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16-18  NVA advancing everywhere. Massing divisions N., W. & SW. of Saigon. Tension. Helicopter pads set up at various points. Many C-141’s daily. Phnom Penh fell on the 17th. Received emergency evacuation aircraft assignments. I have C-47 #43-16147.

21  Jim Voyles shot up in VTB today vicinity Phan Rang (enemy airport) put out may day. I called for helicopters, 2500, 2000, 1000 ft. but landed OK at Vung Tau, VO5. RON V32 Caribou’s N11014. Went swimming on perfect beach. C-130 and seven jolly green H/C passed overhead Con Son Island this morning at 10:30 heading NE Inspiring sight and extremely good for morale. Indicates 7th Fleet in area.

22-23  Situation very tense; something imminent. Pres. Thieu resigned.

24  1:30 PM  Red alert for two hours, attack expected. Steve’s restaurant asked to house entire 40 man ICCS delegation. ICCS O.I.C. said attack coming in next hour (he should know). Nothing happened, though.

9:30 PM  Reed Chase came to 705 and said Gen. Giap (Geo. Washington of No. Vietnam) assassinated and Chicom troops into NV. If so, the best of best possible news. Not much fun sleeping in town (if one can sleep). Better to be at airport, but no beds. Piaster rate gone from P1200 to $1 to P4000 to $1 in past week. Ominous sign. Wall to wall ships off Vung Tau; four big carriers plus support ships, 7th Fleet.

25  NVA army was to attack at 0600L this morning, but didn’t. That’s nice. Now hear it was pro-Chinese NVA Gen. Truong Chinh who was shot and not Gen. Giap (shooting Gen. Giap would have been like shooting Geo. Washington in 1780). U.S. making many helicopter pads at airport. Moving structures, bulldozing buildings, surfacing dirt areas, cutting trees and telephone poles, etc. PX and Stop & Shop items at ½ price or less. No More U.S. beer for sale "quelle tragedy!" Same for liquor and wine.

26  Hear lots of bombing SW of town. Have for several days now. Many 100’s of SVN refugees around main gate at airport this past week. Complete news blackout on SVN on U.S. run Saigon FM 99.9 for last six days (censorship). Some getting a bit irritable lately. In addition to not knowing whether or not we are going to get out of SVN safely, there’s a constant threat of SA-7 Strela missiles when flying and new, unplotted AAA positions. Reds now have 57-MM firecan radar position 290 degrees, eight miles from airport. That’s just great news. Probably others around Saigon. Most of us have been living out of an airline handbag for weeks now. All other possessions sent away, given away or in one suitcase at airport. Atrocities at Phnom Penh public beheadings, which gives us something more to think about.

27 Tension building. Lots of rumors. Thoughts of TSN going up and us being unable to fly out. 200 police strung together at Ban Me Thuot and shot.

28  1820L  Had Reed Chase’s car. Left airline bag at 87 Nguyen Din Chieu and took car back to airport. Got 100 yards short of gate when heard six explosions, 500# bombs. Three NVA in VNAF A-37’s from north. Three Americans in car ahead literally fell out onto ground with panicky looks and crawled around to rear door and pulled out flak jackets. Drove up beside them and asked what was problem. Unintelligible answer. Asked again and one shouted Small arms fire.  I didn’t hear any, nor did Capt. John Fonburg, who was with me.  ARVN guard rushed up and told us to beat it. Superfluous instructions, I’d say. Drove across grass, down a one-way street the wrong way and headed for town. Both of us seriously doubted small arms report, as it was very doubtful NVA could be in that section of town.

Halfway in town tremendous traffic jam. Lots of inbound cars doing 180’s and heading back to airport, which indicated 1. A traffic snarl or 2. Some terrorist activity. Just prior to reaching heavy traffic, heard multiple explosions and saw hundreds of anti-aircraft (37 & 40 mm) bursts around 2 A-37’s. They missed. Re: traffic jam, not wishing to get stuck in that or to encounter terrorists, did fast 180 and drove back to 259, a USAID billet housing about 40 AAM pilots and supervisory personnel. Seven story building located about one kilometer from airport.

Went up on roof and noted many fires and much black smoke at airport. 24-hour curfew immediately imposed, so was stuck at 259. Real bright to leave airline bag at 87, Nguyen Dinh Chieu with passport, checkbook, money and other valuables. Found bed with Capt. Fred Stikkel and another helicopter captain. Met Gen. D. T. Phuong.

7:30 PM  Tremendous explosion 10-15 miles NE probably Long Binh ammo dump near Bien Hoa. Helluva explosion our 112 unit apartment building moved. On roof could see many large secondary explosions on this clear night. All AAM personnel remained at point they were caught at. Some ops personnel and helicopter and fixed wing pilots at airport. Telephoned Capt. Art Wilson at 87, Nguyen Dinh Chieu and asked him to get my airline bag. He said, "Don’t worry, Freddie Boo (he’s an irreverent type), I shall get your bag without fail."  In bed about midnight.

April 29, 1975  Awakened at 4:00 AM (J.C.) by nearby and multiple heavy explosions. On roof saw Tan Son Nhut under heavy artillery attack by 130-mm cannon, 122-mm rocket and mortar fire. Many aircraft burning. At that point we all figured that maybe we’d have to walk and swim to the 7th Fleet. Intense fire continued from 0400 to 0830 before letting up somewhat just somewhat. AAM ramp area took one hit that badly damaged 2 helicopters with minor damage to 3 more. No fixed wing a/c hit. Ops reluctant to launch helicopters for fear of drawing fire a head in sand (or some place else) attitude, as without the helicopter pilots at 259 we would not operate. After attack started, many VNAF airplanes took off C-130’s, C-47’s, C-119 gunships, F-5’s, etc. Thought they were going to pound the reds but no such luck as they all scrammed out of the area and went to U-tapao, Thailand. Great support.

The powers-that-be finally decided that they would launch a helicopter and the first one off came to 259 about 0830 and picked 10 helicopter pilots off the roof and took them to the airport. Came right back and picked up 6 more. On third trip at 0845 eight fixed wing pilots, including myself, were taken to airport.

