Operation FREQUENT WIND (Evacuation of Saigon), 29 and 30 April 1975, (Note: Other Operations do not pertain to the Vietnam Era), Common questions about the number of campaign stars for the Vietnam Service Medal: eligible for the award. At dawn on 29 April two A-1 Skyraiders began patrolling the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut at 2,500 feet (760m) until one was shot down, presumably by an SA-7 missile. In April 1975, Okinawa participated in Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam. (3) Eligible Ships and Units. Martin told them that he would not tolerate any outward signs that the United States intended to abandon South Vietnam. ), VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL: http://www.amervets.com/replacement/vn.htm#isrHUMANITARIAN SERVICE MEDAL: http://www.amervets.com/replacement/hum.htm#isrUSN/USMC/USCG COMBAT ACTION RIBBON: http://www.amervets.com/replacement/car.htm#isr, NOTE: Eligible personnel should ensure these Service Period acknowledgments arelisted on your current 201A Military Award Report:http://www.amervets.com/201areq.htm (or amervets.com/201a), Contact Person for this posting: Roger Simpson, PIOPublic Information Office: http://www.13105320634.comThe American War Library: http://www.amervets.com/16907 Brighton AvenueGardena CA 90247-5420Phone / Fax: 1-310-532-0634, -- Otis Willie (Ret.) Do not disclose to other personnel. [38] Hubert van Es' photo is frequently used in political cartoons commenting on US foreign policy. A 3/16 inch bronze star is At 15:00 the first CH-53s were sighted heading towards the DAO Compound at Tan Son Nhut. period for which that ship is eligible. [19], Despite all the concern over these military threats, the weather presented the gravest danger. application, any such member may elect the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) in lieu of the [20]:20, So many RVNAF helicopters landed on the TF76 ships that some 45 UH-1 Hueys and at least one CH-47 Chinook were pushed overboard to make room for more helicopters to land. Two Marine CH-53 helicopters set down in a parking lot on the north edge of Saigon during the evacuation. At the beginning of March, fixed-wing aircraft began evacuating civilians from Tan Son Nhat Airport through neighboring countries. I now have metastatic prostrate cancer with no family history and have been told to file a claim with the VA for disability. [3]:86, The two major evacuation points chosen for Operation Frequent Wind were the DAO Compound next to Tan Son Nhut Airport for American and Vietnamese civilian evacuees, and the U.S. Embassy, Saigon for embassy staff. [6]:103 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 BLT 2/4. (b) Sea Duty. Ambassador Martin soon sent word back to Major Kean that sorties would continue to be flown. [10]:196 The plan for the evacuation included stationing buses and American civilian bus drivers at 28 buildings throughout metropolitan Saigon. A second Cessna O-1 was also recovered by USS Midway that afternoon. Operation Frequent Wind ship disposition 1975 - Recreated map.svg. During the fixed-wing evacuation 50,493 people (including 2,678 Vietnamese orphans) were evacuated from Tan Son Nhut. It was carried out on 2930 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for Vietnam. Campaign Stars are authorized for Ain-country personnel@ for periods as indicated below: 16605 Forest Green Terrace [21]:5 Air America UH-1s began ferrying evacuees from other smaller assembly points throughout the city and dropping them on the Embassy's rooftop LZ. Please rescue me. 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. [6]:72 At 21:00 on 28 April Major General Homer D. Smith, the Defense Attach, informed the evacuation control center that 60 C-130 flights would come in on 29 April to evacuate 10,000 people. Some 400 evacuees were left behind at the embassy including over 100 South Korean citizens; among them was Brigadier General Dai Yong Rhee, the intelligence chief at the South Korean Embassy in Saigon. On that final day, USAF aircraft flew a total of 1,422 sorties over Saigon. President Ford later called it "a sad and tragic period in America's history" but argued that "you couldn't help but be very proud of those pilots and others who were conducting the evacuation". serving, for one or more days, with an organization XIV. (a) Shore Duty. [14], At 03:58, C-130E, #72-1297, flown by a crew from the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, was destroyed by a 122mm rocket while taxiing to pick up refugees after offloading a BLU-82 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. [1][2]:14. USS Frederick earned three campaign stars for Vietnam War service and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Operation Frequent Wind or 4 campaign stars for the Vietnam Service Medal if the Armed Forces Medal is exchanged for the 18th Vietnam campaign, Op. Guide to the Khanh Van Thi Nguyen Narrative on Operation Frequent Wind. Pay tribute to a Vietnam War Hero past or present and hear the stories of Operation Frequent Wind and the Fall of Saigon from those . A C-130 Airborne Command and Control controlled all US air operations over land. Squadrons or units embarked in a ship, The note read "Can you move these helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly 1 hour more, we have enough time to move. The cause of the crash was never determined. VI . Normal performance of duty or a large number of combat missions does not in