The Fall of Saigon an Oral History with Richard Moose and the Rise of Commun- Ism

Rush 1 The Fall of Saigon An Oral History with Richard Moose and the Rise of Commun- ism Interviewer: Carolyn Rush Interviewee: Richard Moose Instructor: Michael Chapper Date: February 17, 2009 Rush 2 Table of Contents Interviewee Release Form 2 Statement of Purpose 3 Biography 4 Historical Contextualization: The Fall of Saigon; the Rise of Communism 5 Interview Transcription 13 Time Indexing Recording Log 33 Interview Analysis 34 Appendix 1 37 Works Consulted 38 Rush 3 Statement of Purpose This project serves to study the personal experiences of Richard Moose during the Viet- nam War, specifically the fall of Saigon. This task will be accomplished through an interview with Mr. Moose, who worked for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and traveled to Viet- nam repeatedly and wrote reports for the Committee during the war. This unique perspective will divulge to people around the world the view, perspectives, and experiences of an American male in Saigon while it was being taken over by the North Vietnamese. This interview will help edu- cate future historians and students on the impact of the Vietnam War on the Vietnamese and the American view of the war and its outcome. Rush 4 Biography Richard Moose was born in February, 1932 in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he lived as a child. Throughout his life, he moved to Mexico, Washington State, New York, London, and Washington D.C. Starting his education at Columbia University and then transferring and eventually graduating from Hendrix College, Mr. Moose received a bachelors degree and pursued a career at Lehman Brothers, and later worked in the State Department, the National Security Council, and in the Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From 1954-1956, he worked in the Army Counter-Intelligence, and received a Sharpshooter award in Vietnam. His highest rank was Specialist 3rd Class. Mr. Moose also worked on the Alexandria, VA Democratic Council on Foreign Relations. In 1957, he married and later had two children, a son and a daugh- ter. In his spare time, Mr. Moose likes to garden and talk politics. Rush 5 Historical Contextualization The Fall of Saigon: The Rise of Communism The fall of Saigon was a big turning point in Vietnam history. In order to understand the perspective of someone who participated in the fall of Saigon, it is important to first examine the colonial background of Vietnam and the involvement of the U.S. in that country. In 1883, Vietnam was divided into three parts; the north, with Hanoi as its capital, the south, with Saigon as its capital, and the middle sector, called Annan. Vietnam officially became a French protectorate. With its fertile lands, lively population and fine seaports, Vietnam became the center of French rule. However, Japan came into power in March of 1945. (Isaacs 15) The Vietminh, a political organization that would eventually drive the French out of Viet- nam, was created by a man named Ho Chi Minh. His organization eventually raised an army of some 5,000 men. The Vietminh, using effective guerilla warfare, waged a war against the Japan- ese, who surrendered in August, 1945. The Vietminh then stepped into power, proclaiming the independence of Vietnam. However, after losing it during World War II, the French were determ- ined to gain back power, and with the help of the British, they were able to take back control of Saigon and reestablish control of the southern part of the country. (Isaacs 13) In 1946, France recognized Vietnam as a “Free state” within the French Union, but the negotiations between France and Vietnam started breaking down. Then came the outbreaks of vi- olence that would eventually set off a war that would end up lasting nearly thirty years. This war was called the First Indochina War. (Burchett 61) In the beginning years of the First Indochina War, the United States maintained a dis- tinctly pro-French neutrality. However, “In the Spring of 1947, the United States formally committed itself to the containment of Soviet expansion in Europe, and throughout the next two years Rush 6 American attention was riveted on France, where economic stagnation and political instability aroused grave fears of a possible Communist takeover” (Herring 7). At this time, Communist China was becoming increasingly closer to aiding the Vietminh. France was become weaker, and the only chance they had at overpowering the Vietminh was if they had the military support of the United States. This decision to support France in Indochina was the first step toward direct American involvement in Vietnam: The strategic reassessment of 1950 thus ended American “neutrality” and produced a commitment to furnish France military and economic assistance for the war against the Vietminh. It also estab- lished principles that