May 2, 2024 • 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, he 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 OS 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 at the airplane behind the
cockpit period. 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 even I've been in the
air before, I'm not certain. 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 over
(04:10):
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 the
(04:33):
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 was
(04:55):
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've got here's
(05:17):
who's aboard this airplane, and here's who I am, and
I would like to land on the USS land on
the 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's pretty unique in history at that time. But if
(05:41):
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 them.
A carrier flight deck, even though it looks really big,
is a relatively limited space if you compare it to
(06:03):
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
(06:24):
individual's never landed on an aircraft carrier before. 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 some send a boat,
or send a helicopter to go rescue the family. But
(06:45):
the problem with that is the one bird Dog is
an airplane that has fixed landing year for one and
when you land if you 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
(07:08):
where the kids stuffed in the back 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
(07:30):
going to have to push 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. And then most aircraft
(07:55):
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 wouldn't have to stop it
in that manner. He brought the airplane in after you
(08:17):
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 the airplane to a stop.
And there's a famous photograph that was taken on the deck.
(08:41):
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 are on the crew. I mean,
(09:02):
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 for a lot of people,
(09:22):
and to and to see they were there, 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 OS 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 at the airplane behind the
cockpit period. 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 even I've been in the
air before, I'm not certain. 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 over
(04:10):
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 the
(04:33):
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 was
(04:55):
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've got here's
(05:17):
who's aboard this airplane, and here's who I am, and
I would like to land on the USS land on
the 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's pretty unique in history at that time. But if
(05:41):
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 them.
A carrier flight deck, even though it looks really big,
is a relatively limited space if you compare it to
(06:03):
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
(06:24):
individual's never landed on an aircraft carrier before. 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 some send a boat,
or send a helicopter to go rescue the family. But
(06:45):
the problem with that is the one bird Dog is
an airplane that has fixed landing year for one and
when you land if you 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
(07:08):
where the kids stuffed in the back 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
(07:30):
going to have to push 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. And then most aircraft
(07:55):
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 wouldn't have to stop it
in that manner. He brought the airplane in after you
(08:17):
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 the airplane to a stop.
And there's a famous photograph that was taken on the deck.
(08:41):
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 are on the crew. I mean,
(09:02):
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 for a lot of people,
(09:22):
and to and to see they were there, 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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