Goodnight Saigon
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Gray, Alfred M.—General, United States Marine Corps, and Commandant of the Marine Corps. As a colonel in 1975, he was an integral planner of the final evacuation operation. Colonel Gray commanded the Fourth Marine Regiment and Regimental Landing Team 4, reinforced, which served as ground forces in the evacuation of Saigon. His Marines provided security around the Defense Attaché’s Office compound and provided a hundred Marines assigned to Captain Jim Kean’s personal supervision at the embassy. Gray’s Marines also provided assistance and security aboard the many civilian maritime service refugee ships. Interview in person, General Gray’s private office in Crystal City, Alexandria, Virginia, November 1994.
Halstead, Dirck—Photographer for Time magazine and Life magazine. Colleague of the author, working jointly with him in all interviews for Goodnight Saigon, videotaping the majority of interviews for the production of a video documentary of the same subject. In April 1975, while accompanying United Press International’s Southeast Asia bureau chief, Alan Dawson, he observed the valiant stand at Xuan Loc by the Tenth ARVN Division, commanded by the flamboyant Brigadier General Le Minh Dao. Halstead photographed action at the embassy and Defense Attaché’s Office compound during the evacuation and later photographed activities aboard the ships. He departed Saigon on the last evacuation helicopter from the Defense Attaché’s Office compound. Multiple interviews in person—Halstead home in Washington, DC; Los Angeles; Bangkok, Thailand; and in cities throughout the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, September, October, November, and December 1994, and January and February 1995.
Kean, James H.—Captain (Major Selectee), United States Marine Corps; Commanding Officer, Company C, Marine Security Guard Battalion. Headquartered in Hong Kong, he came to Saigon on April 17 because of the impending collapse of the South Vietnamese government and was a key military officer on the ground in the evacuation operation at the United States Embassy in Saigon, 1975. He was the senior Marine among the last Americans to leave from the roof of the embassy and is technically the last United States military ground commander to serve in South Vietnam. Multiple interviews, telephone and in person at various locations—Los Angeles, California; Bangkok, Thailand; and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Kennerly, David Hume—Official White House Photographer for President Gerald R. Ford. Kennerly witnessed and photographed many of the events in the White House as President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger watched South Vietnam fall. Kennerly traveled to South Vietnam with General Frederick Weyand’s fact-finding mission during March and April 1975. Kennerly witnessed the chaos and concluded that the remainder of South Vietnam, including Saigon, would soon fall. Upon return to Washington, DC, he imparted these observations to President Ford. Among Kennerly’s more memorable photographs of that time is the picture of Dr. Kissinger, dressed in a tuxedo, standing behind a chair, gripping its back, a solemn expression on his face as he awaited news of the extraction of the last Americans, the eleven United States Marines stranded on the rooftop of the United States Embassy in Saigon. He was supposed to be at a state dinner, but remained in his office until he was notified that the Marines were safe aboard ship. Multiple interviews, telephone and in person, Los Angeles, California, September 1994.
Ky, Nguyen Cao—Former Premier and Vice President, Republic of Vietnam. He held the rank of air vice marshal, commander of the South Vietnamese Air Force, and had flamboyantly played to be named president of South Vietnam when President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned. At one time, the CIA feared that Premier Ky was leading a coup to take over what remained of the South Vietnamese government when Tran Van Huong was named president on April 21, 1975, in accord with the South Vietnamese constitution, to succeedPresident Nguyen Van Thieu. When former President Thieu departed South Vietnam, Ky labeled him a coward and said that anyone who would flee in the face of the enemy was also a coward. Ky remained in Saigon until late afternoon on April 29, when he flew his personal helicopter to the deck of the USS Blue Ridge. His observations and actions provided valuable insight into the political death throes of South Vietnam during the final days. Multiple interviews by telephone, Hong Kong, China, July and August 1994.