itself justify the award. Helicopters overflew the designated LZs to check no Americans had been left behind and then the last helicopters (many low on fuel) headed out to TF76, located USS Midway or USS Hancock and shut down. [6]:40 The Frequent Wind plan set out four possible evacuation options:[6]:9, With Option 4, the helicopter evacuation would be expected to be similar to Operation Eagle Pull, the American evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April 1975. [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[10]:200 arrived to evacuate Major Kean and the ten remaining men of the Marine Security Guards, this last helicopter took off at 07:53 on 30 April and landed on USS Okinawa at 08:30. [10]:199 At that time Major Kean estimated that there were still some 850 non-American evacuees and 225 Americans (including the Marines), and Ambassador Martin told Major Kean to do the best he could. (b) Vietnam Service Medal is awarded to all members of the Armed Forces Martin had 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 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 the tamarind tree and other trees and shrubbery which prevented the use of the embassy parking lot as a helicopter landing zone. (2) Personnel Eligible. Subsequent awards will be indicated by the use of a Gold Star on the ribbon: (1). Upon application, any such member may be awarded the VSM in lieu of the AFEM for such service. During the course of the operation an unknown number of RVNAF helicopters flew out of what remained of South Vietnam to the fleet. Date. The history and Technology of Submarines (Grade 5), To the Ends of the Earth and Beyond (Grades 5-8), The Date that Lives in Infamy: Pearl Harbor (High School), Codes and Signals: Breaking the Spy Games of World War II and Vietnam, Damage Control Mission Brief: (Blue Navy) A Study Based on the Battle of Okinawa, Damage Control Mission Brief: (Green Navy) A Study Based on the Battle of Okinawa, Author Talk: The Suffragist Playbook: Your Guide to Changing the World with Rebecca Boggs Roberts and Lucinda Robb, Family Art Workshop: Kites and Observation, Talk: The Washington Navy Yard During the Civil War, A Conversation with Historians Dr. Regina Akers and Dr. Eddie Valentin: From Benjamin Drummond to Doris Miller: Race, Identity, and the Struggle Against Discrimination in the U.S. Navy, Virtual Book Talk: When Giants Ruled the Sky: the Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship, with John J. Geoghegan and Curator, Gordon Calhoun, April 29, 1975 Operation Frequent Wind, April 18, 1906 -- San Francisco, California, December 16, 1922 Rescue of Vinh-Long Passengers, September 6, 1930 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, December 1948-January 1949-Beirut, Lebanon and Port Said, Egypt, 1954-1955 Vietnam (Operation Passage to Freedom), October 13, 1954 -- Haiti (Hurricane Hazel), February 7, 1955: Evacuation of Chinese from Tachen Islands, October 1955: Tampico, Mexico (Hurricane Janet), October 1959 Nagoya, Japan (Typhoon Vera), November 3, 1961 - Belize, British Honduras (Hurricane Hattie), August 1969 Mississippi (Hurricane Camille), October-December 1973 Colombia and Haiti, February 1975 Mauritius (Cyclone Gervaise), 1980-1989 Rescue of Vietnamese Refugees, September 21, 1981 Rescue of Datu Kalantiaw, January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger, April-August 1989 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, September-October 1989 Charleston, South Carolina, January 1990 Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 5, 1990 Liberia (Operation Sharp Edge), 1991-1996 - Iraq (Operation Provide Comfort), 1992-1993 Somalia (Operation Restore Hope), 1992-1996 Yugoslavia (Operation Provide Promise), March 1997 - Albania (Operation Silver Wake), January-March 1998 Kenya (Operation Nobel Response). This will be followed by the playing of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. Eventually the ARVN commander controlling the gates agreed to permit the remaining buses to enter the compound. Ten USAFCH-53and HH-53helicopters from the 56th Special Operations Wing and the 40th Aerospace Rescueand Recovery Squadronin Thailand had deployed ear-lier in the monthto the USSMidwayin the South ChinaSea. (Operation Eagle Pull) April 11-13, 1975 Congo July 14, 1960 to September 1, 1962 and . [20]:2829 With its available fleet of only 20 Hueys (3 of which were impounded, ditched or damaged at TF76), Air America had moved over 1,000 evacuees to the DAO Compound, the Embassy or out to the ships of TF76. (d) Public Law 107-314 of 2 December 2002 stipulates that personnel who were awarded the Armed Forces Expeditioanry Medal (AFEM) for their participation in Operation FREQUENT WIND, during the period 29 to 30 April 1975, may elect the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) in lieu of the Armed Forces Expeditioanry Medal (AFEM) for such service. stipulates that personnel who were awarded the Armed Forces Expeditioanry Medal (AFEM) for their The table below lists approved operations for award of the HSM. The tail rotor sheared off and embedded itself in the engine of an Air America Bell 205 that was doing a hot refueling on the helipad at the rear of the ship. This directive was subsequently reversed; some operators had ignored it anyway. to 30 April 1975, may elect the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) in lieu of the Armed Forces Expeditioanry Medal (AFEM) for such