Fifty years ago, thousands were evacuated from Vietnam to safety aboard the USS Midway.
One of them was Hugh Nguyen, who was just a seven at the time.
Now he's the Orange County Clerk-Recorder. On Sunday, he was one of thousands of Vietnamese Americans and Vietnam War veterans who crowded the USS Midway to mark the war's end.
“We were afraid, I remember just hanging onto my grandparents and my aunt — my grandparents who raised me. And so it was a great journey over here to America,” Nguyen said, standing in front of a replica of the helicopter that brought him aboard the vessel that's now in San Diego’s harbor.
Sunday's event also included celebrations of Southern California’s Vietnamese population, many of whom are here because of those rescues.
“My family — my mother and her family actually came here as refugees from Vietnam,” said San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee. “Before the fall of Sàigòn they escaped on a boat in the dark of night. And I think it's a similar story for a lot of Vietnamese Americans who came as refugees to United States.”
Some of the veterans who attended Sunday served on the Midway during the rescue effort known as Operation Frequent Wind.
“It's a very emotional experience for me to see all of the wonderful people that are here that have become American citizens — hard working, loyal American citizens,” said retired Rear Adm. Larry Chambers.
The 95-year-old commanded the Midway during the fall of Sàigòn in 1975 and risked his career to save South Vietnamese refugees.
“When we were in the middle of chaos there were 24 ships out there rescuing. But we didn't rescue everybody, there were a lot of boats that made it to the Philippines on their own,” Chambers said.
And then there was South Vietnamese Maj. Buang-Ly, who escaped with his family in a small plane, which he landed on the Midway's deck.
“When I looked back to my family, my gut told me I could do it. And I did it,” he said during a speech at the weekend ceremony.
To make way for Buang-Ly's plane and other aircraft loaded with evacuees, Chambers ordered his crew to push military helicopters overboard. The Smithsonian says $10 million dollars worth of aircraft went into the ocean.
Over two days, the Midway rescued more than 3,000 people.
For more coverage on San Diego’s ties to the end of the Vietnam War check out our new KPBS series: “Fall of Sàigòn at 50: Stories of loss, legacy and identity.”
