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Fall of Saigon: Where were you on April 30th, 1975?


gwb123
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In the army, stationed in Europe like atb.

 

Two years before in was in class at Marquette University like Robswashashore.

 

Mike

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In my second year of enlistment with the WARNG, but my buddy from H.S. was in the South China Sea, throwing helicopters off the deck of the U.S.S.Blueridge.

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Watched the news of the embassy evacuation and Saigon falling with my grandfather on the CBS evening news with Walter Cronkite. Why do I remember the channel? Because my grandfather only trusted Walter to deliver the truth. After Walter retired, he never watched CBS news again. The continuous replays of the helicopters being thrown overboard and the people on the embassy steps always stuck with me. Found out that one of the guys I worked with was in the Newsweek coverage of the Hancock and the helicopter evacuation of Vietnam. He still has the magazines his mother saved for him.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wasn't there myself, but my grandfather was on Saigon at the time as he a had just finished 6 years in college and was waiting for a job in the south vietnamese government.

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13 at the time, I also clearly remember a few days earlier watching related footage on the news of Phnom Penh. One of the things I recall was a Cambodian Soldier in his skivys (looked like skivys) standing in the back of a jeep and blasting away with a . 50.

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dave peifer

i was discharged from the army june 74,assume i was working,but remember seeing it on the news at the time............dave

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Watching it on TV. So sad that as we pulled out and abandoned our commitments to the Vietnamese and neighboring people that led to the killing fields. We are seeing this same cut-and-run playing out today in Iraq. History does repeat itself. Just sad for all concerned.

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5 years from the Army

Did not care for the "Peace with Honor" spin.

Total horsecrap.

I was going to school and had a lot of vet friends, mostly rear area types.

There was little discussion on the subject in those days.

post-10868-0-76303600-1432959392.jpg

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5 years from the Army

Did not care for the "Peace with Honor" spin.

Total horsecrap.

I was going to school and had a lot of vet friends, mostly rear area types.

There was little discussion on the subject in those days.

 

I remember seeing that comic the day it came out. It pretty much summed it up for a lot of people.

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I was in the Army at Fort Lewis working in the S-3 section of 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division.

 

The officers and senior NCOs were almost all Vietnam vets, and they were NOT happy. Lots of talk about going back.

 

We weren't on any kind of alert status that I recall, but tensions were high, contingency plans reviewed, etc.

 

It got worse a couple weeks later when the Mayaguez incident occurred. I was sure we were going back for that. There was actually some packing & checking being done then.

 

The Battalion S-3 was a Major who was former MACV-SOG. He had one leg shorter than the other due to a wound he had sustained, and wore special boots with a thicker sole & heel on that side. He had the boots custom made in Vietnam the last time he was there.

 

At one point, he turned to me and said: "I hope we go back. I need to have some more boots made." I'm sure I was staring at him with a look of shocked disbelief. He then said: "Helluva reason to go to war, huh?" and turned back to his work. I mumbled "Yessir" and went back to my work.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was at a fellow Marines house watching TV. He had a SVN flag on his wall. When we saw the news he got up and put a bic to it right on the wall. When it stopped burning he through it in the trash. Then we got drunk and felt like crying for our buddies that didn't come home. One of the saddest days of my life.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Jeff Ashenfelter

I was in the army stationed at Ft Wainright, Alaska in Co C (airborne) 4th bn 9th Inf Regt of the 172nf LIB. I remember some of the NCO's giving us a pre- alert in case something happened, which meant we had to stay around the post. Seems my whole focus at the time was drinking beer and staying out of trouble but I do remember a lot of serious faces.

Of course public sentiment at the time was anti military anyway you did not hear too much from the media about lost sacrifice and feelings of betrayal by the politicians. This was not however what I witnessed from all of the nco's and officers who had served in Vietnam! Jeff

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was waiting for my results of a Class 1A Flight physical that I took at Fort Dix. Yes, I was going to join the Army, become a Warrant Officer and fly helicopters. I waited a whole year and my recruiter didn't know what happened to my results. Finally I walked around the corner and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. The best decision I ever made; and I haven't looked back since.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

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  • 1 month later...

I was five years old playing with friends and relatives in the Boise desert foothills. I don't remember too much from that time frame.

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  • 2 weeks later...

In Germany in the USAF assigned to the 36th Combat Support Group at Bitburg AB. A lot of people watched this in total disbelief....kinda like Iraq with all the US bases falling and HMMWVs, etc.. being used by enemy.

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I was in 9th grade. I am sure I heard it on the CBS News with Walter Cronkite.. I was also following the space program during those days..

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