In 1975, America’s war in Vietnam came to an ignominious close with the final rotary-wing evacuation from Saigon. Images of Operation ‘Frequent Wind’ were flashed around the world, but what was the story behind the pictures?
April 1975 saw the wars in South-east Asia come to an end, to the surprise of all parties involved. The North Vietnamese Politburo agreed in October 1974 that the war had reached its ‘final stage’ and voted on the Resolution of 1975: that year, the army would consolidate gains,eliminate South Vietnamese border outposts, and continue the build-up in the south in preparation for the final general offensive in 1976.
The 1975 Spring Offensive, officially known as the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring 1975, developed rapidly into a war-ending campaign following an initial success in Phuoc Long Province. Fighting continued until 6 January, when Phuoc Long became the first provincial capital to be permanently taken by the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN). Out of 5,400 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops committed, only 850 managed to escape. More important, there was no reaction by the United States.
According to Gen Cao Van Viên, chief of the ARVN general staff, “Alm…
