Saigon Farewell: 1975

Roundabout via Jay M Chladek 

It’s four decades since the collapse of the former country of South Vietnam. Intervening years have wrought mighty changes to the world. Vietnam is one country now, and the U.S. has long since normalized relations with the former enemy. The very name of South Vietnam’s former national capital city – Saigon – is a historical  footnote now. Americans can visit the country with no difficulty, and many do.

In this 21st Century context, it’s difficult to grasp just what it was like at the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975. As it had been for the duration of that war, Pan Am played a part at its end. We’re fortunate to have Al Topping’s account, who had arrived to become Pan Am’s man in Saigon in December of 1972.

(This very real story was dramatized in movie starring James Earl Jones, Last Flight Out, 1990, and Al is currently working on a book about that time, which he hopes to have published later this year.)