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Show 4B The Salt Lake Tribupe, 1S&5 Sunday, April 28, From Continued B-- ' t i& t fj t. fH.hX r I " ' " ', II vv "; l Americans getting on the last chopper and many threw not only money, but babies over the gates. "They would cry. Please, take my child to America. Don't let my child die," remembered Mr. Mitchell. "Some of the babies were caught on the wire above the gates. They hung by their limbs and bled All this time, the North Vietnamese were firing rockets at us. It was pure hell in its scariest form. I thought I would end up going home in a body bag. I d seen grisly sights as a combat pilot, but nothing compared to that final day. Nothing ever will." Flew 149 Missions Mr. Mitchell's memories of Southeast Asia go back to 1966, when he was sent from Ogden to fly combat missjons in North Vietnam. He flew 149 missions and was shot down twice, once on his 100th mission. Luckily, he was able to celebrate with champagne each time he was shot down, when he was rescued in the jungle. CBS News profiled him in a documentary about "the day in the life of a combat pilot and a few months later, Mr. Mitchell was sent home. He returned to Utah with a few cuts, a few bruises and a bad feeling about the United States involvement in Vietnam. "1 was mad as hell, he said. "They sent my little pink body over to fight a war they weren't going to let us win. All the time I flew in combat, I was concerned that we weren't doing what we needed to do to win the damned war. The thing just went on. and on. We kept losing men, and more would come in, and wed lose them too. And, when 1 first got off the plane in Honolulu, everybody acted like nothing wras happening in Vietnam. They didn't seem to care. One More Chance f . A few years later, in 1974, his anger subsided, and he was offered a job as assistant Air Force attache at the United States Embassy in 1 11 Saigon. "I decided, OK, I'll give the government another chance forgive them one more time, as long as we do what we re supposed to he said. do, and support the South Vietnamese, Mr. Mitchell s job was to be a liaison between the U. S. ambassador in Vietnam. Graham Martin, and the Vietnamese Air Force. He went to uas blood and guts and bravery , but most of all , it tvas a living hell. never forget the smiling Viet two or three cocktail parties a night to gather and exchange information with representatives from other foreign embassies and, in the process, went through a lot of martinis. But. I made a lot of valuable contacts." he said. He lived in a luxurious house with a large lawn, had his own maid and chauffeur and went swimming nearly every weekend in a resortlike pool at the embassy. Just outside the embassy, local Vietnamese children who lived in tiny shacks with dirt floors, would climb over a barbed wire fence to cool off in a large fountain. That was their swimming pool. Haunted by Children Of all the images that haunt Mr. Mitchell's memory, it is the Vietnamese children that he remembers most. They had seen the horrors of a lifetime things that would turn most adults' stomachs. They had run from napalm bombings in their villages, ridden bicycles past dead countrymen, lost brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers to the war. Yet they still smiled. Their smiles are burned into my memory," said Mr. Mitchell. "I can still see those children, following me through their villages, hoping for a handout, searching for somebody to care. And. always, smiling Laughing. The children helped take away the pain of the war, and yet they experienced the most pain." In downtown Saigon, the sight of orphans, begging with tin cups, was familiar. On every corner, in every alley, there were children. Adorned in rags, they were always hungry. "It hurt, but there came a time when I had to learn not to look," said Mr. Mitchell. "Life had to go on. in spite of it all. He remembers the bistros in Saigon and the prostitutes, who would approach American soldiers with the line. "You buy me Saigon tea. GI? "Of course." he said, they wanted our boys in camouflage to buy more than just a glass of Saigon tea." The United States' lengthy involvement in the Vietnam War finally came to an end in only 55 days the worst 55 days of Mr Mitchell s life. Da Nang, a key coastal city, collapsed on March 30. 