Anniversary: Symbol of America's Vietnam Tragedy

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO the iconic U.S. Embassy in Saigon was torn down. The rooftop helipad was one of several departure points during the 1975 evacuation when Saigon fell. The ladder that so many Americans and Vietnamese climbed to freedom is on display at the Gerald Ford Museum. Today, the old embassy property is a park, adjacent to the U.S. Consulate. Some of the circular planters remain; they were used as cover by Viet Cong sappers when they blasted their way into the compound during Tet of '68. — at Ho Chi Minh City, 1993. Fredericksen