Hugh van Es's Photo of Saigon Evacuation
Last Helicopters Leave Saigon
Date: April 29, 1975
In a speech at Tulane University on April 23, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford told his audience: "Today Americans can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished."
Yet, on the other side of the globe, the war was far from finished. North Vietnamese forces were sweeping south, determined to take Saigon before the May rains. Ambassador Graham Martin and his staff faced a logistical nightmare: the safety of 100,000 Vietnamese staffers -- men and women who, with their families, would be targets of the Vietcong when they arrived. Throughout April, around 50,000 were evacuated, but tens of thousands remained when Communist artillery appeared on the outskirts of Saigon on April 28.
At 10:48 am on April 29, Martin ordered Operation Four, or "Operation Frequent Wind:" a helicopter evacuation of remaining personnel. Armed Forces Radio issued their signal: "The temperature in Saigon is 112 degrees and rising," followed by the first eight bars of the song "White Christmas."
For the next 18 hours, more than 70 Marine choppers shuttled 5,595 Vietnamese and 1,373 Americans to aircraft carriers offshore. At 3:45 am, Martin was told to stop the Vietnamese evacuation and allow only Americans aboard.
President Ford personally ordered Martin to board the last flight out, and the Marines were told to arrest him if he refused. At 5 am, Martin boarded the CH-46 Sea Knight "Lady Ace 09" and departed. Just three hours later, Saigon fell to Communist forces.
--From Defining Moments in History
Yet, on the other side of the globe, the war was far from finished. North Vietnamese forces were sweeping south, determined to take Saigon before the May rains. Ambassador Graham Martin and his staff faced a logistical nightmare: the safety of 100,000 Vietnamese staffers -- men and women who, with their families, would be targets of the Vietcong when they arrived. Throughout April, around 50,000 were evacuated, but tens of thousands remained when Communist artillery appeared on the outskirts of Saigon on April 28.
At 10:48 am on April 29, Martin ordered Operation Four, or "Operation Frequent Wind:" a helicopter evacuation of remaining personnel. Armed Forces Radio issued their signal: "The temperature in Saigon is 112 degrees and rising," followed by the first eight bars of the song "White Christmas."
For the next 18 hours, more than 70 Marine choppers shuttled 5,595 Vietnamese and 1,373 Americans to aircraft carriers offshore. At 3:45 am, Martin was told to stop the Vietnamese evacuation and allow only Americans aboard.
President Ford personally ordered Martin to board the last flight out, and the Marines were told to arrest him if he refused. At 5 am, Martin boarded the CH-46 Sea Knight "Lady Ace 09" and departed. Just three hours later, Saigon fell to Communist forces.
--From Defining Moments in History
