Department of California Historian Fredrick Shacklett looks back at his time on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock during Operation Frequent Wind.
On April 29-30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces brought the Vietnam War to an end when they took control of South Vietnam’s capital, Saigon.
Over the course of those two days, and with 800 U.S. Marines providing security, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Army helicopters evacuated more than 7,000 people from Tân Sơn Nhứt Air Base, the U.S. embassy and other locations via Operation Frequent Wind.
We asked for Legionnaires who were still in and around Saigon to share what those final two days of the war were like. And now we’re sharing those stories with you.
Today, hear the first-person account of U.S. Navy veteran Fredrick Shacklett, a member of Whittier Post 51 and the American Legion Department of California historian. Shacklett was stationed on board the Essex-class USS Hancock aircraft carrier as a quartermaster 2nd Class in the Navigation Division. He was 21 years old.
Spring of 1975
On 17 March 1975, Hancock was ordered to offload its air wing. On arrival at Pearl Harbor, we offloaded half of CAG 21. Then, on 26 March, Marine Heavy Lift Helicopter Squadron HMH-463 comprising 25 CH-53, CH-46, AH-1J and UH-1E helicopters embarked on the Hancock and it proceeded to Subic Bay to offload the other half of CAG 21. It was called Operation Frequent Wind and was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, prior to the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese Army (PAVN).
The operation was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various places in and around Saigon.
It was a kind of an odd name for a military operation, Frequent Wind. It made many of us laugh about it. But whatever it was called we knew it was important. Rescue mission, evacuation, or just plain “Time to Get Hell Out of Town, Jack.” I guess the planners in Washington thought all the helicopters would make a lot of wind.
But here we were, the infamous Task Force 76 (TF76), assembled off the coast near Vung Tau (26 ships in all) to support a helicopter evacuation of as many people as we could take out. The Military Sealift Command (MSC) provided an additional 14 supply and transport ships.
After taking on more helicopters at Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, the Hancock was temporarily assigned to Amphibious Ready Group Bravo, standing by off Vung Tau, South Vietnam. Actually, we moved around in circles, from 10 miles off the coast to about 60 miles.
The Hancock had sailed across most of the Pacific and the South China Sea with no fixed wing aircraft. But we had Marines. Lots and lots of “God Bless America” United States Marines.
Task Force 76 was the taxi service of course. All told, the Marine evacuation contingent was composed of the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (Task Group 79.1), consisted of three Battalion Landing Teams (BLT) – 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4), 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9), 3rd Battalion 9th Marines (3/9) – and three helicopter squadrons HMH-462, HMH-463, HMM-165, along with other support units from Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39). This was the only time in our ship’s history with no naval squadron on board. We carried HMH-463 and two BLTs and 39th MAB, with everything the Marines brought with them.
Also, about that time, our official ship’s nomenclature was changed from CVA-19 to CVAH-19 for the duration of the final cruise. This was another first for a U.S. Navy carrier. It was the first time a CVA (Carrier Squadron Attack) was re-designated CVAH (Carrier Squadron Attack Helicopter). We even re-printed the ships stationery and used that designation in the official ship’s logbook.
On April 29, when the evacuation was ordered, the code – read out loud on Armed Forces Radio – was, “The temperature in Saigon is 105 degrees and rising.” This was followed by the playing of “I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, played over and over again throughout the day.
By the early morning of 30 April, one CH-46 and one CH-53 were landing at the embassy in Saigon, every 10 minutes. Evacuees were loaded and flown back to Hancock. Then, and completely unexpected, every helicopter, still in Vietnam, started flying out to sea. Dozens and dozens of South Vietnamese and Air America pilots were looking for somewhere to land. So many South Vietnamese and Air America helicopters landed on the TF76 ships that some 45 UH-1 Huey’s, and at least one CH-47 Chinook, were pushed overboard to make room for more helicopters to land.
Other helicopters dropped off their passengers and were ditched into the sea by their pilots, close to the ships, their pilots bailing out at the last moment to be picked up by rescue boats. It has been reported that during the three days of evacuation, over 100 helicopters were thrown over the side of TF-76 carriers or ditched into the sea.
The End of the Hancock’s Mission
On the afternoon of 30 April, TF-76 moved away from the coast, picking up more refugees as they went. On 2 May, Task Force 76, had picked up over 44,000 seaborne evacuees and set sail for reception centers in the Philippines and Guam. The Hancock arrived back in San Francisco in mid-August 1976, completing 31 years of service to the nation.
Hancock was decommissioned on 30 January 1976. She was stricken from the Navy list the following day.
It was sold for scrap by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) on 1 September 1976.
A Memory That Lasts a Lifetime
I am very proud of my service in Hancock, and the U.S. Navy, and what was accomplished.
I will never forget April 1975. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Fair Winds and Following Seas.
- Honor & Remembrance