Afghanistan Evacuation Made Saigon Look Like Triumph

Forty-seven years ago, I stood inside an American compound in Saigon, watching in anger and frustration as the country disintegrated. I can vividly remember Army officers handing me the dispatch that we all dreaded. It was the execute order (EXORD) for Operation Frequent Wind: the final evacuation of Americans and at-risk Vietnamese allies from the invading communist regime. As a Marine major with two combat tours, I was designated as the “action officer” for the operation.

To watch Kabul fall, some half a century later, resurrected old pains and revealed old scars. It was, in many ways, a far more tragic story than what I witnessed off the jade coasts of Vietnam.

JL

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James E. Livingston

James E. Livingston is a Major General, USMC (Retired). He was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions in 1968 during the Vietnam War.

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Forty-seven years ago, I stood inside an American compound in Saigon, watching in anger and frustration as the country disintegrated. I can vividly remember Army officers handing me the dispatch that we all dreaded. It was the execute order (EXORD) for Operation Frequent Wind: the final evacuation of Americans and at-risk Vietnamese allies from the invading communist regime. As a Marine major with two combat tours, I was designated as the “action officer” for the operation.

To watch Kabul fall, some half a century later, resurrected old pains and revealed old scars. It was, in many ways, a far more tragic story than what I witnessed off the jade coasts of Vietnam.