| Operation Frequent Wind | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Fall of Saigon | |||||||
 Vietnamese refugees disembarking helicopter | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States South Vietnam |
 - North Vietnamese - National Liberation Front | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Commander Task Force 76 | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 USMC Killed in Action & 2 USMC Missing at sea | |||||||
Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation by helicopter of American civilians and 'at-risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, on 29-30 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War.
The operation was based on Operation Eagle Pull, the American evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 12, 1975.[1] Operation Eagle Pull had been a huge success in terms of meeting all goals set out by military planners.
"Frequent Wind" was the second code name chosen when the original code name "Talon Vise" was compromised.[2]
Between 18 and 24 April 1975, with the fall of Saigon imminent, the Navy concentrated off Vung Tau a vast assemblage of ships under Commander Task Force 76 comprising[1]:
Task Force 76 USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) (command ship)
Task Group 76.4 (Movement Transport Group Alpha)
Task Group 76.5 (Movement Transport Group Bravo)
Task Group 76.9 (Movement Transport Group Charlie)
The task force was joined by:
each carrying Navy, Marine, and Air Force helicopters.
Seventh Fleet flagship USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5).
Amphibious ships:
and eight destroyer types for naval gunfire, escort, and area defense.
The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and USS Coral Sea (CV-43) carrier attack groups of Task Force 77 in the South China Sea provided air cover while Task Force 73 ensured logistic support.
The Marine evacuation contingent, the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (Task Group 79.1), consisted of three battalion landing teams (including the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (BLT2/4) and 2nd Battalion 9th Marines (BLT2/9)), four helicopter squadrons (HMH-462, HMH-463, HMM-165 and MAG-39) and support units.
On 12 April, the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (MAB), which was to supply helicopters and a security force for the evacuation, sent a delegation to consult with Ambassador Graham Martin on current plans. Ambassador Martin told them that he would not tolerate any outward signs that the United States intended to abandon South Vietnam. All planning would have to be conducted with the utmost discretion. Brigadier General Richard E. Carey, commander of the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (9th MAB), flew to Saigon the next day to see Ambassador Martin, he later said that ‘The visit was cold, non-productive and appeared to be an irritant to the Ambassador’[3].
By late April Air America helicopters were flying several daily shuttles from TF76 to the DAO Compound to enable the 9th MAB to conduct evacuation preparations at the DAO without exceeding the Paris Peace Accords' limit of a maximum of 50 military personnel in South Vietnam, this at a time when the North Vietnamese army was overtly breaching the Peace Accords[4].
The two major evacuation points chosen for Operation Frequent Wind were the DAO Compound adjacent to Tan Son Nhut Airport for American civilian and Vietnamese evacuees and the US Embassy, Saigon for Embassy staff[5].
The plan for the evacuation would see convoy buses prestaged throughout metropolitan Saigon at buildings designated as pick-up points with American civilians, fully trained to drive those buses, standing by in town at the way stations. The buses would follow planned evacuation routes from downtown Saigon to the DAO Compound, each route named after a Western Trail so there was Santa Fe, Oregon, Texas etc[6].
On 28 April at 18:00 Tan Son Nhut Airport was bombed by 3 A-37 Dragonflys piloted by former VNAF pilots who had defected to the Vietnamese People's Air Force at the fall of Danang. Sporadic PAVN rocket and artillery attacks also started to hit the airport, increasing to 40 rounds per hour by 04:00 on 29 April.
Shortly before 04:00, C-130E, 72-1297, c/n 4519, of the 314th Airlift Wing, out of Clark Air Base, Philippines, which had brought a BLU-82 to Tan Son Nhut Air Base was destroyed by a rocket while taxiing to pick up evacuees. The crew evacuated the burning aircraft on the taxiway and departed the airfield on another C-130 that had previously landed[7].
