March 1: After eight hours in Phnom Penh, a U.S. congressional delegation returns to Saigon. In meetings with Lon Nol, the Cambodian president offers to step down if he is deemed an obstacle to peace, but U.S. Embassy sources say there is “nothing really new” in his remarks.

March 2: In Saigon, the congressional delgation gets into a heated discussion with North Vietnam about MIAs. Several delegates indicate Secretary of State Henry Kissinger should take a major role in settling the wars in Cambodia and Vietnam.

March 3: Kissinger is reportedly cool toward suggestions he mediate an end to the wars in Southeast Asia. Upon returning to the U.S., a congressional delegation spokesperson recommends approving more than $75 million in emergency economic and medical aid to Cambodia. In a speech in New Jersey, Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) says Cambodia “is going down the tubes” and “will fall about any day now and probably should.”

March 5: After heavy Khmer Rouge shelling at the Phnom Penh airport damages an American DC-8, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger says he may have to reassess a military airlift of supplies into the city.

March 6: Ford warns “time is running out” as he appeals to Congress to quickly authorize Cambodian aid. Sources believe U.S. Embassy officials in Phnom Penh consider the best possible outcome for Lon Nol’s government will be a negotiated surrender.

March 7: Cambodian troops lose Sierra II, located 10 miles from Neak Luong, the last major government position on the river connecting Phnom Penh to the South Vietnamese border. NVA soldiers seized a base camp and cut off Route 19 from Pleiku to the coast.

March 8: In Phnom Penh, U.S. Embassy sources report that, in 1974, Ambassador John Gunther Dean was rebuffed by Kissinger following his suggestion that he try to contact Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan to probe the possibility of peace negotiations. Thuan Man, in the Central Highlands, falls to the North Vietnamese.

March 9: NVA troops attack an outpost at Duc Lap, 31 miles southwest of Buôn Mê Thuot. On “Face the Nation,” Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.) contends giving Phnom Penh more aid “will merely prolong the agony.”

March 10: NVA troops attack Buôn Mê Thuot. The military command reports Duc Lap has fallen.

March 12: Democrats hold a special caucus and vote against additional aid to Cambodia and South Vietnam. A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee votes to give $82.5 million to Cambodia through June 30. Tri Tham, 40 miles northwest of Saigon, is overrun by enemy troops.

March 13: The House Foreign Affairs Committee votes against compromise legislation to give Cambodia $82.5 million through the end of June. Former MACV commander William Westmoreland says that Ford should mine Haiphong Harbor and bomb supply lines because “the only language Hanoi understands is the language of force.”

March 14: Reports say 21,000 refugees have fled to Phuoc An from Buôn Mê Thuot.

March 15: In their first major advance of the year, Cambodian government troops recapture Tuol Leap, one of the towns from which enemy rockets were being launched against Phnom Penh’s airport. The Saigon command reports heavy fighting in Pleiku Province.

March 16: In a magazine interview, Cambodian leader Prince Norodom Sihanouk says his government-in-exile will be installed in Phnom Penh by the end of the year. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson says virtually all Americans have been evacuated from Pleiku and Kontum.

March 17: Ford says Southeast Asian events have validated the Domino Theory and a noncommunist government in Cambodia is vital to U.S. security. In Phnom Penh, the U.S. Embassy begins evacuating international relief workers. The Vatican reports the Roman Catholic prelate has been killed and two bishops seized by NVA troops in Buôn Mê Thuot. Reports assert South Vietnamese planes have bombed inside Cambodia to knock out North Vietnamese artillery and troops threatening Tay Ninh.

March 18: A Ford administration official acknowledges Saigon has informed the U.S. of its decision to pull back troops from the Central Highlands.

March 19: In Manila, South Vietnamese deputy premier Phan Quang Dan asks Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos to help negotiate a truce.

March 20: Sources say NVA troops have occupied all of Quang Tri Province. and Thua Thien Province is reported to be under evacuation. Thousands of refugees flee south. The VC command reports killing 40,000 South Vietnamese troops and taking thousands of prisoners. Saigon issues a 10:00 p.m. curfew.

March 21: A base camp at Duc Hue, 40 miles west of Saigon, is overrun. White House officials say they have incomplete data on what is happening in Southeast Asia and have no control over events in Saigon.

March 22: Communist troops advance on Hue. Officials in Thailand say the U.S. no longer will be able to use Thai bases for the supply airlift to Cambodia.

March 23: The VC request aid to feed more than a million people who have come under their rule as a result of their victories in South Vietnam.

March 24: Danang is cut off by land and refugees pour in. The Pentagon announces it has sent the carrier U.S.S. Hancock to Southeast Asia in the event that Americans need to be evacuated.

March 26: South Vietnamese forces abandon Hue. Thieu announces he will form a war cabinet to increase resistance to the communists. The State Department says the U.S. will start an airlift of refugees out of Danang. Tam Qua, in Binh Dinh Province, is reported to have fallen. Government forces are reportedly stunned and demoralized by Saigon’s decision to abandon much of the northern part of the country. Saigon charges UPI and AP with “flagrant violation” of official rules on press disclosures of troop movements.

