some point during the morning RVNAF personnel took five ICCS UH-1H Hueys and one Air America Bell 204 from the Air America ramp. Martin had remained optimistic that a negotiated settlement could be reached whereby the US would not have to pull out of South Vietnam and, in an effort to avert defeatism and panic he instructed Major James Kean, commanding officer of the Marine Security Guard Battalion and Ground Support Force Commander United States Embassy Compound, that he could not begin to remove the tamarind tree and other trees and shrubbery which prevented the use of the embassy parking lot as a helicopter landing zone. The Cobra waved off just as its engines flamed out. [5] The Saigon plan had been developed over a number of years. [6] At 21:00 on 28 April Major General Homer D. Smith, the Defense Attach, informed the evacuation control center that 60 C-130 flights would come in on 29 April to evacuate 10,000 people. [20], At 14:06 two UH-1E Huey helicopters carrying General Carey and Colonel Alfred M. Gray Jr. (commander of Regimental Landing Team 4 (RLT4)) landed at the DAO Compound. Kiem warned Armitage that they would be saving more than ships. The U.S. government was continuing to observe its obligations under the Accords, notwithstanding the North Vietnamese invasion. It has often been misidentified as the US Embassy. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Operation Frequent Wind". The Kirk was one of 46 Knox-class destroyer escorts. At 11:30 PAVN tanks smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace less than 1km from the embassy and raised the flag of the Viet Cong over the building; the Vietnam War was over. The evacuation of the embassy was completed at 07:53 on 30 April, but some Americans chose to stay or were left behind and some 400 third-country nationals were left at the embassy. [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. 910 N. Harbor Drive It was carried out on 2930 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. 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. Five Decades After Evacuating The Embassy In Saigon 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. Despite receiving sporadic PAVN AAA fire, USAF and USN aircraft made no attacks on AAA or SAM sites during the evacuation. The pilot then crashed the CH-47 into the sea and was rescued by the DEs whaleboat. Ambassador Martin soon sent word back to Major Kean that sorties would continue to be flown. [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. The four crew members estimated they received more than 500 rounds of 23-mm, 37-mm, and 57-mm fire in the space of one minute. This will be followed by the playing of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. [24] Major Buang became the first RVNAF fixed-wing pilot to ever land on a carrier. The code is: The temperature in Saigon is 105 degrees and rising. [21] 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. But most of all, I will always remember their human decency and the deep compassion., Armitage said he envied the officers and men of the Kirk. One condition of entry was that all the Vietnamese ships and their refugees had to be disarmed. On board the USS Hancock, a South Vietnamese CH-47 helicopter is pushed over the fantail to make room for 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. [6] On 4 April, a C-5A aircraft carrying 250 Vietnamese orphans and their escorts suffered explosive decompression over the sea near Vng Tu and made a crash-landing while attempting to return to Tan Son Nhut; 153 people on board died in the crash. After receiving permission from the airborne commander, the Wild Weasel marked the three 57-mm sites with an AGM-45 Shrike missile and took evasive action to escape the tracers coming in. The weather conditions deteriorated as the operation continued. [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. Once completed, the new defensive perimeter encompassed only LZ 36 and the Alamo. [18] Disgruntled ARVN troops repeatedly hit American helicopters with small arms fire throughout the evacuation, without causing serious damage. [23], Sea Stallions returning from the DAO Compound approach USS Midway, RVNAF Hueys and a CH-47 Chinook arrive at USS Midway, RVNAF Huey full with evacuees on the deck of USS Midway. All planning would have to be conducted with the utmost discretion. All Air America flights had ceased by 21:00. The staff of 9th MAB prescribed altitudes, routes, and checkpoints for flight safety for the operation. 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". [3], The two major evacuation points chosen for Operation Frequent Wind were the DAO Compound next to Tan Son Nhut Airport for American and Vietnamese civilian evacuees, and the U.S. Embassy, Saigon for embassy staff. Captain Jacobs had been ordered to get rid of all the animals. [10]:198, By 02:15 on 30 April one CH-46 and one CH-53 were landing at the embassy every 10 minutes. We forgot them. These altitudes were also high enough to avoid small arms and artillery fire. The Operations were called "Eagle Pull" and "Frequent Wind". In addition, military aircraft from Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, and other countries flew in to evacuate their embassy personnel. [21]:5 Air America UH-1s began ferrying evacuees from other smaller assembly points throughout the city and dropping them on the Embassy's rooftop LZ. The RVNN was no more. To avert mid-air collisions, the planners chose altitudes which would provide separation of traffic and also a capability to see and avoid the enemy's AAA, SA-2 and SA-7 missile threat (6,500 feet (2,000m) for flights inbound to Saigon and 5,500 feet (1,700m) for those outbound from Saigon to the Navy ships). In addition, Air America helicopters and RVNAF aircraft brought additional evacuees to the TF76 ships. [14]:63, After the evacuation signal was given, the buses began to pick up passengers and head to the DAO Compound. Moments later a RVNAF UH-1H attempted to land on the helipad, locked rotors with the Air America Bell, almost pushing it overboard. Official U.S. Marine Corps photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. [14] 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. Over the next two days, 7,000 official evacuees were flown from the embassy in Saigon and Tan Son Nhut Air Base outside the city to ships offshore. In addition, the Vietnamese relatives of American citizens and senior Government of Vietnam officials and their dependents (about 600,000 people) were also identified as potential evacuees, along with Vietnamese formerly employed by the U.S. and their dependents. [21]:6, Inside the embassy, the evacuees had found whatever space was available inside the embassy compound and evacuees and some staff proceeded to take alcohol from the embassy's stores. 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.