CDR Sal, you managed to bring out the best of a very sad chapter of U.S. military history. The Captain was a very capable African American, deservedly made flag (IMO, for what that's worth...). The fact that he thought he would be court martialed for his actions and didn't blink speaks volumes about him, the people above him, and the "system". A great captain, a great crew, and a great ship. Fullbore indeed!
only tangentially related......myself, then wife, six year old son, infant daughter...living in a tiny 2 bedroom house 24' x 32', still managed to sponsor three "boat people" young men refugees from Nam, who lived with us for three months before they could be settled elsewhere permanently.
A fine memory of mine.
She, (former spouse) was most instrumental in us doing so; all honor to her, forever.
Over 2 decades ago I worked with a fellow whose father had been, as best I can tell, a signal officer in the ARVN. They lived in Saigon for a while after the war before they managed to escape on one of the waves of boats.
They apparently lived near the US Embassy because the kids would go there to play and explore. At one point they found some grenades in the basement. And boys being boys, they of course tested them out. No casualties.
Great story. It was also featured in the recent Vietnam series on Apple TV+, and the Midway's page on YouTube has had a piece on it for a while. If I recall, the letter was saved and is in Annapolis and the Cessna is actually on display in Pensacola.
The major was a stud no doubt and truly worthy of FBF accolades, and the downer is that more couild not be saved. But landing on the Midway would be a piece of cake. I flew an L-19 at Owens Field in Columbia SC in the late 70's, and the thing had flaps that would go to 60 deg (versus 30 on a 172). You could literally fall out of the sky if you didn't manage airspeed in the pattern. In a 30 kt wind you could just about hover over the runway, and my instructor that had flown for 3 years at JAARS Townsend told me that knowing your crash speed could be around 30 kts made a lot of pilots do foolish stuff.
I think it was in the late 70's or early 80's that there was a similar incident - a newly certified pilot landed a Cessna on the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point. An instructor pilot told me it was a perfect short field landing. The only mistake was not immediately executing a short field take off. The pilot was arrested and probably lost his license. The instructor pilot's lesson was, "There is no law against being stupid, but there are many laws against doing stupid things."
“Something out there they could depend on…”. Major Buang-ly coined an awesome recruitment slogan for a US Navy commercial. The Major, the Skipper, and the crew are inspiring after all these years. Thanks Sal!
Since those Dark Days in 1975, the "American Way of War" can be defined as:
An insanely years long, tremendously expensive struggle. Chasing ridiculously undefined goals, with it all ending with us being ignominiously chased away with our surprised tail between our legs.
And, to make it worse, the better part of a century later, we have become so obtuse and so unimaginative, we can't help but even have to use the exact same damned aircraft!!!
"Five Decades After Evacuating The Embassy In Saigon The CH-46 Phrog Did It Again In Kabul
Comparisons between the evacuations of the embassies in Saigon and Kabul are unavoidable and the CH-46 was there for both historic operations.
The Bureau Number (BuNo), a serial number applied to all aircraft that the U.S. Navy purchases regardless of their ultimate recipient, on one of the helicopters in the photo could read 154038, matching a CH-46E that was indeed transferred to the State Department as N38TU in 2012. If accurate, at least one Sea Knight may have participated in both historic evacuations."
A truly wonderful story. I'm surprised that it isn't more widely known, particularly among Navy's tens of thousands of carrier-based veterans.
Yea, the men did their utmost. The top failed them.
The US Amb didn't want to undercut the South Viets, so he prevented any visible evac prep
White Christmas!
Big Balls
CDR Sal, you managed to bring out the best of a very sad chapter of U.S. military history. The Captain was a very capable African American, deservedly made flag (IMO, for what that's worth...). The fact that he thought he would be court martialed for his actions and didn't blink speaks volumes about him, the people above him, and the "system". A great captain, a great crew, and a great ship. Fullbore indeed!
well said, Sir. I concur, EVERY word.
Minor nitpick: "African American"- Just AMERICAN.
BZ to the Captain and all who pitched in. A bright highlight in a bad time.
Concur.
Great story, Fullbore.
only tangentially related......myself, then wife, six year old son, infant daughter...living in a tiny 2 bedroom house 24' x 32', still managed to sponsor three "boat people" young men refugees from Nam, who lived with us for three months before they could be settled elsewhere permanently.
A fine memory of mine.
She, (former spouse) was most instrumental in us doing so; all honor to her, forever.
BZ Sir!