Much activity there plus incoming artillery, rockets and mortars in the immediate area about every minute or so. Many ground personnel in ops. Some pretty shook up. Certain amount of hesitancy about launching fixed wing aircraft, but every explosion outside further convinced me that we had worn out our welcome in Saigon. Waited around and, finally about 0930 we launched C-47 #559 and C-47 #084. Then every 10 minutes or so another AAM fixed wing aircraft took off. I finally got the O.K. to go at 10:05. Checked a/c over very briefly and was about to get aboard when Art Wilson drove up and handed me my airline bag. Extremely glad to see that. Started engines and taxied over by our hangar and boarded 24 passengers very quickly. Watched out cockpit window and as last one got on, saw many refugees climbing high cement wall behind my aircraft. Forgot to mention that during the morning some VNAF pilots stole four of our helicopters. Also, we were all armed and some operations personnel had to standoff some armed ARVN soldiers who tried to board our aircraft. Fortunately, no shooting took place.

As Capt. Ed Adams was about to board his C-46, and ARVN soldier tried to forcibly embark. Ed stopped him and the guy started to swing an M-16 around to point at him. The soldier got the gun about half way around when Ed knocked him on his ass (busting his hand in the process) and disarmed him. That ended that.

We taxied out and, as we rounded our hangar where we could see the taxiways and military and civilian ramps, a scene of utter desolation confronted us airplanes burning, bombed out and burnt out airplanes and helicopters, debris everywhere. Christ, what a sight! Immediately saw that we probably could get to the runway.

A C-130 was burning right next to the taxiway on one side with a wrecked CH-53 twin rotor a/c on the other, which was the civilian ramp. Rather than taxi between the two, which would have forced up to pass close aboard the burning C-130 which was going to blow up momentarily, I went through the civilian ramp area past the gutted terminal picking my way around baggage, wrecked automobiles, bicycles, shell holes, shrapnel you name it and rejoined the taxiway further on.

Next, at the east-west, north-south taxiway intersection, we found it partially blocked by a completely burnt out USAF C-130. There was just room to get by the tail of this hulk and we made it and swung out onto the runway which, by the grace of God, wasn’t damaged and without further ado took off. With the reds all around town, we gained some altitude over the city then headed for the open sea about 25 miles away to the southeast. The airport was taking a real shellacking as we taxied out and took off but they missed hitting us. Guess we’ve been living right.

As it was probably all enemy territory, we didn’t relax until we were well offshore. Then we took stock of our situation. We knew we only had 500 galls of gas so we couldn’t go to our originally planned destination of Brunei, some 700 miles southeast. Also, we could not go to a small airstrip 125 miles south of Saigon where we had some emergency gas supplies stashed, so our only option was to head for Thailand, in spite of knowing beforehand that the Thais didn’t want any Saigon airplanes landing in Thailand. The Thais couldn’t care less about refugees, their main concern was and is not offending the communists. They have now very conveniently forgotten 25 years of assistance.

When I left the ramp at Saigon, there were two C-46’s and two VTB’s still there but they got airborne shortly. The bombing attack the night of the 28th stopped all refueling so we ended up with four C-47’s and two C-46’s and one VTB heading for friendly territory in Thailand. Only one C-47, #083, had full tanks and he headed for Brunei. The helicopters continued picking up personnel around Saigon and ferrying them to the aircraft carriers offshore the rest of the morning, finally ceasing operations at 6:30 PM. That ended AAM’s flight operations after some 25 years in Southeast Asia. We lost some airplanes and much equipment but, thank God, no one was lost/hurt in this final operation.

The company did a fantastic job in the last 2-1/2 decades and we closed it out with a clean slate. On the debit side, pause and think that the reds have forcibly taken over two countries in the last 13 days. Cambodia on April 17th and South Vietnam on April 30th. Two black dates for millions of people and a real blot on our escutcheon.

Enroute to Thailand we established intership VHF communications and concluded that we would receive a less hostile reception at the USAF bast at U-Tapao, some 75 miles SSE of Bangkok, so we all landed there.
With our short supply of fuel, a plus was that the weather was beautiful blue skies all the way enroute. We in our C-47 flew down the coast of Vietnam a ways then, because of our fuel situation, took a deep breath and at 8500 feet headed across the enemy held delta to the ocean on the other side, a distance of about 80 miles. Made that leg uneventfully, proceeded along about 15 miles off the south coast of Cambodia then up the Cambodian west coast and on into Thailand and U-tapao. Didn’t figure any Cambodian fighters would bother us in internaional waters and saw none.

Landed at U-tapao and received a warm welcome from the USAF personnel. The first man I met at the foot of the ladder was a Sergeant and the first thing he said was that he had seen both me any my copilot many times in Udorn, Thailand in 1968 and why the hell didn’t we stop stocking our necks out and retire. Good to see a friendly face.
The first thing I saw after landing was half the Vietnamese Air Force. There were 70 odd VNAF planes parked around the south end of the airport. I counted a full squadron (25) of F-5 fighters, six C-130’S, four C-7A Caribou’s, nine C-47’s, ten Douglas AD fighter-bombers, four C-119 transports, a couple of C-119 gunships plus a scattering of other types. Had mixed emotions upon seeing the F-5’s and AD’s parked there.

In all we landed four AAM C-47’s and one VTB at U-tapao. One C-47 had a complete hydraulic failure shortly after takeoff at Saigon and after a successful landing at U-tapao, ran off a taxiway and into a ditch, collapsing one main gear in the process as well as tearing off the tail wheel and twisting the tail structure. No one hurt, fortunately.

We stood around in the 100-degree heat for about five hours and then the Base Commander, a full Colonel, advised us that he needed the ramp space and that we would all have to go to Bangkok. That little order made my day as my apartment is in Bangkok. So we finally left U-tapao at 10:15 PM and arrived at 11:00 PM in Bangkok.

All in all, that was quite a month, April was.

THE LAST DAY
By Allen Cates
Dedicated to those who were there

The calls for help continued but the right words were not said and it was obvious the caller had captured the radio. Darkness had set in and the North Vietnamese Army was overrunning Saigon. The situation was hopeless. An era spanning 30 years was ending. It was April 29th 1975.