At 07:00 on 29 April, Major General Homer D Smith Jr, the senior Defence Attache advised Ambassador Martin that fixed wing evacuations should cease and that Operation Frequent Wind, the helicopter evacuation of US personnel and at-risk Vietnamese should commence. Ambassador Martin refused to accept General Smith's recommendation and instead insisted on visiting Tan Son Nhut to survey the situation for himself. Finally at 10:51 the order was given to commence Operation Frequent Wind, however due to confusion in the chain of command General Carey did not receive the execute order until 12:15[8].
Mid-morning a PAVN rocket hit a guard post at the DAO Compound, instantly killing Marine Corporals McMahon and Judge, they would be the last American ground casualties in Vietnam.
A code that was to be used to signal the start of Frequent Wind was distributed to the press and American civilians in the city. The code was a quotation on Armed Forces Radio: the comment that the temperature is rising, followed by eight bars of White Christmas. (Japanese journalists were concerned that they would not recognize the tune and had to get someone to sing it to them).[9]
In the run up to the evacuation, thousands of Vietnamese wanted to escape the encroaching communist forces. With so many desperate people and so many civilians in knowledge of security codes, security was broken almost as soon as the code song was given out. When the operation started thousands of Vietnamese flooded the US Embassy, Saigon.
After the evacuation signal was given the buses began to pick up passengers and head to the DAO Compound. The system worked so efficiently that the buses were able to make 3 return journies rather than the expected one. The biggest problem occurred when the ARVN guarding the main gate at Tan Son Nhut refused to allow the last convoy of buses into the DAO Compound. As this was happening, a firefight between two ARVN units broke out and caught the rearmost buses in the crossfire, disabling two of the vehicles. Eventually the ARVN commander controlling the gates agreed to permit the remaining buses to enter the compound. General Carey's threat to use the AH-1J SeaCobras flying overhead may have played a role in the ARVN commander's decision[10].
It was not known whether the PAVN and/or the ARVN would try to disrupt the evacuation and so the planners had to take all possible contingencies into account to ensure the safety and success of the evacuation.
9th MAB staff prescribed altitudes, routes, and checkpoints for flight safety for the operation. To avert mid-air collisions, the planners chose altitudes which would not only provide separation of traffic but also a capability to see and avoid the enemy's AAA, SA-2 and SA-7 missile threat (6,500 feet for flights inbound to Saigon and 5,500 feet for those outbound from Saigon to the Navy ships). In addition, these altitudes were high enough to avoid small arms and artillery fire[11].
In the event that the PAVN or ARVN shot down a helicopter or a mechanical malfunction forced one to make an emergency landing in hostile territory, 2 orbiting CH-46s of MAG-39 each carried 15-man, quick-reaction "Sparrow Hawk" teams of Marines from Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, ready to land and provide security enabling a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter to pick up the crew. In addition, two CH-46s would provide medical evacuation capabilities while AH-1J Seacobras would fly cover for the transport helicopters and for any ground units who requested support. The Seacobras could also serve as Tactical Air Coordinators (Airborne) or Forward Air Controllers (Airborne)[12].
The air wings of the Enterprise, would provide continuous fighter cover over the evacuation route including VF-1 and VF-2, with the first combat deployment of the new F-14 Tomcat.
Despite all the concern over these military threats, the weather presented the gravest danger. At the beginning of the operation, pilots in the first wave reported the weather as 2,000 feet scattered, 20,000 feet overcast with 15 miles visibility, except in haze over Saigon, where visibility decreased to one mile. This meant that scattered clouds existed below their flight path while a solid layer of clouds more than two miles above their heads obscured the sun, additionally, the curtain of haze, suspended over Saigon, so altered the diminished daylight that line of sight visibility was only a mile. The weather conditions would deteriorate as the operation continued[11].
(Compound, Saigon 10°48′45.62″N 106°39′57.49″E / 10.8126722°N 106.6659694°EInvalid arguments have been passed to the ((#coordinates:)) function)
At 15:06, a first wave of 12 CH-53s from HMH-462 loaded with the BLT 2/4 command groups "A" and "B," and Company F and reinforced Company H arrived in the DAO Compound. The second wave of 12 CH-53s from HMH-463 landed in the DAO Compound at 1515. A third wave of 2 CH-53s from HMH-463 and 10 USAF HH-53s (operating from the USS Midway) arrived shortly afterwards[13].
At 2250, with the evacuation of the landing control teams from the Annex and Alamo completed, General Carey, commander of the 9th MAB, ordered the withdrawal of the ground security forces from the DAO Compound[14].
At 00:30 on 30 April, thermite grenades, having been previously placed in selected buildings, ignited as two CH-53s left the DAO parking lot carrying the last elements of 2nd Battalion 4th Marines[14].
(US Embassy, Saigon 10°46′58.12″N 106°42′3.66″E / 10.7828111°N 106.7010167°EInvalid arguments have been passed to the ((#coordinates:)) function)
On 25 April 40 Marines from the 9th MAB on the USS Hancock (CV-19) was flown in by Air America helicopters in civilian clothes to the DAO Compound to augment the 18 Marine Security Guards assigned to defend the Embassy, an additional 6 Marines were assigned to protect Ambassador Martin.
Ambassador Martin remained optimistic that a negotiated settlement could be reached whereby the US would not have to pull out of South Vietnam and, in an effort to avert defeatism and panic he specifically instructed Major James Kean, Commanding Officer of the Marine Security Guard Battalion and Ground Support Force Commander United States Embassy Compound, that he could not begin to remove trees and shrubbery which prevented the use of the Embassy parking lot as a helicopter Landing Zone[15].
By the morning of 29 April it was estimated that approximately 10,000 people had gathered around the Embassy, while some 2500 evacuees were in the Embassy and Consular compounds. From 10:00 to 12:00 Major Kean and his Marines cut down trees and moved vehicles to create an LZ in the Embassy parking lot behind the Chancery building. Two LZs were now available in the Embassy compound, the rooftop for UH-1s and CH-46 Sea Knights and the new parking lot LZ for the heavier CH-53s[16].
Air America UH-1s began ferrying evacuees from other smaller assembly points throughout the city (including the Pittman Building, famously photographed by Hubert van Es) and dropping them on the Embassy's rooftop LZ.
At 15:00 the first CH-53s were sighted heading towards the DAO Compound at Tan Son Nhut. Major Kean contacted the Seventh Fleet to advise them of his airlift requirements, until that time the Fleet believed that all evacuees had been bussed from the Embassy to the DAO Compound and that only 2 helicopters would be required to evacuate the Ambassador and the Marines from the Embassy[17].
At 17:00 the first CH-46 landed at the Embassy.
Between 19:00 and 21:00 on 29 April approximately 130 additional Marines from 2nd Battalion 4th Marines were lifted from the DAO Compound to reinforce perimeter security at the Embassy[18], bringing the total number of Marines at the Embassy to 175[5].
The evacuation from the DAO Compound was completed by about 19:00 after which all helicopters would be routed to the Embassy, however Major Kean was informed that operations would cease at dark. Major Kean advised that the LZ would be well lit and had vehicles moved around the parking lot LZ with their engines running and headlights on to illuminate the LZ[17].
At 21:30 a CH-53 pilot informed Major Kean that the Admiral Whitmire, Commander of Task Force 76 had ordered that operations would cease at 23:00. Major Kean saw Ambassador Martin to request that he contact the Oval Office to ensure that the airlift continued. Ambassador Martin soon sent word back to Major Kean that sorties would continue to be flown[17]. At the same time, General Carey met with Admiral Whitmire to convince him to resume flights to the Embassy despite pilot weariness and poor visibility caused by darkness, fires and bad weather. [19].
By 02:15 one CH-46 and one CH-53 were landing at the Embassy every 10 minutes at this timethe Embassy indicated that another 19 lifts would complete the evacuation[20]. At that time Major Kean estimated that there were still some 850 non-American evacuees and 225 Americans (including the Marines), Ambassador Martin told Major Kean to do the best he could[21].
