April 26, 2015: Last Days in Vietnam

Last Days In VietnamThe Academy Award-nominated documentary Last Days in Vietnam premieres on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, at 9:00 PM Eastern on your local PBS station.During the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance crumbles. The United States has only a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives still in the country. As Communist victory becomes inevitable and the U.S. readies to withdraw, some Americans begin to consider the certain imprisonment and possible death of their South Vietnamese allies, co-workers, and friends. Meanwhile, the prospect of an official evacuation of South Vietnamese becomes terminally delayed by Congressional gridlock and the inexplicably optimistic U.S. Ambassador. With the clock ticking and the city under fire, a number of heroic Americans take matters into their own hands, engaging in unsanctioned and often makeshift operations in a desperate effort to save as many South Vietnamese lives as possible. Our guest is retired U.S. Army Col. Stuart Herrington, who served as an intelligence adviser to the South Vietnamese army and was one of the last Americans to be helicoptered out of Saigon. We’re also joined by Ed Ruckle, U.S. Air Force (ret.), interviewer with the Veterans History Project and Veterans Tributes-Honoring Those Who Served by recording their stories.