The war in Laos ended a year earlier. Air America employees from Vientiane and Udorn scattered like leaves in a wind. Several transferred to Saigon where the work had always been routine compared to Laos, which was paramilitary in nature. It was still dangerous, but the military usually handled medical evacuations and rescues. That situation changed near the end and it soon become evident that business as usual would not continue.

During the height of the Vietnam War, the streets were filled with American military vehicles and soldiers. But now, almost all of the American troops had long since departed. It was obvious to everyone except the American Embassy that Saigon would fall. Buon Me Thuot had been overrun in March. Da Nang came soon after then Nha Trang. For some reason, it appeared the American Ambassador believed that Saigon would be spared to remain a neutral enclave.

Meetings had been conducted a few days previously to pass on radio frequencies, locations of ships off the coast and to establish a contingency plan. U.S. Marine Corps General Carey told Air America representatives that Marines were supposed to be stationed at the Air America complex to protect the fuel depot at least 6 hours prior to any evacuation, but his hands were tied. The Ambassador refused to give approval until well into the afternoon. The Marines didn't show and the closest fuel was on the ships off the coast... a full 80 to 100 miles from Saigon. Fuel would prove to be a big problem on the last day. All the plans made previously were now scrapped.

The day before, on April 28th, ground fire from unknown sources had shot down several aircraft over Saigon. On the 29th, Air America's fixed wing group took what refugees they could and departed. Shuttling in and out of Saigon was now impossible for fixed wing aircraft. Air America's helicopter crews remained to aid in the evacuation. There were thirty-two designated helicopter pickup points on buildings. Six were for Air America. Ralph Begian worked in Air America's Flight Information Department. Just before the last day he and Nikki Fillippi, an Air America helicopter pilot, worked relentlessly to prepare pickup points in the city. But, every attempt to paint a large "H" on the tops of those buildings and to station fuel was thwarted by the American Ambassador, his staff and the Vietnamese police. The explanation received was that plans of this nature might provide the wrong signal to the Vietnamese public and cause panic. Air America's employees did their best to improvise and moved to a single building to maintain communications.

The Saigon exodus began with a rush. The largest airlift of refugees in the entire war started to unfold, ready or not. One of the Air America pickup points was the Pittman Building in down town Saigon, where Hugh Van Es photographed the refugees climbing the ladder to the helicopter above. You can't help but focus your attention on the man reaching his arm out to help. No one knows for sure who the helicopter crew was. They didn't know they were being photographed nor would they have cared. They'd been hauling food, ammunition, water, and fresh troops in and wounded out--you name it... for years all through South East Asia. It was a snap shot in time, a glimpse that epitomized the very essence of what America was really all about. Many years later the man you see holding his hand out wrote, "We kept telling them we would come back. And then we didn't." His name is O.B. Harnage. He was a CIA case officer and is now retired. I think that's what bothered most of us who worked there. We kept telling them we would come back and then we left and couldn’t return. We never had closure.

Air America's several hundred Filipino employees were last on the list to get out of the city. Those with Vietnamese families were especially vulnerable. Like the Koreans in Nha Trang, the Philippine Government stationed an LST off the coast of Saigon, but the Vietnamese police would not let them board. Over a thousand of them were stranded on the beach. Marius Burke, an Air America Helicopter pilot, was able to convince Filipino Minister of Affairs, Mr. Sabolones, to bypass the dock and airlift them to the ship. They were able to evacuate over 600 people this way. The other 400 were evacuated by barge during the night. Air America tried to get its Vietnamese employees on the same ship and assistance was requested from the U.S. Embassy. There was plenty of room and Mr. Sabolones gave his blessing, but the Embassy said no! They were afraid that ARVN soldiers would board. Cooperation was not received and many of Air America's Vietnamese employees were left behind.

Tragedies were as common as boards on a picket fence, but spontaneous heroics occurred as well. On one occasion, Ralph Begian ended up hanging out of the helicopter with out a safety strap to enable a Vietnamese man to be pulled inside to safety. Unheralded and unknown, Ralph was performing acts of heroism for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. Nikki and Ed Reid, another Lao helicopter pilot veteran, maintained a communication post throughout the day. They had to move it twice due to enemy activity and finally evacuated to the USS Hancock that evening.

The ships were supposed to know about Air America but a communication gap and their own problems created an emergency. Many South Vietnamese helicopters headed out to sea hoping to land and escape the North Vietnamese. Groups of aircraft with no advanced warning and no radio communications were trying to land all at once. They paid no attention to standard flight patterns or landing protocol. Dangerous was not the word for it. The Commander of the USS Blue Ridge took extreme measures to protect his ship and crew. He ordered the pilots of the helicopters to ditch at sea and had a small boat standing by to pick them up when they surfaced. He demanded the same for Air America crews, not knowing they were part of the evacuation.

The procedure called for the removal of the doors so the pilot could have an escape advantage. Chauncey Collard was then 55 years old and piloted every thing the Navy had since 1936. Chauncey had been an Air America helicopter pilot for several years. He was about to experience a new adventure. As soon as he landed, the ship's crew removed his doors and ordered him to take off and ditch. Ditching at sea is actually an emergency maneuver and dangerous. It didn't seem like good idea to Chauncey and he headed back to Saigon for another load after refueling at a ship that was more lenient. He told me years later that he remembered it being a little breezy flying the rest of the day without doors. For several people, who remembered how he saved them, the decision was a godsend, but it nearly cost him his life.

Chauncey was returning to Saigon on one leg and noticed a group of Americans frantically waving from a roof. The landing area was tight with trees very closely situated in the only spot available. Very carefully, he was able to thread his way through the trees to pick them up. The procedure is much easier with a flight mechanic to provide another set of eyes, but he was flying alone. The Americans told him that North Vietnamese troops were close by and they should hurry. Chauncey had moved the copilot seat as far forward as possible to prevent people mobbing the aircraft from getting in the cockpit. One of the Americans weighed about 300 pounds and was going to sit up front regardless of what Chauncey said. He was able to wedge himself in the seat but there was no room for Chauncey to move the flight controls. Finally, Chauncey could see the man was not going to get in back and he motioned him to pull the lever that would allow the seat to slide rearward. Instead of the seat release, the passenger grabbed the collective lever, which moves the helicopter up and down. He pulled straight up and Chauncey found himself shooting threw the trees he so carefully avoided when landing! Chauncey was screaming at him to turn loose and was practically standing on the control stick trying to push it down.

