August 15, 2023 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Major Buang-Ly worked as a pilot with the United States military during the Vietnam War. When the US began evacuating South Vietnam Major Buang-Ly knew he had to get his family out. Historian Hill Goodspeed, from the Naval Aviation Museum brings us this amazing story of a father doing whatever he could to save his family
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Today. We have
a history story brought to us from the Naval Aviation
Museum in Pensacola, Florida. In April of nineteen seventy five,
the United States was engaging in an evacuation of Saigon,
which at the time was the capital of South Vietnam.
(00:30):
This evacuation plan, known as Operation Frequent Wind, came as
the North Vietnamese were closing in on South Vietnam. Here's
historian Hill good Speed with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
So there were US nationals who were still in Saigon,
and there were also other people wanting to get out,
and the embassy, of course needed to be evacuated. So
the US Navy sent a fleet of ships and they
operated off the coast of South Vietnam, and there was
pretty much an aerial shuttle is the best way to
(01:07):
describe it, of Marine Corps and Navy helicopters flying in
country and landing primarily on the grounds of the US
embassy to pull people out and take them to the
ships offshore. There was also aircraft flying from airfields in
South Vietnam getting people out. These helicopters would fly out
(01:28):
to the US ships. There'd just be an array of
people that were getting off from various backgrounds. They could
be South Vietnamese individuals just trying to escape, families, just
trying to get out, knowing that the North Vietnamese forces
Communist forces coming in would not treat those who had
worked with the American forces and during the long US
(01:49):
involvement in Vietnam very well.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Amidst this operation, there was one man, a South Vietnamese pilot,
who decided to take into his own hands the safety
of his family, Major Bunley.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
During the long involvement of US forces in Vietnam, there
was a training program that existed to integrate South Vietnamese
personnel military forces into US operations. Certainly a big part
of that was training pilots to fly various missions, and
they formed the South Vietnamese Air Force. There was also
(02:23):
a group called the ARVIN, which is Army of the
Republic of Vietnam, and so these individuals served alongside American
forces US advisors during the course of the Vietnam War,
and he was at the time of the fall of Saigon.
He came up with the idea that he needed to
get out, and especially with his military affiliation and with
(02:44):
the ability to fly. He commandeered an aircraft which is
in South Vietnamese Air Force markings. I mean it's still
displayed in the museum in those markings. He commandeered that
aircraft and loaded his wife and five children on board,
and it was a two seed aircraft. The aircraft is
a is a light observation plane. So it's not unlike
(03:07):
the small civilian aircraft you see flying around small airports
or around the country here in the United States. It
was an American built airplane, but it was designed as
an observation plane. That's what O meant in its designation,
like one means observation was what the oas stood for.
(03:27):
He loaded his wife and five children into this plane,
and with being only a two seater, the children were
stuffed back into the fuselage of the airplane behind the
cockpit area. And so I can't even imagine what it
must have been like for them, being so young in
this really chaotic scene, to be all of a sudden
(03:48):
find themselves in a just stuffed into a darkened compartment
and off they go into the air. I mean, I'm
not sure whether any of them had ever even flown before.
I mean, he may have been the only one aboard
the aircraft that he had been. I've been in the
air before, I'm not certain. But and then off they
went with only a really only a promise of something
that might happen. I can't even imagine. You're flying out
(04:10):
over the water, and there was no guarantee he could
land on a ship out there, or no guarantee of
what the future held. But it just goes to show
whatever uncertainties lay in the future, it was better than
the situation that awaited them if they stayed behind. As
he flew out over the Pacific, he eventually happened upon
(04:33):
the US fleet of ships, and one of the ships
there was the USS Midway, which is an aircraft carrier,
and it's actually a ship that is still in existence.
