FAMILIES WERE GIVEN THREE HOURS NOTICE TO LEAVE ON
A FLIGHT THAT WOULD CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER
As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Flying Tiger Line the
world’s largest all-cargo airline, I had the responsibility for our operations in South
Vietnam. Since 1962, Flying Tiger Line had been operating both passenger and allcargo aircraft, carrying troops and supplies to our forces as well as the South
Vietnamese forces. After the withdrawal of American forces, these flights carried
only military supplies in all-cargo aircraft.
Our main base of operations was at Tan Son Nhut, the major international
airport serving Saigon. Tiger’s on site resources were primarily in our people,
equipment and aircraft spare parts. We had an American Country Manager, Gary Kangieser, as well as an
American maintenance supervisor. We employed twenty-nine South Vietnamese in various capacities
such as aircraft mechanics, mechanic helpers, ramp service and clerical.
In January 1973, major changes occurred when all parties involved in the Vietnamese conflict
signed a Peace Treaty. Here are some of the highlights of that Peace Treaty:
The Paris Peace Accords (or Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in
Vietnam) were signed on January 27, 1973 by the governments of the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and the United States, as
well as the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) that represented indigenous South
Vietnamese revolutionaries. The intent was to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the
Vietnam conflict. The accords ended direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily stopped the
fighting between north and south. The negotiations that led to the accord had begun in 1968 and
had been subject to various lengthy delays. The main negotiators of the agreement were United
States National Security Advisor Dr. Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese politburo member Le Duc
Tho; the two men were awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, although Tho
refused to accept it. As a result of the accord, International Commission for Supervision and
Control (ICSC) was replaced by International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) to
carry out the agreement
The Treaty caused major policy changes in the United States: referred to as “Vietnamization”.
Pursuant to the core change, U.S. forces started their withdrawal as South Vietnamese additional troops
became trained and armed. The agreed time for complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces was the
spring of 1973.
In June 1973, the anti-war movement in the United States was in full swing; resulting in the U.S.
Congress passing the Case-Church Amendment prohibiting further U.S. military intervention in the
Vietnamese conflict. Concurrently, the presidential priorities changed. Our nation became heavily
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embroiled in the Watergate scandal, further influencing our nation’s involvement in Vietnam.
Nevertheless, our government continued to uphold it’s commitment to supply South Vietnam forces, but
would not re-deploy U.S. troops in direct combat. In mid-1974, President Nixon resigned the Presidency,
and Gerald Ford became President. But the change in command did not alter Vietnamese policy.
By the end of January 1975, the North started testing the nerves of the United States Government
by launching attacks into the South. The question again surfaced: Was there sufficient U.S. resolve to
defend the South in the event of further attacks? In response, the United States did very little to help the
South Vietnamese above and beyond the supply agreement.
The lack of a definitive response gave rise to internal concerns that called into question the very
stability of South Vietnam as a nation. I started to receive frequent briefings from U.S. military
intelligence and from our country manager. My concerns were multi-factorial. I had to ask and evaluate
answers to many questions. Would the peace agreement evolve into two separate and sovereign nations
as provided for in the Treaty? Or, would the North continue to fan the fires of war, leading to the North
successfully invading the South and forming a single nation called Vietnam. The latter scenario seemed
the most probable.
When that happened, our operations would cease. A probable timetable had to be formulated.
Re-deployment of our resources had to be planned. One alternative involved extending our southeastern
Asian routes by adding Manila, Saigon and Bangkok to our commercial services. We could negotiate an
amendment to our military contract to move the South Vietnam military shipments over our commercial
routes. During the initial period of development, the inbound Saigon military freight would form an
economic base for the development of eastbound revenues from Manila and Bangkok. Concurrently, it
would also provide westbound airfreight service opportunities from the US west coast cities to countries
in Southeast Asia.
Two DC 8 63F’s on the ground at Ton son Nhut
By the end of March, the Communists had seized major coastal cities north of Saigon.