At 03:00 on 30 April, Ambassador Martin ordered Major Kean to move all the remaining evacuees into the parking lot LZ which was the Marines final perimeter[21].
At 03:27 President Ford ordered that no more that no more than 19 additional lifts would be allowed to complete the evacuation[22].
At 04:30 with the 19 lift limit already exceeded, Major Kean went to the rootop LZ and spoke over a helicopter radio with General Carey who advised that President Ford had ordered that the airlift be limited to US personnel and General Carey, Commanding General, 9th MAB, ordered Major Kean to withdraw his men into the Chancery building and withdraw to the rooftop LZ for evacuation[21].
Major Kean returned to the ground floor of the Chancery and ordered his men to withdraw into a large semi-circle at the main entrance to the Chancery. Most of the Marines were inside the Chancery when the crowds outside the Embassy broke through the gates into the compound. The Marines closed and bolted the Chancery door, the elevators were locked by Seabees on the 6th floor and the Marines withdrew up the stairwells locking grill gates behind them. On the ground floor a water tanker was driven through the Chancery door and the crowd began to surge up through the building toward the rooftop. The Marines on the rootop had sealed the doors to the rooftop and were using mace to discourage the crowd from trying to break through. Sporadic gunfire from around the Embassy passed over the rooftop[23].
At 04:58 Ambassador Graham Martin boarded a USMC CH-46 Sea Knight, call-sign "Lady Ace 09" of HMM-165 and was flown to the USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). When Lady Ace 09 transmitted "Tiger is out," those helicopters still flying, thought the mission was complete, thereby delaying the evacuation to the Marines from the Embassy rooftop[22].
CH-46s evacuated the Battalion Landing Team by 07:00 and after an anxious wait a lone CH-46 "Swift 2-2" of HMM-164[22] arrived to evacuate Major Kean and the 10 remaining men of the Marine Security Guards, this last helicopter took off at 07:53 on 30 April and landed on USS Okinawa (LPH-3) at 09:30[24]. At 11:30 PAVN tanks smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace (now the Reunification Palace) and raised the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (NLF) flag over the building; the Vietnam War was over.
,_April_1975.jpg)
During the operation, so many South Vietnamese helicopters landed on the TF76 ships that some 45 UH-1 Hueys were pushed overboard to make room for more people. Other helicopters, having nowhere to land, were deliberately crash landed into the sea, close to the ships, their pilots bailing out at the last moment to be picked up by rescue boats.[25]
Marine pilots accumulated 1,054 flight hours and flew 682 sorties throughout Operation Frequent Wind.
The evacuation of personnel from the DAO Compound had lasted nine hours and involved over 50 Marine Corps and Air Force helicopters.
A total of 395 Americans and 4,475 Vietnamese and third-country nationals were evacuated from the DAO Compound[14] and a further 978 U.S. and 1,120 Vietnamese and third-country nationals from the Embassy[26], giving a total of 1,373 Americans and 5,595 Vietnamese and third country nationals.
In addition, Air America helicopters and RVNAF aircraft brought additional evacuees to the TF76 ships.
Many of the Vietnamese evacuees were allowed to enter the United States under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act.
Some 400 evacuees were left behind at the Embassy including over 100 South Korean citizens.
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 KIAs of the operation and were the last US ground casualties in Vietnam.
A Marine AH-1J SeaCobra's engines flamed out from fuel starvation while searching for the USS Okinawa and ditched at sea. The two crew members were rescued by a boat from USS Kirk (FF-1087)[27].
A CH-46F from the USS Hancock flown by Captain William C Nystul[28] and First Lieutenant Michael J. Shea[29] crashed into the sea on its approach to the ship after having flown a long and exhausting night sea and air rescue mission (SAR). The two enlisted crewmembers survived, but the bodies of the pilots were not recovered. The cause of the crash was never determined[26].
Lady Ace 09, CH-46 serial number 154803 is now on display at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in San Diego, California.
During the demolition of the US Embassy, Saigon the ladder leading from the Embassy 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[30] [31].
