U.S. Navy veteran and Legionnaire Amando Alvarez, who served on the USS Meyerkord, looks back at efforts to evacuate U.S. and South Vietnam citizens, and later helping rescue boat people.
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, read the first-person account of U.S. Navy veteran Amando Moya Alvarez, a member of Stewart Hoover American Legion Post 23 in Blackfoot, Idaho. Alvarez served on the USS Meyerkord (DE 1058), a Knox-class frigate.
His Service During Vietnam
My first deployment overseas was from August 1972 to January 1973, during which we played an active role in Vietnam, providing gunfire support. By my second deployment in the spring of 1975, our mission had shifted toward humanitarian efforts, focusing on the evacuation of U.S. citizens and vulnerable individuals from South Vietnam. While we weren't directly involved in the operation, it was a pivotal moment in history – the final days and eventual fall of South Vietnam, marked by the evacuation known as Operation Frequent Wind. In recognition of our efforts, we were awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal.
Although we were not at the forefront of the evacuation, we contributed to the efforts to help American personnel and at-risk Vietnamese citizens. Aircraft carriers such as the Enterprise, Coral Sea and Hancock played crucial roles by deploying numerous helicopters to Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City. On that fateful day, a heavy sense of dread clouded our minds and sapped our spirits. Although Operation Frequent Wind officially ended on April 30, 1975, with the Communist “Great Spring Victory,” the repercussions were felt long after.
Just a few days later, on May 3, we returned to the Philippines, where we provided care for Vietnamese refugees on Grande Island. Then, on May 16, 1975, our ship rescued a handful of wounded boat people from the vessel Viet Duc. I’ll never forget the cries for help from those desperate refugees who had fled with nothing left to their name. Our orders allowed us to take on board only the injured who had escaped the clutches of communism, and the horror of their experiences is beyond description – it can only be understood by those of us who were there.
His Memories After Those Days
Looking back fifty years, I can vividly recall how much American military equipment was abandoned as the war drew to a close, signifying the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Our chief petty officer repeatedly lamented, “So much lost! So much lost!”
After the war, many of us engaged in a kind of self-imposed therapy, seeking to bury the painful memories and convince ourselves that the Vietnam War was just a distant past that had never occurred. However, it’s impossible to live in delusion forever.
A Silver Lining … But Sadness Remains
Today, it brings me joy to see the refugee children grow up to become remarkable Americans, excelling in both military and civilian life. Yet, somewhere in the world, there are still people mourning their loved ones. And the sorrow and the blood continue to flow unabated, like crimson rivers, into vast silent seas. And in my dreams, I can still hear the Pied Piper's enchanting tune drawing our youth to the “glorious fields of war,” a melody that seems to play on endlessly.
- Honor & Remembrance