I
decided to go to South Vietnam and personally assess the situation. My first appointment was with the
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U.S. Ambassador, William Martin. We met for about an hour. The meeting was not productive. We
became engaged in a parallel monologue. I was looking for information concerning the stability of the
South Vietnamese government, and the military’s capability to resist the Vietcong’s infiltration. He, in
turn, tried repeatedly to convince me that the South Vietnamese forces had already effectively stalled the
advances. He told me that President Ford had just issued a statement saying, “At the moment, I do not
anticipate the fall of Vietnam.” Of course the President’s statement was intended to reassure allies around
the world of continued U.S. support. In support of this statement the President asked Congress for $972
million in military and “humanitarian” aid for South Vietnam. The Ambassador kept looking for my
assurance that Tigers would continue to support and supply the South Vietnamese forces and not engage
in discussions of discontinuing service. I regarded his statements as, “so much happy gas.”
That afternoon, I met with top Vietnamese military officers and U.S. intelligence liaison officers.
They portrayed a very different picture. There was a serious lack of leadership in the government. They
saw the South Vietnamese forces in slow retreat and powerless to go on the offensive and re-take control
of all South Vietnam.
Before leaving the country, I reviewed several scenarios with our country manager. We arrived at
a consensus that South Vietnam would fall within the next three months. As a result, we started
formulating “what if” plans for evacuating Flying Tiger’s American personnel, supplies and equipment.
After a three-day visit, I departed on a Tiger flight from Ton son Nhut in the early evening. The
aircraft was empty of cargo and carried only enough fuel for a short trip to Hong Kong. Being light, the
aircraft accelerated rapidly on it’s take off roll, rotated off the runway and established a high rate of
climb. We climbed in a northwesterly direction to an altitude of 5,000 before making a gradual turn to
the right over the countryside north of Saigon. The Captain turned to me and said, “Joe look out the right
window, that’s small arms fire you see down there. The natives are sure restless tonight.” We could see,
first hand, how close the action was to Saigon. Then within minutes, we passed over the coastline: out
over the South China Sea.
Back in Los Angeles, I briefed staff at the morning operations meeting. To reconfirm our
findings, our Senior Vice President Bill Gelfand, who was directly responsible for Tiger’s Military
Operations, left for Washington D.C. The next day he met with military intelligence at the Pentagon.
That night he called me with information we had not planned on. Intelligence reports told of a very high
probability that our Vietnamese employees would be executed within weeks of the fall of Saigon. The
Communists had already concluded that these employees would be so inculcated in the theories of
capitalism that they could not be converted to the communistic way of thinking and with their
international contacts they could cause trouble.
This information added a whole new dimension to our “what if” scenarios. When we were
reasonably certain that Saigon was going to fall into the hands of the Communists, we planned to utilize
the departure of our final flight into Saigon to evacuate our manager, maintenance supervisor and load all
our equipment and spare parts. Now we were concerned about our Vietnamese employees. Should we
consider evacuating them along with their spouses and children? We would be talking about more than
one hundred “souls on board” the aircraft. Since all our flights carried cargo, our Vietnamese employees
and their families would be put aboard an aircraft without seats.
Our legal and technical staff came back with a list of issues that would preclude such a plan:
• Transporting undocumented citizens out of a sovereign nation could give rise to an allegation of
kidnapping. .
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•
•
•
Tigers lacked authority to operate a passenger flight from Saigon via intermediate stops to the United
States
The Federal Aviation Authority, who had oversight responsibility for the safe operation of our
aircraft, prohibited passengers being flown on cargo-only aircraft.
U. S. Immigration laws prohibited landing for the purpose of disembarking undocumented foreign
passengers at any airport within the United States of America or its territories.
All these prohibitions had to be weighed against the lives of 29 human beings who would be executed
and their wives and children who would be without a husband, a father and “rice earner.” But, I had a
clear definition of the world’s laws that precluded the operation of the flight. Now, there was a need to
be briefed on God’s law.
With this in mind, I went to see my Pastor. He was my age, a veteran of WWII and a chaplain in the
paratroopers. He was truly a friend as well as a very wonderful and dedicated priest. But, what he gave
me was worldly advice. The conversation focused on the threat of communism in China and how
communism was spreading to Southeast Asia. He was concerned with the impact that the fall of South
Vietnam would have on other countries in the area and upon the world. He recommended other clergy
with greater knowledge on the subject.
What I sought was the applicability of God’s Law to the situation and circumstances that I faced.