March 27: Anti-Thieu groups issue a declaration appealing to the president to “turn over full powers to a new government.” Saigon announces the arrest of several people—including three journalists, three military officers, and four politicians—for “plotting to overthrow” Thieu. Indonesia and Malaysia withdraw their ambassadors from Phnom Penh.

March 28: The airlift in Danang is halted as refugees trying to board places blanket the airfield. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Frederick Weyand arrives in Saigon to assess the military situation. Sources say South Vietnamese troops have abandoned $1 billion in U.S. weapons and equipment in the last two weeks.

March 29: Ford orders Navy vessels to evacuate refugees from South Vietnamese coastal towns and urges other nations and shipping firms with vessels in the area to help. The U.S. Embassy says an airlift of “urgently needed military and medical supplies” into South Vietnam has commenced. NVA troops overrun Hoi An, 15 miles outside Danang, and Bao Loc, 93 miles northeast of Saigon. Weyand meets with Thieu. The Soviet Union recognizes Sihanouk as the legitimate leader of Cambodia.

March 30: Danang, the second largest city, is abandoned by South Vietnamese troops. North Vietnam and the VC denounce the U.S. for its decision to send ships to evacuate refugees as a violation of the peace accord. The White House says the vessels are on a humanitarian mission and have strict orders not to become involved in the fighting.

March 31: Ford’s clemency program ends. Only 22,000 of 126,900 eligible men have signed up. Schlesinger says he expects Hanoi to launch an attack against Saigon within the next two months. UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim asks for help for Vietnamese refugees and appeals to “all sides” to limit their suffering.

April 1: Lon Nol leaves Cambodia for Indonesia for what is believed to be a permanent exile. Cambodia government troops lose Neak Luong, the last-held port on the Mekong River. U.S. officials say NVA troops are moving toward Nha Trang. Radio contact with Qui Nhon is lost. Enemy rocket attacks halt the evacuation of Danang. The Pentagon sends 700 Marines to South Vietnam to help evacuate refugees. International Commission of Control and Supervision teams start leaving South Vietnam.

April 2: In Paris, PRG foreign minister Nguyen Thi Bình calls for a negotiated end to the fighting if Thieu is removed. Tuy Hoa, Nha Trang, and Cam Ranh fall. More than 50 Vietnamese orphans arrive in the U.S. on a chartered flight. Schlesinger says the next 30 days should determine if the South will survive. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller says he sees little the U.S. can do to reverse the tide.

April 3: Ford says he has authority under the War Powers Act to use American troops to rescue U.S. citizens, and stresses that losses in Vietnam should not be seen as a loss of will to “stand up for freedom any place in the world.” The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh begins evacuating personnel. Weyand leaves South Vietnam and expresses confidence the country “still has the spirit and the capability to defeat the North Vietnamese.” South Vietnam’s UN ambassador beseeches Americans to help the refugees.

April 4: An Air Force plane transporting 234 orphans to the U.S. crashes near Tan Son Nhut. More than 100 children and 25 adults are killed Former national security adviser Walt Rostow says the U.S. should “land two Marine divisions in North Vietnam and keep them there” until Hanoi abides by the 1973 ceasefire. Australian planes fly 200 orphans to their country.

April 5: Japan and South Korea close their embassies in Cambodia.

April 6: North Vietnamese premier Pham Van Ðong terms the U.S. evacuation of orphans a criminal operation his people will not tolerate.

April 7: Khmer Rouge fighters overrun several outposts four miles north of Phnom Penh.

April 8: A South Vietnamese plane, in an apparent assassination attempt, attacks the Presidential Palace. Weyand recommends to Ford the U.S. rush at least $500 million in military aid to South Vietnam for the defense of its capital. NVA troops open a drive in an apparent attempt to cut off Saigon along Route 4. The Hanoi Foreign Ministry says the orphan airlift is akin to kidnapping.

April 9: In response to accusations by Sen. Henry Jackson (D-Wash.) of “secret agreements” made by the Nixon Administration to Thi?u, the White House says the former president, in 1973, assured Saigon the U.S. would react powerfully to any big communist violation of the cease-fire. Insurgents move within four miles of Phnom Penh’s airport.

April 10: Ford asks Congress to authorize “without delay” $972 million in aid to Saigon and to allow him to use troops to evacuate Americans and South Vietnamese “should the worst come to pass.” The American Embassy is ordered to begin reducing the number of civilian employees in Saigon.

April 11: The U.S. says the last Americans have left Phnom Penh. ARVN troops are reported to have pushed communist soldiers out of Xuan Loc. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) says using U.S. troops to evacuate South Vietnam would be “impractical and dangerous.”

April 12: Acting Cambodian President Khoy leaves with U.S. ambassador John Gunther Dean for Thailand In Saigon, the PRG warns of an uprising if Thieu does not resign and the Americans do not leave. International Red Cross workers remain in Phnom Penh to help war victims.

