American Experience Executive Producer Mark Samels discusses why the events depicted in Last Days in Vietnam are a critical chapter in American history.Â
With so many South Vietnamese helicopters landing on the USS Kirk, the crew had no choice but to push the helicopters overboard once they'd unloaded their passengers.
U.S. military men took matters into their own hands to get their South Vietnamese counterparts out of the country before the North Vietnamese reached Saigon.
As North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, eleven U.S. Marines found themselves on the roof of the American Embassy with no U.S. helicopters in sight.
As news spread that the Americans were leaving Saigon, thousands of South Vietnamese descended upon the U.S. Embassy, desperate for a chance to get out before the North Vietnamese arrived.Â
After the shelling of Tan Son Nhut Airport by North Vietnamese troops, the U.S. Ambassador was left with only one evacuation option—a helicopter evacuation.Â
