Thousands commemorate heroic Vietnam War rescues of 1975 in USS Midway event

David Garrick, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Apr 27, 2025

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Thousands of Vietnam War veterans and Vietnamese-Americans flooded the USS Midway’s flight deck Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the war’s end — and the daring rescues that came with it.

The event commemorated those rescues and the fall of Saigon that ended the war in spring 1975. But it also celebrated Southern California’s thriving Vietnamese population, many of whom are here because of those rescues.

Hundreds of Vietnamese refugees from San Diego and Orange counties attended the ceremony, and many were joined by their children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

Some of the U.S. military veterans who showed up actually served on the Midway, which played a key role in the helicopter rescues by giving them a place to launch in the long-celebrated Operation Frequent Wind.

Among them was the ceremony’s keynote speaker, 95-year-old Rear Adm. Larry Chambers, who was in command of the Midway during that operation — the largest helicopter rescue in the history of the U.S. military.

Chambers recounted the entire operation, which spanned two days, in gripping, moment-by-moment fashion. But he also filled his speech with humor and gave most of the credit to the helicopter pilots.

“All I was, was a real estate manager,” said Chambers, the first Black person to ever command a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. “I just cleared the runway to give them a shot at it.”

The evacuations were necessary because the North Vietnamese were bearing down on Saigon in one last push to win the war. More than 3,000 South Vietnamese refugees got out and started new lives in the U.S.

“Five decades later, we are here not only to remember that operation but to honor the lives it changed, the risks taken and the legacy left behind,” said U.S. Rep. Derek Tran, D-Orange. “This is not just a commemoration of history. It’s a celebration of resilience, compassion and the enduring bonds formed.”

Tran was invited to speak because Orange County has the largest Vietnamese population living outside of Vietnam.

Organizers of the ceremony said 17 buses of Vietnamese-Americans came from Orange County on Sunday.

Among them were Anne Le from Huntington Beach and Mary Tran from Fountain Valley. Both women said Sunday was a reminder how welcoming Americans have been to the Vietnamese people displaced by the war.

“We are thankful to the American people” Le said.

“It’s a blessing that we are here,” Tran said.

The event also attracted many local military veterans, including Ramona resident Rudy Weidler, who served on the USS Oriskany — another Navy aircraft carrier — before retiring.

“It’s bringing back a lot of memories,” Weidler said of being on the Midway flight deck, where helicopters and other aircraft were displayed Sunday. “I used to walk the flag deck and check out the flags — when they were flying.”

Many of the event’s nearly dozen speakers gave their remarks partly in Vietnamese.

That included Châu Thuy, president of the Vietnamese Heritage Museum in Orange County.

“Let this day be more than a commemoration,” said Thuy, who escaped from Vietnam in 1984 at the age of 16 with 116 other refugees crammed into a small boat. “Let this be a renewed call to action, to build bridges to power the next generation to carry forward our story with pride, dignity and purpose.”

Pha Le, a local doctor whose son is attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, said the men on the Midway made Southern California’s thriving Vietnamese population possible.

“Your fight for freedom is the reason why the Vietnamese-American community exists today,” said Le, who serves on the board of the Midway museum. “We owe you our lives.”

Before the speeches, several Vietnamese groups entertained the audience with traditional dances and singing.

The ceremony began at 11 a.m., just after a short rainstorm. By the time it ended about 3 p.m., the Midway’s panoramic view of the San Diego Bay, downtown, Coronado and Point Loma was filled with sunshine.

The event featured a moment of silence, dramatic “missing man” flyovers by military planes and a wreath laying.