Then, I thought of Father Kerry Beaulieu. Kerry was the son of my dearest friends Bunny and Richard
Beaulieu. I had known Kerry since he was a teenager. Father Kerry had recently been ordained. While I
had to assume that Father had already acquired a great deal of worldly knowledge, I reasoned that because
of his recent graduation from the seminary, he was fully aware of God’s Law and that it would be
foremost in his mind. I called Father and we discussed the full dimension of the issues that confronted
me. After a few minutes of meditation time, Father said, “Uncle Joe, if it is within your authority and
control to rescue these people, and if you can rescue them without unduly risking the lives of others, you
have a moral obligation to go there and rescue them.” Instantly the Spirit within me reacted and there was
a feeling of fulfillment. That’s what I needed to know. I concluded the telephone conversation with a
sincere “thank you very much, Father,” and hung up. For the first time in my management career, the
laws of the world conflicted with God’s law.
I now had a well-defined mission statement within which I could measure the risks. Next
morning, I met with our Senior Vice President, Vice President of Law and Senior Director of Flight
Operations. We again discussed the plight of our Vietnamese employees. I informed them that I wanted
to explore the option and feasibility of including these employees, their spouses and children in our final
departure plans.
As we started to define possible courses of action, we questioned the feasibility of utilizing the
aircraft that would be our last flight into Saigon. The arrival of the inbound flight might not be at the
right time for the evacuation. In addition, we did not want the aircraft to layover at the Saigon airport
given the possible risk of ground fire. To control the risk, it was necessary to control the time.
Alternatively, we had flights into Bangkok that were scheduled for layover. We could originate the flight
in Bangkok, and stop in Ton son Nkut (Saigon). We would have a flight crew fresh out of rest and
capable of a long flight. Our best intelligence told us to transit Ton son Nkut in the late evening hours.
Furthermore, we could not give our employees adequate notice to board a flight that would
change their lives forever. This conclusion evolved after asking ourselves the question, “Did we have
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“Vietcong” (Communist) within our employee group?” We were not sure. If they were there, we did not
want to give them time to react. We decided on three hours notice.
When we considered the passenger loading operation itself, utilizing mobile stairs, unto a
freighter aircraft, in clear view of airport officials who happened to be observing the operations would not
be advisable. Alternatively, we could load the passengers and supplies into cargo containers. Then the
containers could be transported and loaded onto the aircraft as if it were a normal freight loading
operation.
Next, we had to answer the question, “What would be the destination of the flight once it
departed Saigon?” The risks of getting involved in other international legal issues increased if we
planned to land in a foreign country and get another nation involved. The risks were not manageable.
There was only one alternative: depart Saigon and fly non-stop to Guam. Guam is a territory of the
United States of America and therefore under U.S. governmental control. But the shortest route would
mean flying through Philippine air space without authority. It was argued that we had excellent
relationships with the Philippine government; the possibility of getting their permission was good.
At the same time, we had to consider that our normal operating pattern was to leave Saigon and
proceed direct to Hong Kong. We did not want to alert any authorities by filing an unusual flight plan.
Therefore our flight plan would be filed Saigon direct Hong Kong. Once over of the South China Sea, we
would re-file to Guam and proceed into Philippine air space. Once on the ground in Guam, we would
have only the U.S. government to deal with. Our Vietnamese employees and their families would be safe
on U.S. soil, the same as they would be had they landed in Los Angeles. The meeting adjourned with this
tentative plan, although we knew it had to be reviewed again and again. We had to clearly define all
actions and counter-actions needed to meet all contingencies.
Two days later, our Senior Vice President received a call from a person acting on behalf of
General Nguyen Cao Ky. General Ky was formerly Vice President of South Vietnam and prior to that
was the Air Marshall of the Air Force. We had good relationships with him in the past. We knew that he
still had great influence in the South Vietnamese affairs. General Ky wanted to know if we were planning
to evacuate our Vietnamese employees. We answered by saying that we had discussed such a plan but
had not made a decision to proceed. A proposal was then offered: if we would take his nineteen-year-old
son, a military man and pilot, to the United States and provide him with employment, Ky would use all
means at his disposal to insure the safe transit of our aircraft. We decided to respond by stating; if we
proceed with such a plan, we would bring the General’s son to the United States and would employ him.
