C-130 flights were stopped temporarily after the air attack but resumed at 20:00 on 28 April. Once completed, the new defensive perimeter encompassed only LZ 36 and the Alamo. Service for 30 [6]:44 Finally, on 19 April, a simple procedure was implemented that cleared up the paperwork jam and the number of evacuees dramatically increased. As they approached the helicopters had taken rifle and M-79 grenade fire from ARVN troops but without causing any apparent damage. In addition, the Vietnamese relatives of American citizens and senior Government of Vietnam officials and their dependents (about 600,000 people) were also identified as potential evacuees, along with Vietnamese formerly employed by the U.S. and their dependents. Many pilots fled to Hancock, seeking refuge for themselves, family and friends during the evacuation. All personnel who participated in Operation Frequent Wind (the evacuation ofSaigon) are now automatically authorized the Vietnam Service Medal and VietnamCross of Gallantry. . [10]:186, "Alpha" command group, two rifle companies, and the 81mm mortar platoon were deployed around the DAO headquarters building (the Alamo) and its adjacent landing zones. RVNAF pilot jumps from his Huey after dropping evacuees on USS Midway, One of the more notable events occurred on Midway when the pilot of an RVNAF Cessna O-1 dropped a note on the deck of the carrier. MARINES THAT WERE AWARDED THE ARMED FORCES EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL FOR PARTICIPATING IN OPERATION FREQUENT WIND FROM 29-30 APRIL 1975 ARE NOW ENTITLED TO EXCHANGE IT FOR THE VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL PER SECTION 542 IN PUBLIC LAW 107-314. The weather conditions deteriorated as the operation continued. Operation FREQUENT WIND (Evacuation of Saigon), 29 and 30 April 1975 (Note: Other Operations do not pertain to the Vietnam Era) Vietnam Service Medal 11231 of 8 July 1965. b. Vietnam Service Medal Eligibility Requirements. XIII. (2) Personnel Eligible. An award will not be made to a unit for actions of one or more of its component parts, unless such unit performed as a total team in a manner justifying the award. ships or units, and who actually participated in the given Operation Frequent Wind ship disposition 1975 - Recreated map.svg. An embassy official said that more than five million dollars were being burned. [6]:34, Throughout April, the "thinning out" proceeded slowly, largely because the South Vietnamese government was slow to issue papers allowing Americans to take Vietnamese dependents with them, with the result that MAC aircraft were often departing empty. The system worked so efficiently that the buses were able to make three return journeys rather than the expected one. [6]:37 President Ford, in an address to the American public on 11 April, promised to evacuate Vietnamese civilians of various categories. [10]:182 This was the last USAF fixed-wing aircraft to leave Tan Son Nhut. Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) Ribbon Synopsis: Awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any unit of the Navy or Marine Corps for outstanding performance in action. each carrying Marine, and Air Force (eight 21st Special Operations Squadron CH-53s and two 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron HH-53s[11]) helicopters. (c). Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for Vietnam. (d) Temporary Duty. Actual participation as a crew No medal is authorized for this citation. (b). But these restrictions were relaxed and eventually ignored altogether as the pace of the evacuation quickened. serving in direct support of operations in Vietnam. Please check our Hours of Operation page before planning your visit. [14]:30, At 17:00 the first CH-46 landed at the embassy. [10]:198, By 02:15 on 30 April one CH-46 and one CH-53 were landing at the embassy every 10 minutes. New National Museum of the U.S. Navy-October 2020, New National Museum of the U.S. Navy - October 2022, Exhibits: New National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Exhibits: New National Museum of the U.S. Navy - Main, The American Revolution and the French Alliance, The Forgotten Wars of the Nineteenth Century, Civil War: Securing the Seas for Union Victory, Education Resources (Lesson Plans and Class Activities), Education Resources (Lesson Plans and Class Activities) - Main, Sailor's Life at Sea & Poetry (Grades 4-6), DIVE! Personnel eligible for the award of the Purple Heart WOULD NOT necessarily qualify for the CAR. [35], On the afternoon of 29 April 1975, Hubert van Es, a Saigon-based photographer for United Press International, took the iconic photo of Operation Frequent Wind of an Air America UH-1 on a rooftop picking up Vietnamese evacuees. [6]:46 The fall of Xun Lc on 21 April and the resignation of President Nguyn Vn Thiu on 21 April brought greater crowds seeking evacuation to the DAO Compound as it became apparent that South Vietnam's days were numbered. [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. A South Vietnamese pilot lands his Huey helicopter on the deck of USS Hancock (CV-19). Join me as I look back 44 Years Earlier In 1973 America's fighting in Southeast Asia ended, placing the combat burden against North Vietnam squarely on the shoulders of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). Click on unit logos