They were going to crash! There wasn't anything Chauncey could do to prevent it. Finally, the fat man realized what he was doing and released the controls. Chauncey was able to prevent a needless accident and fly them to safety.

Dave and Ruth Kendall and their kids, Bobby and Vicky, were well known in Air America. Originally from Hornbeak, Tennessee, Dave started with Air America in Saigon, transferred to Laos for several years and was now back in Saigon. He had two brightly colored shirts that he alternately wore with bib overalls when not flying. Flying out of uniform was strictly forbidden, but Dave figured this last day was exceptional and the overalls seemed more comfortable. When he landed with refuges at the USS Blue Ridge the ship's crew took one look and ordered him to ditch the aircraft. The recommended procedure is to land in the water and turn the helicopter on its side. Dave decided to do it different and he trimmed the aircraft nose down about 20 feet above the water and jumped out. You can watch him do it on ABC's presentation "Last Chopper Out." When he jumped out, the aircraft center of gravity changed and the blades almost hit him. They scooped him out of the water and sent him below where he changed shirts.

Air America helicopter pilot Larry Stadulis was told to stand down at the ship and went below. A short time later he was told he was needed to go back and fly an unattended helicopter. By this time, the Blue Ridge was able to sort out who the rogue helicopters fleeing Saigon were and Air America who was carrying refugees. Dave saw that Larry was going back and he climbed in with him. They shuttled back and forth the rest of the day.

By nightfall, they were mentally and physically exhausted. They were in the middle of the South China Sea in light rain trying to find the carrier Midway and they could not see any visible light outside the cockpit. The situation required the US Navy to create a black out and all light was extinguished. To make matters worse, the 20-minute low fuel light had been on for 15 minutes and no one actually knew how accurate the light was. They were in trouble. Ditching at sea is difficult at best during the day. At night... even if you survived the ditching, you would probably drown shortly thereafter. They were calling for help from the Midway. The ship's radar could see them but they could not see the ship. The low fuel warning light kept getting brighter and brighter.

Throughout the day, it was obvious that Air America's key role in the evacuation was not clearly understood. Cooperation from those who were supposed to be informed was slim and none. The situation was critical. Larry told the Midway they could not be seen and they needed a light. It was time for the Midway to make up their mind who was friend or foe and they needed to do it fast.

With only a few minutes of fuel remaining the Midway relented and turned on every light. Larry said it looked like a Christmas tree and it was definitely a gift. They landed mid ship on fumes.

EPILOGUE

Over 30 Air America flight crews stayed and flew the last day. One writer said the picture of the helicopter on the Pittman building signified America's failed policy. Echoing that opinion, many have felt that those who risked their life to save others did so only as a work ethic with no thought toward the plight of their fellow men. Some feel that all of us have a social responsibility and that values such as integrity and kindness are what makes America great and those values are inherently obvious during occasions when least expected. Life is not always fair, but one cannot abandon hope and leave consequences to those who are clever. There were over three million casualties in the war in Vietnam and Laos. It would be difficult to justify the carnage that took place there. But, Air America did not start that war . . . nor even perpetuate it. Right, wrong or indifferent they did their job and often performed duties above and beyond their assigned task. Air America was non-combatant and their work was humanitarian.

Dave Kendall hired on with a helicopter outfit in Louisiana when he came back to the United States. On his days off he commuted to Tennessee where Ruth and the kids stayed. On a trip home, he was killed in an automobile accident. Years later, Ruth visited her sister in Chicago where they dined at a Vietnamese restaurant and conversed with the owner. She was very proud of her business and her successful children who were educated in America. Ruth said, "My husband used to work in Vietnam. He was a pilot for Air America."

The owner replied, "I was rescued from a rooftop in downtown Saigon on the last day. I will never forget the pilot. He didn't wear a uniform like the others. He had a colored shirt and overalls."

Tears welled in Ruth's eyes. "That was David," She said. And they all cried.

LETTERS HOME From: Capt. Thomas Grady

April 11, 1975  I guess you have heard about the trouble over here. I’ve tried to call a couple of times but the lines are always busy; I’ll probably get you before you get this letter. Things aren’t as bad as they sound. Air America’s been handling things pretty well, better than anyone else around here (we've got it together). The Embassy has been bad their people have been bad, in Da Nang and Nha Trang. I am really disgusted.

You might have seen me on TV if you saw pictures of that C5A crash. I got to it about an hour after it happened. We came up from down south (Can Tho) and the other AAM chopper had already picked up all the survivors. We were climbing around the tail section looking for the recorder, also going through everything else looking for babies. The pilot did a very good job it could have been a lot worse.

Last week I road up from Can Tho (it’s in the Delta) with Gen. Weyand, actually in his Air America airplane. I sat right behind him and talked to him a little (tell him how to straighten out his mess use the bomb). He seemed like a pretty good guy. One of his aides tried to prevent us getting on the plane but we just kept walking toward it and got on. If we didn’t get on that one we would have had to spend the night in Can Tho and didn’t want to do that. We didn’t really care who he was and there was room so we got on.

Anyway, don’t worry Dad. I’ll be all right. We can make it to the Seventh Fleet with our choppers if it comes to that.

May 25, 1975  I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner. I guess you’re wondering about my experience for the last month or so? Well it was interesting!

I was working Nha Trang when Danang went down the tubes, it was bad. Then Nha Trang fell a few days later. It wasn’t as bad but it wasn’t nice. We all felt it was only a mater of weeks until the people in Saigon turned against us. We couldn’t relax, the enemy situation was getting worse and the friendlies were getting worse. Most of our American crews were moved into a big USAID building we could land helicopters on (we’d have one there every night) (except the night before Saigon fell). We (Izzy Freedmand and myself and other helicopter pilots) were there for about three weeks. (It was nice living.)

