Operation Frequent Wind - The Photo

The Photo

On the afternoon of 29 April 1975, Hubert van Es, a Saigon-based photographer for United Press International, took the iconic photo of Operation Frequent Wind of an Air America UH-1 Huey on a rooftop picking up Vietnamese evacuees. The building in the photo has often been identified as the US Embassy, but this is incorrect. The building was, in fact, the Pittman Apartment building at 22 Gia Long Street (now 22 Lý Tự Trọng Street), which was used as a residence by various embassy CIA and USAID employees. Hubert van Es' photo is frequently used in political cartoons commenting on US foreign policy.

  • Evacuation of Vietnamese by Air America on 29 April 1975. Photo: Hubert van Es / UPI

  • Rooftop of 22 Gia Long Street in 2002

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