188th, the Fall of Saigon, and Refugees Crisis
- Laureta Huit
- Apr 22
- 12 min read
Updated: Apr 23
By: Aaron Krebsbach
On March 8, 1965, US Marines landed at Da Nang and deployed to the Da Nang Air Base marking the start of the US ground war in Vietnam. As the war heated up, troop deployments increased and by April 1969, over 543,400 troops were deployed in Vietnam. More than 57,000 New Mexicans served over the course of the war, with 398 giving the last full measure. 12 of them are still listed as Missing in Action (MIA), according to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) records.
The Federal government chose not to activate and deploy the National Guard to the jungles of Vietnam like they had been in World War I and World War II. Instead of whole divisions of Guardsmen, small units and individuals were activated and deployed or volunteered for combat. The National Guard largely stayed in control of the states and focused on domestic protection and were activated to assist local and state police during protests. The New Mexico National Guard was deployed to University of New Mexico’s campus in May 1970 to assist local and state police with the unrest on the campus in response to the Kent State Shooting and President Nixon’s escalation of the Vietnam War with the Invasion of Cambodia.
Though the New Mexico Army National Guard was not activated for Federal service, the Air Guard was deployed. In 1968, the 188th Tactical Fighter Squadron of New Mexico Air Guard was activated in response to the Pueblo Incident, the North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo and her crew, claiming they were encroaching on North Korean waters. In June 1968 approximately 250 maintenance and support personnel and 22 F-100D Super Sabers and their pilots were deployed to Tuy Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam. The rest of the 150th Tactical Fighter Group was deployed to South Korea, Japan, and state side installations with 100 remaining in New Mexico. In Vietnam, the 188th flew over 6,000 combat sorties and was highly decorated, being awarded 633 medals and commendations, including 8 Silver Stars and 29 Distinguished Flying Crosses. After a year deployment, the 188th was relieved in June 1969 and were returned to Kirtland Air Base in New Mexico, along with the rest of the 150th. Footage of one of the last sorties of the 188th can be seen on the National Archive’s digital collection here.
Unfortunately, the 188th returned to Kirtland missing three pilots. Major Bobby Neeld and First Lieutenant Mitchell Lane were lost on January 4, 1969. Major Neeld and Lt Lane left Tuy Hoa for a close air support mission, Neeld as lead and Mitchell as his wingman. They hit the target and were directed to return to Phan Rang Air Base due to inclement weather at Tuy Hoa. Contact was lost while they were enroute and a three-day search never found their planes. They were listed as MIA, promoted one rank to Colonel and Captain respectively, and their names are engraved on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC on panel 35W next to each other at the start of their rows, Captain Lane on row 35 and Colonel Neeld on row 36. They are among the missing service men that the DPAA are working to find and bring home. Captain Michael T. Adams was shot down over Laos, near Ban Nathon Mai, 40 miles west of the De-Militarized Zone of North and South Vietnam during Operation Steel Tiger on May 4, 1969. He was forced to eject from his Super Saber at a high speed when he was hit by a rocket pass. His chute was confirmed to have deployed, but when Search and Rescue arrived, Captain Adams was already deceased. He is buried in the Santa Fe National Cemetery Section V, Site 1422 and his name is engraved on Panel 26W, Line 109 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
New Mexico lent more than just her sons and daughters to the war, her name was used in service to Special Operations Teams of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Operations Group (MACV-SOG), Recon Team (RT) New Mexico. RT New Mexico operated out of Forward Operating Base-2 (FOB-2) at Kontum. MACV-SOG was formed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as an unconventional warfare unit and operated at the highest level of secrecy. Operators were taken from all parts of the Special Forces, Navy SEALS, Air Force, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents. They largely operated outside of South Vietnam in Laos and Cambodia to disrupt the North Vietnamese Army (PAVN), Vietcong, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. RT units consisted of 2 or 3 operators and 4 to 9 or more indigenous personnel and were initially named for states, but later named for venomous snakes of the region. Due to the nature of the missions, RT teams suffered high unit mortality rates, most exceeding 100%, and valorous actions were often downplayed to maintain secrecy of operations. It is unknown how many missions RT New Mexico embarked on due to the secrecy of their missions, but at least 25 operators are known to have been in the RT, with at least 4 of them KIA.