Monday the 28th, I spent all day getting the people I wanted out of Vietnam. Finally around 4:00 PM they got on the US Air Force C-130 and left. About 6:00 PM some friendly aircraft bombed the air field about one mile from our place. We went up on the roof to see what was going on, and some people who saw it told us about it. Shortly after that the bad guys started shelling the airfield, that lasted for two hours. We at the USAID building felt sure Tuesday was the day and we were right. At 4:00 AM they started shelling the airfield again heavy. So we all get ready to do our thing.

Our Thing was to pick up people all over the city and drop them at areas where the Marines and Air Force choppers could pick them up and take them to ships. By 9:30 AM we finally got picked up off our roof and out to the airfield which was still receiving enemy fire, sporadically. We were ready to go but our boss said wait. They had not received the word to start the evacuation yet. That had to come from Ambassador Martin. So we raised hell (Izzy & I) and the boss told the two of us to go pick up the other crews. Just as I get to my chopper some VNAF pilots drive up and tell me they’re going to take our choppers. So I point my gun at them and tell them to leave, which they do. Just then a shell exploded pretty close showering us (my Filipino mechanic and me) with dirt and rocks. So we hop in the aircraft, start it, and get out of there. Izzy was headed for the helicopter next to mine, but when the shell exploded grabbed the closest one to him and took off. No one was hit in that one, but it was close.

So we started shuttling from the downtown pads to the airfield and immediately started receiving ground fire from the friendly troops throughout the city (this went on and off all day) but only had one chopper take one hit. They weren’t very good shots. After we got most of our crews to the airfield, we were told to find a pad and shut down (the Ambassador still had not given the word to start yet). So I landed at a DAO pad near the airfield (so I could talk to AAM on my radio from the ground if I had to). When I got there an Air Force officer, U.S. type, asked me to take some important papers (800 lbs. worth) out to the USS Blue Ridge. I check with my boss, he said ok so I left with 800 lbs. and five Americans.

When I arrived at the Blue Ridge there were 5 or 6 VNAF helicopters and one AAM ICCS helicopter circling the ship. I couldn’t talk to anyone, my radios were bad. I couldn’t wait for all these guys to land; I was getting low on gas and had to get back to Saigon. So I just pulled up and hovered off the back of the ship (it was moving) until the chopper on the deck took off than I landed. (The pad is just big enough for one helicopter at a time.) I dropped my passengers and cargo and asked if they could fix my radios and if they had any gas. They could not fix my radios but could give me gas.

All the VNAF choppers that landed on the ship were told to ditch their aircraft after the passengers got off. Then they’d pick up the pilot in a small boat. They didn’t realize the ICCS chopper was an American aircraft or they would not have had him ditch. The ICCS chopper was being flown by a VNAF pilot who stole the aircraft off our other ramp. (Now comes a strange story.)

While my flight mechanic was refueling the aircraft I saw what I thought was an explosion up at the right forward side of the ship. A few seconds later I felt a hard jolt in my helicopter. Immediately I looked at my instruments, about all my caution lights were on, so I shut the aircraft down. I had no idea what had happened, I looked at the fire fighting crew and they were just standing ready, so I was pretty sure I wasn’t on fire. I got out to take a look and saw my engine oil just pouring out of the engine compartment all over the deck and a helicopter tail rotor sticking out of my engine like a knife blade. I picked up our bags and brought them up away from the aircraft, just in case she decided to burn. As I headed back to the cockpit to get the rest of my stuff I noticed a VNAF chopper very close trying to land next to me. There wasn’t enough room for the two of us but he was going to land anyway. So I grabbed my stuff and got away from the aircraft. My rotor-blades were still turning, slowing down but still turning pretty fast. He landed anyway and locked rotor blades with my aircraft, which almost knocked his chopper over board. While it was just hanging on the rear of the ship, all the people jumped out then the crew of the ship pushed it over board. They took my aircraft and pushed it up on deck and saved it.

Newsweek got this all screwed up! What hit me were pieces of the ICCS helicopter when it hit the right forward side of the ship more than 500 feet away when the VNAF pilot was trying to ditch it. He was told to ditch off the aft left side of the ship, but couldn’t quite make up his mind to ditch. He kept getting near the water and changing his mind and finally worked his way around the front to the right front side. Then he just jumped out of the helicopter about 40 feet from the water, and the helicopter turned in and hit the side of the ship before it hit the water. It hit below the main deck which was luck and the tail rotor flew more than 500 feet to stick in my engine about one foot above my flight mechanics head.

All this happened about 12:00 noon, Tuesday April 29, 1975. I stayed on the USS Blue Ridge for seven days and it was pretty nice. The Ambassador and Ky and a few other VIP’s were on board also.

It was quite an interesting few days; it could have been a lot worse getting out of Saigon if the bad guys wanted to make it that way.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDBy Capt. Ed Adams

As the last [or one of the last] fixed wing types to depart Saigon on 29 April 1975, I have been asked to jot down my recollections of what went on during that confusing and, for me, memorable time. I would like to beg forbearance ahead of time for those of you that saw things differently - recall the exact dates better than I do - and for the, I am sure, many misspellings of the names of people and places. Through the rosy glasses of memory, I have attempted to recall things as they happened. There may be a small amount of artistic license infused in the narrative, brought about by time - and the retelling of the story at Max's on Pat Pong, the Go Down in Hong Kong, Harvey's in DC and other watering holes frequented by those of our ilk. But - that be as it may - here is my tale.

For me the last days of Saigon began a month or so before April 29, 1975. At that time, I was Station Manager at Nha Trang - and Air Liaison for II Corps. Our first indication that things were not going well was when the NVA crossed out of Cambodia and overran Ban Me Thuot. I was rousted out early one morning and advised that the senior U.S. rep. in BMT had radioed that the city was being overrun and things looked bleak. I called Manny DeGusman, my Lead Mechanic, and asked that he startup N-54U, my Station VTB-18, for an immediate departure. Within minutes I was airborne for the 30-minute flight to BMT. Arriving overhead, I established contact with the Rep. [Ron Struheric] who reported he was safe in his villa/office - but was surrounded by NVA. I could see an M-54 Russian tank parked in front of his house with the cannon barrel pointed at the gate. At about that
time, I observed what appeared to be 37MM anti-aircraft bursts above my aircraft. I was at about 10,000' and the bursts appeared to be at 12 to 13,000. I dove away [rather immediately] and then climbed to about 15,000 before I returned. The AA bursts were now below me and off to one side. I stayed in the area I was in - and apparently they could not track me at that location, as the bursts never came any closer. I stayed overhead from dawn to dusk, except for returns to Nha Trang for fuel, for the next week or 10 days. Struheric was still OK, and the NVA did not force their way into his compound. Finally the battery on his radio went dead and I lost contact. Wishing him the best, I also signed off and ceased my vigil. I later learned he was taken prisoner and held until the general POW repatriation.