April 13: Insurgents move within one mile of the airport following a large-scale attack on Phnom Penh. Refugees pour into the city. The Pentagon says it has started a supply airdrop into Cambodia.

April 14: Thieu names his new cabinet. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee refuses to give Ford broad authorization to use U.S. troops for evacuations in South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Senate president claims Thieu signed the 1973 peace accord because Kissinger promised military action if North Vietnam struck. The USSR says it will send food and medicine to communist-held areas in South Vietnam.

April 15: Bien Hoa is shelled. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon is ordered to reduce its staff. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee proposes a $200 million “contingency fund” to be used for evacuation and humanitarian aid. Cambodian rebels reach the southern edge of Phnom Penh.

April 16: The Cambodian government surrenders and orders its troops to lay down their arms. The Thai Foreign Ministry says all Cambodian refugees flown in by the U.S. in the past few days must leave. ARVN soldiers pull back from Xuan Loc and abandon Phan Rang. Bien Hoa Air Base is shelled. In Paris, the PRG demands the U.S. withdraw from the South “immediate[ly] and permanent[ly]” 25,000 military personnel they contend are “disguised as civilians.”

April 17: The Senate Armed Services Committee rejects a White House request for more aid to Saigon. The House Foreign Relations Committee approves giving Ford limited authority to use the military to evacuate Americans. In a news conference, the new Cambodian government says it will follow a policy of neutrality and nonalignment. Thailand seals its border with Cambodia.

April 18: Phnom Penh civilians are ordered to leave the city and go at least 12 miles into the countryside. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves $200 million in humanitarian and evacuation emergency aid for South Vietnam. Reports claim that communist troops have committed atrocities in areas they control in the south. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines recognize the new government in Phnom Penh.

April 19: Phan Thiet, 90 miles northeast of Saigon and the last government enclave on the central coast, is overrun. Some 3,000 Americans remain in South Vietnam.

April 20: The VC deny reports of retaliation against South Vietnamese government workers.

April 21: Thieu resigns. He calls the U.S. untrustworthy and irresponsible. Tr?n Van Huong is named his successor. Ford tells CBS it will be virtually impossible to evacuate large numbers of South Vietnamese without a large U.S. military commitment. Kissinger opposes complete evacuation because he claims it will cause panic.

April 22: The Justice Department says it will waive immigration restrictions to allow up to 130,000 Vietnamese refugees into the U.S.

April 23: The U.S. tells Guam Governor Ricardo Bordallo to prepare for up to 5,000 refugees per day. The South Vietnamese cabinet resigns in an effort to establish an acceptable government with which the VC will negotiate. Ford says the Southeast Asian war is over “as far as America is concerned” and urges the start of “a great national reconciliation.”

April 25: The Senate approves compromise legislation to use the American troops to help evacuate Saigon.

April 26: Thieu arrives in Taiwan. The State Department reports that 1,095 American remain in Vietnam. In Saigon, six South Vietnamese civilians are killed, twenty-two are wounded, and 5,000 are left homeless from an enemy rocket attack.

April 27: The National Assembly votes to install Gen. Duong Van Minh as president. Communist troops move within a mile of Saigon.

April 28: Duong Van Minh is inaugurated as president. The VC reject his initial request for peace and condemn the U.S.

April 29: Ford orders the emergency evacuation of all Americans from Saigon by helicopter, with Marine security, because Tan Son Nhut is under rocket attack. The U.S. evacuates the remaining Americans and 5,000 South Vietnamese. Many South Vietnamese helicopters, loaded with military personnel and civilians, flee Saigon for U.S. carriers in the South China Sea. Ford says the evacuation “closes a chapter in the American experience.”

April 30: Minh announces South Vietnam’s unconditional surrender “to effect a cease-fire without bloodshed.” Communist forces move into Saigon and raise the VC flag over the Presidential Palace. South Vietnamese troops in the city lay down their weapons. Minh is taken to an undisclosed location. Communications with the outside world all but cease. In Paris, the PRG says Saigon has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City and claims it will follow a foreign policy of “peace and nonalignment.” Former Saigon cabinet member Nguyen Tien Hung makes public letters from Nixon in which he pledged the U.S. would “take swift and severe retaliatory action” and would “respond with full force” if North Vietnam broke the 1973 ceasefire. In New York, the South Vietnamese mission is closed. The Treasury freezes all South Vietnamese assets in the U.S. Ambassador Martin issues a statement asserting there would have been no U.S. evacuation if the nation had kept its commitments to South Vietnam. The U.S. government says that Navy ships are picking up thousands of South Vietnamese refugees fleeing in small boats. The American evacuation is reported to have taken 19 hours to complete. It is the largest ever conducted by the U.S. military. Four Marines—Lance Cpl. Darwin Judge, Cpl. Charles McMahon, Jr., 1st Lt. Michael J. Shea, and Cpt. William C. Nystul—were killed the previous day in Saigon.

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