50 years later, local Vietnam veterans remember the fall of Saigon, end of war
Tyson Beauchemin
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Half a century ago, on April 30, 1975, United States military forces withdrew from Vietnam. The evacuation was broadcast live to televisions across the country.
For the veterans who were there, it’s a day that will live with them for the rest of their lives. KTVZ spoke with local veterans to hear their stories.
Lyle Hicks brought a special photo to a Deschutes County Commission meeting where a proclamation was read and memories were shared.
He later was holding the photo of a baby’s rescue as he told KTVZ News: “I was there 50 years ago. There’s a fellow that’s in the picture that dove in and saved the life of a of a baby and was told not to dive in by the officer that was there and he dove in anyway, came up, passed the baby over and dove back down. Because the boat was coming back in again, cut his arm on the boat, but he kept pulling the people out. In fact, I met a lady about 15 years ago, that she said the thing that hit her the most was that brave man that had a bloody arm who pulled her out of the water.”
Mark Wirges, another Vietnam veteran, told KTVZ News, “It was a very sad day for all of us veterans that had spent time part of our lives in Vietnam and some of our blood, and we left a lot of people there that the sacrifice and the treasures of this country were lost.”
One of the things the veterans shared with us Wednesday was the similarities they felt between the fall of Saigon and the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. For them, the day’s bittersweet – bitter because of the men who lost their lives, only for the war to end the way it did, and sweet because of those who survived and went on to live accomplished lives.