Operation Frequent Wind: America Evacuates Saigon
Operation Frequent Wind, the helicopter evacuation of Saigon, began on the morning of April 29, 1975, and lasted approximately 19 hours. Marine CH-46 and Air Force CH-53 helicopters shuttled between the US Embassy compound, the DAO compound at Tan Son Nhut airport, and aircraft carriers offshore. Over 7,000 people were evacuated, including 1,373 Americans and 5,595 Vietnamese and third-country nationals. The iconic photograph of a helicopter on a rooftop was not taken at the embassy but at 22 Gia Long Street, a CIA building. The last helicopter departed the embassy roof at 7:53 AM on April 30. Thousands of Vietnamese who had been promised evacuation were left behind. North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the presidential palace hours later.
April 29, 1975
51 years ago
Key Figures & Places
North Vietnam
Wikipedia
Saigon
Wikipedia
Operation Frequent Wind
Wikipedia
Operation Frequent Wind
Wikipedia
Ho Chi Minh City
Wikipedia
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Wikipedia
Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base
Wikipedia
Vietnam War
Wikipedia
South Vietnam
Wikipedia
Cambodian campaign
Wikipedia
Cambodia
Wikipedia
Viet Cong
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on April 29
A single mountain of rock in North Africa swallowed an army and spat them out into Europe. Tariq ibn-Ziyad didn't just land; he burned his own ships to ensure h…
The basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura cracked open while Rome slept in 801, shaking the Central Apennines hard enough to rattle Spoleto too. It wasn't just st…
Byzantine Emperor Alexius I crushed the Pecheneg army at the Battle of Levounion, ending their threat to Constantinople. By annihilating the nomadic force with …
A Lithuanian cavalry charge at the Vikhra River crushed Smolensk's hopes in minutes. Prince Vasily's army, outnumbered and outmaneuvered by Algirdas's son, didn…
Joan of Arc arrived at the besieged city of Orleans on April 29, 1429, accompanied by a supply convoy and several hundred troops. The 17-year-old peasant girl h…
A seventeen-year-old girl in a white suit walked into a starving city where the French army had been too terrified to move for months. She didn't just talk; she…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.