We reasoned that having his son aboard would further reduce our risk.
Then came some distressing news, World Airways (another military cargo carrier) encountered
major problems while executing their own rescue mission. Word of the aircraft’s arrival and the intent of
its mission had become widely known. A large crowd had gathered at the airport. When the aircraft
taxied into the parking area the people rioted and broke down the fences. The situation became
uncontrollable and World decided to abort the mission and depart. However, in the process, some
civilians were killed and many others were injured. When we reviewed and discussed their operating
reports, we learned two lessons: communication control and the shortest possible notice of intent were
key factors.
By mid April, our plan was well formulated and communicated to those who had a need to know.
On April 19 US intelligence informed us that North Vietnamese (Vietcong) forces were forming an outer
ring around Saigon’s defenses. We instructed our manager to contact the Ambassador and to secure his
assessment of the current situation. In doing so, we were attempting to avoid an allegation that we were
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taking a unilateral action without sufficient cause or justification. We were advised that Ambassador
Martin continued his monologue of the past, “Be calm, Saigon is in no immediate danger.” Convinced
our actions would be justified by future events, we continued to plan on the “rescue” mission.
On April 20th, we were informed that the communists had cut all Saigon’s ground supply routes.
Military intelligence advised Russian SA-2 anti-aircraft rockets would be in range of Tan Son Nhut
airport within 48 hours. We could not wait any longer; it was time to implement our plan. We called our
manager in South Vietnam and told him that the aircraft would arrive that evening; plan on a departure
2100 hours (9 p.m. Vietnam time). We agreed that our Vietnamese lead-man should be told at 1800
hours to proceed to the homes of each employee and tell them to pack and be ready for pickup in one
hour. In our normal business practices, the company utilized restrictive cargo labels for labeling
“dangerous” articles to be loaded on our aircraft. These labels illuminated at night when a light was
shined on them. One label would be given to each employee as a means of identification to the driver of
the truck who would pick them up.
At the morning operations meeting, I was informed that Captain
Ralph Mitchell and his crew were scheduled to fly this flight. I knew
Captain Mitchell personally. He was a “take charge” person. He had
prior experience in the area. I had heard his stories about prior experiences
evacuating refugees in China in 1948. Late that afternoon, Senior Director
of Flight Operations Oakley Smith called Captain Ralph Mitchell at his
hotel in Bangkok. Captain Smith briefed Captain Mitchell concerning the
proposed flight with full details of our plan of action. “If it must be done,
let’s go do it”, was his reply.
I called our Country Manager Vincente Fustino in Manila. I
informed him that the special flight would be leaving Saigon tonight. He
told us that President Marcos had been advised of our tentative plans to fly
through his air space. He had given his approval, asking us to advise his
staff when the aircraft departed Saigon. With that, our plan had been put
into motion.
At 0630 hours I received a call from Tigers Operations Control. The flight had departed Saigon
on schedule at 0601 hours, Pacific Standard Time. The estimated time of arrival in Guam was 1100
hours, Pacific Standard Time (0400 hours Guam Time). I called our Washington attorneys and advised
them that the aircraft would be on the ground Guam in 4 hours. Now the coordination of all legal matters
would be in the hands of our attorneys as we had planned, having decided to deal with the various
government agencies concerned in Washington D.C. rather than work through Guam.
Late that afternoon, I received a communication from a Defense Department official stating that
they have concluded that the situation in South Vietnam was deteriorating so rapidly that the United
States must plan an immediate evacuation of all Americans and their dependents from that Country. My
first thought was, “you are a ’day late’” but then I felt reassured that no one could accuse us of taking
premature action.
When I left work late that evening, there was still no confirmation that the aircraft had landed.
Lack of communications was not surprising. Captain Mitchell, as “Pilot in Command”, had his hands
full. He had the responsibility of caring for the passengers and that would be his top priority. Once on U.
S. soil, the Federal Aviation Agency would have gotten involved when it was determined that the aircraft
6
was not certified to carry passengers. The fact that most of the passengers were undocumented aliens
would have gotten U.S. Immigration involved. The fact that the aircraft did not have landing rights
would have gotten U.S. Customs involved. And, of course, the press would hear about the flight and
would be quick to do their thing. Lastly, the government officials of Guam and the local airport
authorities would automatically become involved.