The next situation, a few days later, was the report of Pleiku had been overrun. I got airborne and worked my way overhead the road to Pleiku. Lots of refugees were spotted, but no open hostilities were noted. About noon, I was requested to return to Nha Trang. Upon arrival, I was advised that some very sensitive material had been left behind in the small bunker beside the runway, and would I see if I could get two customer chaps in to destroy it. Again, going up the road, I encountered no hostile action and flying in circles - ever getting closer to the airport - I came overhead the airport with no sign of ground fire and no hoo-rah observed at the airport.

I told the guys to get ready, and plunked my aircraft on the end of the runway, screeched to a halt beside the bunker, and they jumped out. Leaving the aircraft running, I also got out. By actual count, I noticed 14,428 locals headed toward us - all ARVN or civilians. The first group to reach the plane, were a group of 5 ARVN. I asked them [Ugh Ugh and Pointy-Talky] if they wanted out. They emphatically indicated that they did. I again P-T'd to them that if they kept the other 14,423 people away from the aircraft, they were more than welcome to accompany us. With a few well chosen bursts from their M-1 carbines [overhead the crowd] they stopped the horde in their tracks. About that time there was a rather large explosion in the bunker [which caused me to damn near jump out of my boots] and my two original guys came sprinting back and climbed aboard. I was already in the cockpit and yelled for them to let the 5 ARVN on board - which they did - and we were rolling before the door was fully closed, and airborne just as it was.

The next day, I was advised that I had to go to DC, and so packed a suitcase and left. I was there for just a few days, and was getting ready to return when I was advised that we had lost Nha Trang. For the second time - there went all my stuff - with the biggest loss, my cat. This was the end of the beginning of the end.

Upon arrival back in Saigon, with no clothes or a place to hang them, I was advised that an apartment near the airport and across from a USAID high rise apartment was available. I took it - and settled in for what was the
acknowledged "Last Days of Saigon".

A few days later, I was assigned to ferry a VTB to our main maintenance base at Tainan. This was to be in formation [loose] with another VTB piloted by Capt. Zimmerman. They were small tank aircraft so required short hops to Brunei, Zamboandga, Manila then Tainan. The trip was uneventful - we did not push - making one leg per day - and arrived in good order. Our flight back to Saigon was China Airlines to Hong Kong, then Vietnam Airways to Saigon. Still in no big hurry, we stopped for an extra day in Hong Kong.

That evening, while sitting in the bar at the Ambassador Hotel, Zimmerman pulled out this humongous set of keys - threw them on the bar - and said "it's all yours - I'm not going back". I said "OK", and put the keys in my pocket. They were to his apartment - which was in the same complex as mine - and just a few doors down, as well as his car.

A few days later Paul Velte, our CEO, arrived in Saigon. His stated intention was to be the Last Man Out. Needing a place to stay, I noted to him that Zimmerman's place was fully furnished - food in the kitchen - and vacant. Being sensible, he said OK, and I gave him the key. I also noted to him that if he was going to be the Last Man Out - I would have a VTB ready, and fly him out. To this he agreed. Later that evening, the occupants of the complex had a meeting, which reviewed our individual responsibilities in case of a "TET" type overrun of the city - and our apartment coming under attack. All individual positions were well covered except for the main gate into the compound. This entrance was directly across from Zimmerman's flat - now occupied by Paul Velte. It was decided that I would approach him to see how things might go. I took an M-1 carbine, knocked at his door, and
when he answered, held the weapon out. He took it in two hands, cleared it, and said "Yes Sir". I them told him that in case of being overrun, his duty, until a 'chopper could get there, would be to keep the front gate clear. He again said "Yes Sir - anything else". I allowed that that was the main thing but reviewed our overall plan with him - and that was that.

On 28 April, I had a trip to Danang in a C-46. Things were in the process of shutting down and I returned to Saigon early - about 1600 hrs. During that period, we were keeping a 24-hour "Watch" at the airport operations office. I was scheduled to be on duty that night and decided to go home and have an early dinner first. I also had certain classified ideas in mind. Arriving home, I saw Al Brau - a neighbor in the complex, and invited him to eat with me. While we were sitting at the table, we kept hearing what at first I took to be thunder - then realized that it was not. Al and I went to the multi-story building next to my single story wing, and went up to the roof where our helicopter pick-up area was - and where we had a T/R radio. We called the base and were notified that Tan San Nhut was under bombardment by hostile aircraft and to remain where we were. This we did.

The next morning, 29 April, 1975, broke sunny with moderate cumulus clouds at about 3,000'. All seemed quiet. At that time, I still had Zimmerman's car. The first thing I did was load it with everything I could get in it. I had purchased in the local market some large wicker baskets (4 x 3 x 3) and these I stuffed full of my Stuff. I had quite a bit of this because with the exchange rate going out the roof, things in the market were VERY inexpensive those last few days. I then asked if anyone wanted to go to the airport with me. Al Brau was the only one to say yes. There were a lot of people milling around, and it was suggested that we drive across the street to the USAID apartment, where there were many Air America types living as well as USAID staff, and see if anybody there wanted to go. This I did, and it was decided that we would "Convoy" as many cars as we could get and take all that wanted to go. Just as we were getting things lined up - some guy from the embassy came in and said "Nobody go - everybody stay here".