It's a floating museum in San Diego. But he came
upon the USS Midway, and he flew low over the
deck and he dropped a note onto the deck, which
(04:55):
was routine at that time from a low flying aircraft
and a very slow aircraft like that deliver messages in
those ways in that way, and the note, luckily for
those on board the Midway, they were evacuating a lot
of Vietnamese Nationals, So there was no problem getting the
note translated as to what he wanted to do. And
he indicated essentially that I want to land. I got
(05:16):
here's who's aboard this airplane, and here's who I am,
and I would like to land on the USS land
on this ship. And at that point, the commanding officer
had a decision to make. And the commanding officer was
a guy named Captain Lawrence Chambers, and he was actually
the first African American to command a US aircraft carrier,
so he was pretty unique in history at that time.
(05:40):
But if you look at what his situation he faced,
he had the array of helicopters coming in and landing
on his ship just I mean, it was a constant
stream of him. A carrier flight deck, even though it
looks really big, is a relatively limited space if you
(06:02):
compare it to say an airport airfield. So space is
at a premium and you have to clear a certain
amount of space to operate aircraft. And so he had
a decision to make on how he was going to
try to meet the wishes of this individual who wanted
to land. And first of all, he had to have
concern that this individual's never landed on an aircraft carrier before.
(06:27):
I don't know what his proficiency is, whether he'll be
able to do it or not. It could be dangerous
to those on the deck. Maybe I'll have him ditch
the airplane in the water and we can send somebody,
send a boat, or send a helicopter to go rescue
the family. But the problem with that is the one
(06:48):
bird Dog is an airplane that has fixed landing year
for one and when you land. If he would have
tried to ditch the airplane in the water with fixed
landing year, that landing year would have dug into the
water as it as it hit it and probably would
have flipped the airplane over on its back. So you
have a situation where the kids stuffed in the back
(07:11):
of the fuselage there would be a big, a good
chance that they may not be able to make it
out of the airplane. Then he had to consist. So
that was an option that, even though he considered it,
was one that that was not going to bring the
result that needed to be that was going to be
a positive result. So then his next decision was to
clear the deck. He was going to have to push
(07:31):
some of the helicopters over the side, and there may
have been some expense to that, but with all that
was going on, a lot of the military equipment being used,
I mean, it was a minor expense to pay in
his mind, to save the lives of some individuals. So
he ordered some helicopters pushed over the side to clear space.
(07:52):
And then most aircraft or all aircraft generally have to
land on an aircraft carrier. They have to be to
a stop with a tailhook that's located on the underside
of the fuselage and it engages a wire that is
strung across the deck. Well. In this case, this aircraft
was so light he wouldn't need a way to he
(08:14):
wouldn't have to stop it in that manner. He brought
the airplane in after you receive word that he could land.
When it hit the deck, he was able to bring
it to a stop in a relatively short distance. He
was also aided by the fact that the aircraft carrier
was turned to the wind, so there was wind coming
across the deck and that helped slow him as well,
and the crew ran out was able to help bring
(08:36):
the airplane to a stop. And there's a famous photograph
that was taken on the deck. You can see him
emerging from the airplane. You can see his wife as well,
and there's a throng of crewmen surrounding this tiny airplane
on the flight deck. And it's a real inspiring shot
to see because of one just the small aisles that
(09:00):
are on the crew. I mean, it was such a
it was such a momentous moment for them because and
really the whole time and that their whole day had
had been spent Normally the crew would be launching combat
aircraft in the action, but here they were that whole day.
They knew that they were literally the passage to freedom
(09:21):
for a lot of people, and to and to see
they were you could just see the looks of joy
on their faces in this particular case of what this
family did to and what they accomplished to to get
out of South Vietnam that day.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
A plane that brought Major Bungley and his family to
freedom and safety has been on display in the Naval
Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, mere months after it made
its historic landing.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It's an airplane that's easy to get lost amidst all
the you know, the famous jets and combat aircraft that
we have here. It's it's it's tiny, it's tuckta, it's
suspended from the ceiling in one of our hangars. But
when people hear the story about what it represents, it
becomes instantly one of the most inspiring things they see
when they come here, once they know and appreciate the
(10:12):
story behind it.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And a special thanks to Madison on the storytelling and
the interviewing and on the production. A special thanks to
Faith and also a special thanks to History and Hill
good Speed who tells this remarkable story of American generosity
and heart in the end, the story of Major Bunley,
also the story of Captain Lawrence Chambers who issue that order.
