Customer Reviews

The Fall of Saigon: Scenes from the Sudden End of a Long War

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This book documents the last few chaotic weeks of the US presents in Vietnam. The human story is effectively conveyed by first hand accounts of eyewitnesses from many strata of Vietnam society. The author, an NBC reporter in Saigon, witnessed these events firsthand. His unique perspective and access to the diplomatic corps adds a fascinating credibility to the book. His discussion concerning the actions and statements of Ambassador Graham Martin particularly intrigued me. Did Martin's decisions during that period contribute to the frantic last minute evacuation that left many friendlies stranded? The author makes no judgments. Butler includes transcript of many diplomatic cables to and from Martin and Secretary of State Kissinger and the White House concerning events and plans for evacuation and rescue. Reading these transcripts today still convevs a strong emotional impact for this reader. Interspacing these high level discussions are the stories of a whole society turned upside down while "we" skipped town.

The Fall of Saigon is not an easy book to read. We are forced to confront the final conclusion of our failed crusade. Our goal was the minds and the hearts but we ended up fragmented the lives of the people we were suppose to help. When one considers the sacrifices made by both countries in treasure and lives the facts concerning the events of April-May 1975 are hard to digest, even after 30 plus years. No judgments are made here, no accusing fingers are pointed; we must read, and ponder.

I've read several books about the fall of Vietnam in 1975 and the evacuation of the Americans and Vietnamese from the doomed country. "Decent Interval" by Frank Snepp is excellent. Snepp sees the events as an Embassy insider -- and one of his purposes is to excoriate the U.S. government -- and Ambassador Graham Martin -- for its failure to evacuate Vietnamese allies. Compared to "Decent Interval," "The Fall of Saigon" has a broader vision and the perspective is perhaps more balanced as it comes 10 years after the event, allowing time for reflection.

Butler begins the book with the attack of the North Vietnamese army in the Central Highlands on March 6, 1975. He ends it with the evacuation of the American Embassy in Saigon and the surrender of the South Vietnamese government on April 30. The evacuation of Saigon was one of the darkest -- but most dramatic -- events of American history. There are heroes aplenty here, especially young diplomats at the Embassy who took enormous chances to help Vietnamese friends and colleagues escape from the advancing communist army. One has to admire the inexperienced Marines who did so well in protecting the Embassy and Americans during those last days. Butler also gives attention to Vietnamese on both sides of the war although the book focuses mostly on the Americans.

Butler was a journalist in Saigon during those last days and the the great majority of the book is compiled from interviews the author had with the American and South and North Vietnamese participants and eye witnesses, including his own experiences. We are treated to some unique stories, for example, to the saga of a missionary couple cut off in the Central Highlands. Most of the book is devoted to an account of the last days of of the U.S. government's presence in Saigon. This story is complex, involving many characters and shifting of scenes. Good maps and photos illustrate the story and Butler's writing is clear, concise, and compelling.

Smallchief

The author tells his story and does it more or less well, with some minor issues. He does a very good telling of the last days of Vietnam from a broad perspective, but just not a deep one.

The photos are a good selection of commonly known shots and others rarely, or never, published. The map on the endcovers is superb, really allowing one to grasp the location of events, particularly for those of us that have visited the current Ho Chi Minh City and only know of streets and locales under the new names. He does an excellant job of switching between his personal experiences and those from people he interviewed.

However, I wish he had more stories from the Communist side. They are only superficially touched on. Other than a couple of relatively senior persons, and a couple of South Vietnamese working both sides, he really never delves into what the Communist troops were thinking and experiencing.

I also would have liked to hear more from the 'average' South Vietnamese. Butler admits in his forward that he left out many of the stories he collected from South Vietnamese resettled in the States that he interviewed. In his forward he seems to imply that he was running late with the book, and it strikes me that perhaps in his haste to meet his publisher's deadlines, this might be why he left stories out. I think that he may have made a mistake. As a society falls, it can be very illustrative to read about the common man of that society, not just the leaders and upper classes.

And one last item. An old instructor / mentor of mine once made it clear that if you can not get the small, seemingly inconsequential things in a story correct, it will cause those readers who know some of those details to begin to question other aspects of your story. For example, Butler makes frequent errors in the nomenclature of weapons and equipment used at the time. His spelling of "Browning automatic rifle" should have each word in caps as it is a proper noun, i.e.: Browning Automatic Rifle. He also states that the BAR had a 30-round magazine, when a 20-round capacity was all it ever had. Butler appears to confuse the M-79 and M-203 grenade launchers during the Communist storming of the Presidential Palace in Saigon. He seems to think that the "CH" in the designation of the helicopters used during the evacuation stands for "Chinook" - he calls all manner of cargo helicopters Chinooks, such as "Chinook-53". The "CH" is the base designation for cargo helicopters. Only the CH-47 (which is pictured on the front of the book, and in a photo inside) is rightly named Chinook. The CH-53s and CH-46s mentioned elsewhere are in no way known as Chinnoks. And speaking of helicopters, several of the photos inside that depict helicopters have them misidentified. While these are small, inconsequential items, it makes me wonder what else he may have gotten wrong through inattention or haste, or maybe laziness?

Butler was a reporter in Vietnam when the world came crashing down on the South Vietnamese government, the United States that had backed it, and the people who had joined the American cause. This is a searing book, worth any number of lofty Frances FitzGerald tomes. Butler was on the street, in the bars, and driving down the road. What's more important, he loved Vietnam and the Vietnamese. Their tragedy was his tragedy. Go find this book, in a library or a used-book store; it's worth the effort. And if you're a publisher, for God's sake get it reprinted.