Ky, Nguyen Xuan—Saigon Regional Viet Cong Commander. Throughout the war, Ky was a close ally of Tra Bach Dang. Among his guerrilla forces were spies, assassins, and terrorists who for years carried out most of the actions committed in and around Saigon. He was also a member of Vietnam’s Communist Party’s Central Committee and headed the Communist Party in Bien Tra Province. Interview in person, Dang villa, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Lam, Tony—Councilman Westminster, California. First Vietnamese-born refugee elected to public office in America following the war, Lam was elected to the city council, Westminster, Orange County, California. In 1975, Lam owned and directed the South Vietnamese company, Lam Brothers Corporation, in Saigon. His company dehydrated grain and made fish meal, providing much of the dehydrated grain and meal to feed the South Vietnamese Army. In his life he has been a refugee three times: first as a boy in 1946 at the French camp at Hai Phong, then in 1952 when the country was divided and he fled south, and lastly in 1975 as he successfully evacuated from Saigon and settled in southern California. He could not believe that Saigon could or would fall, even in the face of the chaos. His perceptions reflected those of many powerful people in Saigon. He was a wealthy man in Saigon, but after the fall he had little. However, he and his wife and six children, three boys and three girls, evacuated on a flight from Tan Son Nhut Airport and considered themselves blessed because they were escaping with their lives. Interview videotaped by Dirck Halstead at Tony Lam’s city council office, Westminster, Orange County, California, February 1995.
Luong, Nguyen Thien—Viet Cong Commander. Luong led forces attached to North Vietnamese Army 320th Division. Luong’s guerrillaswere part of the forces that initiated the attack on Ban Me Thuot. He redeployed his forces to Cheo Reo when word of the massive evacuation by the ARVN II Corps reached NVA headquarters. His forces played a key role in blocking the evacuation route at Cheo Reo and annihilating the ARVN II Corps and attached ranger battalions. Multiple interviews in person, the Veterans Association complex in Ban Me Thuot, Veterans Association Headquarters in Pleiku, and battle sites at Cheo Reo, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Norman, David E.—Corporal, United States Marine Corps. He was one of the last eleven Marines on the roof of the American embassy in Saigon. While at his quarters at the Marine House, which is today the Saigon Star Hotel, Norman saw the renegade South Vietnamese Air Force F-5 jet dropping its bombs on the Presidential Palace. Norman grabbed his M14 rifle and opened fire on the aircraft from the rooftop of the Marine House. Interview in person, Hotel Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Phung, Dang Quang—Civilian Architect at Tan Son Nhut Air Base and Viet Cong Spy. Phung is a native son of Pleiku and came to Saigon after studying architecture in France. Hired as a young man by the South Vietnamese government, Phung served for many years as a member of the team that designed and laid out many of the structures at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. He used the opportunities afforded him there to provide the Communist forces with detailed internal information, structure-specific information, and exact measurements of the air base. Prior to the attack on Saigon, Phung provided Viet Cong and NVA contacts with updated layouts of Tan Son Nhut and its defenses. Many of these blueprints were passed to the South Vietnamese pilot who defected to the Viet Cong with his F-5 jet. After the war Phung retired to the countryside where he lives on a farm a few kilometers east of Cu Chi. Interview in person, Vietnam National Cemetery near Cu Chi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Reung, Le Van—Viet Cong Guerrilla. Reung fought for more than ten years in the Central Highlands, in the southern reaches of I Corps, and in the areas of Da Nang and Chu Lai. In November 1974, he was among the forces probing Da Nang defenses. Following
the successful assessment attack of Phuoc Long, in January 1975, his unit moved southward to infiltrate Ban Me Thuot, where his guerrilla forces attacked from within the stronghold’s defenses. Once Ban Me Thuot had fallen, Reung moved with his unit toward Saigon by way of Cu Chi. During their battle to regain control of the Cu Chi Base, Reung tripped a Viet Cong booby trap and lost his leg. Following the war and his recovery from his wounds, he was placed in charge of the care of the Communist veterans’ cemetery near Cu Chi. Among the thousands of NVA and VC graves at the cemetery is a giant monument that overlooks a mass grave containing the remains of 2,473 unknown Communist soldiers. Interview in person, Vietnam National Cemetery near Cu Chi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Schlager, Robert W.—Gunnery Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. Schlager was one of last eleven Marines on the embassy roof. He served as noncommissioned officer in charge of the Marine security forces at the Bien Hoa consulate. When Bien Hoa fell, Schlager evacuated to the Saigon embassy by car. When he came within a few blocks of the embassy, he could see the chaos of the masses of people outside the embassy. He abandoned the car and made his way through the angry crowd. Since the embassy Marines could not open the gates to allow him inside, they had to pull him over the wall, a scene shot on film by CBS News cameraman, the late Neil Davis, and widely broadcast by the network. After getting securely inside the embassy, Schlager realized that the United States flag had not been taken down at the Bien Hoa consulate. He convinced an Air America helicopter pilot to fly him back to Bien Hoa to get the flag. The helicopter hovered over the rooftop while Schlager climbed on the aircraft’s skids and cut the flag free from the lanyards that held it to its flagpole. All the time he was retrieving the flag from the Bien Hoa consulate rooftop, NVA and Viet Cong had the building surrounded and had opened fire on the helicopter. Miraculously, the pilot and Schlager escaped and flew the helicopter back to the embassy with the rescued flag. Interview in person, Hotel Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Schuller, Steven T.—Corporal, United States Marine Corps. Schuller was one of the last eleven Marines on the roof of the American embassyin Saigon. While standing guard, he was stabbed with a bayonet by a South Vietnamese trying to bridge the gate at the embassy. Interview in person, Hotel Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Sparks, Walter W.—Staff Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. As the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the Marine Corps security forces assigned from Third Marine Division (based at Camp SD Butler, Okinawa, Japan) to the United States Consulate in Da Nang, in 1975, Sparks was one of the people that Consul General Albert Francis called the Black Box, the key staff who oversaw the Da Nang evacuation. Sparks had responsibility over the security and processing of the people boarding departing vehicles during the evacuation, mostly on barges docked across the street from the consulate. He and his remaining Marines eventually took the last barge out of Da Nang under heavy fire from the NVA and Viet Cong, who had by then flooded the city. After Da Nang fell, he worked with military efforts in Saigon and was finally evacuated to the Philippines with his Da Nang security force, who had only the clothes that they were wearing. Multiple interviews, telephone and in person, Sparks home, Jackson, Mississippi, January 1995.
Sullivan, Michael K.—Staff Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. Sullivan served as the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of Marine Security Guard Detachment, Company C, Marine Security Guard Battalion, United States Embassy, Saigon, until the arrival of Master Sergeant Valdez. Sullivan came to Saigon from Tehran, Iran. When Saigon fell, he was serving as assistant NCO in charge and was one of the eleven Marines marooned on the embassy roof. Interview in person, Hotel Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Than, Le Cong—Vice Commissioner of the Forty-fourth Line Front, Viet Cong. Than led his units in the initial assaults outside Hue and Da Nang simultaneously as the assault on Ban Me Thuot took place and eventually converged his units on Da Nang as the city fell. His units occupied Da Nang. Than observed that as his forces entered Da Nang, the people were jubilant to see his soldiers and offered the men food and water. Interview in person, The Army Hotel, Da Nang, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Thao, Mai—Most renowned of Vietnam’s novelists. Thao published six different newspapers, was editor in chief of several more, and authored fifty books in forty years of writing. Chased by Communist secret service for twenty years and comparable to Ernest Hemingway in his lifestyle and bravado, he remained in Vietnam and witnessed the fall of Saigon with Tran Da Tu and Nha Ca. Following the war’s end, the Communists put out a Black List containing the names of artists and writers, including Nha Ca, Tran Da Tu, and Mai Thao. While Nha Ca and her husband, Tran Da Tu, were imprisoned, Mai Thao managed to elude capture for nearly two years. (The writers’ imprisonment aroused anger among the world art community, who for many years demanded their release.) In December 1977, Mai Thao managed to escape Vietnam by boat to Malaysia, where he lived for five months until relatives and volunteer organizations were able to sponsor his emigration to New York. An aggressive, hard-drinking man, his color and style flew in the face of the Communists, yet they dared not kill him. He never bent to their pressure. Interview conducted for the author and videotaped by Dirck Halstead at the Thao home, Westminster, Orange County, California, February 1995.
