American Experience: Last Days in Vietnam

During the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese forces closed in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance quickly crumbled. With the specter of a Communist victory looming and only a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives still in the country, the United States prepared to withdraw. As they began to realize the likely imprisonment and possible death of their South Vietnamese allies, American diplomats and soldiers confronted a moral quandary: obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens, or risk being charged with treason and save the lives of as many South Vietnamese citizens as they can. With time running out and the city under fire, an unlikely group of heroes emerged as Americans and South Vietnamese took matters into their own hands.