Operation Eagle Pull was the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
evacuation by air of
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, on 12 April 1975.
At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of the last remaining strongholds of the
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic (, ; ) was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état w ...
, was surrounded by the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...
and totally dependent on aerial resupply through
Pochentong Airport. With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the US government made contingency plans for the evacuation of US nationals and allied Cambodians by helicopter to ships in the
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...
. Operation Eagle Pull took place on the morning of 12 April 1975 and was a tactical success carried out without any loss of life. Five days later the Khmer Republic collapsed and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh.
Strangulation of Phnom Penh
At the beginning of 1975 the
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic (, ; ) was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état w ...
, a United States-supported military government, controlled only the Phnom Penh area and a string of towns along the
Mekong River
The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...
that provided the crucial supply route for food and munitions coming upriver from
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
. As part of their 1975 dry season offensive, rather than renewing their frontal attacks on Phnom Penh, the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...
set out to cut off the crucial Mekong supply route. On 12 January 1975 the Khmer Rouge attacked
Neak Luong, a key
Khmer National Armed Forces
The Khmer National Armed Forces (; , FANK) were the combined military forces of the Khmer Republic, a short-lived nationalist and militaristic state that existed from 1970 to 1975, known today as Cambodia. The FANK was the successor of the Roya ...
(FANK) defensive outpost on the Mekong. On 27 January, seven vessels limped into Phnom Penh, the survivors of a 16-ship convoy that had come under attack over the journey from the South Vietnamese border. On 3 February a convoy heading downriver hit
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...
s laid by the Khmer Rouge at Phu My approximately from Phnom Penh. The FANK naval branch, the
Khmer National Navy (MNK), had mine-sweeping capability, but due to the Khmer Rouge control of the riverbanks mine-sweeping was impossible or at best extremely costly.
The MNK had lost a quarter of its ships, and 70 percent of its sailors had been killed or wounded.
By 17 February, the Khmer Republic abandoned attempts to reopen the Mekong supply line. In future, all supplies for Phnom Penh would have to come in by air to
Pochentong Airport.
[ The United States quickly mobilised an airlift of food, fuel and ammunition into Phnom Penh, but as US support for the Khmer Republic was limited by the Case–Church Amendment,][ BirdAir, a company under contract to the US government, controlled the airlift with a mixed fleet of ]C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
and DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is an early long-range narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. Work began in 1952 towards the United States Air Force's (USAF) requirement for a j ...
planes, flying 20 times a day into Pochentong.[
On 5 March, Khmer Rouge artillery at Toul Leap, north-west of Phnom Penh, shelled Pochentong Airport, but FANK troops recaptured Toul Leap on 15 March and ended the shelling. Khmer Rouge forces continued to close in on the north and west of the city and were soon able to fire on Pochentong again. On 22 March rockets hit two supply aircraft, forcing the US embassy to announce on 23 March a suspension of the airlift until the security situation improved. The embassy, realizing that the Khmer Republic would soon collapse without supplies, reversed the suspension on 24 March and increased the number of aircraft available for the airlift. On 1 April, the Khmer Rouge overran Neak Luong and Ban-am, the last remaining FANK positions on the Mekong. The Khmer Rouge could now concentrate all their forces on Phnom Penh.][ Premier ]Lon Nol
Marshal Lon Nol (, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence minister and provi ...
resigned that day and went into exile; the final collapse of the Khmer Republic was imminent.[
]
Planning
The evacuation plan was developed and refined by the US Military as Khmer Rouge forces closed in on Phnom Penh, starting as early as 1973.[ On 27 June 1973 the ]Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea.
The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...
published Contingency Plan 5060C "Eagle Pull" covering the evacuation of Phnom Penh. Conplan 5060C had three options:
*Option 1: the evacuation of Embassy personnel, US citizens and designated Cambodians by regular or chartered civilian airlift from Pochentong Airport.
