Operation Frequent Wind facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Operation Frequent Wind
Part of the Fall of Saigon, Vietnam War
A South Vietnamese helicopter is pushed overboard from USS Okinawa to clear deck space for more incoming helicopters
Date 29–30 April 1975 Location Saigon, 17 nautical miles (31 km) from the Vũng Tàu Peninsula Result Successful evacuation
Belligerents
United States  South Vietnam	North Vietnam Viet Cong
Commanders and leaders
Vice Admiral George P. Steele Lieutenant General Richard E. Carey	General Văn Tiến Dũng
Casualties and losses
2 killed in action 2 missing at sea	Unknown

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. It was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images.

Evacuation plans already existed as a standard procedure for American embassies. At the beginning of March, fixed-wing aircraft began evacuating civilians from Tan Son Nhat Airport through neighboring countries. By mid-April, contingency plans were in place and preparations were underway for a possible helicopter evacuation. As the imminent collapse of Saigon became evident, the U.S. Navy assembled Task Force 76 off the coast near Vũng Tàu to support a helicopter evacuation and provide air support if required. In the event, air support was not needed as the North Vietnamese paused for a week at the outskirts of Saigon, possibly waiting for the South Vietnamese government to collapse and avoiding a possible confrontation with the U.S. by allowing the mostly-unopposed evacuation of Americans from Saigon.

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. The fixed-wing evacuation was terminated and Operation Frequent Wind began. During the fixed-wing evacuation 50,493 people (including 2,678 Vietnamese orphans) were evacuated from Tan Son Nhut. The evacuation took place primarily from the Defense Attaché 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. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon was intended to only be a secondary evacuation point for embassy staff, but it was soon overwhelmed with evacuees and desperate South Vietnamese. 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.

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese evacuated themselves by sea or air. 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. Helicopters began to clog ship decks and eventually, some were pushed overboard to allow others to land. 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. In Operation Frequent Wind a total of 1,373 Americans and 5,595 Vietnamese and third-country nationals were evacuated by helicopter. The total number of Vietnamese evacuated by Frequent Wind or self-evacuated and ending up in the custody of the United States for processing as refugees to enter the United States totalled 138,869.

This operation was also the debut combat deployment of the F-14 Tomcat aircraft.

Casualties

For an operation of the size and complexity of Frequent Wind, casualties were relatively light. Marine corporals McMahon and Judge, killed at the DAO compound, were the only members of US forces killed in action during the operation and they were the last US ground casualties in Vietnam. 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. CH-46F Swift 1-4 of HMM-164 from USS Hancock flown by Captain William C. Nystul and First Lieutenant Michael J. Shea crashed into the sea on its approach to the ship after having flown a night sea and air rescue mission. The two enlisted crew members survived, but the bodies of the pilots were not recovered. The cause of the crash was never determined.

Memorials

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.

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 USS Midway is a museum ship in San Diego. Lady Ace 09, CH-46 serial number 154803, is now on display at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in San Diego, California.

In popular culture

Rooftop of 22 Gia Long Street in 2002

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. The building in the photo was the Pittman Apartment building at 22 Gia Long Street (now 22 Lý Tự Trọng Street), which was used as a residence by various embassy, CIA, and USAID employees. It has often been misidentified as the US Embassy. Hubert van Es' photo is frequently used in political cartoons commenting on US foreign policy.

The second act of the stage musical Miss Saigon depicts events leading up to, and during Operation Frequent Wind, with the main protagonists (Chris and Kim) becoming separated as a result of the evacuation. Writer Claude-Michel Schönberg has acknowledged that the musical was inspired by pictures of the evacuation. Hugh van Es believed that Miss Saigon misappropriated his photo and considered legal action against the show, but decided against it.

In The Simpsons at the end of Episode 16 of Season 6, "Bart vs. Australia", the Simpsons are evacuated from the American Embassy as angry Australians gather outside in a scene reminiscent of Hubert van Es's famous photo. Homer asks the helicopter pilot if they are being taken to an aircraft carrier and is told that "the closest vessel is the USS Walter Mondale. It's a laundry ship".

The operation was the subject of the 2014 PBS documentary Last Days in Vietnam.

Images for kids

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  Minutes of President Gerald Ford's National Security Council meeting on 9 April 1975 when evacuation plans were extensively discussed

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  Map of Assembly Points for American personnel in Saigon

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  Ships of TF 76 wait off Vũng Tàu for the start of the operation

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  RVNAF C-130A burns at Tan Son Nhut after rocket attack on 29 April

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  An F-14A Tomcat from VF-2 is launched from USS Enterprise, 29 April 1975

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  South Vietnamese refugees arrive on a U.S. Navy vessel during Operation Frequent Wind.

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  Air Vice Marshal Ky arrives on USS Midway.

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  Aerial view of the US Embassy, Saigon, showing chancery building (left), parking lot (center) and Consulate compound and French Embassy (top)

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  Rooftop of 22 Gia Long Street in 2002

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  9th MAB intelligence photo of the DAO Compound with LZs marked

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  9th MAB post-operation map of the DAO Compound and Air America Compound with LZs marked

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  A Marine provides security as helicopters land at the DAO Compound

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  USMC CH-53s at LZ 38

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  Vietnamese evacuees board a CH-53 at LZ 39

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  Aerial reconnaissance photos of the destroyed DAO Headquarters building with Air America Compound in the foreground

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  Sea Stallions returning from the DAO Compound approach USS Midway

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  Evacuees offloaded onto USS Midway

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  RVNAF Hueys and a CH-47 Chinook arrive at USS Midway

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  RVNAF Huey full of evacuees on the deck of USS Midway

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  RVNAF Huey is pushed overboard from USS Midway.

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  RVNAF pilot jumps from his Huey after dropping evacuees on USS Midway

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  Major Buang on final approach

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  Major Buang taxies to a halt

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  Midway deck crew surround Major Buang and his family

See also

In Spanish: Operación Frequent Wind para niños