Forty years ago today news coverage of the Fall of Saigon was carried around the globe. This was the first war to be broadcast into homes at the supper and bedtime news. I'll admit that we were like the stereotypical family, eating dinner from TV tables in front of the newscasts. I'll also admit to eventually rebelling and going elsewhere to eat my dinner without images of people dying and in severe distress. It just seems wrong to 'enjoy' a meal while watching others suffer. Anyway -- the images from the end of the war as the US embassy evacuated are still heart-wrenching. People trying to get their children, some only infants, out before the Viet Cong arrived was difficult to imagine for those in the comfort of their living rooms.
Over twenty years after the event, I found myself in Toronto for a conference and I'd purchased a ticket to Miss Saigon -- just new in the city. It was stunning. I love the music and the story is one that we've sadly seen repeated in other parts of the world. The experience of being in the audience at this performance is almost indescribable. There were many moving scenes and situations; yet the Fall of Saigon made the greatest impression. During the scene the staging switched from the main characters to show the audience the outside of the embassy walls. Before I knew it, I found myself part of the crowd clambering to get inside as the last helicopter left the grounds. The scene was the last one before the intermission. As the curtains closed, the room was silent until the only thing I recall hearing was a collective audible sigh -- almost a groan -- from everyone who, like me, had been holding their breath as they had unwittingly become part of that historical event. It was emotionally draining, but still no where close to what the real event had been like.
Today Canada AM featured Thanh Campbell, who wrote an autobiography 'Orphan 32'. He was one of the orphans who had been airlifted by US and Canadian forces earlier in April of 1975. It turns out he wasn't an orphan after all, but he didn't learn of this until 30 years later. The song I chose to share is from the musical. It is filled with many emotions much as I expect people were that day. Enjoy!
The Fall of Saigon (Miss Saigon) -- Original London Cast
Lea Solonga as Kim and Simon Bowman as Chris
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