No image stands out more as a symbol of the end of the Vietnam War, than Hugh van Es’s iconic shot of a chopper precariously perched atop the lift shaft at what was formerly the Pittman Apartments in downtown Saigon. A CIA residence became one of the hastily designated evacuation points as National Liberation Front aka. Vietcong, and North Vietnamese forces descended on the city on 29 April 1975. The city fell on 30 April.
Van Es’s image shows the US chopper, once a symbol of power and military supremacy, looking impotent and ill-equipped for the task of shifting the huge number of people gathered on the rooftop. It captures the poorly planned evacuation of the city, and the tragic failure of a bloody decade of war.
Last Friday, I headed back up to the top of the old apartment block with US historian and author, Larry Berman (see video above). Larry wrote the book Perfect Spy, which tells the extraordinary story of communist spy Pham Xuan An. On the previous Wednesday, Larry had given his second talk at The Old Compass Cafe (Rusty Compass's base in Saigon), on his book and his recollections of An.
After training as a journalist in the US, Pham Xuan An worked his way through Saigon's international press corps during the 1960s, and was working with Time magazine when Saigon fell in April 1975. He cultivated the highest contacts in the US military and South Vietnamese government, while providing invaluable intelligence to Hanoi throughout the war.
Photo: Mark Bowyer The lift shaft that became a landing pad in April 1975 - Saigon
Photo: Mark Bowyer Saigon in 2017 from the Pittman Apartments rooftop
As communist forces approached Saigon, Berman's book dramatically recounts the assistance Pham Xuan An provided to a former senior South Vietnamese government official from the Diem years. Dr Tuyen was delivered to the Pittman building and was squeezed through the shutters before successfully boarding one of the last choppers to leave.
That story gives a sense of the murky and conflicted world An must have inhabited. It was years after the war before it was confirmed to An’s former colleagues in the international press corps, that he had been a spy all along.
It was great to be able to accompany Larry on his first visit to the rooftop, and hear his thoughts in this video - as an author and historian. It's always a moving experience. Grab a copy of Larry’s book - Perfect Spy. It’s an amazing story.
The gallery below from 2011 reflects on two historic sites from America's war in Vietnam - Ap Bac and the Pittman Apartments. Ap Bac in the Mekong Delta was where the first major US battle of the war was fought. It was a spectacular defeat for the US and its choppers. US choppers were at the centre of the evacuation of the city and the Pittman Apartments 12 years later in 1975.
Bookends on a war: Ap Bac and that Saigon rooftop
By Mark Bowyer / Last updated 24 Jun 2011
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Ap Bac may have been an important battleground, but decades later, it has returned to the farming rhythms that preceded both French and US engagement in Vienam. A decisive battle took place here in 1963. For many historians, the Battle of Ap Bac was the start of serious US military involvement in Vietnam and was the first Viet Cong victory over their technologically superior foe. 83 South Vietnamese soldiers died that day and the US lost 3 of its “advisors”.The heavily outnumbered Viet Cong lost 18 men.
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A simple memorial includes the wreck of Huey chopper - an almost standard feature at such sites. see moresee less
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Huey wreck at Ap Bac. see moresee less
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This local remembers the day of the battle back in 1963 but wasn't involved. see moresee less
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Marking out the spots where US APCs were destroyed at Ap Bac. see moresee less
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And where a chopper was destroyed. see moresee less
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"Peace" from an Ap Bac girl on her way home from school. see moresee less
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And in downtown Saigon, the anonymous former CIA apartmemt block that came to mark the US failure in Vietnam. A chopper conducted a precarious evacuation of US and local officials from the rooftop of this building while North Vietnamese troops approached in the final days of the war. Hu van Es's photograph of the airlift from this building became an iconic record of the fall of Saigon. Ap Bac marked the beginning of the US engagement in Vietnam, this building marked the end - 12 years, 3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 American lives later. see moresee less
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That Saigon rooftop - the first thing to strike you is how tiny the lift shaft that became a makeshift helipad is. see moresee less
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Then you try and conjure the panic that was overwhelming the city and this place on that day. Foreigners and Vietnamese were desperate to escape the approaching communists fearing brutal reprisals. see moresee less
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In the end, the victorious communists moved cautiously. It was weeks before they began to round up collaborators and South Vietnamese officials - many for long periods of harsh "reeducation". Some spent two decades in detention. The long feared bloodbath never occurred. see moresee less
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The lift to the top is still painfully slow as it would be have been 35 years ago. see moresee less
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It bears the original service plate. Hong Thap Tu St became Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St more than three decades ago. see moresee less
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And the stairwell. see moresee less
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These days, the small room next to the lift shaft is a kitchen and in classic Vietnamese style, this lady insisted I try some of her delicious soup. see moresee less
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The modern city increasingly engulfs 22 Ly Tu Trong St. It's hard to imagine this little piece of history will survive another decade.
Check out our Insights piece on Ap Bac and the Saigon rooftop. see moresee less
Travel information
The building formerly known as the Pittman Apartments is located at 22 Ly Tu Trong St in Saigon's District 1. This is not an "official" tourist sight and no information is available. The fact that it is not an official sight is probably its saving grace. The guards downstairs will likely charge you 100,000VND to get up to the top.
2 comments so far
Hi mark, thank you for sharing this post. My team and I have been showing this site to our customers many times. We hope this building will be not torn down.
Hi mark, thank you for sharing this post. My team and I have been showing this site to our customers many times. We hope this building will be not torn down.