Impact of war on language (95), Strategic ambush, The Vietnam War (14), Exodus from Saigon “Saigon was an addicted city, and we were the drug: the corruption of children, the mutilation of young men, the prostitution of women, the humiliation of the old, the division of the family, the division of the country – it had all been done in our name.... The French city... had represented the opium stage of the addiction. With the Americans had begun the heroin phase.” – James Fenton, 1985 (English poet, journalist and literary critic) Chaos, unrest and panic broke out as hysterical South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave Saigon. Martial law was declared. American helicopters began evacuating South Vietnamese, US, and foreign nationals from various parts of the city and from the US embassy compound. Operation Frequent Wind had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of US Ambassador Graham Martin's belief that Saigon could be held and that a political settlement could be reached. US Secretary of Defence James Schlesinger announced early in the morning of April 29, 1975 the evacuation from Saigon by helicopter of the last US diplomatic, military and civilian personnel. Frequent Wind was arguably the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It began on April 29, in an atmosphere of desperation, as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for limited seats. Martin pleaded with Washington to dispatch $700 million in emergency aid to bolster the regime and help it mobilise fresh military reserves. But American public opinion had soured on this conflict halfway around the world. In the US, South Vietnam was perceived as doomed. President Gerald Ford had given a televised speech on April 23, declaring an end to the Vietnam War and all US aid. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as North Vietnamese tanks breached defences on the outskirts of Saigon. The song White Christmas was broadcast as the final signal for withdrawal. In the early morning hours of April 30, the last US Marines evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds. Many of them had been employed by the Americans and were left to their fate. On April 30, 1975, VPA troops overcame all resistance, quickly capturing key buildings and installations. A tank crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace, and at 11:30am local time, the NLF flag was raised above it. Thieu's successor, President Duong Van Minh, attempted to surrender, but VPA officers informed him that he had nothing left to surrender. Minh then issued his last command, ordering all South Vietnamese troops to lay down their arms. The Communists had attained their goal: they had toppled the Saigon regime. But the cost of victory was high. In just ten years, one Vietnamese in every ten had been a casualty of war — nearly a million and a half killed, three million wounded. However, by war's end, the Vietnamese had been fighting foreign involvement or occupation (primarily by the French, Chinese, Japanese, British and American governments) for 116 years. Dear Egyptian Mail readers, your contributions to and/or comments on articles published in this corner are welcome. We promise to publish whatever is deemed publishable at the end of this series. [email protected]