In January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed. Under President Richard Nixon, US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger had negotiated the end of the Vietnam War for the US, under the provisions of:
· The withdrawal of all US and allied forces within 60 days
· The return of all Prisoners of War within 60 days
· The clearing of mines from North Vietnamese ports by the US
· The reunification of Vietnam through peaceful means without the coercion or annexation by either party, and without foreign interference
· The establishment of “Joint Military Commissions” composed of the four parties and an “International Commission of Control and Supervision” composed of Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, and Poland to implement the cease-fire. Both operate by unanimity
· Withdrawal of foreign troops from Laos and Cambodia
· A ban on the introduction of war material in South Vietnam unless on a replacement basis
· A ban on introduction of further military personnel into South Vietnam
The treaty was never ratified by the US Senate, and with the unpopularity of the Vietnam War and the Case-Church Amendment, which limited Presidential response in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos without the approval of Congress, violations of the treaty by all signatories started almost immediately. The Vietnam War had entered its endgame. North Vietnam tested the US’s resolve and started launching raids and attacks on South Vietnam Forces between March and November 1974. When no B-52s showed up to bomb the North, they started to plan their final advance. In early 1975, PAVN began the push South, taking city after city and by April 20, 1975, were outside Saigon. On April 21, 1975, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigns in a tv broadcast and denounces the US for failing to come to the aid of South Vietnam. On April 25, 1975, the Australian Embassy closed and evacuated all personnel. The Fall of Saigon was at hand. The US had several evacuation plans for all US personnel and those who had assisted in the US’s war effort. The evacuation plan called for 28 rally points throughout metropolitan Saigon for Americans to gather. American civilian bus drivers followed one of four planned evacuation routes through the city from downtown Saigon to the Defense Attache Office (DOA) Compound at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. Each route was named after a Western Trail from American Continental Expansion with one sharing the name of the Santa Fe Trail. When the plan was put in motion, it worked so efficiently that the buses were able to make three trips down their trails instead of the one the planners had thought would be possible. The only hiccup came after the final run when ARVN soldiers at the gate to the DOA Compound refused to let the convoy in. A firefight broke out between two ARVN units resulting in the rear two buses of the convoy being caught in the crossfire and were disabled. The commander of the ARVN units finally relented after the firefight and pressure from Marine General Richard E Carey, commander of the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade and Marine Forces in Operation Frequent Wind.
The events of the Fall of Saigon for the US unfolded starting April 28, 1975:
18:06 Indochina Time (ICT), April 28, 1975
Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam
Three A-37 Dragonflies piloted by defectors to North Vietnam drop six Mk81 bombs on the airfield and speed off back North. The RVNAF (South Vietnam Air Force) scrambled F-5s to pursue but lost them.
03:30 ICT, April 29, 1975
DAO, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam
A PAVN Rocket hits Guard Post 1and instantly killed two Marines, Corporal Charles McMahon of Woburn, MA and Lance Corporal Darwin Judge Marshalltown, IA. They are the last two service men killed in the Vietnam War. Due to the chaos of the following evacuation, their bodies were left at Saigon Adventist Hospital. They were returned to the US in 1976.
03:58 ICT
Fixed wing aircraft start the evacuation, but a C-130 is hit and destroyed. The crew escaped and boarded another C-130 and were evacuated.
07:00 ICT
General Homer D. Smith, Head of the DAO and the highest-ranking Military Officer in South Vietnam, informs Ambassador Graham Martin that fixed wing evacuation must cease, as the airfield is no longer usable, and Option 4, the helicopter evac, should commence. Ambassador Graham denies the request and travels to Tan Son Nhut to survey the situation.
08:00 ICT
Over 40 artillery rounds and rockets have hit Tan Son Nhut Air Base and the DAO compound. General Trần Văn Minh of the South Vietnamese Air Force and his 30 staff members arrive. Minh demands to be evacuated, signifying the complete and total breakdown and control of the RVNAF.
10:00 ICT
Ambassador Graham agrees with General Smith on the commencement of Option 4. Major James Kean, commanding officer of the Marine Security Guard Battalion and Ground Support Force Commander United States Embassy Compound, orders his Marines to start cutting down trees around the embassy parking lot to provide an open landing zone for helicopters.
10:30 ICT
All fixed wing US aircraft have departed Tan Son Nhut
10:48 ICT
Ambassador Graham contacts Washington and advises Henry Kissinger to initiate the commencement of Option 4.
10:51 ICT
Washington issues the order to commence Option 4-Operation Frequent Wind, the helicopter evacuation of all US personnel from South Vietnam, to United States Indo-Pacific Command. After receiving the order Armed Forces Radio transmits, “The temperature in Saigon is 105 degrees and rising,” and starts playing Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” sung by Bing Crosby on a loop. Due to confusion in the chain-of-command, General Carey does not receive the order.
12:00 ICT
Major Kean and his Marines finish opening the landing zone in the Embassy parking lot. There are now two landing zones at the Embassy, the roof for the light UH-1 Hues and CH-46 Sea Knights and the parking lot for the heavier CH-53 Sea Stallions.
12:15 ICT
General Carey receives the order to commence Operation Frequent Wind.
12:30 ICT
South Vietnamese Air Vice Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, Madame Kỳ, and Dorothy Martin, wife of Ambassador Martin, land on the USS Denver in an Air America Bell 205. Conflicting historical reports state that Marshall Kỳ piloted his own UH-1H Huey and landed on the USS Midway.
5:45 ICT
ARVN soldiers at the gate to the DOA compound refused to let the last bus convoy through. A firefight broke out between two ARVN units with the rear two buses of the convoy caught in the crossfire and were disabled. The commander of the ARVN units finally relented after the firefight and pressure from General Carey.
