Peter Arnett, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of combat for The Associated Press and later gained fame as a CNN correspondent, has written a new memoir, "Saigon Has Fallen," about his dozen-plus years reporting on Vietnam. The attackers waiting at the gates of a vanquished Saigon have been warning they would act, and now with each thump of the Soviet-made 130mm guns, sound waves rustle the curtains of my open seventh floor hotel window. Street lights shine below as I look out toward Tan Son Nhut airport, once described as the busiest in the world when America was waging war here. After watching the destruction of the airport, I phone the Associated Press office a few blocks away, and my colleague Ed White answers. Soon afterward, from an upstairs hotel balcony as daylight approaches I can clearly see thick black smoke hanging over the airport like a funeral shroud. Stricken silent by this horrifying spectacle, we see a second aircraft following the same path and suffering the same fate, like the first undoubtedly a victim of ground fire. After the war, Martin would tell me, It didn't make sense to me that we couldn't physically come in with transport planes. Option Four is code for Operation Frequent Wind, planned as a large-scale evacuation of people to American Navy ships off the coast. Most of the passengers for the final helicopter lifts have been chosen in advance, alerted to keep listening to Armed Forces Radio for a signal. Thirteen helicopter pickup points have been selected around Saigon, using the small UH-1 Huey ships for the tops of tall buildings and the much bigger CH-53 Sea Knights for the American Defense Department compound at the airport and the embassy grounds. During the past week some have considered the possibility of remaining behind and seeing what transpires, but their home offices expect them to leave with the last Americans because of the uncertainty of the future. The main crisis unfolds in and around the U.S.
'saigon Has Fallen' — A Reporter's View Of Vietnam War's End
By PETER ARNETT, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle
Sat, 04/25/2015 - 9:52am
Topics: saigon has fallen, saigon has fallen, soviet-made street tan son nhut ed white stricken martin option four operation frequent wind american navy armed forces radio thirteen uh-1 huey ch-53 sea knights american defense department u.s embassy bloodshed snepp eden building april hearing tet offensive esper nguyen van long peter arnett the associated press at the associated press vietnam america it americans u.s ap lam son square north day war years dozen-plus hours angry cnn fame coverage young tall hotel people
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