<font color=green>The final pullout was neither graceful nor honorable. Picture the last minutes at the US embassy in Saigon. It can only be described as a scene of utter chaos. Throngs of terror filled, panic-stricken South Vietnamese civilians assail the gates, hoping to find refuge inside the embassy. Those Vietnamese that are already inside, swarm the landing pad and desperately attempt to claw their way aboard, or cling like flies to the skids of the overburdened choppers as they strain to become airborne. But the "lifeboats" are too few to save everyone, as the US ship of state is sinking. There’s only enough room for American troops and the few Vietnamese women and children that are their legal dependents. The men aboard are forced to kick the hangers-on off in order to just get airborne. Vietnamese mothers, knowing they cannot go themselves, plead for us to take their babies with us in our retreat. For them, especially those who are half-breeds, the Bui Doi, the "Dust of Life", a life in the States as orphans will be far better than any possible with their mothers in a Communist ruled Vietnam.
But as the chopper engines gain speed, the quickening Whump! Whump! Whump! Whump! of the whirling blades drowns out the screams of those left behind. Some, having managed to hang on until the choppers are aloft, finally exhausted, fall to their deaths in the jungle or the sea below. Just offshore, aboard the carriers, the choppers disgorge their human cargo onto the flight decks. Then, amazingly, the spent Hueys are pushed overboard into the sea to make room for more incoming flights to land. But it’s a dire situation, calling for the most desperate of measures! The cost of the gear is no consideration at all. Now, saving as many American lives as possible is paramount!
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