(10:38):
Here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American stories. Today. We have
a history story brought to us from the Naval Aviation
Museum in Pensacola, Florida. In April of nineteen seventy five,
the United States was engaging in an evacuation of Saigon,
which at the time was the capital of South Vietnam.
(00:30):
This evacuation plan, known as Operation Frequent Wind, came as
the North Vietnamese were closing in on South Vietnam. Here's
historian Hill good Speed with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
So there were US nationals who were still in Saigon,
and there were also other people wanting to get out,
and the embassy, of course needed to be evacuated. So
the US Navy sent a fleet of ships and they
operated off the coast of South Vietnam, and there was
pretty much an aerial shuttle is the best way to
(01:07):
describe it, of Marine Corps and Navy helicopters flying in
country and landing primarily on the grounds of the US
embassy to pull people out and take them to the
ships offshore. There was also aircraft flying from airfields in
South Vietnam getting people out. These helicopters would fly out
(01:28):
to the US ships. There'd just be an array of
people that were getting off from various backgrounds. They could
be South Vietnamese individuals just trying to escape, families, just
trying to get out, knowing that the North Vietnamese forces
Communist forces coming in would not treat those who had
worked with the American forces and during the long US
(01:49):
involvement in Vietnam very well.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Amidst this operation, there was one man, a South Vietnamese pilot,
who decided to take into his own hands the safety
of his family, Major Bunley.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
During the long involvement of US forces in Vietnam, there
was a training program that existed to integrate South Vietnamese
personnel military forces into US operations. Certainly a big part
of that was training pilots to fly various missions, and
they formed the South Vietnamese Air Force. There was also
(02:23):
a group called the ARVIN, which is Army of the
Republic of Vietnam, and so these individuals served alongside American
forces US advisors during the course of the Vietnam War,
and he was at the time of the fall of Saigon.
He came up with the idea that he needed to
get out, and especially with his military affiliation and with
(02:44):
the ability to fly. He commandeered an aircraft which is
in South Vietnamese Air Force markings. I mean it's still
displayed in the museum in those markings. He commandeered that
aircraft and loaded his wife and five children on board,
and it was a two seed aircraft. The aircraft is
a is a light observation plane. So it's not unlike
(03:07):
the small civilian aircraft you see flying around small airports
or around the country here in the United States. It
was an American built airplane, but it was designed as
an observation plane. That's what O meant in its designation,
like one means observation was what the oas stood for.
(03:27):
He loaded his wife and five children into this plane,
and with being only a two seater, the children were
stuffed back into the fuselage of the airplane behind the
cockpit area. And so I can't even imagine what it
must have been like for them, being so young in
this really chaotic scene, to be all of a sudden
(03:48):
find themselves in a just stuffed into a darkened compartment
and off they go into the air. I mean, I'm
not sure whether any of them had ever even flown before.
I mean, he may have been the only one aboard
the aircraft that he had been. I've been in the
air before, I'm not certain. But and then off they
went with only a really only a promise of something
that might happen. I can't even imagine. You're flying out
(04:10):
over the water, and there was no guarantee he could
land on a ship out there, or no guarantee of
what the future held. But it just goes to show
whatever uncertainties lay in the future, it was better than
the situation that awaited them if they stayed behind. As
he flew out over the Pacific, he eventually happened upon
(04:33):
the US fleet of ships, and one of the ships
there was the USS Midway, which is an aircraft carrier,
and it's actually a ship that is still in existence.
It's a floating museum in San Diego. But he came
upon the USS Midway, and he flew low over the
deck and he dropped a note onto the deck, which
(04:55):
was routine at that time from a low flying aircraft
and a very slow aircraft like that deliver messages in
those ways in that way, and the note, luckily for
those on board the Midway, they were evacuating a lot
of Vietnamese Nationals, So there was no problem getting the
note translated as to what he wanted to do. And
he indicated essentially that I want to land. I got
(05:16):
here's who's aboard this airplane, and here's who I am,
and I would like to land on the USS land
on this ship. And at that point, the commanding officer
had a decision to make. And the commanding officer was
a guy named Captain Lawrence Chambers, and he was actually
the first African American to command a US aircraft carrier,
so he was pretty unique in history at that time.
