Rear Admiral Larry Chambers (USN, Ret.) commanded the USS Midway (CV-41) during the final days of the U.S. presence and evacuation of South Vietnam. Admiral Chambers told us the full story at a Sarasota Military Officers luncheon.
RADM Chambers was the first African American to command a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. He was the first African American graduate of the Naval Academy to attain flag rank.
In April 1975 Chambers was ordered to “make best speed” to the waters off South Vietnam as North Vietnam troops overran the country. The operation was named Frequent Wind to evacuate US and South Vietnamese personnel. At the time the Midway was in Subic Bay Naval Base with the engineering plant torn apart.
Chambers received no official order to start the operation, which began on April 29th. Chambers figured the operation was going on when Nguy ễn Cao Kỳ, the Vice President of Vietnam, landed on the flight deck. Soon the carrier's flight deck was full of South Vietnamese helicopters carrying refugees from the fall of South Vietnam.
In April 1975 Chambers was ordered to “make best speed” to the waters off South Vietnam as North Vietnam troops overran the country. The operation was named Frequent Wind to evacuate US and South Vietnamese personnel. At the time the Midway was in Subic Bay Naval Base with the engineering plant torn apart.
Chambers received no official order to start the operation, which began on April 29th. Chambers figured the operation was going on when Nguy ễn Cao Kỳ, the Vice President of Vietnam, landed on the flight deck. Soon the carrier's flight deck was full of South Vietnamese helicopters carrying refugees from the fall of South Vietnam.
South Vietnamese Air Force Major Buang-Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat Cessna O-1 Bird Dog aircraft and took off from Con Son Island. After evading enemy ground fire Major Buang headed out to sea and spotted the Midway. The Midway's crew attempted to contact the aircraft on emergency frequencies but the pilot continued to circle overhead with his landing lights turned on.When a spotter reported that there were at least four people in the two-place aircraft, all thoughts of forcing the pilot to ditch alongside were abandoned. It was unlikely the passengers of the overloaded plane could survive the ditching and safely escape before the plane sank. After three tries, Major Buang managed to drop a note from a low pass over the deck: "Can you move the helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly for one hour more, we have enough time to move. Please rescue me! Major Buang, wife and 5 child."
The Admiral knew that the small plane would flip if it tried to ditch in the ocean. The landing gear was fixed and if would flip over when it touched the water, very likely killing the small children. He also knew that there were too many Vietnamese helicopters on the deck for a safe landing - many of them had just flown out from Vietnam, with the pilots and their families escaping the North Vietnam takeover.
Then Captain Chambers gave the controversial order to push overboard millions of dollars worth of Vietnamese UH-1 Huey helicopters. The purpose was to permit the South Vietnamese Air Force Major to land a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog on the aircraft carrier with his wife and five children, thereby saving their lives
Chambers issued the order to allow the plane to land on the Midway's flight deck. The arresting wires were then removed, all helicopters that could not be safely or quickly relocated were pushed over the side and into the sea. An estimated US$10 million worth of UH-1 Huey helicopters were pushed overboard into the South China Sea.
With a 500-foot ceiling, five miles' visibility, light rain, and 15 knots of surface wind, Chambers ordered the ship to make 25 knots into the wind.
Warnings about the dangerous downdrafts created behind a steaming carrier were transmitted in both Vietnamese and English. To make matters worse, five additional UH-1s landed and cluttered up the deck. Chambers ordered them scuttled as well. Captain Chambers recalled in an article in the Fall 1993 issue of the national Museum of Aviation History's Foundation magazine that:
the aircraft cleared the ramp and touched down on center line at the normal touchdown point. Had he been equipped with a tailhook he could have bagged a number 3 wire. He bounced once and came stop abeam of the island, amid a wildly cheering, arms-waving flight deck crew.
Major Buang was escorted to the bridge, where Chambers congratulated him on his outstanding piloting and his bravery. The crew of Midway was so impressed that they established a fund to help him and his family get settled in the United States. The Bird Dog that Major Buang landed is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
At the time, Chambers had only been in command of USS Midway for four or five weeks and believed that his order would get him court martialed. He also called Buang-Ly the "Bravest man I have ever met in my life".
the aircraft cleared the ramp and touched down on center line at the normal touchdown point. Had he been equipped with a tailhook he could have bagged a number 3 wire. He bounced once and came stop abeam of the island, amid a wildly cheering, arms-waving flight deck crew.
Major Buang was escorted to the bridge, where Chambers congratulated him on his outstanding piloting and his bravery. The crew of Midway was so impressed that they established a fund to help him and his family get settled in the United States. The Bird Dog that Major Buang landed is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
At the time, Chambers had only been in command of USS Midway for four or five weeks and believed that his order would get him court martialed. He also called Buang-Ly the "Bravest man I have ever met in my life".
With the flight deck partially cleared Major Buang was able to safely land. He, his wife, and small children were saved.
Many years later in 2004 the Midway was made a museum in San Diego. The photo above is the family and their children who were saved and who attended the dedication of the museum.
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The commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War has been established by congressional law which, in part, states: "In Accordance With Public Law 110-181 SEC.598; the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the Secretary of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (2015 -2016) and, ‘in conducting the commemorative program, the Secretary shall coordinate, support, and facilitate other programs and activities of the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other persons and organizations in commemoration of the Vietnam War.”
To learn more visit:
vietnamwar50th.com
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View Crew of USS Midway push helicopters overboard vintage historic stock footage ... Fall of Saigon and evacuation of Americans and South Vietnamese from ...The commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War has been established by congressional law which, in part, states: "In Accordance With Public Law 110-181 SEC.598; the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the Secretary of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (2015 -2016) and, ‘in conducting the commemorative program, the Secretary shall coordinate, support, and facilitate other programs and activities of the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other persons and organizations in commemoration of the Vietnam War.”
To learn more visit:
vietnamwar50th.com
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