Chapter 27

  The city of 30,000 people came under attack at 0540 hours on April 9th, 1975. The North Vietnamese 4th Army Corps began bombarding South Vietnamese positions around the town of Xuan Loc with over 20,000 rounds of artillery shells, with the Governor’s Mansion being one of the first buildings to be hit. Madame Chi decided to take Jesse’s advice and flee to Saigon. Unfortunately, she was too late. As she was packing some of her belongings, a 130mm artillery shell struck her building, killing her and many of her girls instantly.

  The ARVN ground forces were severely outnumbered by the North Vietnamese Army, which in 1975 had the world's fifth-largest army. Advancing 5th, 6th, 7th, and 341st NVA Divisions, with artillery and T-54 tank support, attacked the much smaller ARVN force, confident of an easy victory. They were very mistaken. The ARVN 18th Division and 82nd Ranger Battalion fought bravely and held their ground against overwhelming odds that day. After 12 days and nights of ferocious combat, the defensive line at Xuan Loc still held firm. But with all the main roads under Communist control, the city was completely isolated and surrounded by the North Vietnamese.

  On April 19th, the ARVN General Staff ordered General Le Minh Dao, nicknamed "The Super Man," to evacuate the 18th Infantry Division and other support units from Xuan Loc in an effort to continue their resistance and defense of Saigon. The South Vietnamese soldiers destroyed three of General Dung's PAVN divisions. However, sadly, it was just a matter of time. Outnumbered and outgunned, the South Vietnamese succumbed to the superior North Vietnamese Army, and on April 20th, the ARVN 18th Infantry Division was ordered to retreat. In a convoy of about 200 military vehicles, under the cover of heavy rain, the South Vietnamese soldiers and remaining civilians began pulling out of Xuan Loc. The following day, the town center was abandoned entirely, with the ARVN 1st Airborne Brigade being the last unit to hold the city. By the end of the day on April 21st, the Brigade was utterly wiped out, and the North Vietnamese controlled the entire city, with Captain Hung and his rangers being the last to die. They fought valiantly and died defending the country they loved. Now, the gateway to Saigon was fully opened.

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  The advancing NVA showed no differentiation between the military and the civilian population as they continually attacked the stream of refugees for the next nine days. More than 20,000 civilians of Xuan Loc were killed as they retreated toward Saigon in what was to become known as the Convoy of Tears. Later, the NVA would state that the killing of civilians of Xuan Loc was very cruel even by their standards.

  With the fall of Xuan Loc, President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned and fled to Taiwan on April 25th. Before he left, he transferred authority to Vice-President Tran Van Huong, who led the doomed country for only four short days.

  By April 27th, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and began to maneuver for their final assault. By the morning of April 30, the war was over. When the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the South Vietnamese surrendered, and the Vietnam War finally came to an end.