When was saigon evacuation

President Gerald Ford ordered all U. Captain Gerald Berry was assigned to rescue U. Ambassador Graham Martin. The mission evolved into an hour day of shuttling people to an armada of ships waiting in the South China Sea.

And as Berry flew toward the U. Embassy in Saigon, he could see enemy tanks approaching the city. Well then somebody else gets on the phone and said, 'Well, the Ambassador isn't coming. However, by , North Vietnam had violated the agreement and renewed their assault on the South. Although most of the US military had left by then, approximately 5, Americans remained in the country, including diplomats still working in the US embassy in Saigon, according to the US State Department website.

The North Vietnamese Army captured more and more southern cities between March and April , causing South Vietnamese to flee in mass numbers. The end of the war was marked by the capture of Saigon on 30 April by the North Vietnamese Army. Between 29 and 30 April , American helicopters landed at minute intervals on the rooftop of the US embassy in Saigon to evacuate American diplomatic staff and at-risk Vietnamese.

Called Operation Frequent Wind, over 7, people were evacuated, including 5, Vietnamese, in less than 24 hours. It was by far the most ambitious helicopter airlift in history, which also depicted a desperate US withdrawal from Vietnam.

One of the most iconic photographs of the war, clicked by Dutch photojournalist Hugh Van Es, showed a group of people desperately scaling a ladder to a CIA helicopter on the rooftop of the embassy. Back in , photographer Hubert van Es snapped a now-iconic picture of people scrambling into a helicopter on a rooftop in Saigon, at the close of the Vietnam War. Analysts and US lawmakers - both Republican and Democrat - have been comparing the so-called fall of Saigon with the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

Against the backdrop of the Cold War, the North was supported by the Soviet Union and other communist allies, while the South was backed by Western forces - including hundreds of thousands of US troops. It was costly and lengthy war for the US - lasting almost 20 years - and extremely divisive among Americans. America withdrew its military from South Vietnam in , and two years later the country announced its surrender after Northern forces took Saigon - later renaming it Ho Chi Minh City, after the late North Vietnamese leader.

Like Kabul, the city's capture came much quicker than the US had expected. In response, the US abandoned its embassy in Saigon and evacuated over 7, American citizens, South Vietnamese and other foreign nationals by helicopter - a scramble known as Operation Frequent Wind.

By its end, the Vietnam War had become increasingly unpopular back in the US, and had cost not only billions of dollars but over 58, American lives. August 17, pm Updated pm.

The freshest exclusives and sharpest analysis, curated for your inbox Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem. BeeForGeorgia August 15, More from News. Long Reads The secret court case 50 years ago that robbed transgender people of their rights ever since.

UK Care home bosses fear they won't be able to replace staff sacked for refusing covid jabs.