EXCERPT
I was up with the first light on the morning of the 29th. Sleeping in the open I always got the first light and was usually up before anyone else. I had a feeling that something was about to break and I had better be up and ready.
Mr. Khang, one of Joe's English-speaking technicians, came up to me while I was brushing my teeth at the wash stand in the Commo Center courtyard. He was obviously excited about something. I said, "Good morning. What's new?" He said, "There's big news," and went on to tell me that General Duong Van Minh, "Big Minh," had just made a "big speech" on Radio Saigon. According to Khang, President Minh had informed the people of South Vietnam that he had communicated to the Hanoi government that he was ready to negotiate an end to hostilities. Big Minh said also that he had notified the American ambassador that all Americans should be ordered to leave Vietnam within twenty-four hours.
I knew that the General Assembly in Saigon had named "Big" Minh president just the day before, after Hanoi had hinted they might be willing to negotiate with the retired general. So this was it, the news we had been expecting.
Khang looked at me for a response. Stunned, all I could say was thanks. Khang shrugged and went back into the Commo Center. As I finished brushing my teeth a flood of thoughts raced through my head. The short notice was a shock--twenty-four hours to get out of Vietnam. Of course, my colleagues and I had expected this day would come but we had thought we would have more time. Our planning had been good so far. We had succeeded in transporting most of our House Seven people to the relative safety of Phu Quoc Island ahead of the mounting crisis in Saigon. We were positioned for easy evacuation when the time came. Now the moment had come. I felt a chaos in my heart. How were we to transport ourselves and our 1300 people out of Vietnamese territory before the North Vietnamese descended upon us?
The fear and uncertainty in my mind was then joined by anger. What happened to Saigon Station? Why did we have to learn of the expulsion order from a Vietnamese radio newscast? Why didn't our command inform us about Big Minh's order and lay out a solid, secure and well-thought out plan for transporting us out of Vietnam. But then I remembered why we had come to Phu Quoc--we had expected that Saigon Station might be in some disarray when the crunch came. We were right. Now we had a serious job to do. The evacuation was upon us.
After a couple of minutes I went into the Commo Center to find Joe
When I arrived at the Commo Center, Joe's radio operator was having trouble raising Saigon station--"Baker One" did not respond to repeated calls. I told the operator to keep trying. Four hours later, about three o'clock in the afternoon, we finally got through. I recognized the voice of Tony Collins, one of the key evacuation planners, on "Baker One."
I briefly explained the situation on Phu Quoc. I told Tony that the American Challenger was still at An Thoi and that the captain agreed to take our people on board. I asked if the ship had been sent specifically to evacuate our group. Tony said the ship had not been sent for us. I asked what arrangements had been made for getting us off of Phu Quoc. Tony said he did not know what the plans for us were. That being the case, I asked could we use the American Challenger. The response was: "Things have fallen apart a little sooner than we expected. Get out any way you can."
I will never forget those words: "Get out any way you can." Saigon Station had not completed plans for our transportation out of Vietnam. It was a shock; Saigon had let us downI signed off knowing we were on our own.
|