Buang Ly: Hero 0-1A Bird Dog pilot of Vietnam

Landed his tiny plane with 7 people on a carrier

The chaotic American withdrawal from Saigon after the Vietnam war led to a mass exodus of civilians who worked with the U.S. military during the war. With death or imprisonment looming, Major Buang Ly loaded his wife and 5 kids aboard the 2 seater plane and took off. Following helicopters loaded with civilians and avoiding anti-aircraft ground fire, he circled the aircraft carrier Midway dropping notes on paper to tell them to clear a runway for his 0-1A Bird dog. Dumping parked helicopters into the ocean, the crew cleared a runway for the small plane which landed safely on the deck with 200 ft to spare. The crew of the Midway was ecstatic and the 0-1A Bird Dog was saved and later put in a museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida where it rests to this day. Skill and valor saved Buang’s family that fateful day in 1975. Valor is in you. Set it free.