smithsonianmag.com Martin returned to the embassy compound an hour and a half later, trailed by his cook, two flak-jacketed security men carrying his suitcase and briefcase and another leading Nitnoy on a leash.When it became obvious that the operation was going to drag into the night, two choppers brought in another 50 Marines to beef up the embassy defense perimeter. So when Bui Diem, a former South Vietnamese ambassador to Washington, was spotted pushing up to the gate, he was quietly told to go around to the front where Marine guards quickly let him in. A passer-by on a motorbike had thrown a grenade into the crowd. The whirling blades of the two copters clanged together and disintegrated, sending jagged pieces of metal flying across the deck. As the coast of Vietnam disappeared, South Vietnamese Army Air Force Officers—clustered on the deck of the Blue Ridge—tuned in a shortwave broadcast from Saigon. Out-of-country R & R was at Bangkok, Hawaii, Tokyo, Australia, Hong Kong, Manila, Penang, Taipei, Kuala Lampur or Singapore. R & R: rest-and-recreation vacation taken during a one-year duty tour in Vietnam. There were at least three generals in uniform, assorted South Vietnamese senators, a former mayor of Saigon, the police chief, a fire chief and all of his firemen wearing their back-flap hats, and Vietnamese employees of the embassy and their families.
For instance, in early April, the Senate unanimously voted through a call for new leadership, and some top military commanders were pressing for a coup.
Blue Ridge, command ship of the evacuation armada, As night fell Monday, the signal to proceed with Operation Frequent Wind still hadn't come. Most of the refugees set sail without taking on supplies, and radio messages picked up by the American task force painted a picture of despair. Sometimes those troops had to clear a space in the forest for the crew aboard a Huey to drop a line to reel them out of danger.
The pilot of one Air America helicopter had trouble making up his mind.
.So many more, in so many places—these are just random memories from a correspondent, a spectator, a privileged class because we could come and go from the field at will. As the Blue Ridge's security officers confiscated bottles of cognac and whisky from the evacuees and tossed them into the sea, loud groans went up from the crew. In early afternoon, a Navy helicopter brought aboard former Premier Nguyen Cao Ky, who only the week before had termed any Vietnamese planning to flee his country a "coward." A bright yellow flare arched up and hung in the air.
The last man scrambled aboard with the embassy's American flag—neatly folded, and stuffed inside a brown-paper bag.At long last, America's military involvement in Vietnam was over. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period to the formal reunification of Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
At the end, even indomitable Graham Martin, the last American ambassador to Vietnam, seemed, like most of his countrymen, drained of emotion. Then we scurried up the crowded steps to the sixth floor to wait our chopper. While the bridge was rigged with approximately 4000lbs of demolition charges, the ARVN stood down and at 10:30 the PAVN column crossed the bridge.Following the end of the war, according to official and non-official estimates, between 200,000 and 300,000 South Vietnamese were sent to Whether the evacuation had been successful or not has been questioned following the end of the war. "The continuing rocket fire and debris on the runways at Tan Son Nhut caused General Under pressure from Kissinger, Martin forced Marine guards to take him to Tan Son Nhat in the midst of continued shelling, so he might personally assess the situation. "There was a constant flow of cables back and forth with Ambassador Martin," a White House aide later said. Once inside, he carefully dusted off his navy-blue suit before being led to the staging area by the embassy swimming pool.Some Americans weren't so lucky. In response to this pressure, Thiệu made some changes to his cabinet, and Prime Minister Many in the American mission—Martin in particular—along with some key figures in Washington, believed that negotiations with the communists were still possible, especially if Saigon could stabilize the military situation. The concept of the door gunner originated during the Vietnam War, when helicopters were first used in combat in large numbers.
They decided the military situation had deteriorated too far to use Options One, Two or Three, which were all based on transport planes flying out of Tan Son Nhut.
He called General Minh who told him to prepare to surrender.
Consequently, we were told we would have to jettison our baggage. Pilots of helicopters heading to Tan Son Nhat were aware that PAVN anti-aircraft guns were tracking them, but they refrained from firing.
So for the past several days, embassy staffers had been sneaking out with axes and chipping away at parts of the tree trunk not visible to Martin.Behind the parking lot in the swimming-pool area, several thousand Vietnamese waited with piles of suitcases and bundles of clothing. Ford still hoped to gain additional military aid for South Vietnam. Approaching Tan Son Nhut airport, we could see thick columns of smoke rising from around the field, and hear incoming Communist shells and small-arms fire. Finally, we heard the order: 'OK, let's go." Running into a television correspondent who remarked that Ford was keeping late hours, the president replied: "With good reason."
He then ordered his field commanders to advance directly to key facilities and strategic points in the city.On the morning of 30 April PAVN sappers attempted to seize the At 10:24, Minh announced an unconditional surrender. Open doors revealed offices stripped of everything important. It turned out to be the CIA detonating an explosive device on communications equipment.By midevening, the embassy was almost deserted of U.S. civilians. And then, 40 years ago this week, it faded away with the last Americans departing Saigon at the end of the long Vietnam War.
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