Abilene’s Vietnam veteran recalls Operation Babylift and Fall of Saigon

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A retired Vietnam veteran shares stories and tragedies from the final days of the Vietnam War, including his account of the Fall of Saigon.

April 30, 1975, marks the day Saigon fell to North Vietnamese troops, signaling the official end of the Vietnam War. Now, 50 years later, the stories shared by those who served often reflect a mixture of duty, heroism, and loss. It is crucial to understand what these brave men and women faced during the pivotal final moments of the Vietnam conflict.

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One of those heroes is retired U.S. Army First Sergeant Larry Gordon, who served as a radio operator during multiple tours in the Vietnam War and was present during the Fall of Saigon. Gordon now lives in Abilene, but in the 1960s, he was stationed in Hawaii with his wife and two children.

Gordon was attached to many significant missions during his deployment, but recalls one particular mission, Operation Babylift. The goal of this mission was to transport over 3,000 Vietnamese children, who had been orphaned due to the conflict, to secure locations outside of Vietnam to later be adopted. This mission began tragically when the first flight out of the country on an Army C-5A carrier plane, carrying over 300 babies, small children, and American crew members, crashed due to mechanical issues. This accident resulted in about 150 fatalities, an event that Gordon recalls.

“The same plane that we got off of was the same plane they had loaded the orphans on. I remember when I was in the DAO compound, which is sometimes called Pentagon Far East, I happened to be there when the pilots and crew came in from the crash. And I’ll never forget the look on their faces… the horror of what they went through… trying their best to land that plane safely with all those precious lives… I still have that etched in my memory,” Gordon said.

When the evacuation order for troops in Saigon finally arrived, Gordon recalls his actions on the final day and the challenges they faced in leaving the country.

“I was probably the last person manning the satellite system when other people were evacuating. I was there to make sure, until the very last minute, because there was so much communication being, even there at the last minute when it was over. So, on the way out, they tried to bring us down with everything they had: small arms fire. You could hear the pinging on the body of the helicopter as the rounds hit,” Gordon said.

Gordon’s journey back to American soil and his family was a long one. After leaving Vietnam, he was transported to a secure location in the Philippines, where he spent a brief and confusing time waiting to return to Hawaii. During his time in the Philippines, Gordon’s wife was not updated on his status and was told that he was missing in action. Finally, Gordon returned to the United States and recalls his reception and the struggles that came after.

“When I arrived back in Hawaii, there was no fanfare. There was nobody to meet me except for my wife. That’s all I needed. It took me days to realize that I was back home, you know—a loving wife and two loving kids. We tried our best to do everything that would get my mind off of that,” Gordon said.

Because of the recent loss of his wife, Gordon joined a grief counseling group with his local church. After some time of sharing his grief, Gordon feels that he now has clarity on why his life was spared during the Vietnam War, and says that with that clarity comes a new purpose.

“I just lost my wife not too long ago, and that’s where I got involved. Now I’m involved in helping other people, and I’m sitting there telling myself, ‘God, this is where you wanted me. You saved me for this,’ said Gordon.”

Gordon explained that he doesn’t believe his story is any more special than any of the others who’ve served, but he feels it is important to share these experiences not only for personal health but also so that others may better understand our past.