Well, I had all my Stuff in my [Zimmerman's] car, and I wasn't about to lose it. There was talk about the road being overrun with wild guys and maybe Viet Cong. My thought was to go slow, pay attention - and see how far I could get. So - all by myself, I drove down our lane to the main street leading into the airport. All seemed quiet out there, with a small amount of traffic going in both directions, so I proceeded on to the airport. At the Main Gate, there were copious amounts of concertina wire in all directions, and an ARVN policeman guarding it. When I pulled up, he motioned me to turn around and go away. I applied my "Simple Stupid" act [which comes easy to me] and thought I would try to out-wait him. This went on for a few minutes, and then a large blue bus - like our school busses - pulled up behind me. The guard then got more animated about me turning around and getting out of the way and was about to get physical - when I asked him who the people on the bus were. He let me know that the bus was full of people that were going to fly out that morning. At that - I leaned back - pointed to Wings on my uniform - and said, " Well, I am the pilot who is going to fly them out". With that, he jumped to attention - saluted - blew his whistle in an eardrum breaking blast - and waved me through the gate with a flourish.

Upon arrival at the Air America ramp, I drove through the flight line gate and up beside the VTB that I was going to fly Paul Velte out in. I unloaded all my baskets and suitcases on to the VTB and then drove the car back to flight line gate and parked it up against it. Then I went upstairs to the operations section - told Mr. Velte that I was here and ready whenever he was. He said "Very good - I'll let you know" - and with that, I went out by the operations desk to see what was going on. About that time, a helicopter pilot came in and said that he had been mobbed by ARVN and others who wanted him to fly them out. He had an assigned pickup to make and needed help in getting these unauthorized people off his aircraft. I said I would help him, and picking up an M-16 [of which there were many - many laying around] I went down to the ramp with him. As he was getting into his aircraft, which was still running, I slid open the Pax Compartment door - stuck the barrel of the M-16 inside - and motioned everybody to get out. Surprisingly - they all did. The 'chopper then departed to make his assigned pickup.

Over the next hour or so - many 'choppers came in with unauthorized pax loads, landed by me, were divested of their load, and went about their business. There were many too many people on the ramp that did not belong there, so I placed a C-46 Pax loading stair up against the wall along the side of the ramp, escorted these people over to it and had them jump over - again, I had no trouble. I then noticed that a C-46 parked behind my VTB had a crowd of locals crammed in it. Figuring that these were not authorized pax - but rather the ones that I had downloaded from the 'choppers - I unloaded them all and had them jump the wall also. Then embassy types started coming from different places and asked me to get the locals that they had with them - out. I said OK, and started putting them on the recently vacated C-46. This went for locals that I recognized as well - the Maitre D' of Fragates restaurant in Nha Trang - a waiter from the airport restaurant - AAM employees not needed at that time - young ladies that spoke good English.

During a quiet spell I was walking around the ramp. I entered the Traffic building - which had a small hallway leading from the passenger lounge area onto the ramp - and ran into a group of 5 ARVN walking through to get on the ramp. I held up my right hand and told them they could not go though. The lead soldier had an M-16 which he started to raise. I had an M-16 also, but it was in my left hand - pointed to the ground - and he had the drop on me. So - before he could get his weapon fully raised - I hit him as hard as I could on the point of his chin - and cold cocked him right there. At the same time I raised my M-16, and motioned for his surprised compadres [who had not been able to see our little drama] to drag him back out of the hallway - out the door to the parking lot - and away - and I then I dropped the 4x6 bar over the door locks. I then said a nasty word, as the pain from the hand I had broken, hit me. This broken hand was - as far as I know - the only casualty of the civilian evacuation of Saigon. I believe that I heard of a Marine pilot having a problem, but I am not certain.

So - with my hand swelling up like a boxing glove, I returned to the ramp. The main noise to be noticed was the constant blast from incoming artillery/rockets. These seemed to be from all directions so I figured that an all-out assault was not in progress, just long distance shelling. Not to worry. But then I noticed that there was a pall upon the ramp - nobody was there - no aircraft were departing - no 'choppers were coming in and out. And about the time I noticed this, a round of incoming artillery hit the main hangar about 35 or 40 feet from me. "Ha" I said, "I best go see if Mr. Velte is about ready to leave." I then went up stairs to the Operations Office - only to discover that the place was empty. Mr. Velte and all the others had cut a chogie and had dee-dee mou'ed. I may not be too swift, but it dawned on me that now might be a good time for me to also depart. With that thought, I went down to the VTB I had placed my Stuff in, and climbed into the cockpit. I then caught a glimpse of the C-46 that I had loaded with all those people. I could not leave them behind. I did not know who was scheduled to take that airplane out, but it was evident that they were not going to.

About that time, I spotted two locals walking across the ramp in my direction. I climbed back out of the VTB, waved them over, asked them if they wanted a ride out. When they replied in the affirmative - which did not surprise me - I noted to them that if they would transfer all the Stuff in the VTB - into the rear belly hold of the C-46, I would indeed fly them out. They accomplished this with great dispatch - and it was time to go.

Doing a quick walk around the aircraft to insure all the gust locks etc. were removed [More like a "Hustle" around] I noticed that there were so many people at the aircraft that they could not all fit inside. With a lot of gesticulating and grunts - all those outside - were convinced to push enough to get inside. I then made it up and managed to close the door. This was a "T" category aircraft with a regular airline interior rather than our standard cargo version with no seats. With the 52 seats fully occupied - there were about 5 people to each set of 2 seats, plus people standing in the aisle, plus people in the toilet and in the baggage area in the rear - I figure that I had about 152 pax in a 52 pax aircraft. Not to worry. With much assistance from the people in the seats and in the aisle, I managed to make it to the cockpit. An AAM mechanic was on board - and I am sorry to admit I do not remember his name. He gave me great moral support.