I went to bed at about 11:00 p.m. When the phone rang in the middle of the night, I was awake
in a second and answered it. “Is this Joseph Healy?” the voice on the other end of the line answered. “It
is,” I replied. “This is the Governor of Guam,” he continued. “Our airport personnel have advised me
that your aircraft landed with undocumented foreign aliens aboard and in an aircraft not certified to carry
passengers. I am further advised that this flight was operated with your permission and authority. I want
and deserve a complete explanation.” I then gave the Governor a detailed explanation. He said, “Now I
understand. I just have one question: why did you not call me prior to the flight and seek permission?”
My response was, “Governor, I would have but I had no other alternative, if you said no, so I did not call
you.” He did not like my answer but understood my decision. He then told me, in a pleasant but
professional tone of voice, that he had no alternative but to impound the aircraft, crew and passengers and
advise Washington of the incident. I told the Governor that I understood completely. When I hung up, I
lay back on my pillow and said, “Thank you God.” The Governor had just confirmed that the aircraft had
landed safely with our employees, their families and crew. Yes, they had all arrived safely on American
soil.
About 0630 hours, Tigers Operations Control called. They had received a call from Captain
Mitchell and had briefed the controllers on events so far. He reported that after a five hour and ten minute
flight from Saigon, he made contact with the tower at Agana Naval Air Station, Guam (all civilian aircraft
landed there). It was 0410 hours. Since his arrival was without notice it created quite a bit of confusion.
Agana Tower, at first, refused the flight permission to land. When the Captain informed Approach
Control that the aircraft didn’t have sufficient fuel to precede to an alternate airport, the aircraft was
cleared to land. The landing occurred without further delay and taxied to a secure area. He advised that
the passengers were taken into quarantine and transported to a local hotel.
Within two hours after arrival, the District Director of Immigration in Hawaii sent word that
Guam Immigration instructed them to permit the “evacuees” to travel through Guam without processing
them there. (So far, we were right on plan.) With his mission completed, Captain Mitchell and his crew
were resting and would fly the aircraft to Hong Kong after their rest period. Unfortunately, the Governor
did impound the aircraft, which would delay the departure. In addition, all the agencies we thought would
get involved, did get involved, including the press. This caused continual interruptions to the Captains
rest.
I awoke to a morning newspaper with the date-line “GUAM.”
The headline read,
UNDOCUMENTED VIETNAMESE ABOARD AN UNATHORIZED FLYING TIGER CARGO
FLIGHT ARRIVED IN GUAM LAST NIGHT. FLYING TIGERS AND JOSEPH HEALY WILL BE
FINED $1,000 PER EACH UNDOCUMENTED PERSON.”
That day, our attorneys in Washington gained the release of the aircraft and crew by posting the
appropriate financial bonds. After the crew had their required uninterrupted rest, the aircraft returned to
Hong Kong. As planned, our employees and families were booked on Pan American World Airways and
departed Guam for Honolulu. Upon arrival Honolulu, the passengers were again guaranteed for health
examination and further immigration processing. They went taken to a nearby hotel. A week later, they
departed for Los Angeles.
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That afternoon, we welcomed our Vietnamese employees and their families as they arrived in Los
Angeles on Pam American Airways. Welcoming them to their new country, were Vice President
Personnel Relations Chuck Hopkins accompanied by 12 members of Tiger’s headquarters staff and pilots
wives.
Among the arriving families was Tiger employee Troung Khai Hoan,
his wife Pham Thi Thanh-Loan, who was eight months pregnant, and
five children. 11 days after arrival, she gave birth to Truong Kai Hope
at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, Calif., thus the newborn become
the first of the new arrivals to become an American citizen.
When the arrival celebrations were concluded, the new
arrivals were bused to a local hotel for some much needed rest and
relaxation. The same day, a message was teletyped to all Tiger
employees throughout the world; advising them of the flight from
Vietnam. We reminded them that these Vietnamese employees were
part of our “Tiger” family. They would need our compassion and our
understanding as they became accustomed to a new culture. They
would need housing and transportation. In time, they would be employed within the company to
assignments that were consistent with their work skills.