above for eligibility. [29] Nixon's pledge of Peace with Honor in Vietnam had become a humiliating defeat, which together with Watergate contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. [6]:27 By 16 April, Alamo was complete: water, C-rations, petroleum, oil, and lubricants had been stockpiled; backup electricity generators had been installed; sanitary facilities were completed; and concertina wire protected the perimeter. [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. service. Personnel in clandestine or special operations such as reconnaissance and SEAL teams are eligible when the risk of enemy fire was great and was expected to be encountered. Bronze Arrowhead (Army), For current prices select the image or one of the following links, Military Medals and Military Ribbons links, Official Military Ribbons-- provides information and links for. serving, for one or more days, with an organization The following three tables identify those awards that are campaign and expeditionary medals. At 11:30 PAVN tanks smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace less than 1km from the embassy and raised the flag of the Viet Cong over the building; the Vietnam War was over. [14]:28, From 10:00 to 12:00 Major Kean and his Marines cut down the tamarind and other trees and moved vehicles to create an LZ in the embassy parking lot behind the chancery building. Eligible evacuees now had to make themselves known to the Marine guards or embassy staff manning the walls and were then lifted over the walls and into the embassy compound. for the same service. 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. Personnel assigned to areas subjected to sustained mortar, missile, and artillery attacks actively participate in retaliatory or offensive actions are eligible. The Pittman Building was not an approved LZ, but when the agreed pickup point at the Lee Hotel at 6 Chien Si Circle was declared unusable, CIA Station Chief Tom Polgar asked Oren B. Harnage, Deputy Chief of the Embassy's Air Branch to change the pickup to the Pittman Building, which was the home of the Assistant Station Chief and had an elevator shaft believed capable of supporting the weight of a Huey. Vietnam Ceasefire Campaign 30 Mar 72 to 28 Jan 73 This office can identify awards earned by Navy units. limit may be waived for personnel participating in actual combat during the period for which that ship is listed as eligible, are The stem of the palm is to the wearer's right." . Military News and Information Editor http://www.13105320634.com The American War Library, Est. 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. It took 43 years to get my dd214 changed to the dd215. The performance of duty in carrying out a mission under the ordinary hazards of war, or participation in extended periods of combat duty, or in a large number of combat missions does not itself justify the award, which is designated to recognize specific acts of heroism on the part of the unit acting as a team. [10]:197 With the evacuation of the landing control teams from the Annex and Alamo completed, General Carey ordered the withdrawal of the ground security forces from the DAO Compound around 22:50. Vietnam, Winter-Spring 1970 01 Nov 69 to 30 Apr 70 [6]:2021 In late March, two or three of these MAC aircraft were arriving each day and were used to evacuate civilians and Vietnamese orphans. service in Vietnam, and no person shall be entitled to more than operational control in the area involved. Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. Evacuation of Phnom Penh and Saigon, April 29, 1975. Attached to or regularly The Marines closed and bolted the chancery door, the elevators were locked by Seabees on the sixth floor and the Marines withdrew up the stairwells locking grill gates behind them. To justify this award, the unit must have performed service as a unit of a character comparable to that which would merit the award of the Silver Star Medal or a Legion of Merit to an individual. 127-GVB-279-A150960: Operation Frequent Wind, April 29, 1975. However, no person shall be entitled to [23], Sea Stallions returning from the DAO Compound approach USS Midway, RVNAF Hueys and a CH-47 Chinook arrive at USS Midway, RVNAF Huey full with evacuees on the deck of USS Midway. participating in or directly supporting military operations. [9] Workers from Pacific Architects and Engineers visited each of the 13 LZs to remove obstructions and paint H's the size of a UH-1 Huey helicopter's skids. The Marine evacuation contingent, the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (Task Group 79.1), consisted of three Battalion Landing Teams (BLT); 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4), 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9), 3rd Battalion 9th Marines (3/9) and three helicopter squadrons HMH-462, HMH-463, HMM-165 along with other support units from Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39). [34] The USS Midway is a museum ship in San Diego. Operation Frequent Wind concluded more than two decades of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Vietnam Defense Campaign 08 Mar 65 to 24 Dec 65 No person may be issued both the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for 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). 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