We are joined today by retired Marine Colonel Anthony (Tony) Wood. In 1975, as a captain, Col. Wood was one of two military officers (the other a Green Beret captain) tasked with planning and executing the evacuation of Saigon as North Vietnamese forces shelled the city and closed in. They not only had to identify the thousands of allies (and Americans) in the region, but also identify potential landing/extraction zones, as well as develop a transportation plan to the sites, meanwhile keeping their extraction plans hidden from the ambassador/state department due to political pressures.

Col. Wood and his team successfully extracted over 7,000 people in the largest helicopter evacuation in history without firing a single shot. This is a harrowing story and one of courage, bravery, desperation, creativity at the highest level, and decisiveness.

We discuss the context of Vietnam in 1975, and the disagreement/disconnect between the military (posted offshore and not permitted on Vietnamese ground) and the state department/embassy. We continue to learn from these first-hand accounts of what it was like on the ground in Vietnam, especially during a chaotic, and highly politicized time. As we know, those on the ground doing the job oftentimes tell a different story than what the news delivers. We hope you enjoy.

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