The following three tables identify those awards that are campaign and expeditionary medals. [6]:35, On 7 April Air America pilot Nikki A. Fillipi, with U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Robert Twigger, assigned to the DAO as the U.S. Navy liaison officer, surveyed 37 buildings in Saigon as possible landing zones (LZ), selecting 13 of them as fit for use. (d) Public Law 107-314 of 2 December 2002 stipulates that personnel who were awarded the Armed Forces Expeditioanry Medal (AFEM) for their participation in Operation FREQUENT WIND, during the period 29 to 30 April 1975, may elect the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) in lieu of the Armed Forces Expeditioanry Medal (AFEM) for such service. After receiving permission from the airborne commander, the Wild Weasel marked the three 57-mm sites with an AGM-45 Shrike missile and took evasive action to escape the tracers coming in. Note: (5) Named Campaigns are denoted by a 3/16 silver service star. Major Kean was then ordered to withdraw his men into the chancery building and withdraw to the rooftop LZ for evacuation. In addition, a flotilla of Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships were assembled and these carried out seaborne evacuations from Saigon Port, this fleet comprised: On 28 April at 18:06, three A-37 Dragonflies piloted by former RVNAF pilots, who had defected to the Vietnamese People's Air Force at the fall of Da Nang, dropped six Mk81 250lb bombs on Tan Son Nhut Air Base destroying several aircraft. serving, for one or more days, aboard a naval vessel directly This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps. The Air America pilot shut down his helicopter and left it. [6]:36 At 08:30 on 29 April, with the shelling of Tan Son Nhut Airport subsiding, Air America began ferrying its helicopter and fixed-wing pilots from their homes in Saigon to the Air America compound at Tan Son Nhut, across the road from the DAO Compound. for the same service. Actual participation as a crew 29 Apr 1975 - 30 Apr 1975 Mayaguez 15-May-1975 El Salvador 1 Jan 1981 - 1 Feb 1992 Lebanon 1 Jun 1983 - 1 Dec 1987 Grenada Operation URGENT FURY 23 Oct 1983 - 21 Nov 1983 Libya EL DORADO CANYON 12 Apr 1986 - 17 Apr 1986 Persian Gulf EARNEST WILL 24 Jul 1987 - 1 Aug 1990 [10]:191 At about 17:30 General Carey ordered the extraction of 3rd Platoon, Company C of BLT 1/9, which had been landed at the DAO Compound on 25 April to assist the Marine Security Guard. V. Vietnam Counter-offensive I11 01 Jun 67 to 29 Jan 68 The SeaCobras could also serve as Forward Air Controllers. At the beginning of March, fixed-wing aircraft began evacuating civilians from Tan Son Nhat Airport through neighboring countries. When Lady Ace 09 transmitted "Tiger is out", those helicopter crews still flying thought the mission was complete, and delayed evacuating the Marines from the embassy rooftop. [20]:30, At 14:06 two UH-1E Huey helicopters carrying General Carey and Colonel Alfred M. Gray Jr. (commander of Regimental Landing Team 4 (RLT4)) landed at the DAO Compound. It's a laundry ship". An individual whose eligibility has been established in combat in any of the following listed operations, is authorized the award of the CAR. It was carried out on 29-30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. Helicopters overflew the designated LZs to check no Americans had been left behind and then the last helicopters (many low on fuel) headed out to TF76, located USS Midway or USS Hancock and shut down. [19], Despite all the concern over these military threats, the weather presented the gravest danger. [6]:35, By late April, Air America helicopters were flying several daily shuttles from TF76 to the DAO Compound to enable the 9th MAB to conduct evacuation preparations at the DAO without exceeding the Paris Peace Accords' limit of 50 U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam. [20]:20, So many RVNAF helicopters landed on the TF76 ships that some 45 UH-1 Hueys and at least one CH-47 Chinook were pushed overboard to make room for more helicopters to land. [6]:111 However, one USAF report states that an F-4C Wild Weasel and an F-4D of the 388th Fighter Wing, was patrolling between Tan Son Nhut and Bien Hoa about 16:00 when the Wild Weasel detected SAM radar emissions to the north. [6] Originally codenamed "Talon Vise", the operation was renamed "Frequent Wind" when the original codename was compromised. On the afternoon of 30 April, TF-76 moved away from the coast, picking up more refugees as they went. of service between 1 July 1958 and 3 July 1965, inclusive, in an Thanks to my daughter for never giving up. All personnel who participated in Operation Frequent Wind (the. serving in direct support of operations in Vietnam. [10]:197 At 23:40 Marines destroyed the satellite terminal, the DAO Compound's last means of direct communication with the outside world. Despite receiving sporadic PAVN AAA fire, USAF and USN aircraft made no attacks on AAA or SAM sites during the evacuation. [10]:196 Between 19:00 and 21:00 General Carey transferred 3 platoons (130 men) of BLT 2/4 into the embassy compound to provide additional security and assistance for the embassy. 