Also only tangentially related:
Over 2 decades ago I worked with a fellow whose father had been, as best I can tell, a signal officer in the ARVN. They lived in Saigon for a while after the war before they managed to escape on one of the waves of boats.
They apparently lived near the US Embassy because the kids would go there to play and explore. At one point they found some grenades in the basement. And boys being boys, they of course tested them out. No casualties.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't envious.
Please tell me Major Buang-Ly is an honorary Naval Aviator and Tailhooker.
Gotta find the article but I'm pretty sure he was honored with such at a recent Hook convention.
His family come to the naval aviation museum on the regular. They are treated like royalty by the museum staff.
Great story. It was also featured in the recent Vietnam series on Apple TV+, and the Midway's page on YouTube has had a piece on it for a while. If I recall, the letter was saved and is in Annapolis and the Cessna is actually on display in Pensacola.
Oh, didn't know about that series, thanks!
All apart of the MIDWAY magic.
(NB: both are now my fellow citizens of the Free State of Florida).
At least your local reporters are willing to tell this story in the Free State. WTSP did this one just back in February. Video of RADM Chambers himself. https://www.wtsp.com/article/entertainment/television/brightside/beautiful-people/larry-chambers-vietnam-war-uss-midway-helicopters/67-7b60b5d1-d6db-475d-9a7c-98207b7d7797
Fantastic tale. Thanks.
The major was a stud no doubt and truly worthy of FBF accolades, and the downer is that more couild not be saved. But landing on the Midway would be a piece of cake. I flew an L-19 at Owens Field in Columbia SC in the late 70's, and the thing had flaps that would go to 60 deg (versus 30 on a 172). You could literally fall out of the sky if you didn't manage airspeed in the pattern. In a 30 kt wind you could just about hover over the runway, and my instructor that had flown for 3 years at JAARS Townsend told me that knowing your crash speed could be around 30 kts made a lot of pilots do foolish stuff.
I think it was in the late 70's or early 80's that there was a similar incident - a newly certified pilot landed a Cessna on the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point. An instructor pilot told me it was a perfect short field landing. The only mistake was not immediately executing a short field take off. The pilot was arrested and probably lost his license. The instructor pilot's lesson was, "There is no law against being stupid, but there are many laws against doing stupid things."
Your lede photo? That yellow shirt is tired. Very, very tired.
And that was in the days before the "minimal manning" bean counters.
Air eats their young.
“Something out there they could depend on…”. Major Buang-ly coined an awesome recruitment slogan for a US Navy commercial. The Major, the Skipper, and the crew are inspiring after all these years. Thanks Sal!
Seven helicopters for seven people? I'll take that trade, all day, every day. Heroic action by all involved.
We need to start the evac of Taiwan, right now.
That was such a scarring event, and it still stings today...
The dark shade of our failure in Vietnam has hindered our ability to successfully wage war ever since.
So. A little levity may help salve things.
When I see the pic of the yellow shirt in the post, I can't unsee the images of this other 70's gent!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/949/41336962285_8dfe8c8903_o.jpg
Can't say it isn't true...
Since those Dark Days in 1975, the "American Way of War" can be defined as:
An insanely years long, tremendously expensive struggle. Chasing ridiculously undefined goals, with it all ending with us being ignominiously chased away with our surprised tail between our legs.
And, to make it worse, the better part of a century later, we have become so obtuse and so unimaginative, we can't help but even have to use the exact same damned aircraft!!!
https://www.twz.com/42036/five-decades-after-evacuating-the-embassy-in-saigon-the-ch-46-phrog-did-it-again-in-kabul
"Five Decades After Evacuating The Embassy In Saigon The CH-46 Phrog Did It Again In Kabul
Comparisons between the evacuations of the embassies in Saigon and Kabul are unavoidable and the CH-46 was there for both historic operations.
The Bureau Number (BuNo), a serial number applied to all aircraft that the U.S. Navy purchases regardless of their ultimate recipient, on one of the helicopters in the photo could read 154038, matching a CH-46E that was indeed transferred to the State Department as N38TU in 2012. If accurate, at least one Sea Knight may have participated in both historic evacuations."
https://x.com/Harry_Boone/status/1427212289535627265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1427212289535627265%7Ctwgr%5E53cb7b6ec87fb87faca5907d79e9192db726590e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twz.com%2F42036%2Ffive-decades-after-evacuating-the-embassy-in-saigon-the-ch-46-phrog-did-it-again-in-kabul