On April 30, I received word that the communists started to bombard the air base. At 2330 hours
(11:30 p.m. Vietnamese time) the remaining Americans stationed in the Embassy, including the
Ambassador, were evacuated. For all practical purposes Saigon was now in the hands of the
Communists.
These events triggered a U.S. Military response from the Subic Bay Naval Base in the
Philippines.
The U.S. Navy assembled a fleet of five aircraft carriers, eleven destroyers, four
amphibious landing craft and other vessels off the coast of South Vietnam for a possible evacuation
mission. It was a well-timed mission, thousands of Vietnamese boarded boats--some large, others very
small--and set sail over the South China Sea. This was a desperate move on their part. The naval actions
saved thousands of lives, but it is estimated that an equal number perished at sea. Most of the “Boat
People” were taken to the Philippines and Hong Kong. Our nation and the world were moved with
compassion. Thousands of Vietnamese were flown to the United States on military and commercial
flights provided by our government. It was during this time that all charges against Flying Tigers and me
were dismissed.
Within one month, our Vietnamese employees had all been assigned positions within the
company. Church groups were organized to assist these new immigrants and courses were designed to
improve their English communication skills. People were assigned to take them shopping, and help them
cope with their other needs as they became acclimated to their new surroundings. We watched over them
for a year. At the end of the year, we found them well settled. They were still employed and were doing a
good job. They had housing and transportation; their children were in school; and they were well on their
way to becoming citizens.
Then, gradually, this chapter in Tiger history came to a close. The Tiger spirit that existed for
over 30 years could now be credited with yet another humanitarian action to help people in need
throughout the world. Yes, it was a Tiger spirit that was inculcated into the minds of all employees by
Bob Prescott, President and founder of the airline. We did not work for Flying Tiger Line--we were
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Joseph 11/22/11 3:48 PM
Deleted: .
Flying Tiger Line. This airline was our airline; we took credit for our successes and “heat” for our
failures. You were part of our family, no matter where you worked or what your nationality.
As years passed, mostly pilots told many stories predating the last flight had one common thread:
when Saigon surrendered the lives of our Vietnamese employees would be endangered. Many predicted
that the Company would evacuate them on the last flight along with the American employees. There were
many estimates as to how many people could be evacuated on a DC-8-63. When Captain Mitchell was
asked, he estimated that he could get at least 400 people aboard. “I don’t think they’ll complain about the
lack of amenities.” He said this before he knew that he would be the Captain of the last flight.
For me, the memories have lived on. I cannot help but recall the faces of these Vietnamese
employees as I met them during my travels throughout our system. Their greetings, their smile, their
polite bow was their way of saying thank you. However, I really could not sit back with pride and say to
myself “Look what I accomplished.” It was the Spirit of the Almighty God within me that guided me.
On this journey, He brought me to this time and place when these Vietnamese people needed help and I
was given the responsibility to help them. I give thanks to Almighty God that they were saved and no one
was hurt.
Thirty-one years later, I attended a memorial service to honor Captain Oakley Smith, who
participated in all aspects of planning the flight. After the services concluded, I had an unexpected
encounter. Out of the large group of mourners came a Vietnamese man with graying hair. He came up to
me, put his arms around me, and said; “you were big boss but you were more, you were big boss with a
big heart…Thank You.” As I looked into his eyes, tears of joy filled my eyes and I was speechless.
When I recovered, he had disappeared into the crowd. There was no doubt in my mind he was on that
flight. I called several people who were there. Several saw him but did not know his name. He will remain
nameless but the moment will live-on in my memory.
It is now October 2010. Reading the morning paper, I took note of an article titled “Former
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger speaking about U. S. involvement in Vietnam”. As the story goes,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited him back to the State Department. The purpose of the session:
reexamine the policy issues concerning Vietnam and discern elements that would be relevant to our
current involvement in the Middle East.
I found many of his thoughts were indeed confirmation of our assessment of the situation.
• Most of what went wrong; we did to ourselves–beginning with underestimating the
tenacity of North Vietnamese leaders.
• The core problem, for the United States was its central objective of preserving an
independent and viable South Vietnamese state. It was unachievable.
• North Vietnam had one goal: unification. They were not interested in comprise.
They sought total victory.
• The Peace Accords provided a way out of Vietnam for the U.S., but left South
Vietnam vulnerable to a communist takeover.
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