Col. Anthony Wood, USMC, Vietnam, Evacuation of Saigon

Anthony "Tony" Wood grew up in a Marine Corps family and enlisted to begin his own service in 1964. Before long he was commissioned as a USMC officer. His first deployment to Vietnam came shortly after the Tet Offensive. Initially trained as an infantry platoon commander, he soon found himself leading an armored platoon.

Wood was deployed to Vietnam again in 1974, long after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords and American forces had gone home. Initially working to solve cases of Americans missing in action, Wood was tasked with planning the evacuation of Americans from Saigon after the North Vietnamese violated the peace agreement and invaded South Vietnam.

April 30, 1975, marks 50 years since the fall of Saigon.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles," Col. Wood takes us step by step into how he and others planned the evacuation with virtually no security and very few assets of any kind. He also explains how he had to keep the planning a secret from America's own ambassador to South Vietnam. 

He also shares the ingenious ways that they camouflaged the evacuation, using cars painted to look like the local police, and bus drivers communicating through very basic but effective means. And Wood explains how the evacuation was impacted by South Vietnamese civilians pouring into the city with the North Vietnamese forces not far behind.

We'll also learn details about Wood's first deployment in 1968-1969, how he worked alongside the South Korean Marines' Blue Dragon Brigade, and how the Tet Offensive was horribly misinterpreted by the U.S. media and politicians.