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.
In April of 1975, the North Vietnamese Army was closing in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance was crumbling. On the ground, American and South Vietnamese took matters into their own hands to evacuate as many people as possible.
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.
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.
