My two guys were evacuated from Saigon by helicopter at 1400 hours (2:00 p.m.) on 29 April 1975. I went out that night on a Huey, a small Air America helicopter. My chopper was fired upon and almost shot down, but we made it to a ship of the U.S. 7th Fleet cruising in the South China Sea. In the pockets of my slacks were what I always carried—my car keys, change, my wallet, the usual pocket litter. But I also had my passport and identity papers which labelled me as a diplomat and employee of the U.S. State Department, my cover at the time.
I was also carrying things in my hands. One was my .38 revolver, the only weapon I’d had to defend myself against the eighteen North Vietnamese divisions that were attacking Saigon. And under each arm I carried a flag. One was the stars and stripes; the other was the orange and gold flag of the now defunct Republic of Vietnam, that is, South Vietnam. They were the two flags that had stood on either side of my desk in my office.
When the helicopter I was on landed on the Oklahoma City, the flag ship of the 7th Fleet, sailors immediately took my .38 from me, but I wouldn’t give them the flags. I kept them with me as we sailed to the Philippines. I carried them on the flight from Subic Bay to Honolulu. I had them under my arms as I flew from Hawaii to Baltimore. I landed in Baltimore wearing the same clothes I’d escaped Saigon in and carrying the same belongings, minus the .38. When I returned to NSA, I took the flags with me and presented them to the agency I had represented in Vietnam.
Today, those two flags are in the Cryptologic Museum at Fort Meade, Maryland, adjacent to NSA headquarters.
They—and I—are home at last.
Tom Glenn, Writer 
Tom, Rose here again, passing on a NY Times piece worth reading, about
three women journalists in Vietnam who never go the credit due them. Bravea
role models for sure.
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Enlightening article, Rose. Thank you. I guess I was as guilty as many other men in not giving women the credit they deserve for acting in dangerous times. As it became obvious to me that Vietnam was going to fall to the communists, I saw to it that no women remained on my staff in Saigon. The 43 guys working with me at the end were all men and all military veterans. At the time, I was worried that women would not have the requisite courage to face the mortal danger I knew we were in. I was wrong. I see it now. If I had it all to do over again, I wouldn’t have eliminated women. But I doubt I’d have been able to find many who were veterans back then.
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Thank you, Tom.
On Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 6:57 AM Tom Glenn, Writer wrote:
> tomglenn3 posted: ” My two guys were evacuated from Saigon by helicopter > at 1400 hours (2:00 p.m.) on 29 April 1975. I went out that night on a > Huey, a small Air America helicopter. My chopper was fired upon and almost > shot down, but we made it to a ship of the U.S. 7th Fle” >
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And thank you for your comment, Ron. My feeling at the time was that we did what we had to do, whatever it took. I still feel that way today.
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