Graham Martin

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Graham A. Martin succeeded Ellsworth Bunker as U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam in 1973. He would be the last person to hold that position. Martin previously served as ambassador to Thailand and as U.S. representative to SEATO.

Martin, along with the last remaining Americans, was evacuated by helicopter from Saigon as Communist forces overran the city in April, 1975. The helicopter used was a USMC CH-46 Sea Knight, serial number 154803. It is still in flying condition at the Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin was a committed anti-Communist, however he seriously underestimated the severity of the South Vietnamese situation, to the point that in the spring of 1975, when most American officials were convinced that South Vietnam was doomed to collapse, he continued to believe that Saigon and the Mekong Delta area could be held.

[edit] References

  • Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War, ed. Spencer Tucker, s.v. Graham A. Martin.
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