4:58 AM April 30, 1975
Ambassador Martin boarded a CH-46 Sea King, callsign Lady Ace 09, and left the US Embassy. The call went out from Lady Ace, “Tiger is out,” helicopter crews still flying thought the mission was over and return to their carriers.
But the mission was not over, Major Keen and his 10 Marines were still on the roof of the embassy. Believing that they had been left behind, Embassy Guard, Marine Mike Sullivan started calling for extraction over the radio till finally radio contact was established and an extraction was deployed. The 11 Marines anxiously waited for extraction as chaos unfolded under them. People tried to force their way into the embassy and onto the roof hoping to leave with the Americans. The anxiety was finally abated when a CH-46, callsign Swift 2-2, was seen coming in. She landed on the embassy roof, and the 11 Marines boarded swiftly. Master Sargeant Juan Valdez was the last man to board the helicopter but tripped as the crew started to raise the ramp, Sullivan’s training from his previous deployments kicked in and he did a head count and noticed Valdez was missing. He ordered the crew chief to set back down and looked out the back of the helicopter. He saw Valdez holding onto the edge of the ramp for dear life. Sullivan and the Marines pulled Valdez in and the pilot to take off. At roughly 7:53 AM ICT the last helicopter left the US Embassy and arrived at the USS Okinawa at roughly 8:30 AM ICT. In Saigon, at 11:30 AM ICT, PAVN forces smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and raised the flag of the Vietcong. Saigon had fallen. The Vietnam War was over.
The Vietnam War claimed over 58,200 US servicemen, women, and personnel, both killed and missing. 398 New Mexicans lost their lives, with 12 of them still listed as MIA. The last New Mexican death in Vietnam is listed as Petty Officer First Class Robert Melvin Dow aboard the destroyer USS Goldsborough (DDG-20) on December 19, 1972. The Goldborough’s upper deck was hit by coastal artillery fire, ripping a five-foot hole in her deck, killing PO1 Dow and two others. He is buried in the Santa Fe National Cemetery Section X Site 182 and his name is on panel 1W line 96 on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The last New Mexican listed as Killed in Action during US involvement in Indochina is listed as Lance Corporal Andres Garcia. LCPL Garcia was killed when the helicopter he was in, callsign Knife 31, was shot down during the rescue attempt of the SS Mayaguez after the Khmer Rouge Government of Cambodia had seized the crew and the ship, sparking a US response. His remains were not recovered till 1995, and he was identified on May 8, 2000. His name is on panel 1W line 132 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
The Fall of Saigon and the end of the war created a refugee crisis of those who had aided the US in the war and people who were members of the South Vietnamese Government. Those who did not escape Vietnam during Operation Frequent Wind fled the country in any way they could to avoid the persecution of the communist regime. Those who did not or could not leave were put into Re-education Camps where they were “rehabilitated” into society and “taught” about the ways of the new government. The prisoners were put through forced indoctrination, labor, and confessions of misdeeds of the past. Those who fled became refugees and fled in any way they could, many by boat giving them the name, “Boat People.”
In May of 1975, President Gerald R Ford signed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, providing transportation, reception, and resettlement for at least 130,000 of the anticipated refugees coming from Indochina. Following the signing of the act and the growing crisis, Operation New Life and New Arrivals dispersed the refugees across the Nation with roughly 3,000 settled in New Mexico, sparking the start of an increase in Asian immigration to the state.
As the Crisis grew with the changing political landscape in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, the UN met in Geneva in July 1979 to address the crisis. The decision was reached that the Western Nations would accept 260,000 refugees per year and up to 125,000 for resettlement. Between 1979 and 1982, 20 Western countries, led by the US, Australia, France, and Canada, took in over 623,000 of the refugees, many of them boat people. By the late 1990’s the crisis had abated and the last of the repatriation was in 2005.
In 1982, the Vietnam Memorial Wall was completed. Designed by Maya Lin, the glossy black granite panels are inscribed with over 58,000 names. Each name is a service member who was killed or went missing during the US involvement in Vietnam and Indochina. All 398 New Mexicans are inscribed on the wall. Since its completion, 380 of the names were added for those who have died as a direct result of their service in Vietnam. The Wall is on the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial with one wall pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other point at the Washington Monument. South of the Wall are two statues commemorating the men and women who fought in the war. The first at the entrance to the plaza is Three Servicemen, also called Three Soldiers. Created by sculptor Frederick Hart and dedicated in 1984, the statue depicts a Latino American, Caucasian American, and African American in combat fatigues with an M60 across the Latino American’s shoulders and an M16 in the African Americans left hand. It is coupled with the wall as a memorial to those who served in the Vietnam War. The second is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. Dedicated on November 11, 1993 by then Vice President and Vietnam Veteran Al Gore, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial was designed by Glenna Goodacre of Santa Fe. She designed the statue to represent three nurses holding a wounded soldier symbolizing the support and caregiving given by the women as nurse and in other specialist roles. These memorials and statues are a memorial and dedication to those who served and died in Vietnam and a reminder to those who came back that we honor their service and sacrifice. In New Mexico, March 29 has been declared National Vietnam War Veteran’s Day in by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 29, 2022.
Comments