*Option 2: if Khmer Rouge action forced the cancellation of civilian flights from Pochentong Airport, security police from the 56th Security Police Squadron at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base would be flown in to provide security for the evacuation of approximately 600 Embassy personnel, US citizens and designated Cambodians by USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
fixed wing aircraft (and CH-53 and HH-53 helicopters if needed).
*Option 3: if Pochentong was closed to traffic the 56th Security Police Squadron would be landed to secure landing zone
In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land.
In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.)The Han ...
s (LZs) in central Phnom Penh (and other towns if required) for use by CH-53 helicopters of the 21st Special Operations Squadron and HH-53 helicopters of the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron with airborne mission command performed by C-130 King aircraft of the 56th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.
Option 3 was later revised to provide for the use of USMC
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
helicopters together with USAF helicopters and C-130 Airborne Mission Command based in Thailand, and for the ground security force to be made up of marines rather than air force security police. The LZs were to be adjacent to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.[
On 6 January 1975, ]CINCPAC
The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region.
It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Lead ...
placed the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit on 96-hour alert to move the evacuation fleet into position off Kampong Som (previously Sihanoukville) in the Gulf of Thailand for the implementation of Operation Eagle Pull.[ On 6 February the reaction time was reduced to 48 hours, meaning that the evacuation fleet had to maintain a 48-hour cruising radius from Kampong Som. This was further reduced on 28 February to 24 hours, effectively meaning that the fleet had to remain within the ]Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...
.[
On 21 March the Embassy predicted there would be 3,600 evacuees, far exceeding the original estimate of approximately 400. This necessitated the development of a new evacuation plan whereby Marines would secure Pochentong Airport, while helicopters would ferry evacuees from central Phnom Penh to Pochentong from where they would be flown on C-130 planes to Thailand.][ However, this plan was quickly overtaken by events as the supply C-130s coming into Pochentong were used for evacuees on the return journey, quickly reducing the number of evacuees that would need to be moved in a final evacuation.][
On 3 April, given the deterioration in the defences around Phnom Penh, Ambassador ]John Gunther Dean
John Gunther Dean (born Gunther Dienstfertig; February 24, 1926 – June 6, 2019) was an American diplomat. From 1974 to 1988, he served as the United States ambassador to five nations under four American presidents. He is also notable for survi ...
requested the deployment of the 10-man Operation Eagle Pull command element which landed at Pochentong on a BirdAir C-130 plane.[ The command element supervised the ongoing fixed-wing evacuation of more than 750 Cambodians over the next seven days in the face of 80–90 rounds of 105 mm artillery and 107 mm rocket fire each day.][ By 10 April Khmer Rouge fire had become so heavy that the fixed-wing evacuation was ended.][
The command group then turned its attention to the selection of helicopter landing zones for the evacuation. As the Khmer Rouge controlled the east bank of the Mekong opposite Phnom Penh, the command group selected LZ Hotel, a soccer field about north-east of the embassy. Masked from the river by a row of apartment buildings, this LZ could not be interdicted by direct fire weapons, making it the safest location. The embassy staff prepared to leave on 11 April, but the evacuation was delayed until the following day in order to allow to join the evacuation fleet off Kampong Som.][
]
Evacuation fleet
On 3 March 1975 Amphibious Ready Group Alpha (Task Group 76.4), and the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit (Task Group 79.4) embarked and arrived at the designated station off Kampong Som in the Gulf of Thailand, the force comprised:
Task Group 76.4 (Movement Transport Group Alpha)[
* carrying HMH-462 comprising 14 CH-53, 3 CH-46, 4 AH-1J, and 2 UH-1E helicopters][
*
*
Escort ships for naval gunfire, escort, and area defense:][
*
*
*
*
*
On 17 March the ]Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
, concerned that one Marine helicopter squadron was insufficient for the evacuation, ordered that USS ''Hancock'' offload its air wing and proceed to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
. On 26 March Marine Heavy Lift Helicopter Squadron HMH-463 comprising 25 CH-53, CH-46, AH-1J and UH-1E helicopters embarked on USS ''Hancock'' and it proceeded to Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
.[ After taking on more helicopters at Subic Bay, USS ''Hancock'' was temporarily assigned to Amphibious Ready Group Bravo, standing by off Vung Tau, South Vietnam, but on 11 April she joined Amphibious Ready Group Alpha in the Gulf of Thailand.][ The marine evacuation contingent comprised one battalion landing team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4).][
As the Khmer Rouge had no air force and only limited ]anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
capability, no fleet air cover was necessary, but the evacuation was supported by USAF aircraft based in Thailand. It was suspected that the Khmer Rouge might possess SA-7
The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared-homing guidance and destroy them with a ...
