martin

[Ray Wilkinson]

vietnam memories by one of britain's finest journalists.

but those photo captions. wasn't that first picture in fact taken in danang and the last of the fix winged aircraft to leave that city. 

and then the caption on the helicopter rooftop evacuation. i know there was a huge discussion on this sometime back. seems confusion continues to reign. 

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/apr/21/40-years-on-from-fall-of-saigon-witnessing-end-of-vietnam-war

[Carl Robinson]

Thanks for posting this, Ray, and definitely the best piece yet on the Fall of Saigon -- especially as he stayed on afterwards and then gives such a great analysis.   What a superb writer!     

While the words "mistake" and "crime" are way over-used and which I personally avoid using, Martin gives them a powerful definition in this sentence at the end of a fantastic 'catch-all' sorta' graf.  

The plain fact that the American war in Vietnam was a mistake and a crime – because it was undertaken so lightly, pursued so brutally and abandoned so perfidiously – is about the only plain fact there is.

 

Best regards,

Carl 

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[Carl Robinson]

Oh, PS:  That lead picture was from Nha Trang, not Danang. 

[Arnold Isaacs]

The photo at the top was taken in Nha Trang, I believe. Might have
been Phan Rang or someplace else on the central coast, but definitely
not Danang or Saigon and it is definitely fixed-wing, not a
helicopter.
Skip Isaacs

[Barry Fox]

Isn't the guy doing the punching Ed Daly the owner of World Airways? So this would make it a World Airways flight. Rear door of a 727? If so that sort of narrows it down. The actual Grauniad caption is a load of crap.

[Barry Fox]

Last fixed wing out of Da Nang is my guess. World Airways 727 jam packed with an additional 60 in the cargo hold. CBS had it on film.

[Arnold Isaacs]

No, it's not Daly (and not Danang and not a 727). The guy throwing the
punch was a pilot. Not sure whether he was with World Airways or
Continental. I met him a week or two later when he took some reporters
on a flight to Phu Quoc Island.

Skip Isaacs

On Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 9:11 AM, Barry Fox <barryj...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Isn't the guy doing the punching Ed Daly the owner of World Airways? So this would make it a World Airways flight. Rear door of a 727? If so that sort of narrows it down. The actual Grauniad caption is a load of crap.
>

[Bob Carroll]

The "punch" photo was taken by Chuong Khac Thai of UPI April 1 75 in Nha Trang. He left Saigon in 79, arrived in Toronto 80 where he and his wife opened a restaurant. Thai died of cancer in 88. His daughter runs the same place today

The puncher was later identified as a charter pilot Robert Hendrix from North Dakota hired by US State Dept. The plane was a DC6 overloaded with 264 aboard. Hendrix died Oct 81.

Bob Carroll 


 

> Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 06:11:16 -0700
> From: barryj...@gmail.com
> To: vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: martin

>
> Isn't the guy doing the punching Ed Daly the owner of World Airways? So this would make it a World Airways flight. Rear door of a 727? If so that sort of narrows it down. The actual Grauniad caption is a load of crap.
>

[Jim Sterba]

A wonderful story by Martin. However, Patraeus graduated from West Point in 1974 and I find no evidence he served in Vietnam. Am I wrong? thanks

[Jacques Leslie]

Kudos to Martin for a beautifully written and wise piece.

[Carl Robinson]

To clarify Martin's The Guardian piece photo -- the famous "punch" shot -- here is ex-UPI's Bob Carroll's confirmation that this was in Nha Trang.   (He filed this separately but just to keep in this string.) 

The "punch" photo was taken by Chuong Khac Thai of UPI April 1 75 in Nha Trang. He left Saigon in 79, arrived in Toronto 80 where he and his wife opened a restaurant. Thai died of cancer in 88. His daughter runs the same place today

The puncher was later identified as a charter pilot Robert Hendrix from North Dakota hired by US State Dept. The plane was a DC6 overloaded with 264 aboard. Hendrix died Oct 81.

Bob Carroll  .

[David Burnett]

is anyone in touch with Martin... great piece... would be nice to see him on VOH

[Carl Robinson]

I've tried off-and-on over past six years - damn, that long since we started VOH?! -- to get Martin on-board, including last reunion in SGN but without any luck. If anyone can help network this, I'd much appreciate.    best, Carl

  

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 7:23 AM, David Burnett <davi...@gmail.com> wrote:

is anyone in touch with Martin... great piece... would be nice to see him on VOH

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[Ray Wilkinson]

indirectly. will try.

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 4:23 AM, David Burnett <davi...@gmail.com> wrote:

is anyone in touch with Martin... great piece... would be nice to see him on VOH

--

[Jacques Leslie]

Martin is pretty immune to digital discourse. Even in this age, he writes letters.

[dalb...@aol.com]

Hi David

 

I see a lot of Martin. I have tried very hard to get him to come on this trip and to join VOH, but he has a lot on his plate. He still has a contract to write leaders for the Guardian, and is currently on holiday in Greece . He  does not think the G wd wear him dashing off again.

 

As for joining the VOH  I have also tried to get him to join but he says, in his wry way " I don't think I cd cope with it, it would be like being in the Tet Offensive". On The last day April 29 1975 before the fall we taking some refreshment on the Continental Shelf and he said, again jokingly " t's all bit much isn't it. As Noel Coward wd  have said  the noise and the dust and, my dear, the people."

 

Hope to see you in Saigon soon

 

Best

 

Stewart Dalby