CHAPTER 12

Refugee Operations

A Link to Freedom: The Exodus and a New Beginning-Way Stations-Preparations: 1st Battalion, 4th Marines and the Task Force-Evacuation and Passage: Frequent Wind and the AESF's Final Chapter A Vietnamese City in Guam-The final Link: Camp Pendleton

'Operation New Arrivals will commence Phasedown incrementally when directed about 15 September (75). As presently planned, refugees at Camp Pendleton, California will be reduced to approximately 6800 on or about 30 September 1975.'1 With those words Brigadier General Paul G. Graham published his final order in the final chapter of the Marine Corps' official involvement in the South Vietnamese refugee operation. He concluded this assignment by submitting an after action report to the Commandant of the Marine Corps in November 1975. It marked the completion of more than six months of refugee operations for the Marine Corps which began in March with Staff Sergeant Walter W. Sparks and his detachment assisting evacuees in Da Nang Harbor. Those 200 days consumed the lion's share of the daily lives of the Marines participating in the rescue and resettlement of Vietnamese refugees.

Sandwiched between the initial security force (the Amphibious Evacuation RVN Support Group) and General Graham's Refugee Receiving Center were the efforts of the Marine Security Guard Detachments in South Vietnam; the Amphibious Evacuation Security Force; 1st Battalion, 4th Marines; Marine Barracks Guam; MCAS El Toro; and Marines from various commands, primarily units located on the West Coast. Highly publicized, very visible, and extremely sensitive, this undertaking represented an event as complex, complicated, and expensive as a major battle, and in essence had many of the trappings of warfare. To say it was disruptive and changed America belies the magnitude of the event. The refugee story, especially the story of their resettlement, is the Vietnam War's living legacy. In effect, it symbolized the Marine Corps' final Vietnam battle; the bitter end to a bitter struggle, but as in the case of a bitter end of a rope, that same end can also be a beginning, a rescue line, and a link to freedom.

A Link to Freedom: The Exodus and a New Beginning

Admiral Steele's Seventh Fleet, including Admiral Whitmire's Task Force 76 and General Carey's 9th MAB, extracted more than 7,000 fleeing South Vietnamese, providing them a new beginning. In addition, Colonel Frank G. McLenon's Provisional Marine Aircraft Group 39's helicopters removed 395 U.S. citizens and 4,475 refugees from the DAO compound and 978 Americans and 1,120 evacuees from the American Embassy.* These numbers did not include the American security force or Embassy Marines. Using 34 CH-53s, 29 CH-46s, 8 AH-lJs, and 6 UH-lEs, the ProvMAG flew 682 sorties (360 at night) and 560 hours [CH-53, 314; CH-46, 206; AH-1J, 34; UH-lE, 6], while the 10 Military Sealift Command ships continued, along with some 45 Navy ships, to pick up refugees escaping from Vietnam in everything from helicopters to sampans. The count for this four-day period put the total at over 40,000 evacuated with a final estimate for the month of April of approximately 130,000.2

In applauding the success of this mission, the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, Admiral Noel Gayler, said, 'This was a tough one. The job was uncertain, unprecedented, dangerous beyond measure. It demanded the last ounce of endurance and fortitude and savvy, and you gave it that and more . . . The rescue was a tremendous and joint enterprise, under the most difficult conditions. Performance of all hands superb. Well Done.'3

A successful rescue does not always mean a happy ending. Those rescued on 30 April and the thousands of others who left South Vietnam during April had to first reach safe haven before they could even think about freedom. The first link in this chain to freedom, the rescue, had to be joined to the next link, passage. For the majority of the Vietnamese evacuees, who had

*Evacuation numbers vary somewhat from those depicted by the 9th MAB Command Chronology. ProvMAG-39 reported: 'Later in the day evacuation began at the U.S. Embassy. An estimated 1150 American citizens and over 6,000 Vietnamese and Third Country Nationals were evacuated.' ProvMAG-39 ComdC. The JCS investigation of Operation Frequent Wind stated: 'At approximately 1700, the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy began. During the period 18 CH-53 and 54 CH-46 sorties evacuated 2379 passengers of which 978 were U.S. citizens, 1228 were foreign nationals and 173 USMC personnel.' In addition it provided slightly different figures for the DAO: 'A total of 122 sorties were flown during the evacuation of the DAO with 6416 passengers lifted from that location. This total includes 395 U.S. citizens, 5205 foreign nationals, and 816 GSF per-tonnel.' Cleland Report.