An Honourable Exit by Thurston Clarke

There are many shameful chapters in history and many shameful wars. Most recently, we have had the ill-fated war in Afghanistan, which perhaps began nobly in the aftermath of 9/11, but which soon morphed into a conflict of ill-defined strategy - was it an exercise in nation building, of anti-terrorism, of drug interdiction? More clearly disastrous, and utterly without justification, was the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And then there’s Vietnam. If any conflict is shrouded in ignominy, it’s arguably America’s war in Vietnam. But in reality, life is never so simple. Whatever the justifications for a given war or intervention, amongst those fighting it might be the brave and honourable. Similarly, some will side with those who history judges to have been in the wrong for all manner of reasons, many not just understandable, but perhaps justifiable also. A good example of this can be seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whatever the merits of Western intervention, not a few locals sided with the foreign forces. Many worked for them. And when those forces pulled out, all too often those locals felt abandoned. Interpreters are a case in point. Both the US and UK have faced calls to allow those who assisted their troops seek asylum and many find it shocking how these brave Iraqis and Afghans have felt themselves to be abandoned.

So it is that An Honourable Exit by Thurston Clarke is so relevant. For it tells the story of the efforts by many Americans to help the Vietnamese who assisted them to get to safety. Apart from being a fascinating story in itself, this is also a historical corrective. The abiding image of the American pull out from Saigon after all being one of chaos, of Vietnamese thronging the gates of the embassy compound and watching in impotence as the diplomats inside were evacuated. All this is true, of course. The American withdrawal was chaotic, and those Vietnamese crowding the gates and not being let in were left to their own devices, as were many more. But in this book are the stories, the innumerable stories, of the many efforts to get people out and those they whisked to freedom. 

Many of these efforts were unofficial, American men and women disobeying orders to help people escape. Heroism is an overused word, but some of the stories contained in the pages of this book meet the definition, humanitarian efforts in which the Americans concerned went above and beyond to help those who otherwise might face the wrath of the North Vietnamese to flee. A great example is that of the Consul General of Can Tho, who rather than just fly American personnel out by helicopter (thus abandoning the local Vietnamese to their fate) risked a boat voyage and thus evacuated Americans and Vietnamese allies alike. Or there is Al Topping, the Pan Am employee, who adopted 360 Vietnamese employees and their families and thus enabled them to repatriate to the United States.

But there are other more tragic stories in these pages, of rescue missions that didn’t succeed and those that paid the price. One of the most moving in my opinion is that of Tucker Gougelmann. A former CIA officer who had retired to Bangkok, he had married a Vietnames woman and snuck back into the country after the fall of Saigon to help his family escape. Gougelmann was captured by the Vietnamese and tortured to death, his body returned to the US three years later. A friend later managed to secure his family visas and they settled in the United States, Gougelmann posthumously given a star on the famous memorial wall in CIA headquarters in Langley, despite the fact that his rescue mission was unsanctioned, and he was retired at the time.

With the unpopular interventions of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya offering up similar challenges, An Honourable Exit is a fascinating and timely account of how some Americans rebelled at their nations decision to turn its back on friend and ally. This is very readable and gripping account of honourable people in a dishonourable environment and is highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars