A US soldier watches as a Blackhawk helicopter prepares to land in southeastern in August 2019
Upbeat talk of Afghan forces being “better than we thought they were” may soon be put to the test.
It was a little past three in the morning on April 30, 1975, when the American ambassador in Saigon received an urgent message from the commander in chief. “The president expects Ambassador Martin to be on the last helicopter,” read the note, which authorized the use of 19 helicopters to evacuate Americans from the embassy grounds. “No more” helicopters, it said. The words were underlined twice.
A few hours later, as North Vietnamese troops pushed into the city and mortar fire edged closer to the embassy, ten Marines stepped onto the final helicopter to land on the embassy roof, according to French journalist Olivier Todd’s account. An iconic photograph would sum up the hasty evacuation for generations. “I was the last one,” said Master Sgt. Juan Valdez. Cobra gunships flew alongside the Marines as they headed towards the coast, with those on board cheering and taking pictures.
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WNU Editor: I saw this happened on the Soviet side when the Mujahedeen took over Afghanistan after the Soviet military withdrew from the country. And I can easily see the same story repeating itself when the U.S. finally leaves the country.
