Editing Operation Frequent Wind (section)

==Preparations on the ground==
On 1 April an evacuation control center manned by [[U.S. Army]], [[U.S. Navy]], [[U.S. Air Force]] (USAF) and [[U.S. Marine Corps]] (USMC) personnel began operating at the [[Defense Attaché Office, Saigon (1973–1975)|Defense Attaché Office (DAO) compound]] on 12-hour shifts, increasing to 24-hour shifts the next day.<ref name=Tobin/>{{rp|22}} Also on 1 April, Plan Alamo was implemented to defend the DAO compound and its annex so it could serve as a holding area for 1,500 evacuees for five days.<ref name=Tobin/>{{rp|27}} By 16 April, Alamo was complete: water, [[C-rations]], petroleum, oil, and lubricants had been stockpiled; backup electricity generators had been installed; sanitary facilities were completed; and [[concertina wire]] protected the perimeter.<ref name=Tobin/>{{rp|35}}
[[File:037300036-001 Saigon.jpg|thumb|right|Map of Assembly Points for American personnel in Saigon]]
On 7 April [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] pilot Nikki A. Fillipi, with U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Robert Twigger, assigned to the DAO as the U.S. Navy liaison officer, surveyed 37 buildings in Saigon as possible landing zones (LZ), selecting 13 of them as fit for use.<ref name=crucial>{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/air-america-played-a-crucial-part-of-the-emergency-helicopter-evacuation-of-saigon.htm |title=Air America: Played a Crucial Part of the Emergency Helicopter Evacuation of Saigon p.1 |date=12 June 2006 |publisher=History Net |access-date=29 April 2011 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611232216/http://www.historynet.com/air-america-played-a-crucial-part-of-the-emergency-helicopter-evacuation-of-saigon.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Workers from Pacific Architects and Engineers visited each of the 13 LZs to remove obstructions and paint H's the size of a [[Bell UH-1 Iroquois|UH-1 Huey]] helicopter's skids.<ref name=Tobin/>{{rp|37}} President Ford, in an address to the American public on 11 April, promised to evacuate Vietnamese civilians of various categories. The [[9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (United States)|9th Marine Amphibious Brigade]] (9th MAB), which was to supply helicopters and a security force for the evacuation, sent a delegation to consult with [[United States Ambassador to South Vietnam|Ambassador]] [[Graham Martin]] on current plans on 12 April. Martin told them that he would not tolerate any outward signs that the United States intended to abandon South Vietnam. All planning would have to be conducted with the utmost discretion. Brigadier General [[Richard E. Carey]], commander of the 9th MAB, flew to Saigon the next day to see Martin; he later said, "The visit was cold, non-productive and appeared to be an irritant to the Ambassador".<ref name=crucial/> Thirteen Marines from the [[Marine Security Guard]] (MSG) detachment were deployed to the DAO Compound on 13 April to replace eight Marine guards who had been providing security after they were withdrawn from the closed [[Da Nang]] and [[Nha Trang]] consulates.<ref name=Tobin/>{{rp|35}}

By late April, Air America helicopters were flying several daily shuttles from TF76 to the DAO Compound to enable the 9th MAB to conduct evacuation preparations at the DAO without exceeding the [[Paris Peace Accords]]' limit of 50 U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam. The U.S. government was continuing to observe its obligations under the Accords, notwithstanding the North Vietnamese invasion.<ref name=Dunham>{{Cite book |last1=Dunham |first1=Maj. George R. |last2=Quinlan |first2=Col. David A. |title=U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–1975 (Marine Corps Vietnam Operational Histories Series) |url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/U_S_%20Marines%20In%20Vietnam%20-%20The%20Bitter%20End%201973%20-%201975.pdf|publisher=History & Museums Division; Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps |year=1990 |location=Washington D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-026455-9|access-date=3 May 2021}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|178}} In late April, the MSG Marines were ordered to abandon Marshall Hall/Marine House, their [[billet]] at 204 Hong Thap Tu Street (now 204 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street), and move into the recreation area in the embassy compound.<ref name=Drury/>{{rp|86}}

The two major evacuation points chosen for Operation Frequent Wind were the DAO Compound next to Tan Son Nhut Airport for American and Vietnamese civilian evacuees, and the [[US Embassy, Saigon|U.S. Embassy, Saigon]] for embassy staff.<ref name=Dunham/>{{rp|196}} The plan for the evacuation included stationing buses and American civilian bus drivers at 28 buildings throughout metropolitan Saigon. The buses would follow one of four planned evacuation routes from downtown Saigon to the DAO Compound, each route named after a Western Trail: Santa Fe, Oregon, Texas, etc.<ref name=Tobin/>{{rp|38}}<ref name=Dunham/>{{rp|178–179}}