More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon. The two enlisted crewmen survived, but the bodies of the pilots were not recovered. The evacuation of the embassy was completed at 07:53 on 30 April, but some Americans chose to stay or were left behind and some 400 third-country nationals were left at the embassy. This award may also maybe conferred upon units of the other branches of the Armed Forces of the United States and of friendly foreign nations serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, provided that such units shall meet the standards established for Navy and Marine Corps units. In Operation Frequent Wind a total of 1,373 Americans and 5,595 Vietnamese and third-country nationals were evacuated by helicopter. From 7 October 1987 to 7 April 1988, Okinawa was deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of mine sweeping operations and MAGTF 1-88. All Air America flights had ceased by 21:00. Operations. [6]:34 American commercial and contract carriers continued to fly out of Tan Son Nhut, but with decreasing frequency. [36][37] The building in the photo was the Pittman Apartment building at 22 Gia Long Street (now 22 L T Trng Street), which was used as a residence by various embassy, CIA, and USAID employees. [39], The second act of the stage musical Miss Saigon depicts events leading up to, and during Operation Frequent Wind, with the main protagonists (Chris and Kim) becoming separated as a result of the evacuation. member in one or more aerial flights, directly supporting Naval Unit Commendation (NUC) Ribbon Synopsis: Awarded by the Secretary of the Navy to any unit of the Navy or Marine Corps which has distinguished itself by outstanding heroism is action against the enemy, but not sufficient to justify the award of the Presidential Unit Citation; or to any such unit which has distinguished itself by extremely meritorious service not involving combat but in support of military operations, rendering the unit outstanding compared to other units performing similar service. By mid-April, contingency plans were in place and preparations were underway for a possible helicopter evacuation. The crowds prevented the use of buses for transporting evacuees from the embassy to the DAO Compound for evacuation, and the embassy gates were closed to prevent the crowd from surging through. 1988 http://www.amervets.com 16907 Brighton Avenue Gardena CA 90247 1-310-532-0634, Military Personnel Database http://www.amervets.com/library.htmMilitary and Vet Info-Exchange/Discussion Groups http://www.amervets.com/share.htmPublic Information Office http://www.13105320634.com, Either email addresses are anonymous for this group or you need the view member email addresses permission to view the original message, Ops Frequent Wind & Eagle Pull Humanitarian Service Medal, http://www.amervets.com/replacement/vn.htm#isr, http://www.amervets.com/replacement/hum.htm#isr, http://www.amervets.com/replacement/car.htm#isr. VIII. 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 booklet included a map of Saigon pinpointing "assembly areas where a helicopter will pick you up." XV . Her belongings will be tagged with the same number due to the language barrier between the refugees and Marines. Helicopters began to clog ship decks and eventually, some were pushed overboard to allow others to land. The four crew members estimated they received more than 500 rounds of 23-mm, 37-mm, and 57-mm fire in the space of one minute. When U.S. President Gerald Ford met with the National Security Council on 9 April 1975 he was told by Henry Kissinger that a maximum of 1.7 million people had been identified as possible evacuees and that these included: American citizens and their relatives, the diplomatic corps, the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS), third-country nationals under contract by the U.S. government and the employees of the U.S. and their dependents (estimated at about 200,000 people). 11231 of 08 July 1965. Consolidation I1 01 Dec 71 to 29 Mar 72 The U.S. government was continuing to observe its obligations under the Accords, notwithstanding the North Vietnamese invasion. Then the F-4D was cleared to destroy the 57 mm battery and did so with two CBU-71 and two CBU-58 Cluster bombs, neutralizing the site, 10 miles (16km) northeast of Saigon, without damage to either aircraft. [30], For an operation of the size and complexity of Frequent Wind, casualties were relatively light. The evacuation of personnel from the DAO compound had lasted nine hours and involved over 50 Marine Corps and Air Force helicopters. serving in direct support of operations in Vietnam. Midway's commanding officer, Captain L.C. [6]:121, Midway deck crew surround Major Buang and his family, At the same time as the aerial evacuation, tens of thousands of South Vietnamese fled towards TF-76 aboard junks, sampans, and small craft. Elbert, CO 80106, Colonel William B. Davis, USMC (Retired) Bio, View by Tank Companies & Ontos Battalions, Randy Browning Memorial Awarded the Navy Cross, Authorization for wear: E.O. Description. [6]:8 There were about 17,000 at-risk Vietnamese on embassy rolls, which, using an average of seven dependents per family, meant that the number requiring evacuation was 119,000. approved. Note: (5) Named Campaigns are denoted by a 3/16 silver service star. Perdue presented the medals to Petrazewsky for his heroics during Operation Frequent Wind in Vietnam in 1975. . 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