And I know that a lot of Vietnam veterans probably saw similar things, but it changes you, makes you a different person.

I'm always proud of those days that I served with the marines.

Nebbe: This is Colonel Gerry Berry, United States Marine Corps, retired.

Berry, who calls Iowa home, is a former combat helicopter pilot.

His current mission is to tell the story of his service in Vietnam during a turbulent time in our nation's history.

The Vietnam veteran will always be, in my mind, the best America had.

Nebbe: Nearly 50 years before giving this speech in May of 2025, Berry was part of a different mission, one that ended U.S.

involvement in Vietnam.

It was April of 1975, and hostile forces were about to surround South Vietnam's capital.

Berry was flying along with 70 other helicopters that had been sent to bring out as many people as possible.

His specific orders were to pick up U.S.

Ambassador Graham Martin and take him to a ship waiting offshore.

Berry: I flew in.

It was just a little after 1:00 in the afternoon on 29 April, and I'm kind of pumped up 'cause I'm supposed to get the ambassador, you know?

So you're thinking, "Well, this is a kind of a privilege in its own way," so I feel good about it.

Nebbe: Berry had flown in the skies over Vietnam on his first tour six years before.

Part of his job was to put combat troops onto the battlefield.

In December of 1969, while commanding a flight of two CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters and two HueyCobra gunships, he came to the rescue of an eight-man reconnaissance team that had come under heavy fire.

What amazes me is I'm the oldest guy there, 24 years old.

Do you realize how young we all were?

But that's the way it was everywhere.

You never thought about it then.

I always think because of the -- you had these loyal people who went and served when others were burning their draft cards, going to Canada, so my heart's always out to the Vietnam veteran, not just because I was there, but because a lot of them weren't treated well when they came back, and all these anti-war demonstrations that went on, the Kent State thing in '70, so your compassion is with Vietnam veterans.

Nebbe: In 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed.

U.S.

military forces left the country.

Almost immediately, the communist North Vietnamese government violated the peace treaty.

In 1975, North Vietnamese forces began a military push to the south.

By April 29th, elements of the People's Army of Vietnam were converging on South Vietnam's capital of Saigon.

The evacuation protocol, known as Operation Frequent Wind, was put into effect.

Berry was dispatched to pick up Ambassador Martin and take him to the USS Blue Ridge.

This is Berry's helicopter, call sign Lady Ace 09, landing in the U.S.

embassy's parking lot.

Berry: We land.

The crowd's everywhere, but nobody's getting on the helicopter.

We got the back ramp down.

So, finally, I called the Marine security guard over and I said, "This is Lady Ace 09.

We're here to get the ambassador and his staff."

He says, "Fine."

He runs into the building, comes back, says, "The ambassador's not ready to go."

In a way, I kind of understood that.

I'm thinking, "Well, he's probably got other things he's got to get done here," not really thinking that much about it.

So they said, "We're going to load you up with evacuees.

Take them out to the ship."

"Fine."

So we did.

Nebbe: What had begun as a straightforward mission to bring out Ambassador Martin became an 18-hour ordeal that found Berry shuttling people to safety.

As Berry was returning to the embassy in the early morning hours of April 30th, he could see North Vietnamese tanks approaching the capital city.

Berry: Well, who's in charge?

Who is going to make this thing end?

And that's when I was flying back in.

I'd probably have never been so angry.

You can't imagine flying all day and seeing absolutely no progress.

The people are still the same.

The grounds have still got the same number of people because he's letting everybody in.

As soon as we'd take loads out, he'd replace them.

So you're never going to finish.

Nebbe: After landing on the roof of the embassy, another group of refugees was loaded onto Lady Ace 09.

And I'm just pondering, and I thought, "Get them all off.

We can't do this anymore.

It's over."

And that's when I told -- the guy came over.

I mean, the Marine security guard came over and I said, "Go tell the ambassador.

Lady Ace 09 is not leaving the roof till he's on board.

Then I decided to throw in, "The president sends."

Bang.

He goes down.

The ambassador's up in no time.

I mean, looks like he was ready to go.

He needed the order to get out.

Gets on and fly out.

Nebbe: All of the refugees were taken off the helicopter.

Ambassador Martin, along with his staff and the embassy's flag came aboard and they lifted off.

But the fateful instructions that sounded like an order from the president didn't come from the White House.

Berry had taken it upon himself to issue the order.

None.

I have no authority to do that.

Nebbe: After dropping off the ambassador, Berry helped evacuate the embassy's Marine guard, and the mission was over.

In the end, more than 7,000 people were airlifted to safety in the largest military-helicopter evacuation in U.S.

history.

So we got the ambassador.

I make the call, "Tiger, tiger, tiger," which signifies that the ambassador is out.

But I'm thinking.

The ambassador was going down with his ship.

He just wanted to be ordered out.

And I thought, "I could have done this maybe seven or eight hours ago and saved myself a lot of grief."

Nebbe: Berry, who now lives in Florida, returns to Iowa several times a year.

Occasionally, he gives speeches about his Vietnam experience, all for free.

During his visit in May of 2025, he spoke at the Vietnam remembrance ceremony on the Iowa Capitol grounds, interacting with dignitaries and veterans alike.

You're looking good.

He also spent time telling his story at the Iowa Gold Star Museum.

The embassy grounds are just as full of refugees as they were when we started at 1:00 in the afternoon, the ambassador's still here, and I can see the tanks coming down the road.

They're only about four or five miles from the city.

Nebbe: Berry finished his speaking circuit at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

So they did crank up another one.

We flew back, got the marines.

We were joined by... When I talk, it helps me not worry about the Vietnam experiences that I had or not think about them.

I think we've moved on and we're accomplishing something.

We're just talking about something that happened in the past.

So, yeah, in its own way, it's therapeutic somehow to talk about it.