1975. and Qui Nhon and Nha Trang fell on April 1. Cam Ran Bay collapsed on April 3, and Phan Rang held out until April 16. Everybody knew that Saigon would fall next, but nobody knew this more than the South Vietnamese who lived in the city. We left the South Vietnamese in the dust as soon as Congress voted not to send them more money. said Mr. Mitchell. We left them with nothing. They panicked, as anybody would panic, knowing the enemy was on the way." Driver Given Money He gave his driver all his money, hoping he would be able to find a way out of the country, but to many, this was an impossible task. The South Vietnamese tried to walk out of Saigon, but couldn t. because there were too many rice paddies. They tried to drive out. but couldn't, because too many vehicles and carts caused traffic jams Many bribed their way out with gold, renting sampans from fisherman to take them to the mouth of the Saigon River and the American aircraft carriers. Often, their leaky sampans were loaded with too many people and sank, the dream of a new life in America never realized. - Dick Mitchell was a pilot in combat before he worked for the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. He was on the last helicopter out of the city in 1975. Those with no money had only one choice: The chance of rescue by American helicopters. Thousands of Vietnamese hoped for this chance. Many got it. Many more didn't. "We ended up with two days to get eveiybody out, when we could have had four weeks." said Mr. Mitchell. "Long before the final day. we had large barges stationed in the Saigon River, to carry the South Vietnamese to rescue. We waited too long, and soon, the river was closed, and we couldnt use the barges. Frustrating Wait "Our next plan was to use transport planes, but again, Graham Martin waited too long and the airport was closed. We kept telling him. 'Look, we've got to get out of here.' but he kept waiting, hoping to reach a political settlement with the North Vietnamese. It was so frustrating It was the most frustrating experience I ever had " Helicopters were the only choice left to evacuate South Vietnamese allies and Mr. Mitchell spent 12 hours lifting families into the choppers. It was the most exhausting day of his life "Only 40 or so could go on each trip and we had thousands waiting to leave," he said. And, the entire time, we were being shot at by the North Vietnamese, outside the airfield I was supposed to meet some Vietnamese friends at the gate, to get them out, but I didnt. I was scared for my life. Rockets were being shot at us from all directions. I'll never forgive myself for not meeting my friends at the gate. They finally bribed their wav out. six months later, but still. I have to live with my guilt. I let them down. " Shortly before midnight on April 29. Mr. Mitchell and other ofliciuls were given the order to get out of Saigon. They left on the last helicopter, while thousands cried in the streets, stretching their arms to the sky. Their last chance at freedom had just taken off The chopper Mr. Mitchell flew out on was the last the South Vietnamese w ould see of the Americans. Emotional Experience on that Sitting chopper with 40 other Americans was an emotional Mr. for Mitchell He was glad to be leaving, but sad at the experience same time. His friends were left behind They would be put to work, digging ditches for 16 hours a day. under the new communist government. Many would slowly starve on one bowl of rice a day. After surviving a lifetime of violence and bloodshed, many of Mr. Mitchell's friends died after the Americans left Vietnam. The war was not over, for them. When the last hebcopter arrived at the aircraft carrier, the deck was full of South Vietnamese planes Pilots crowded their families into the small fighter aircraft and flew them to rescue on American ships. Mr. Mitchell saw the ship's crew dump all of these planes into the ocean, so that a South Vietnamese pilot with no radio or fuel could make an emergency landing on the deck Five children were packed in his small plane, meant to carry one person "On the way to Bangkok, we rescued 60 people on a sampan, and it sunk right after we took them aboard. said Mr Mitchell "Boat people are still streaming into America they are people we left behind." - Steve Baker DESIGN Sink your teeth into a delicious ObreB Bod YtecmssOaB opportunity. SERVINGS OF BEEF STEW. CHIU OR TROUT ALMONDINE THESE AND MANY OTHER FINE. LOW COST PRODUCTS CAN BE STORED UNREFKJ GERA TED FOR FOOD STORAGE AND CAMPING THANKS TO SPACE AGE PACKAGING. FOR A FREE SAMPLE AND INFORMATION ON INCOME OPPORTUNITIES. nsmtra Drop me a line or call WESTERN SYSTEMS An tndpooui Litnbulor it P O. 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