The Fall, 35years ago

The 35th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon

It is estimated that between 2,495,000 and 5,020,000 human lives were lost between the years 1959 and 1975 in Vietnam. These numbers include those who died as a result of combat, disease, famine and yes, murder.

What follows is a compilation from various sources as well as eye-witness accounts from friends, of what occurred during the days just prior to and the day of, The Fall of Saigon. My comments and opinions are inserted as well.

On April 30th, 2010, we commemorate two extraordinary events in United States as well as World history. The first marks the capture of Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam, by the North Vietnamese Army. The end of the Vietnam War was realized and the transition leading to the reunification of Vietnam had begun.

The final days of the Fall of Saigon began when the North Vietnamese forces commenced their final attack on April 29th, 1975. Heavy artillery bombardment ensued for most of that day and night. On April 30th, North Vietnamese Troops had occupied most strategic points of the city and finally overtook the South Vietnamese presidential palace. In spite of various allied intelligence reports, including those from our own CIA that stated South Vietnam could not be taken by the North through the current dry season and well into 1976, the city had indeed fallen.

These reports were being sent to our Commander In Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Ranked Command Officers as recently as March 5th. The strategy of the allied warring commanders was based on those reports. The eventual fall of a Nation was based on those reports. The United States and South Vietnam were defeated less than 60 days later – one would argue, the intelligence we were provided was inaccurate at best… perhaps purposely funneled, at worst.

Most Americans wanted to leave Saigon, as did many South Vietnamese, before the fall. Many had indeed left prior to the fall. The North had already started to push southward and the fall was imminent. Evacuations during the end of March and throughout April had increased. Flights from Tan Son Nhut International Airport were over-booked. The Defense Attaché’s Office started to fly undocumented Vietnamese to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. -->-->-->

Chuck Palazzo is a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran, the Interim Editor for Agent Orange, and a longtime Vietnam Veterans Against the War Member. Chuck Palazzo has spent years since the war studying the impacts and effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant chemical sprayed by the U.S. govt. on the jungles of Vietnam. He says Dioxins have been re-discovered to cause all sorts of damage to humans. These include Heart Disease, Parkinsonism, Diabetes etcetera. Dioxins are already known to produce serious birth defects and a variety of cancers. The chemical is still sold in Third World Countries and causing the same problems.

We at Salem-News.com welcome Chuck aboard and look forward to sharing more of his stories with our readers in the future.