Air Force Veteran Served on Evacuation Flight Line
Air Force Staff Sgt. Miguel “Mike” Lechuga witnessed the chaos on April 29, 1975, the day before Saigon fell.
After watching bombs fall on Tan Son Nhut Air Base on April 28, he and the rest of the 10-member aircraft maintenance crew awaited further orders at their building near the flightline. The avionics instrument specialist belonged to the 604th Military Airlift Support Squadron, which was under the Military Airlift Command.
They were told that C-130s would arrive in three-ship formations starting around 3 a.m. on April 29 to continue the U.S. evacuation. But a rocket attack destroyed the second C-130 and canceled that plan, ultimately leading to reliance on Marine Corps helicopters.