shoulder-launched surface to air missiles and so the evacuation helicopters were painted with infrared low-reflective paint and equipped with ALE-29 flare dispensers.[
]
Evacuation
On the afternoon of 11 April 1975, the 31st MAU received orders to execute Operation Eagle Pull.[ At 06:00 on 12 April, 12 CH-53s of HMH-462 launched from the deck of USS ''Okinawa'' and then at 10-minute intervals descended again to pick up their marines. Elements of Companies F and H, and the command group embarked from USS ''Okinawa'' while elements of Company G boarded their helicopters on USS ''Vancouver'', giving a total ground security force of 360 Marines. As the helicopters completed loading they formed into groups of three orbiting the task force.][
At 07:30 Ambassador Dean notified the acting Cambodian Chief of State, Prime Minister Long Boret and other Cambodian leaders including Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak, that the US personnel would officially leave the country within the next few hours and asked if any desired evacuation, in which case they should be at the embassy by 09:30. All declined except for Saukham Khoy, successor to Lon Nol as President of the Khmer Republic, who left without telling his fellow leaders.][ Prince Sirik Matak, a former prime minister and a driving force behind the formation of the Khmer Republic rejected the offer of evacuation and said to Ambassador Dean that "I have committed this mistake of believing in you, the Americans."][
The ten-man command group proceeded to drive vehicles to LZ Hotel, purposely disabling them to block vehicle access from any part of the city, other than the road from the Embassy to the LZ.][ The command group then proceeded to make contact with "King Bird", an orbiting HC-130 plane of the 56th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, that would control the flow of the helicopters.][ "King Bird" then cleared in two USAF HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giants, from the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, as scheduled, to insert an Air Force Combat Control Team (CCT) to ensure the safe, controlled landings and departures of Marine helicopters to/from the LZ. Small arms fire during this insertion caused minimal damage to the first aircraft, but the CCT was successfully inserted, and the HH-53s departed to aerial refuel in preparation for the final extraction.
At 07:43 the first group of helicopters crossed the Cambodian coastline and about one hour later, after traversing of hostile territory, the initial wave set down on LZ Hotel and the Marines quickly established a defensive perimeter. Large crowds of Cambodians soon gathered, more out of curiosity rather than to interfere. Having established the perimeter defense, the marines began the process of moving the crowds back in order to keep the LZ clear and then began moving the evacuee groups to the waiting CH-53 helicopters. As LZ Hotel could only hold three CH-53s at any time, flights arriving after the initial build-up had to be held at Point Oscar, some south of Phnom Penh until called in by "King Bird".][ The evacuation proceeded smoothly although the number of evacuees was substantially fewer than anticipated. The last estimate indicated there would be 590 evacuees, 146 US nationals and 444 Cambodians and third country nationals. HMH-462 evacuated 84 US nationals and 205 Cambodians and third country nationals.][
At 09:45, the US Embassy closed.][ There would be no diplomatic relations between the US and Cambodia again until 11 November 1991. By 10:41 all the evacuees including Ambassador Dean and President Saukham Khoy had been lifted out by helicopters of HMH-462. Helicopters of HMH-463 operating from USS ''Hancock'' then began to land to extract the ground security force.][
At approximately 10:50, 107 mm rocket fire began impacting in the vicinity of LZ Hotel. Less than 10 minutes later, the LZ also received 82 mm mortar fire. As soon as the Khmer Rouge fire commenced, the controllers in the zone notified the Air Force forward air controllers (FACs) flying overhead in ]23d Tactical Air Support Squadron
3D, 3-D, 3d, or Three D may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics
* A three-dimensional space in mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality
* 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geome ...
