[Martindale, continued] Wednesday, April 30, 1975 After a pretty good night's sleep, I was up at 7:00 A.M. Men have the head for the first 30 minutes of every hour (7:00-7:30) and women and children the second 30 minutes. We heard that all Vietnamese would eat breakfast first because they would be flown by… Continue reading We have now received some news and know that South Vietnam has surrendered. Wednesday, April 30, 1975
Author: William Julius Allen
I must be confident. Civilization will return. Yes, with its warts, civilization will return.
The phone woke me at 5:00 A.M. Tuesday, April 29, 1975
[Martindale continued] Tuesday, April 29, 1975 The phone woke me at 5:00 A.M. but stopped ringing before I could reach it. Outside, it sounded like the all-clear siren was going off. The radio, as had been the case for a week or so, had nothing but music on it. I called Bill Austin and… Continue reading The phone woke me at 5:00 A.M. Tuesday, April 29, 1975
Monday, April 28, 1975
[Martindale, continued] Monday, April 28, 1975 We proceeded pretty well on schedule and moved out of the bowling alley to an area next to the gym, probably around 4:30 A.M. I should say about one-half of our group did. I had made arrangements with the people at the processing gate to stage our people… Continue reading Monday, April 28, 1975
Sunday, April 27, 1975
[Martindale, continued] Sunday, April 27, 1975 On Sunday morning there was a meeting of Americans to learn the rules for taking the USAID people to the evacuation center at Tan Son Nhut airport. I was going to stay with them until they left for the airplane. Bill Rice escorted one bus load to the… Continue reading Sunday, April 27, 1975
Sunday, April 26, 1975
[Martindale, continued] Saturday, April 26, 1975 On Saturday our 5 Americans got together and started getting names of people to evacuate. As different crises came up, people left to handle them. I was finally working alone, which was actually faster even though I was continually diverted. We told our employees that if ineligible people… Continue reading Sunday, April 26, 1975
Monday, April 21 through Friday, April 25
[Martindale continued] Monday, April 21 through Friday, April 25 Starting Monday morning every day was hectic, especially with our reduced American staff. To take Mary Viszneki's place as secretary was Hiem (Miss) who had been our receptionist. As Chuck Yeomans had left his secretary, Miss Thao, didn't know what her job would be. She… Continue reading Monday, April 21 through Friday, April 25
Saturday Night, April 19
[Martindale, continued] Saturday Night, April 19 We had a small get-together for drinks and food at Bill Rice's apartment, starting at 5:00 P.M. due to the 8:00 P.M. curfew. Dave Lockhart brought letters, addressed to various Americans, from either the Director or the Ambassador. Rice left and delivered those addressed to Americans in Financial… Continue reading Saturday Night, April 19
Martindale, Short Intro
Thomas Kinton Martindale (1921-2000) was born in Tennessee. He flew "The Hump" in the Army Air Corps during WWII. The GI Bill helped put him through the University of Michigan and there he took a bachelor's and master's in accounting and secured his CPA. After some accounting jobs in the mid-west, he joined the U.S.… Continue reading Martindale, Short Intro
Thomas K. Martindale. Leaving Vietnam
INTRODUCTION I started writing this on Wednesday, April 30, 1975 while on board the USS Midway east of Vietnam. I hadn't been able to write home very often during the preceding two weeks so I wanted my family to know what I had been doing during those hectic days. They couldn't understand why I hadn't… Continue reading Thomas K. Martindale. Leaving Vietnam
Oliver Sacks on Digital Stuff
From The New Yorker, February 11, 2019 (Posthumously? Reprint? Sachs died in 2015) My favorite aunt, Auntie Len, when she was in her eighties, told me that she had not had too much difficulty adjusting to all the things that were new in her lifetime—jet planes, space travel, plastics, and so on—but that she could… Continue reading Oliver Sacks on Digital Stuff
Waiting For Charlemagne 