Berlin Center veteran remembers Saigon evacuation

RELATED: 40 years later, Vietnamese-Americans still recall losses, gains after fall of Saigon

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

BERLIN CENTER

Photo by: Katie Rickman

Photo

Norm Paul holds a shadow box full of medals he earned for his service in the Air Force, he recently was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor.

Vietnam War Air Force veteran Norman A. Paul was a helicopter flight mechanic and door gunner who participated in the evacuation of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

He hauled out South Vietnamese who were at risk because they worked for or supported the United States plus American military personnel during that chaotic day while North Vietnamese forces were capturing the South Vietnam capital.

Looking back, Paul, of Berlin Center, doesn’t know on the 40th anniversary of evacuation if he was — then or now — angry, saddened or disappointed at the way the U.S. left Vietnam.

But Paul, 64, who won the Distinguished Flying Cross, is certain about some things.

“We did what we could. I don’t think we lost. We won every battle, but we lost the war. It was a political thing ... they didn’t let the generals fight the war,” he said quietly.

Paul, who grew up in Cherry Valley Township and graduated in 1969 from Pymatuning High School in Andover, was attending classes at the Kent State University Ashtabula Branch when he enlisted in 1970.

“I wanted to serve my country; and I came from a small area where almost everybody went [to the military]. If you didn’t do what you were supposed to, they didn’t like you,” he said.

Also, said Paul, in 1970 it didn’t seem like Vietnam was ever going to end.

“I thought, why not go and get it over with and use the G.I. Bill to go to college when I got back. Also, I knew I was going to get drafted. I enlisted in December and received my draft notice when I was already in the Air Force,” he said.

Paul was persuaded by his three brothers, all in the Army, including two who were wounded while serving in Vietnam, to join the Air Force — perhaps thinking it might be a little safer than being a ground soldier.

None of them could have imagined that their little brother would end up a flight mechanic and door gunner on transport helicopters flying Marines in and out of combat zones and receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions.

Paul, who was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor on April 24, 2015, also became a part of the history of the Vietnam War when he participated in the evacuations of American personnel from Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on April 12, 1975, an operation known as Code Name Eagle Pull; and Saigon on April 30, 1975, known as Code Name Frequent Wind.

The fall of Saigon was to have ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but Paul’s Distinguished Flying Cross citation shows there was still dangerous work to be done.

According to the citation, in part:

“Sergeant Paul distinguished himself by heroism while participating in aerial flight as flight mechanic of a CH-53 helicopter near Koh Tang Island in the Gulf of Thailand on 15 May 1975.”

“We were trying to put Marines on Koh Tang Island to recover the SS Mayaguez and its crew that had been hijacked and captured by the Khmer Rouge. We lost three helicopters that day, and the last 41 names on the Vietnam Memorial were from this mission,” Paul said.

On the mission, one of the fuel tanks on his helicopter was hit, and they ran out of fuel and were forced to do a controlled crash landing.

“There were 25 Marines on board, some wounded, and we headed toward land not knowing where we were. Luckily, we set down just inside the Thailand border, not in nearby Cambodia,” he said.

“I was pretty lucky. My helicopters were hit numerous times, but I was never wounded,” he said.

In addition to the Distinguished Flying Cross, Paul received the Air Force Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal. In all, he is authorized to wear 18 decorations.

Paul, who enlisted Dec. 16, 1970, was discharged as a staff sergeant Feb. 16, 1979.

His first tour to Southeast Asia was April 1972 to April 1973 at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, and was on temporary duty in Vietnam in June and July 1972. During this tour, he was a CH53C helicopter mechanic.

During his second tour, from June 1974 to June 1975, he was a flight mechanic and door gunner on a CH53C, known as the Super Jolly Green Giant. He extended his time of service twice before re-enlisting in 1975 for a second four-year tour in the Air Force.

Paul came back in June 1974 to Nakhon Phanom in Thailand and was aboard the USS Midway (a Navy aircraft carrier) for a week to 10 days waiting for Saigon to fall.

“When they finally gave us orders to go, we flew without stopping from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. We never shut them [the helicopters] down. We hot refueled,” said Paul, 24 at the time.

“We made four shuttles, landing on a baseball field and a tennis-court area. We were one of the last shuttles out, extracting Marines who were guarding the landing zones. It was kind of scary. The last two pickups were at dusk and in full darkness, and it was too dangerous to turn our lights on and make a target of ourselves,” he said.

“I never imagined I’d be doing something like that. When I was a mechanic, I thought I’d get a chance, but the war was winding down,” Paul said.

Paul was due for discharge June 1, 1975, but when he got back to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, he re-enlisted for four years.

“I wasn’t ready to leave the military yet,” he explained.

At Davis-Monthan, he was a flight mechanic on H-3 helicopters conducting midair retrieval of reconnaissance drones for 31⁄2 years.

“Peace time was kind of boring after Vietnam. I was ready to get out,” he said.

Paul, a member of VFW Post 9571 in Ellsworth and American Legion Post 0226 in Andover, said he doesn’t feel Vietnam veterans got the respect they deserved when they returned home.

“The lack of respect still exists to some degree, but not like it was then. I am very proud to have served my country in Southeast Asia and very proud of the people I served with,” said Paul.

Paul worked as a resident delivery person for 35 years for Sohio, British Petroleum and now with Buckeye Partners. He and his wife, Betty, a retired registered nurse, have three children and three granddaughters, and attend Our Lady of the Lakes Parish.