Telegram from Ambassador Martin Concerning the Evacuation of Saigon
4/29/1975
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Ambassador Graham Martin sent this telegram to National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, at the White House, during the evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam War. He states that he is "well aware of the danger here tomorrow and I want to get out tonight." He asks that the President send an order to finish the job quickly, evacuating the rest of the Americans and their children.
The American Ambassador to Vietnam resisted limiting the evacuation to Americans. In this cable he asks with evident desperation, “Perhaps you can tell me how to make some of these Americans abandon their half Vietnamese children?” Before sunrise on April 30, the Ambassador was forced to leave while a few hundred Vietnamese still awaited rescue.
The American Ambassador to Vietnam resisted limiting the evacuation to Americans. In this cable he asks with evident desperation, “Perhaps you can tell me how to make some of these Americans abandon their half Vietnamese children?” Before sunrise on April 30, the Ambassador was forced to leave while a few hundred Vietnamese still awaited rescue.
This primary source comes from the Collection GRF-0330: Backchannel Messages (Ford Administration).
National Archives Identifier: 7367441
Full Citation: Telegram from Ambassador Graham Martin Concerning the Evacuation of Saigon, South Vietnam; 4/29/1975; Martin Channel, April 1975 - Incoming (3); Backchannel Cable Files, 1974 - 1977; Collection GRF-0330: Backchannel Messages (Ford Administration); Gerald R. Ford Library, Ann Arbor, MI. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/telegram-martin-evacuation, December 13, 2024]Activities that use this document
- Analyzing U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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