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Introduction
Operation Frequent Wind was the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It was a continuous operation from 1400 hours on April 29, 1975 lasting through the night and morning of April 30, 1975 until about 0800 hours. Approximately 7,000 people were rescued and the operation was an overwhelming success (Summers 1995). Operation Frequent Wind was the last mission conducted before the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese.
History
The Vietnam War was from 1959 to 1975. Is was also known as American War in Vietnam, Vietnam Conflict, Second Indochina War, War Against the Americans to Save the Nation (Rosenberg n.d.). Operation Frequent Wind was conducted at the end of the war in 1975.
Once the decision was made to leave Saigon, South Vietnam evacuation plans were put into place. All embassies have evacuation plans in place. The evacuation plan for Saigon had four phases. Phase one involved commercial airlift, phase two involved military airlift, phase three involved sea lift, and phase four involved helicopter lift to Navy ships (Tobin 1978). Evacuations took place days prior with the fixed wing assets.
Fixed wing evacuations were conducted from April 1st 1975 to April 29th 1975. Between the C-130 and C-141 airframes, 376 flights took place to evacuate over 45,000 people from Saigon (Hualman 1975). The Air Force also employed their helicopters and several other fixed wing in support of Operation Frequent Wind.
However, on April 28, Tan Son Nhut Air Base was attacked destroying several aircraft and damaging the airfield (Tobin 1978). Attempts were made to continue fixed wing operations. About 1400 hours on April 29, 1975 helicopters from the United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marines, Air ...
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...th Vietnamese crashed into the American Embassy gates; thus the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War (Dunham 1973–1975 ).
Evacuees aboard the United States Navy ships went to the reception centers set up in the Philippines and Guam (Hualman 1975). 19 hours and 81 helicopters were employed to execute Operation Frequent Wind (History.com n.d.). The event has gone down in history was the largest helicopter evacuation ever.
Lessons Learned
Fragmented command and control seems to always be an issue with military operations. Operation Frequent Wind was no different. A single military commander should have been established instead of the civilian Embassy Ambassador (Hualman 1975). Only four American military were killed during the Operation; Marine corporals McMahon and Judge while at the Defense Attaché Office and pilots Nystul and Shea (Dunham 1973–1975 ).
... One of the greatest things to come out of the war was the humanitarian aid that we brought and the brief liberation. In early 1975, the communists launched a major offensive in the north of South Vietnam that resulted in the fall of Saigon on 30 April. In the previous month a RAAF detachment of 8 Hercules transports flew humanitarian missions to aid civilian refugees displaced by the fighting, and carried out the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans before finally taking out embassy staff on 25 April (Dudley 179).
The Americans entered the war in 1964 because they believed in the domino theory, that if one nation fell into communism then other nations would follow. Soon America found it almost impossible to fight against people who were so determined to win, so America pulled its troops out of Vietnam in 1973. Withdrawing the American troops resulted in the South Vietnamese forces being defeated by the communists who then took over the country.
Hundreds of boats came together to help the city, helping in any way they could. The boat captains in the documentary explained that they never seen so many boats at one time in the same location. Each boat would take as many people that they could fit on their boat it was the largest sea evacuation in history. Five hundred thousand people were evacuated in 9 hours more that the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II where three hundred thousand people were saved over nine
“Operation Rolling Thunder.” Military Analysis Network. 1998. Federation of American Scientists. 20 Dec. 2003< http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/rolling_thunder.htm>.
If one had to choose a single event in history that had the greatest impact on airmobile assault, without question it would have to be Operation Chopper. On December 11, 1962, the United States aircraft carrier, USNS Card, docked in Saigon with 32 U.S. Army CH-21 helicopters and 400 men in support of Operation Chopper (Tolson, 1973). Approximately 12 days later, these same CH-21 helicopters airlifted over a 1,000 South Vietnamese paratroopers to a suspected Viet Cong
Evacuation was when children, expectant mothers, the frail elderly, the disabled, and the chronically sick were moved to safer areas of the country in anticipation of bombing but not all these people moved. The plan for the evacuation was drawn up by the Anderson Committee in the summer of 1938. An advice leaflet produced by the Lord Privy Seal’s Office in July 1939 advised everyone to move whose presence could not be of assistance. Although evacuation was voluntary, many leaflets, radio shows and other propaganda was produced by the government to try to persuade people to go. They put a lot of time, effort and money into the production of propaganda. The evacuation was nicknamed ‘Operation Pied Piper’ (with reference to the children’s story) and initially took place on the 1st September 1939, however The Anderson Committee overestimated the number of people who would leave, a million and a quarter people ...
