USS MIDWAY
Posted on 04/25/2015 10:33:08 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Vietnam veterans from around the country are in San Diego to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam War on April 30.
On Friday, many took private tours of USS Midway and were able to see locations that are off limits to the general public.
Veteran Pete Dunn, who is making his first return to the ship since the war, said the experience took them back to 1975.
“It just brought back so many memories of being in that hot fire room," he said. The minimum temperature was like 120.”
On Sunday, a commemorative event will be held to mark 40 years since Operation Frequent Wind: the evacuation of Saigon.
About 125,000 Vietnamese were transported by helicopter to several Navy ships off the countries coast — USS Midway among them.
“It was chaotic; helicopters flying everywhere. Everybody wanted to just get out of there," said Jim Perttula, who is in San Diego from Cincinnati.
The flight deck has ribbons tied to it in remembrance of those lost in the war.
The Wall that Heals will be on display 24 hours a day and open to the public for free beginning Saturday, with a ceremony at 11 a.m. that day.
The ship also has displays about Vietnam in addition to regular museum exhibits. Tickets for events and tours are available through USS Midway Museum website.
Hubby was on the USS Midway when they pulled the Amb out of Nam, they were hauling Jolly Greens out. A small plane with a “friendly” family flew over, and dropped a note on down, and they had to clear the deck of the Jolly Greens so he could land. The little plane is at the Naval Museum at Pensacola.
He retired after 20 yrs as a SCPO, would have made MCPO if not for a accident during Evals that put him in the Navy hospital with his broken jaw wired shut for 35 days, and the Military does not do MAKE up exams.
USS MIDWAY
I had been out of the Navy less than two years when I watched on TV as Saigon fell. It brought tears to my eyes.
I love the Vietnamese people who came here with nothing and worked hard and achieved the American dream. It was that dream and wanting to survive that made them want on those choppers. And that dream gave many the courage to walk through jungles to Thailand to freedom. I know one who owns a great little French Café in Waco, Texas.
Wife and I toured the Midway a few years ago. It takes a full day to see it all.
Definitely, if you're going - plan on spending the whole day there.
Have toured two others, she is the best by far.
It was later assigned to reconnaissance duty in the Viet Nam era, designed as an RA-5.
I stood on that deck many a day and night for flight ops. Was there for Frequent Wind. It was terribly depressing, morale was at rock bottom. As they had sent all of the birds to Subic Point NAS, I volunteered to go back and help maintain the birds in case we went back in to save Vietnam.
Of course we did not and that is a stain on us. Then the hippies added the stain of Jimmy Carter on top of that!
ping
Hear you loud and clear. Now we have the Marxist destroying our Military.
Hubby does not talk much about that time period. Just tells the story about the Jolly’s being pushed over board so the small plane could land. He was also off the coast of Cuba when that Crisis went down. His specialty was electronics. He taught A/B school when not on a cruise.
It is one of the reasons I’d like to see Lt. Col Allen West and Ted Cruz be our ticket. With the LT. COl as top, we are in a war time situation and need an experienced terrorist fighter who has gonads to go after them tooth and nail and destroy their cash crop those poppy fields.
PBS last days in Vietnam 40th-anniversary-of-fall-of-saigon Aniversary ck your cable 4 time/day.
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