Starting a cold C-46 can be tricky - starting a cold C-46 with your right hand broken - and the size of a boxing glove - can be VERY tricky. But then again, sometimes you are lucky. I was - both engines started without a burp or a backfire - and we were ready. But then the VTB I had originally meant to take was just in front of us. With a hard turn, I managed to only hit one of the vertical fins, which fortunately bent over with no damage to the C-46. The Air America ramp was a couple hundred meters long - with a right turn onto a taxiway - leading out to another right turn on a taxiway parallel to runway 36 leading to the civilian ramp and runway 25. I was parked down near the terminal at the taxiway end of the ramp. Not wanting to make a mistake and leave someone, I taxied up to the far end of the ramp. There was nobody there. Turning around, I considered taking off from the exit taxiway from our ramp. Adding power, I came down the ramp right smartly, hung a right onto the taxiway, looked up and saw a DHC-4 Caribou burning on the far end. Cut the power - stand on brakes - make another right turn onto the next taxiway - start to add power again to take off there - and the civil ramp is full of burning aircraft - cut the power - hang a left turn to access runway 36 - turn onto 36 - lookup to see a C-130 burning - leave the power on turn onto the grass to cut across to runway 25 - turn onto 25 - lock the tail wheel - and see 14,483 people on the end of the runway [the same people from Pleiku?] - think they may pop a few rounds at us as we go overhead - drop flaps - suck it off way early - hang it right over the grass - gear up - accelerate - flaps up - climb power --- breathe.

Now - aware that the chap that was supposed to be flying the communications platform to relay messages from the various rooftop pickup points and aircraft returning from the various ships off shore and the command post at MACV and other as required places had bugged out without doing his assigned task - I checked in and said that I would act as the platform. I did this while circling overhead Saigon in a constant climb - the higher, the better radio range. While passing through 18,000 [in the clouds] I came out into a small clear space [about 100 meters across] the same time two F-4 Phantoms cut through the same small clear space about 100 feet in front of me. My "Holy s---" went out over the airwaves as I had clutched the mike button rather smartly in my shock. When MACV control asked me if I had a problem, I noted to them that I had just shared a 100-meter hole with two F-4's. Control allowed at that time, that they had sufficient radio contact with the USS Blue Ridge - the aircraft carrier accepting most of our helicopter sorties - and I could proceed on my way. I replied that I was indeed on my way.

Now, in that the airport had come under bombardment the day before and the C-46 I was flying had only just before come in from a trip - it had not been refueled. It was not until this time that I thought to check my fuel. It was a bit hard to add 2+2 with the state of mind I was in, but I managed to at least figure out that I did not have sufficient fuel to reach Hong Kong. In our previous briefings, Mr. Velte had advised all pilots that every country in possible range of our aircraft had said we would be welcome to come there if necessary - Except Thailand. Thailand had advised that they were going to have to live with the Vietnamese after we were gone - and did not want any problems with them. So - what to do.

One thing for sure was in my mind - I was not going to fly extended over water. Taking my options, I turned Northwest for Thailand. I had no charts - maps - plates or any enroute or destination material. Not to worry - I was airborne, and still had at least 3 or 4 hours of fuel. The direct route from Saigon to Bangkok was over Cambodia - very near the infamous "Parrots Beak". Knowing that this might be a Bad area, I maintained my altitude, which put most of my passengers to sleep. Nice and quiet. After 30 minutes or so I pushed the mike button and called on company frequency - "This is E.G.Adams, is anybody else up here?" Immediately, about 12 other aircraft responded. I asked where everybody was going. The standard reply was that being U-tapao was a U.S.Air Force installation, they were going there. They all figured that with U.S. personnel, they would have no problem. After a pause - Art Wilson came on the radio and asked "Where are you going Edward". My reply was "Bangkok - where are you going" Art's reply was "Bangkok". With that, it was quiet the rest of the way.

Nearing where I believed Bangkok to be, I tried a Center frequency and was pleased to hear Bangkok Center reply. I advised I was inbound to Bangkok and requested clearance. This was immediately given. As I got closer, a few radar fixes brought me right on in and I was handed off to Approach Control. I advised them that I had a few un-manifested passengers onboard, and requested they have security meet the aircraft. They replied they would pass the word. They then asked which runway I wanted - 21 Left, the military side or 21 Right, the civilian side. I replied 21 right. After being handed to the Tower, they asked where I would like to park [Air America had an area on a diagonal taxiway] I replied I would like right in front of the tower. They replied with an "O.K."

Meanwhile, as I found out later, the other chaps were not doing so well. The guys that went to U-tapao were getting nothing but a bunch of static from the U.S. Air Force personnel there. Some of them were treated rather rudely and did not come away with a good impression at all. Art Wilson, who arrived in Bangkok about an hour and a half before me, had asked for 21 Left - the Military runway. He was still on board his aircraft when I arrived and did not get cleared for another hour. My arrival was a delight.

Upon parking in front of the control tower, we were met by a Major from Thai Security. His first words were "Welcome to Bangkok" He then allowed that everybody was welcome BUT, he did not want to find a single weapon outside the aircraft. In anticipation of this, while we were enroute I had asked one of the nice young ladies that spoke English to please have everyone with a gun to please pass it up to the cockpit. That they did - and we had a pile about 4 feet high of various arms. I showed this to the Major, and told them they were his. By then we had all deplaned and he had the passengers all lined up and was taking names and other information. While standing there talking with him in a rather pleasant and light vein, a Sergeant came up and excitedly advised the Major that a weapon had been found. The Major's countenance immediately clouded over - he rather brusquely asked to be shown where it was - and was shown to an area where all the bags and baggage from the aircraft had been lined up [except for my Stuff in the rear Belly ]. The Sergeant walked down the line, had a soldier hand a 38 revolver to him, and pointed to an Elephant skin Flight Kit, with CAPT. E. G. ADAMS printed in bold letters on the baggage tag. I must have turned 18 shades of Red and advised the Major that it was mine. It was one of our Slick 38's that I carried under a false bottom in the kit - and they had found it. When the Major found it was mine, he was all smiles again, handed it back to me, and said never mind. About that time a jeep arrived at our location with large water jugs of Hot water. Many of the passengers had Trek rice packages, and the hot water was for them to prepare it. I was impressed.

At that, the Major gave me his card - said that when I was ready to leave give him a call - and we parted. I walked over to the terminal with a Sergeant who passed me through Customs and Immigration and caught a taxi to Max's. I was there having a cool one about the time they finally let Art out of the cockpit. I stayed in Bangkok a few days getting my hand set someone else ferried the plane on up to Tainan], and then proceeded to Hong Kong. There I spent the next 3 -4 months helping shut things down and then returned to the States - my days in Saigon over.