John Blake/CNN
Many heroic stories come out during times of war and tragedy, and Ba Van Nguyen is one of them.
Nguyen, who was a former pilot in the South Vietnamese Army, took a CH-47 Chinook, the largest helicopter in the South Vietnamese army, and flew his wife and three young children out to the South China Sea as the North captured Saigon on April 30,1975.
Ba Van Nguyen flew the CH-47 Chinook and rescued his wife and 3 young children. (Photo: Courtesy of the USS Kirk Association)
Nguyen flew close to the USS Kirk and asked for help. The Captain of the ship, Capt. Paul Jacobs, dubbed “Big Jake” had orders to shoot down any unidentified aircraft that might threaten the aerial evacuation from Saigon. But he told his crew to not shoot unless they did first.
The Kirk was not large enough to withstand the weight of the Chinook, and Nguyen was running out of fuel. He had to do something. In that moment, he decided he would hover above the USS Kirk and have his wife and children jump into the arms of the waiting soldiers on board. They were all safe. Now it was his turn. Although he had never attempted a ditch at sea effort before, he had no other choice and steered the Chinook away from the USS Kirk and jumped out at the last minute. He survived.
His story from there goes much like those of thousands of other refugees who make it to America’s shores. His family ended up in Seattle and Ngueyn worked as a janitor at night and went to school during the day. He was able to get a job as a technician at Boeing.
He never spoke much about his journey, but in 2009. Nguyen was reunited with former crew members of the USS Kirk and awarded an air medal for bravery. By that time, he was confined to a wheelchair and suffered from alzheimer’s. In 2012, he passed away at age 73.
Nguyen’s story was featured in Rory Kennedy’s “Last Days of Vietnam” documentary.
To read the full article, click here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/29/us/vietnam-sea-rescue/