By 1960 the American troops were sent in to fight a war that cost; Fifty-eight thousand Americans lost their lives. The losses to the Vietnamese people were appalling. The financial cost to the United States comes to something over $150 billion dollars. Direct American involvement began in 1955 with the arrival of the first advisors. The first combat troops arrived in 1965 and we fought the war until the cease-fire of January 1973.
Operation Babylift was a mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries at the end of the Vietnam War, on April 3–26, 1975. Roughley over 10,300 infants and children had been evacuated. Along with Operation New Lift, over 110,000 refugees were evacuated from South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. Thousands of children were airlifted from Vietnam and adopted by families around the world. *IMPORTANT SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT* “Operation Babylift was a succes with minor problems that
The Vietnam War lasted from the winter of 1956 to the spring of 1975. The Vietnam War was a domesticated civil war between the communist, North Vietnam, and the democratic, South Vietnam. The North was supported by the Chinese communist, and the leader Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnam War introduced the United States to the Vietcong and Guerrilla warfare. During this time, the United States faced our own battles at home between two social groups called the Doves and the Hawks. This war was very divisive. The Doves protested and Hawks shunned them. Young men without money were being drafted while others went to college, got a medical note, or fled the country. Tensions were already high in the United States when Congress passed Public Law 88- 408, also known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
The Vietnam War began in 1954 and came to an end in 1975. It was a conflict that set in opposition the communist regime of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong (its southern allies) against South Vietnam and its chief ally, the United States. The war began after Ho Chi Minh’s rise to power along with his communist Viet Minh party. More than 3 million people died in this war, which included over 58,000 Americans. By 1969, the U.S. had reached peak involvement in the war, involving over 500,000 American military personnel. As time went on, there was growing opposition in America to the war. This opposition led to a bitter divide among those in support of the war and those against it. By 1975, the communist Vietnamese forces had gained control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War (History.com). Most people consider this war a huge loss and a tragic waste of time. The sting of disappointment from this war is still widely felt today among Americans.
The United States involvement at first played the middle man, but soon began to aid in supplying weapons and troops. As the United States joined in, it was quickly realized that the war was not going to be won by using just foot soldiers. From President Johnson, creating and leading Operation Rolling Thunder, using the Air Force to help fight on another field. Although Johnson limited troops, later President Nixon, created Operation Linebacker, and left control to those in command of the air force. Both operations were used to cut off supplies to the Guerilla fighters, and Northern Communist forces. From the lush, green, jungle of Vietnam, to the deep blue skies, the United States Air Force and countless others, fought to win a war, that ended with the Treaty of
American combat involvement ended in 1973. Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975. Even though the U.S. military forces pulled out of Vietnam 25 years ago, the United States continues to be haunted by the specter of Vietnam. Even the most cursory review of the 1980s and 1990s reveals shadows of Vietnam. A ...
The Vietnam War was a failed attempt for the United States to bring peace to South and North Vietnam because it affected our country’s history, the way politics can influence a war, an economy downfall, and how affected protest and media can be used. The United States never officially
Helicopters were first used as an ambulance in the sky during the Korean War (1950-53) (2). But it wasn’t until the late 70’s and early 80’s that helicopters were used in civilian pre hospital care (3). They were introduced to transport people living in remote communities deep in the outback to hospital, to receive the care that they needed but lacked in their rural community. Helicopters are also perhaps more importantly used for transporting patients who have suffered severe trauma or are seriously ill to hospital as they provide a quicker method of transport than the conventional road ambulance. This speed i...
Operation Rolling Thunder was an aerial bombing campaign, during the Vietnam War, conducted by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, from March 2, 1965 to November 2, 1968.