Thoughts from Dr. Joe: Recalling the events of April 29, 1975

A few months ago I was visiting my friend Lý Trúc Vit in Houston, Texas. We were discussing the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when he told me about his harrowing escape.

Two nights before the historic fall, his family left Vietnam by boat. Lý told a story of sailing into the South China Sea on a rickety Chinese junk that took on as much water as it displaced. He painted a vivid description as he witnessed the valiant efforts of sailors, marines, government agents and Vietnamese pilots rescuing the beleaguered Vietnamese. A sea of humanity clung to ships, helicopters and small boats. Lý recalled passing the aircraft carrier and witnessed the crew pushing helicopters overboard. He didn’t understand what they were doing.

Operation Frequent Wind was the code name of the air and sea flotilla, which rescued more than 7,000 Vietnamese nationals. At the time, Adm. Lawrence Chambers was the commanding officer of the attack carrier U.S.S. Midway. He was the first African American to command a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

Chambers gave the controversial order to push Uh-1 Huey helicopters overboard so South Vietnamese Air Force Maj. Buang-Ly with his wife and five children could land on the aircraft carrier in a two-seater Cessna.

On April 29, South Vietnamese Air Force Maj. Buang- Lý loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat place and took off from Vietnam. After evading enemy ground fire, Maj. Buang-Ly headed out to sea and spotted the Midway. The Midway’s crew attempted to contact the aircraft on emergency frequencies but the pilot continued to circle overhead with his landing lights turned on. When a spotter reported that there were at least four people in the two-place aircraft, all thoughts of forcing the pilot to ditch alongside were abandoned. It was unlikely the passengers of the overloaded Cessna could survive ditching at sea. After three tries, Maj. Buang managed to drop a note from a low pass over the deck: “Can you move the helicopters to the other side, please rescue me! Major Buang, wife and 5 children.”

Chambers issued the order to allow the plane to land on the Midway’s flight deck. The helicopters that could not be quickly relocated were pushed over the side and into the sea. To get the job done he called for volunteers, and soon every available seaman was on deck, regardless of rank or duty, to provide the manpower to get the job done. Ten million dollars worth of helicopters were pushed overboard into the South China Sea. With a 500-foot ceiling, five miles visibility, light rain, and 15 knots of surface wind, Maj. Buang-Lý’s attempt to land would be perilous. To make matters worse, five additional helicopters landed and offloaded scores of refugees thereby cluttering the deck. Without hesitation, Chambers ordered them over the side.

Without the benefit of a tail hook, Maj. Buang-Ly made a miraculous landing on the USS Midway’s short angled deck. It was the only known landing of an aircraft without a tail hook on the Midway. His wife, holding their infant child, was crammed into a small space.

The men of the Midway cheered wildly as they jammed in close to the craft. Maj. Buang-Ly and his wife were embraced and welcomed aboard as the children, one by one, were handed down the line until they were all standing on the deck of the Midway. The men began to gather money from their own pockets to create a fund for the passage of Buang-Ly and his family to America where they would begin their lives anew.

In these precarious times that engulf America, I believe the story of April 29,1975, should define us.

JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.