The, Hoang Duc—Colonel, North Vietnamese Army. Commanded the Thirty-eighth Regiment, Second NVA Division, operating in the Fifth Region, the northern provinces of South Vietnam, including Da Nang and Hue. His forces captured hundreds of thousands of tons of weapons, ammunition, and equipment abandoned by the fleeing ARVN. The’s unit operated primarily at night; however, on March 29, they attacked in daylight, setting the ARVN north of Da Nang into flight, literally running from the Hai Van Pass into the city of Da Nang. Interview in person, The Army Hotel, Da Nang, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Thi, Truong Quang—North Vietnamese Army Regimental Commander with the 320th NVA Division. Truong participated in the Cheo Reo massacre, his forces confronting the ARVN rangers on the flanks and rear. He explained that the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong combined into three divisions, the 10th, 320th, and 316th NVA divisions plus the cadre of regional Viet Cong guerrillas, which formed the 968th NVA Corps. The 968th Corps had the mission of taking control of the Central Highlands. Multiple interviews in person, The Army Hotel in Ban Me Thuot, Army Headquarters in Pleiku, and battle sites at Cheo Reo, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Thurman, Russell R.—Gunnery Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. Thurman served as a Marine Combat correspondent, photojournalist, and was the public affairs representative for the 9th MAB. He made observations throughout the evacuation, both aboard the ships and ashore. Thurman vividly recalled the chaos at the DAO compound and flew on the last flight out of that site. He explained that to make a landing zone at night, the Marines took all available cars and parked them in a circle. When they departed, they left the cars running and their lights on. Multiple informal interviews, telephone and in person, San Diego, California, August 1994.
Tra, Tran Van—General, Commander in Chief, Army of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Vietnam, National Liberation Front (Viet Cong), and General, North Vietnamese Army. Tran was one of the master planners, along with General Van Tien Dung and Party First Secretary Le Duan, of Campaign 2/75, The Blooming Lotus, North Vietnam’s final campaign that led to ultimate victory over South Vietnam. He shared with General Dung and Lieutenant General Hoang Minh Thoa overall command of Communist forces in the field during the final campaign. He provided vivid details of the whole operation from the Communist perspective. Multiple in-person interviews, Tran Van Tra’s private office at army headquarters, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Trung, Nguyen Thanh—First Lieutenant, Air Force of the R
epublic of Vietnam. Trung is the infamous South Vietnamese Air Force pilot who defected to the Viet Cong on April 8, 1975, flying his F-5 jet fighter to Song Be Airfield at Phuoc Long after dropping the plane’s load of bombs on South Vietnam’s Presidential Palace. On April 28, he led the aerial raid of five A-37 jets on Tan Son Nhut Air Base. Trung was regarded as a hero of Vietnam by the Communists, his F-5 jet set on a stone pedestal in front of the Army Museum in Saigon, and he became chief pilot of Vietnam Airlines. Interview in person, Trung home, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, October 1994.
Tu, Tran Da, and wife, Nha Ca—Husband and wife, he is a novelist and she is a poet. Nha Ca was imprisoned for eight years, much of that time spent in a four-foot-by-four-foot cell, while her husband, Tu, spent twelve years in a forced labor camp. Nha Ca began writing poetry at age thirteen and has published forty books. Her poetry incited the Communists’ anger by denouncing the executions that they committed when they captured Hue in the 1968 Tet Offensive. Her novels and poetry were harshly critical of the Communists and warranted her placement high on their Black List following the war’s end.
Tran Da Tu also authored more than forty novels, many critical of the Communists. During his twelve years of imprisonment, moved from labor camp to labor camp, he witnessed the deaths of many writers and artists and feared that his wife, Nha Ca, had also died. The couple had six children, with the youngest being only seven months old in 1975. When Tu and his wife were imprisoned, handcuffed, and chained, their children were chased into the streets. Their home, their publishing business and equipment were all taken by the Communists, and their children left to fend for themselves until relatives could find them and care for them. Nha Ca and Tran Da Tu provided firsthand witness accounts of the fall of Saigon and the horrible aftermath for those who opposed the Communists. Interview conducted for the author and videotaped by Dirck Halstead at the couple’s publishing office, the Viet Bao Kinhte Newspaper, Westminster, Orange County, California, February 1995.