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The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (also known as the Viet Cong) on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a Socialist Republic governed by the Communist Party.<br/><br/> North Vietnamese forces under the command of the General Van Tien Dung began their final attack on Saigon, with South Vietnamese forces commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan, on April 29, suffering heavy artillery bombardment. By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points of the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. The South Vietnamese government capitulated shortly afterward. The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, after the Democratic Republic's President Ho Chi Minh.<br/><br/> The fall of the city was preceded by the evacuation of almost all the American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians associated with the southern regime. The evacuation culminated in Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history.
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) underway returning to the United States from a Western Pacific cruise that included the evacuation of Saigon.<br/><br/> The aircraft on her deck include U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, which were hitching a ride home on board the ship.<br/><br/> There are pilots and or crew sunbathing on the forward part of the flight deck.
Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation by helicopter of American civilians and 'at-risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, on 29–30 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated from various points in Saigon, and the airlift left a number of enduring images.<br/><br/> Preparations for the airlift already existed as a standard procedure for American embassies. In the beginning of March, fixed-wing aircraft began evacuating civilians through neighboring countries. By mid-April, contingency plans were in place and preparations were underway for a possible helicopter evacuation. As the imminent collapse of Saigon became evident, Task Force 76 was assembled off the coast near Vung Tau to support a helicopter evacuation and provide air support if required. Air support was not needed as the North Vietnamese recognized that interfering with the evacuation could provoke a forceful reaction from US forces.<br/><br/> On April 28, Tan Son Nhut Air Base came under artillery fire and attack from Vietnamese People's Air Force aircraft. The fixed-wing evacuation was terminated and Operation Frequent Wind commenced.<br/><br/> The evacuation was to take place primarily from DAO Compound and began around two in the afternoon on 29 April and was completed that night with only limited small arms damage to the helicopters. The US Embassy, Saigon was intended to only be a secondary evacuation point for Embassy staff, but was soon overwhelmed with evacuees and desperate South Vietnamese. The evacuation of the Embassy was completed at 07:53 on 30 April, but some 400 third country nationals were left behind.
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (also known as the Viet Cong) on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a Socialist Republic governed by the Communist Party.<br/><br/> North Vietnamese forces under the command of the General Van Tien Dung began their final attack on Saigon, with South Vietnamese forces commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan, on April 29, suffering heavy artillery bombardment. By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points of the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. The South Vietnamese government capitulated shortly afterward. The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, after the Democratic Republic's President Ho Chi Minh.<br/><br/> The fall of the city was preceded by the evacuation of almost all the American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians associated with the southern regime. The evacuation culminated in Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history.