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. Vietnam, Winter-Spring 1970 01 Nov 69 to 30 Apr 70 The cause of the crash was never determined. [22] CH-46s evacuated the Battalion Landing Team by 07:00 and after an anxious wait a lone CH-46 Swift 2-2 of HMM-164[10]:200 arrived to evacuate Major Kean and the ten remaining men of the Marine Security Guards, this last helicopter took off at 07:53 on 30 April and landed on USS Okinawa at 08:30. We also conducted a brief search of the catalog using the terms Operation Frequent Wind, Operation Eagle Pull, and Agent Orange. [21]:6 At 21:30 a CH-53 pilot informed Major Kean that Admiral Whitmire, Commander of Task Force 76 had ordered that operations would cease at 23:00. This operation was also the debut combat deployment of the F-14 Tomcat aircraft. XIV. As they approached the helicopters had taken rifle and M-79 grenade fire from ARVN troops but without causing any apparent damage. Chambers ordered the flight deck crew to clear the landing area; in the process an estimated US$10 million worth of UH-1 Huey helicopters were pushed overboard into the South China Sea. Most of the Marines were inside the chancery when the crowds outside the embassy broke through the gates into the compound. During the fixed-wing evacuation 50,493 people (including 2,678 Vietnamese orphans) were evacuated from Tan Son Nhut. 2 Per reference (b) above, paragraph 14 (Page 2-20) of said reference states: (1). [10]:198, By 02:15 on 30 April one CH-46 and one CH-53 were landing at the embassy every 10 minutes. consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, except that the time No person may be issued both the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for Official U.S. Marine Corps photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 1st Anti-Tank Bn, 1st Mar Div, 27Mar66 to 20Sep69, 3rd Anti-Tank Bn, 3rd Mar Div, 12Jul65 to 20Sep69, For the Period of 08 February 1962 to 28 March 1973, Headquarters, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam AND SUBORDINATE COMMANDS IN DIRECT SUPPORT are eligible to participate in the award only during the period actually served ashore in the Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Commendation, Civil Action, 1st Class with Palm and Frame. The evacuation of the embassy was completed at 07:53 on 30 April, but some Americans chose to stay or were left behind and some 400 third-country nationals were left at the embassy. (Operation Frequent Wind) April 29, 1975 to April, 30 1975 Vietnam (including Thailand) July 1, 1958 to July 3, 1965 . [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. At this time, the embassy indicated that another 19 lifts would complete the evacuation. It has often been misidentified as the US Embassy. By mid-April, contingency plans were in place and preparations were underway for a possible helicopter evacuation. U.S. officials decided to stop using the less maneuverable C-141s, which had been loaded with up to 316 evacuees, and use only C-130s, which had been taking off with more than 240. Her belongings will be tagged with the same number due to the language barrier between the refugees and Marines. The tail rotor sheared off and embedded itself in the engine of an Air America Bell 205 that was doing a hot refueling on the helipad at the rear of the ship. for the award; however, consideration will be given in those Authorized Devices: Bronze Star, Silver Star, "[15] Frank Snepp later recalled the arrival of helicopters at the embassy while the song was playing over the radio as a "bizarre Kafkaesque time". [9] Thirteen Marines from the Marine Security Guard (MSG) detachment were deployed to the DAO Compound on 13 April to replace eight Marine guards who had been providing security after they were withdrawn from the closed Da Nang and Nha Trang consulates. The four crew members estimated they received more than 500 rounds of 23-mm, 37-mm, and 57-mm fire in the space of one minute. [30], For an operation of the size and complexity of Frequent Wind, casualties were relatively light. Separately, all USMC and selected land-based USN personnel who participated inOperation Frequent Wind or Operation Eagle Pull are additionally authorized theVietnam Civil Actions Medal along with the Vietnam Service Medal. Such certification His helicopter turned and hit the side of Blue Ridge before hitting the sea. Taken with other categories of Vietnamese, the number quickly passed 200,000. (c). [6]:69 Armed guards were also present on each flight to prevent hijacking. Click on unit logos above for eligibility. . Operation Frequent Wind and Vietnam Service Medal All personnel who participated in Operation Frequent Wind (the evacuation of Saigon) are now automatically authorized the Vietnam Service. . These altitudes were also high enough to avoid small arms and artillery fire. XV . The note read "Can you move these helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly 1 hour more, we have enough time to move. Tet Counter-offensive 30 Jan 68 to 01 Apr 68 [6]:66, On 27 April, PAVN rockets hit Saigon and Cholon for the first time since the 1973 ceasefire. Pilots of other helicopters were told to drop off their passengers and then take off and ditch in the sea, from where they would be rescued. [10]:187, The air wings of USS Enterprise and USS Coral Sea, were ready to provide close air support and anti-aircraft suppression if required with their A-6 and A-7 attack aircraft, and would provide continuous fighter cover the evacuation route including by VF-1 and VF-2, flying from Enterprise with the first combat deployment of the new F-14A Tomcat. All personnel who participated in Operation Frequent Wind (the evacuation ofSaigon) are now automatically authorized the Vietnam Service Medal and VietnamCross of Gallantry. Companies E and F respectively occupied the northern and southern sections between the DAO headquarters and the DAO Annex. 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