(05:40):
But if you look at what his situation he faced,
he had the array of helicopters coming in and landing
on his ship just I mean, it was a constant
stream of him. A carrier flight deck, even though it
looks really big, is a relatively limited space if you
(06:02):
compare it to say an airport airfield. So space is
at a premium and you have to clear a certain
amount of space to operate aircraft. And so he had
a decision to make on how he was going to
try to meet the wishes of this individual who wanted
to land. And first of all, he had to have
concern that this individual's never landed on an aircraft carrier before.
(06:27):
I don't know what his proficiency is, whether he'll be
able to do it or not. It could be dangerous
to those on the deck. Maybe I'll have him ditch
the airplane in the water and we can send somebody,
send a boat, or send a helicopter to go rescue
the family. But the problem with that is the one
(06:48):
bird Dog is an airplane that has fixed landing year
for one and when you land. If he would have
tried to ditch the airplane in the water with fixed
landing year, that landing year would have dug into the
water as it as it hit it and probably would
have flipped the airplane over on its back. So you
have a situation where the kids stuffed in the back
(07:11):
of the fuselage there would be a big, a good
chance that they may not be able to make it
out of the airplane. Then he had to consist. So
that was an option that, even though he considered it,
was one that that was not going to bring the
result that needed to be that was going to be
a positive result. So then his next decision was to
clear the deck. He was going to have to push
(07:31):
some of the helicopters over the side, and there may
have been some expense to that, but with all that
was going on, a lot of the military equipment being used,
I mean, it was a minor expense to pay in
his mind, to save the lives of some individuals. So
he ordered some helicopters pushed over the side to clear space.
(07:52):
And then most aircraft or all aircraft generally have to
land on an aircraft carrier. They have to be to
a stop with a tailhook that's located on the underside
of the fuselage and it engages a wire that is
strung across the deck. Well. In this case, this aircraft
was so light he wouldn't need a way to he
(08:14):
wouldn't have to stop it in that manner. He brought
the airplane in after you receive word that he could land.
When it hit the deck, he was able to bring
it to a stop in a relatively short distance. He
was also aided by the fact that the aircraft carrier
was turned to the wind, so there was wind coming
across the deck and that helped slow him as well,
and the crew ran out was able to help bring
(08:36):
the airplane to a stop. And there's a famous photograph
that was taken on the deck. You can see him
emerging from the airplane. You can see his wife as well,
and there's a throng of crewmen surrounding this tiny airplane
on the flight deck. And it's a real inspiring shot
to see because of one just the small aisles that
(09:00):
are on the crew. I mean, it was such a
it was such a momentous moment for them because and
really the whole time and that their whole day had
had been spent Normally the crew would be launching combat
aircraft in the action, but here they were that whole day.
They knew that they were literally the passage to freedom
(09:21):
for a lot of people, and to and to see
they were you could just see the looks of joy
on their faces in this particular case of what this
family did to and what they accomplished to to get
out of South Vietnam that day.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
A plane that brought Major Bungley and his family to
freedom and safety has been on display in the Naval
Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, mere months after it made
its historic landing.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It's an airplane that's easy to get lost amidst all
the you know, the famous jets and combat aircraft that
we have here. It's it's it's tiny, it's tuckta, it's
suspended from the ceiling in one of our hangars. But
when people hear the story about what it represents, it
becomes instantly one of the most inspiring things they see
when they come here, once they know and appreciate the
(10:12):
story behind it.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And a special thanks to Madison on the storytelling and
the interviewing and on the production. A special thanks to
Faith and also a special thanks to History and Hill
good Speed who tells this remarkable story of American generosity
and heart in the end, the story of Major Bunley,
also the story of Captain Lawrence Chambers who issue that order.
(10:38):
Here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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