Alicia Summers/CBS8
In just a few days, Vietnamese Americans all across America will remember the fall of Saigon in different ways appropriate to their own experience. For the former veterans, crew members and refugees of the USS Midway in San Diego, they will hold a commemoration ceremony on Sunday, on the flight deck of the museum.
Silhouetted mechanics ready Skywarrior jets for night operations, aboard the USS Midway. (Photo: Wilbur E. Garrett/National Geographic/Getty Images)
Already, volunteers have tied 58,300 yellow ribbons on a fence surrounding the Midway’s flight deck to honor the same number of military men and women who lost their lives during the conflict. The Midway is home to “Operation Frequent Wind”, a humanitarian effort that saved over 3,000 Vietnamese refugees and one very famous family, whose patriarch, Bung Lee, landed on the flight deck with his wife and 4 children in a daring rescue. Larry Chambers, the former captain of the USS Midway, and Vern Jumper, the vessel’s air boss, are among those scheduled to make remarks at the event. A half-size replica of the Vietnam Wall Memorial, known as ‘The Wall That Heals’ will also be on display. Officials estimate 5,000 people will show up for the event.
President Gerald R Ford talks with his Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and orders ‘Operation Frequent Wind,’ final evacuation by helicopter from Saigon. That decision effectively ended the Vietnam War for America. (Photo: David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)
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