Uncommon Heroism

Via The Dreamy Dodo blog, I came across this picture of Cessna A-37s, Northrup F-5s, and a single odd Cessna L-19 aboard the deck of the USS Midway (CVA-41) on their way to Guam after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Sing it with me now: "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn't the same..."

How that Bird Dog (the L-19) got there is one hell of a story. As Saigon was falling, South Veitnam Air Force Major Buang-Ly loaded his wife and five children into the two seat observation aircraft and headed out to sea from the island of Con Son. He didn't really have a plan beyond "get out of here and hope to find an American ship."

What he finally found as an aircraft carrier loaded with other aircraft, that he was sure he could land on. What happened next was recorded from the flight deck of the Midway.



According to NavyHistory.org, Major Buang's several passes over the carrier, were attempts to drop notes signaling his intentions. The first couple blew away, and he finally resorted to stuffing his third note into his pistol and dropping that onto the deck. Note the look of relief on his wife's face when she exits the aircraft.

In the linked article, there's a bit of follow-up as well. Major Buang and his family eventually settled in Orlando. In 2014, at a small ceremony held during Sun 'n Fun, Major Buang and his extended family were presented a special aircraft model honoring his historic flight. Major Buang's aircraft itself now hangs in the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

I may have to go through my old photos and see if that aircraft is in the background of any of my shots of pointy jets.

The Cessna L-19 (O-1) was derived from the Cessna 170, which is a four-seat, high-wing taildragger. The biggest difference in the militarized aircraft was the tandem seating arrangement for the pilot and observer, making the L-19 the largest two-seat aircraft Cessna ever built. Even so, that must have been a seriously tight squeeze for a family of seven.