Crew members push a Huey helicopter into the ocean to make room on the Kirk's small deck for more incoming crafts carrying Vietnamese refugees.Photo by Craig Campiano
I was fortunate to be driving to Adrian yesterday when the story of the U.S.S. Kirk came on the radio. It was one of those riveting tales I wouldn’t have been able to stop listening to had I reached my destination before it was over. It’s an amazing story:
“We looked up out on the horizon, and pretty soon all you could see were helicopters. And they came in and it was incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like it again,” said Doyle, now retired and living in Rhode Island.
The South Vietnamese military helicopters were packed with people — pilots and their family and friends. And now, as some of the choppers were precariously low on fuel, the pilots were looking for a place to land. Dozens of UH-1 Huey helicopters flew past the Kirk heading for the larger aircraft carriers. The Kirk had only a small flight deck.
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