OV-10s. The FACs immediately made low passes over the east bank of the Mekong, but could not spot any fire coming from known enemy positions in that location.[ At 10:59, the last element of 2nd Battalion 4th Marines left the zone and the last marine helicopter landed on USS ''Okinawa'' at 12:15.][
At 11:15, the two USAF HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giants returned as scheduled, and successfully extracted the Combat Control Team and the Eagle Pull command element.][ After the HH-53's had safely departed the city, "King Bird" cleared the last Air Force HH-53's to depart for Thailand. These three Jolly Green Giants had been flying a precautionary search and rescue orbit just north of Phnom Penh during the entire operation in case any of the participating aircraft ran into trouble. As the Jolly Greens turned for home, the lead aircraft was hit by a machine gun round in the tail rotor. Despite severe vibrations the helicopter made it safely back to Ubon Air Base in Thailand.][ At 14:50 an HMH-462 CH-53 launched from USS ''Okinawa'' to carry Ambassador Dean to U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand.][
On 13 April, the evacuees were flown to U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand on HMH-462 helicopters and Amphibious Ready Group Alpha proceeded to the South China Sea to rendezvous with Task Force 76 as it stood by to implement ]Operation Frequent Wind
Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Sai ...
, the evacuation of Saigon.[
File:Freq% 20Wind% 20and% 20Eagle% 20Pull% 20015.jpg, HMH-462 CH-53 takes off from USS ''Okinawa''
File:Marines move to perimeter of LZ Hotel.jpg, Marines move to perimeter of LZ Hotel
File:Operation Eagle Pull helicopters on LZ Hotel.jpg, Aerial view of 3 USMC CH-53 helicopters on LZ Hotel
File:View of Phnom Penh from CH-53.jpg, View of Phnom Penh from the window of a Marine CH-53 helicopter
File:Saukham Koy arrives on USS Okinawa.jpg, Saukam Khoy, President of the Khmer Republic arrives on USS ''Okinawa''
File:Eagle Pull command group arrives in Thailand.jpg, Eagle Pull command group and men of the 40th ARRS celebrate the successful completion of the operation
File:Ambassador Dean arrives in Thailand.jpg, Ambassador Dean steps off an HMH-462 CH-53 at U-Tapao on the afternoon of 12 April
File:The Soccer Field, scene of Operation Eagle Pull.jpg, The Soccer Field/LZ Hotel as seen in January 2008
]
Aftermath
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
observed in his Vietnam War memoir that the Ford Administration was astonished and shamed by the fact that top Cambodian officials refused to leave the country. These included Premier Long Boret and Lon Non, the Prime Minister's brother, both of whom were on the Khmer Rouge's advertised death list.
On 17 April 1975 the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh bringing the Cambodian Civil War
The Cambodian Civil War (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vietnam and China) against the government of the Ki ...
to an end. Long Boret, Lon Non and other top officials of the Khmer Republic Government were executed at the ''Cercle Sportif'' (ironically now the location of the US Embassy), while FANK troops in the city were disarmed, taken to the Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...
and executed.
For 2/4 Marines and Amphibious Ready Group Alpha, Operation Eagle Pull served as a small-scale dress rehearsal for the more complex Operation Frequent Wind during the Fall of Saigon
The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...
, which occurred 17 days later.[
]
In popular culture
Operation Eagle Pull is depicted in the film '' The Killing Fields''.
References
External links
Video of Roland Neveu discussing his photos from the fall of Phnom Penh
{{Authority control
Eagle Pull
Evacuations
Military history of Cambodia
1975 in Cambodia
April 1975 in Asia
Eagle Pull
20th century in Phnom Penh
Cambodian Civil War