would provide the basis or U.S. policy in Vi- etnam for years to come and would eventually lead to massive involvement. (Herring 12) At the war’s conclusion in August, 1954, and the departure of the French from Vietnam, the control of the north was given to the Vietminh as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the south became the State of Vietnam. The south started out under the control of Emperor Bao Dai, but then he was deposed by his prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem, and it was called the Re- public of Vietnam. Diem refused to go into negotiations with the north, which then led to the Second Indochina War in 1959. At the end of 1960, the Vietcong, or the National Liberation Front, was formed. The Viet- cong was an army based in South Vietnam closely allied to the North Vietnam government. It was created by North Vietnamese communists to heighten the armed struggle in South Vietnam. The Vietcong would periodically launch hit-and-run attacks on government installations, military outposts and even district towns in the South. One of the Vietcong’s first military achievements was the battle of Ap Bac on January 2, 1963. Forces of the 7th division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, led by Colonel Bui Dinh Dam and Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann, planned to confront the Vietcong 261st bat- Rush 7 talion that they had found entrenched near a hamlet of Ap Bac, southwest of Saigon. The plan was a surprise, three-pronged pincer attack. Vann wanted to move as quickly as they could, but Dam ended up delaying the operation in order to give the American helicopter pilots time to re- cover from New Year’s Eve celebrations. In the delayed time, the Vietcong learned of their planned attack and were able to devise their own defense plan. The Vietcong were able to take the Army of the Republic of Vietnam by complete surprise, and when the army was ambushed, they lost five helicopters and suffered heavy casualties. This was considered a big milestone for the Communist forces, as it was considered their first big success. On January 2, 1963, Diem surrendered to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and was taken into custody by rebel officers. While traveling to Saigon, Diem was assassinated by Gener- al Nguven Khanh, who then seized power in Saigon. On August 7, 1964, the Tonkin Resolution was passed. This joint resolution of Congress gave U.S. president Lyndon Johnson authority to increase U.S. involvement in the war between North and South Vietnam. This resolution was passed in response to the attack on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin by the North Vietnamese. The resolution was also created to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. On March 8, 1965, the first American combat troops, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, arrived in Vietnam to defend the American air base at Danang. In May of 1968, the Paris Peace talks began between the United States and North Viet- nam. They led to the Paris Peace Accords created in 1973 that put an end to all direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily stopped fighting between the North and the South. However, numerous violations of the Paris Peace Accords were committed by both sides. In 1973, the last Rush 8 U.S. troops left Vietnam, keeping up their end of the bargain, while North Vietnamese military forces gradually moved through the southern provinces, and eventually reached Saigon. The early hours of the morning of April 29, 1975 marked the beginning of the end for Saigon. In the month before, efforts to evacuate all the Americans left in Saigon were made, and they included evacuating thousands of Vietnamese who wanted to get out of Saigon before it col- lapsed. On April 3, President Ford announced “Operation Babylift”, which would evacuate about two thousand orphans from the country. Along with that operation came Operation New Life, which resulted in the evacuation of over 110,000 Vietnamese refugees. But on this morning, Tan- sonnhut Airport was being heavily bombarded with rockets. Planes and buildings were being bombed, wreckage and flames everywhere: From his cockpit seat, Mallano saw a sudden flicker in the black sky; lightning, he thought at first. Then the airfield began to ex- plode around him. A rocket hit a fuel tank. A second swooshed into the control tower area, and another landed under the wing of Wessel’s plane, rupturing a fuel tank. As fuel began pouring out on to the ground, Wessel and his crew leaped out and ran. Moments later the spilled gas caught fire, turning the damaged plane into a great red blossom of flames. (Isaacs 447) The Defense Attache Office complex was hit with a round of rockets. One rocket hit the roof of the DAO gymnasium, where at least 1,500 evacuees were waiting to be airlifted out of Saigon.

Load more