John J. Valdez walks by the shops in the Little Saigon" neighborhood in Westminster, CA on April 19, 2005. Valdez, an ex- Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt ) with the U.S Marine Corps, was the last one to board a CH-46 helicopter from the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam, during its evacuation on the morning of April 30, 1975. Potratz, a Sergeant at that time, was one of the last 11 Marines in the Embassy.
|