Honourable Exit : How a Few Brave Americans Risked All to Save Their Vietnamese Allies at the End of the War

**In the last days of the Vietnam War, more than 130,000 South Vietnamese were saved from their otherwise dire fate by the heroic acts of ordinary Americans. This groundbreaking account by__New York Times__-bestselling author Thurston Clarke uncovers a previously untold story of bravery and honour.**__1973.__US participation in the Vietnam War ends. As troops withdraw, President Nixon pledges to assist the South in the event of invasion by the North.__1975.__North Vietnam begins a full-scale assault on the South. Congress does nothing. Hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese face execution or life in concentration camps. An iconic photograph is taken of the Fall of Saigon, depicting desperate Vietnamese people scrambling to board a helicopter evacuating the last of the American soldiers. It is an image of US failure and shame. Or is it?In__Honourable Exit__, Clarke revisits the last days of the Vietnam War to uncover the previously untold story of a life-saving mass evacuation. During those final days, a number of Americans — diplomats, businessmen, soldiers, missionaries, contractors, and spies — risked their lives and disobeyed orders to help their translators, drivers, colleagues, neighbours, friends, and even perfect strangers to escape. By the time the last US helicopter left Vietnam on 30 April 1975, these heroic Americans had helped to spirit over 130,000 South Vietnamese to resettlement in the US and life as American citizens.Groundbreaking, page-turning, and authoritative,__Honourable Exit__is a deeply moving history of Americans in one of their little-known finest hours. In the last days of the Vietnam War, more than 130,000 South Vietnamese were saved from their otherwise dire fate by the heroic acts of ordinary Americans. This groundbreaking account by New York Times -bestselling author Thurston Clarke uncovers a previously untold story of bravery and honour. 1973. US participation in the Vietnam War ends. As troops withdraw, President Nixon pledges to assist the South in the event of invasion by the North. 1975. North Vietnam begins a full-scale assault on the South. Congress does nothing. Hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese face execution or life in concentration camps. An iconic photograph is taken of the Fall of Saigon, depicting desperate Vietnamese people scrambling to board a helicopter evacuating the last of the American soldiers. It is an image of US failure and shame. Or is it? In Honourable Exit , Clarke revisits the last days of the Vietnam War to uncover the previously untold story of a life-saving mass evacuation. During those final days, a number of Americans — diplomats, businessmen, soldiers, missionaries, contractors, and spies — risked their lives and disobeyed orders to help their translators, drivers, colleagues, neighbours, friends, and even perfect strangers to escape. By the time the last US helicopter left Vietnam on 30 April 1975, these heroic Americans had helped to spirit over 130,000 South Vietnamese to resettlement in the US and life as American citizens. Groundbreaking, page-turning, and authoritative, Honourable Exit is a deeply moving history of Americans in one of their little-known finest hours. In 1973, the Vietnam War ended in a cease-fire and a U.S. withdrawal that included promises by President Nixon to assist the South in the event of invasion by the North. But in early 1975, when North Vietnamese forces began to attack, Congress refused to send arms or aid. By April 5, the South was on the brink of defeat, spelling execution or years in a concentration camp for the untold number of South Vietnamese who had supported the government in Saigon or worked with Americans. Clarke launches into a narrative that is both a thrilling race against time and an important corrective to the historical record. For what is less known is that during those final days, scores of Americans--diplomats, soldiers, missionaries, contractors and spies--risked their lives to help their former translators, drivers, colleagues, neighbors and friends escape. By the time the last U.S. helicopter left Vietnam on April 30, 1975, these Righteous Americans had spirited 130,000 South Vietnamese to U.S. bases in Guam and the Philippines. The evacuees were resettled in the U.S. and became American citizens, the leading edge of one of America's most successful immigrant groups. Into this tale of heroism on the ground, Clarke weaves the political machinations of Henry Kissinger advising President Ford in the White House while nursing the delusions of the U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, who refused to depart. Groundbreaking, pageturning, and authoritative, Honorable Exit is a deeply moving history of Americans at a little known finest hour