Operation Frequent Wind commenced on this date in 1975.

It was the operation to evacuate American civilians and some Vietnamese from Saigon as that city fell to the North Vietnamese Army. It marked the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

At the conclusion of two days of scrambling, some 7000 people were evacuated from Saigon by helicopter; over 50,000 were removed by fixed-wing aircraft. Almost 700 helicopter missions were flown; with no nation known as “South Vietnam” to return to, the South Vietnamese copters, some carrying U.S. insignia, were flown one-way—to U.S. ships in the South China Sea—where they were then pushed off the ships into the water to make room for more helicopters to land (photo at top). Some U.S. helicopters were ditched into the sea as well.
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