Collapse and Evacuation, February 26–July 22, 1975


178. Telegram From the Embassy in Cambodia to the Department of State

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 4, Cambodia, State Department Telegrams, To SECSTATE, Nodis (2). Secret; Immediate; Nodis; Cherokee.


179. Minutes of the Secretary of State’s Regionals Staff Meeting

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger’s Staff Meetings, 1973–1977, Entry 5177, Box 6, Secretary’s Staff Meetings. Secret; Nodis. Kissinger chaired the meeting, which was attended by all the principal officers including the assistant secretaries for the regional but not functional bureaus of the Department or their designated alternates.


180. Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting

Source: Ford Library, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box 24, WSAG Meeting Minutes, Originals, February 1975. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the White House Situation Room. Brackets are in the original.


181. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 9, 3/4/1975. Secret. The meeting was held in the Oval Office. Brackets are in the original.


182. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 9, 3/5/1975. Confidential; Nodis. The meeting was held in the White House Cabinet Room.


183. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 10, 3/6/1975. Top Secret. The meeting was held in the Oval Office. Brackets are in the original. On March 5 a House Appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Passman, deferred action on the administration’s emergency military aid request. That delay decreased the likelihood of quick congressional action.


184. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 10, 3/11/1975. Secret. The meeting was held in the Oval Office. All brackets, with the exception of those describing omitted material, are in the original.


185. Memorandum From William Stearman of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Source: Ford Library, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files, Box 17, Ominous Developments in Vietnam. Secret; Sensitive. Urgent; Sent for information. A handwritten notation by Scowcroft at the top of the memorandum reads: “HAK made aware.” Kissinger was in the Middle East.


186. Telegram From the Embassy in Cambodia to the Department of State

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 4, Cambodia, State Department Telegrams, To SECSTATE, Nodis (3). Secret; Priority; Nodis.


187. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 10, 3/14/1975. Secret; Nodis. The meeting was held in the Oval Office. All brackets, with the exception of those describing omitted material, are in the original.


188. Backchannel Message From the Deputy Chief of Mission in Vietnam (Lehmann) to the Ambassador to Vietnam (Martin) in Washington

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Backchannel Messages, Box 3, Martin Channel, Incoming, March 1975. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only; Immediate. Sent through Scowcroft. Martin was in Washington for consultations.


189. Memorandum From the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Ford

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 19, Vietnam (9) Secret. Urgent; Sent for information. According to the attached correspondence profile, Scowcroft discussed the memorandum with Ford on April 7.


190. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 21, Vietnam, State Department Telegrams, To SECSTATE, Nodis (3). Secret; Immediate; Nodis; Cherokee.


191. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, Box 34, Vietnamese War (2), Camp David File, March 24–December 11, 1975. No classification marking.


192. Letter From President Ford to President Thieu

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, Box 5, Vietnam, President Nguyen Van Thieu. No classification marking. A handwritten notation at the top of the page reads: “To be delivered by Amb Martin.”


193. Backchannel Message From the Deputy Chief of Mission in Vietnam (Lehmann) to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 19, Vietnam (12). Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only; Immediate.


194. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Secret; Immediate; Noforn; Exdis. Repeated to SecDef, Bangkok, USDel JEC Paris, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, CINCPAC, USSAG NKP Thailand, Bien Hoa, Can Tho, and Nha Trang.


195. Special National Intelligence Estimate

Source: Central Intelligence Agency, NIC Files, Job 79–R01012A, Box 497, SNIE 53/14.3–75, March 1975. Secret; Sensitive. The Central Intelligence Agency and the intelligence organizations of the Departments of State, Defense, and Treasury and the National Security Agency participated in the preparation of this estimate. The Director of Central Intelligence submitted the estimate with the concurrence of all members of the USIB except the FBI and Department of Treasury representatives who abstained. The estimate also appears in National Intelligence Council, Estimative Products on Vietnam, 1948–1975 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005), pp. 645–650.


196. Minutes of National Security Council Meeting

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Meetings File, Box 1. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the White House Cabinet Room. All brackets, except those describing omitted material, are in the original.


197. Telegram From the Embassy in Cambodia to the Department of State

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 4, Cambodia, State Department Telegrams, To SECSTATE, Nodis (6). Secret; Priority; Nodis.


198. Minutes of the Secretary of State’s Regionals Staff Meeting

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger’s Staff Meetings, 1973–1977, Entry 5177, Box 6, Secretary’s Staff Meetings. Secret. Kissinger chaired the meeting, which was attended by all the principal officers including the assistant secretaries for the regional but not functional bureaus of the Department or their designated alternates.


199. Memorandum From William Smyser of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 19, Vietnam (11). Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Sent for urgent action.


200. Telegram From the Embassy in Cambodia to the Department of State

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 4, Cambodia, State Department Telegrams, To SECSTATE, Nodis (6). Secret; Immediate; Nodis.


201. Minutes of the Secretary of State’s Regionals Staff Meeting

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger’s Staff Meetings, 1973–1977, Entry 5177, Box 6, Secretary’s Staff Meetings. Secret. Kissinger chaired the meeting, which was attended by all the principal officers including the assistant secretaries for the regional but not functional bureaus of the Department or their designated alternates.


202. Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting

Source: Ford Library, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box 24, WSAG Meeting Minutes, Originals, April 1975. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the White House Situation Room.


203. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 21, Vietnam, State Department Telegrams, From SECSTATE, Nodis (2). Secret; Niact; Immediate; Nodis; Cherokee. Drafted by Miller, EA; approved by Kissinger, Habib, Smyser, and Abramowitz.


204. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 21, Vietnam, State Department Telegrams, To SECSTATE, Nodis (3). Secret; Niact; Immediate; Nodis.


205. Backchannel Message From the Ambassador to Vietnam (Martin) to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Backchannel Messages, Box 3, Martin Channel, April 1975, Outgoing (1). Secret; Immediate. Sent with the instruction: “Deliver immediately.”


206. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Box 21, Vietnam, State Department Telegrams, From SECSTATE, Nodis (2). Secret; Immediate; Nodis; Cherokee. Drafted by Eagleburger.


207. Telegram From the Station in Saigon to the Central Intelligence Agency

Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Executive Registry Subject Files, Job 80–M01066A. Secret; Priority; Restricted Handling.